Hammers shine against Stars
The Vortex Lakeside Hammers finally ended their run of home defeats with a hard fought 50-39 victory over the King’s Lynn Stars.
The meeting started in strange circumstances with the red lights coming on after the riders had completed a lap and a half, as the Stars young sensation Robert Lambert had been judged to jump the start. In the resulting re-run, the Stars gated to take a 5-1, despite the best efforts of Hammers guest Kyle Newman to pass Lambert, before Hammers captain Andreas Jonsson eventually slotted in for the single point.
The first Fast track reserves race saw a shared heat with Lewis Kerr taking the victory from the gate, whilst Ashley Birks, returning to the Hammers side and Adam Ellis kept Ashley Morris at the back.
Kenneth Bjerre gated for the Stars in the third, before first Edward Kennett and then Kim Nilsson scorched past on the first lap to give the Hammers their first 5-1 of the evening to level the scores. Mikkel Bech then delivered a sensational pass in the following race, sweeping around the outside Niklas Porsing on the third bend on the second lap. Birks slotted in ahead of Morris to give the Hammers the lead for the first time on the night.
Lambert gated in the fifth, to take victory ahead of Newman, but with Kerr keeping Ellis at the back, the Stars clawed back the Hammers advantage. Iversen produced a lightening gate in heat 6, followed by Bjerre around the first and second bends, but first Kennett and then Bech overhauled the Dane to deliver a further shared heat. Jonsson gated in the seventh, with Nilsson trying in vain for four laps to get the better of Bjerre in second, but the resulting 4-2 gave the Hammers a 2 point edge.
Heat 8 came to a halt after a tight first corner, which saw Lewis Kerr hit and then puncture the airfence on the second bend. With Kerr excluded, Ashley Birks and Mikkel Bech led on a comfortable 5-1, before Lambert delivered a sharp move on the Hammers Danish Star as they entered the first bend on the final lap, to sneak second.
The Hammers four point advantage was then reduced to two in the ninth, when Porsing swept under Newman on the second bend of the opening lap, and despite his best efforts, Ellis failed to get past Kerr. A ferocious first bend in the 10th saw Lambert squeezed out to the back, with Iversen and Kennett producing a great battle for four laps, with the Danish GP star taking the spoils.
Bjerre gated in the following heat, closely followed throughout by Jonsson, but with Newman kept at the back, the Stars again levelled the scores at 33-33. Morris suffered mechanical failure at the line in the second reserves race, and was unable to trouble Ellis and Birks in the re-run, but Kerr taking victory the meeting remained even.
Heat 13 saw a close encounter, with Jonsson and Nilsson initially gating and then team riding, before Iversens efforts were finally rewarded when he managed to get the better of Nilsson on the third lap. The resulting 4-2 gave the Hammers a 2 point lead, which then extended to 7 points following an unusual heat 14.
Robert Lambert appeared to have taken victory over Mikkel Bech and Edward Kennett for a shared heat, after Porsing lifted violently and crashed on the back straight of the last lap. As the Hammers fans filled in their programmes, it was then announced that the home team had in fact been awarded a 5-0 with Lambert excluded for not having a dirt deflector on his machine.
With some breathing space, the nominated heat saw the Hammers Swedish pairing of Nilsson and Jonsson deliver the final Hammer blow to the Stars hopes, with a tapes to flag victory 5-1 over Iversen and Lambert, giving the Hammers a much needed home victory and the full Elite League points.
Scores and Heat results.
Lakeside = 50
1. Andreas Jonsson 1, 3, 2, 3, 2′ = 11+1
2. Kyle Newman (G) 0, 2, 2, 0 = 4
3. Edward Kennett 3, 2, 2, 2′ = 9+1
4. Mikkel Bech 3, 1′, 1, 3 = 8+1
5. Kim Nilsson 2′, 1, 1′, 1, 3 = 8+2
6. Adam Ellis 1′, 0, 0, 2 = 3+1
7. Ashley Birks 2, 1, 3, 1′ = 7+1
Kings Lynn = 39
1. Niels Kristian Iversen 3, 3, 3, 2, 1 = 12
2. Robert Lambert 2′, 3, 2, 0, X, 0 = 7+1
3. Rory Schlein R/R (NP 0, KB 2, LK 1, RL X = 3)
4. Nicklas Porsing 0, 2, 0, 3, F = 5
5. Kenneth Bjerre 1, 0, 2, 3, 0 = 6
6. Lewis Kerr 3, 1, Fx, 1, 1, 3 = 9
7. Ashley Morris 0, 0, 0 = 0
Kings Lynn win toss take 1 and 3
Heat Results
Heat 01: Re-run Iversen, Lambert, Jonsson, Newman 1-5 58.1
Heat 02: Kerr, Birks, Ellis, Morris 3-3 4-8 59.4
Heat 03: Kennett, Nilsson, Bjerre, Porsing 5-1 9-9 58.3
Heat 04: Bech, Porsing, Birks, Morris 4-2 13-11 58.8
Heat 05: Lambert, Newman, Kerr, Ellis 2-4 15-15 58.8
Heat 06: Iversen, Kennett, Bech, Bjerre 3-3 18-18 57.7
Heat 07: Jonsson, Bjerre, Nilsson, Porsing 4-2 22-20 58.6
Heat 08: Re-run Birks, Lambert, Bech 4-2 26-22 59.8
Heat 09: Porsing, Newman, Kerr, Ellis 2-4 28-26 59.3
Heat 10: Iversen, Kennett, Nilsson, Lambert 3-3 31-29 58.7
Heat 11: Bjerre, Jonsson, Kerr, Newman 2-4 33-33 59.4
Heat 12: Kerr, Ellis, Birks, Morris 3-3 36-36 60.6
Heat 13: Jonsson, Iversen, Nilsson, Bjerre 4-2 40-38 58.9
Heat 14: Bech, Kennett, Lambert Exc. Porsing FELL 5-0 45-38
Heat 15: Nilsson, Jonsson, Iversen, Lambert 5-1 50-39 58.8
Updates courtesy of @lakesidelive & @speedwayupdates.
Image: Kim Nilsson Credit: Rob Newell / TGS Photo.