Hard fought win over Aces
This meeting went down to the wire as the Hammers held on in the final race to edge out winners by three points over Belle Vue.
The scene was set early on when the opening race produced a whole series of passes as Kauko Nieminen and Charlie Gjedde passed and re-passed in a battle for third place, with the Aces getting the upper hand.
The determination of the visitors was evident in the fourth outing when Rory Schlein was rewarded for inside line perseverance as Peter Ljung drifted wide. It was Ljung’s retirement from heat seven that saw the Aces draw level through Patrick Hougaard and former Hammer Ricky Kling, giving first warning that this meeting was certainly no formality.
The visitor’s momentum was stopped in heat eight when Gjedde was judged to have caused a spill between him and team mate Kozza Smith and Kauko Niemimen duly led a home 4-2 in the re-run. This was followed by a very comprehensive 5-1 from Adam Shields and Piotr Swiderski over Schlein in heat nine and Lee Richardson and Nieminen over Kling in the tenth.
British star Chris Harris came to the fore after a sticky start to the meeting in heat eleven, taking a tactically nominated outing and turning it into a fruitful one for the Aces as they claimed seven points. Harris’ next outing, though, did most damage as he hunted down and overhauled Richardson in heat thirteen to join Schlein for a 5-1 to pull the Aces to within one point.
Swiderski continued a fine 2011 home debut in the penultimate race to register a vital 4-2 with Robert Mear before popping out of the start in the last heat decider to ensure victory on the night belonged to the Hammers, leaving Belle Vue the consolation of a league point for the narrow defeat.
Lakeside Hammers = 48
1. Lee Richardson 3 2 3 1 = 9 2. Kauko Nieminen 0 1' 3 2' = 6+2 3. Adam Shields 2' 2 2' 3 0 = 9+2 4. Piotr Swiderski 3 1' 3 3 3 = 13+1 5. Peter Ljung 2 R 2 0 = 4 6. Robert Mear 3 1 0 1 = 5 7. Kyle Legault 1 0 1 0 = 2 Team Manager: Jon Cook
Belle Vue Aces = 45
1. Chris Harris 2 0 6^ 2' 1'= 11+2 2. Charlie Gjedde 1' 3 X 1 = 5+1 3. Ricky Kling 1 2' 1 2 = 6+1 4. Patrick Hougaard 0 3 0 2 = 5 5. Rory Schlein 3 3 1 3 2 = 12 6. Tomasz Piszcz 0 0 0 = 0 7. Kozza Smith 2 1 2 1' 0 = 6+1 Team Manager: Jim Lynch
Heat 01: Richardson, Harris, Gjedde, Nieminen (3-3) 59.3 Heat 02: Mear, Smith, Legault, PIszcz (4-2) (7-5) 59.9 Heat 03: Swiderski, Shields, Kling, Hougaard (5-1) (12-6) 58.2 Heat 04: Schlein, Ljung, Smith, Legault (2-4) (14-10) 59.9 Heat 05: Gjedde, Shields, Swiderski, Harris (3-3) (17-13) 59.0 Heat 06: Schlein, Richardson, Nieminen, Piszcz (fell rem) (3-3) (20-16) 58.8 Heat 07: Hougaard, Kling, Mear, Ljung (ret) (1-5) (21-21) 59.9 Heat 08: Nieminen, Smith, Legault, Gjedde (Excluded) (4-2) (25-23) 60.2 Heat 09: Swiderski, Shields, Schlein, Piszcz (5-1) (30-24) 58.3 Heat 10: Richardson, Nieminen, Kling, Hougaard (5-1) (35-25) 59.7 Heat 11: Harris (tactical ride), Ljung, Gjedde, Mear. (2-7) (37-32) 59.4 Heat 12: Shields, Kling, Smith, Legault (3-3) (40-35) 58.6 Heat 13: Schlein, Harris, Richardson, Ljung (1-5) (41-40) 58.8 Heat 14: Swiderski, Hougaard, Mear, Smith (4-2) (45-42) 58.5 Heat 15: Swiderski, Schlein, Harris, Shields (3-3) (48-45) 58.5
Picture: Piotr Swiderski (Gavin Ellis/TGSPHOTO)