Hammers tame the Panthers

The Hammers finished off their scheduled home league campaign with this victory over Peterborough Panthers, leaving them now waiting to see if results for other teams will allow them to contest the 2012 Elite League play-offs.

The home side collected three league points meaning that they are “in the mix” for the Elite League deciders although very much at the mercy of other sides at the top of the table. All will be revealed over the course of the coming week but for the Hammers it was very much a case of “farewell” in terms of the 2012 league programme with boss Jon Cook leading some rider interviews before the meeting began.

In a year when the Hammers and the speedway world at large suffered a loss in the most devastating of ways, and at times when even the most narrow of defeats was perhaps put into a simple, life-evaluating context, the form of the Hammers’ remaining top two has been a steadying influence and one that always ensured that the home faithful were offered plenty of entertainment during their regular Friday evening outing to the raceway.

Peter Karlsson has become a hugely popular figure down in Essex and it was fitting that his performance, where he was unbeaten save a fall in heat twelve, was once again to prove how he so often belies his years with his clinical, thoughtful efforts on a bike that for many weeks now has yielded near full scores.

Davey Watt rides the raceway with a completely contrasting style but his efforts this evening were similer ; finding himself trailing behind the Panthers’ pairing of the returning Ryan Sullivan and Norbert Koscuich, Watt re-appeared for his second outing and remain unbeaten for the duration of the evening.

Watt’s partner Kim Nilsson had one of the best evening’s for many a week and finished with a paid thirteen points haul that included a 5-1 with Watt over tactically nominated Linus Sundstrom in heat ten and a defeat of similarly nominated Sullivan in heat eleven.

The ebb of 5-1’s was a feature of this meeting, with gating important and the home side keeping one eye on Coventry’s eventual win over Birmingham further up the country. The full quota of available Elite League points was not fully decided until the final race but the efforts of the home side were rewarded when the dynamic home duo of Watt and Karlsson jetted from the start to show a clean pair of heels to Sundstrom and Sullivan and ensure that their side finished their programmed campaign in style.

 Lakeside Hammers :: 52
 1. Davey Watt -- 0 3 3 2' 3 = 11+1
 2. Kim Nilsson -- 3 1 2' 2' 3 = 11+2
 3. Peter Karlsson -- 3 3 3 X 3 2' = 14+1
 4. Stuart Robson -- 2' 0 1 2' 1 = 6+2
 5. Rider Replacement
 6. Justin Sedgmen -- 2' 0 0 = 2+1
 7. Robert Mear -- 3 1 3 0 1 0 = 8

 Peterborough Panthers :: 40
 1. Ryan Sullivan -- 2 1' 4! 1 0 = 8+1
 2. Norbert Kosciuch -- 1' 0 2 1 1' = 5+2
 3. Rider Replacement
 4. Linus Sundstrom -- 1 3 1! 2' 2' 1 = 10+2
 5. Krzysztof Buczkowski -- 2' 2 0 0 0 = 4+1
 6. Jacob Thorssell -- R X = 0
 7. Patrick Hougaard -- 1 3 2' 0 1 3 3 = 13+1

 Heat Results

 Heat 01: Nilsson, Sullivan, Kosciuch, Watt 3-3 (3-3) 58.8
 Heat 02: Mear, Sedgmen, Hougaard, Thorssell (ret) 5-1 (8-4) 59.9
 Heat 03: Karlsson, Robson, Sundstrom, Kosciuch 5-1 (13-5) 58.7
 Heat 04: Hougaard, Buczkowski, Mear, Sedgmen 1-5 (14-10) 59.8
 Heat 05: Karlsson, Kosciuch, Sullivan, Robson 3-3 (17-13) 58.9
 Heat 06: Watt, Buczkowski, Nilsson, Thorssell (fell exc) 4-2 (21-15) 58.3
 Heat 07: Sundstrom, Hougaard, Robson, Sedgmen 1-5 (22-20) 59.6
 Heat 08: Mear, Nilsson, Kosciuch, Hougaard 5-1 (27-21) 59.4
 Heat 09: Karlsson, Robson, Hougaard, Buczkowski 5-1 (32-22) 59.0
 Heat 10: Watt, Nilsson, Sundstrom (tactical ride), Buczkowski 5-1 (37-23) 58.9
 Heat 11: Nilsson, Sullivan (tactical ride), Kosciuch, Mear 3-5 (40-28) 59.0
 Heat 12: Hougaard, Sundstrom, Mear, Karlsson (fell exc) 1-5 (41-33) 59.3
 Heat 13: Karlsson, Watt, Sullivan, Buczkowski 5-1 (46-34) 59.6
 Heat 14: Hougaard, Sundstrom, Robson, Mear 1-5 (47-39) 59.5
 Heat 15: Watt, Karlsson, Sundstrom, Sullivan 5-1 (52-40) 58.8

Picture : Heat 8: Kim Nilsson (red), Rob Mear (blue), Norbert Kosciuch (white) and Patrick Hougaard – Lakeside Hammers vs Peterborough Panthers – Sky Sports Elite League Speedway at Arena Essex Raceway, Purfleet – 14/09/12 – (Gavin Ellis/TGSPHOTO)