Pirates next up at Raceway

The Lakeside Hammers take on one of the on form Sky Sports Elite League sides, the Poole Pirates, in this Friday’s, (6th May) League match at their Arena-Essex Raceway. The Hammers will be looking for a home win after having suffered two away defeats earlier in the week against Wolverhampton and the Pirates.

Following those two defeats the Hammers Management have considered making changes to their riding order but have decided to retain the current order for this Friday’s match.

The match against Poole is likely to be a difficult one for the Essex based side but all members of the team are fully aware of what is expected from them and that a defeat will not be acceptable. The Club needs continued 100 percent commitment from every rider in every race and the loyal Hammers supporters are asked to get fully behind each and every member of the team as their vocal support really does help to motivate them.

The Hammers go into the match with their usual team with Stuart Robson at reserve following some recent impressive performances not only for the Hammers but also Newcastle , where he has been racing in the Premier League.

Poole will be led by their Australian Grand Prix rider, Chris Holder, and his fellow Australian Darcy Ward, the current World U-21 Champion. That pairing recently won the Elite League Pairs Final, which was staged at King’s Lynn. In addition to those two Australians there are also two other Aussies in the Pirates team, Jason Doyle and their captain Davey Watt. Doyle sustained shoulder damage in a crash last Bank Holiday weekend but had sufficiently recovered to take his place in Dorset club’s side when the two teams met down there on Wednesday. Completing their team are Russian Renat Gafurov, young Swede Dennis Andersson and young British prospect Kyle Newman. Newman comes into the Pirates team to replace German Christian Hefenbrock, who is due to ride for his Premier League club, Somerset, the same evening.

The action gets underway at the Arena-Essex Raceway at the usual time of 8pm, with the parade of riders scheduled for 7.45pm. Normal admission prices apply and tickets may be purchased on the night at the pay booths. Those fans wishing to purchase their tickets in advance can do so via the Hammers website at www.lakesidehammers.co

Picture: Lee Richardson (Rob Newell/TGSPHOTO)