Top two lead Hammers to victory

August 17, 2012

This hotly contested local derby was a very close run affair – and it was left to the might of the Hammers’ top two of Davey Watt and Peter Karlsson to ensure that the home side ran out eventual winners by a narrow margin of four points.

The top two for the home side were simply head and shoulders above all else on show as they dominated nine of the heats to both end with full five ride maximum scores. Just how much that was needed by the Hammers is evident in the scorechart as the home side nursed a very long tail with Jonas Davidsson and Kim Nilsson in particular struggling for points. Davidsson completed a week to forget for him personally with another zero points tally from three completed rides.

The Eagles were missing former Hammer Joonas Kylmakorpi along with Lewis Bridger, but booked the services of an inspired guest in Ben Barker. Barker collected thirteen points for his evening’s work and it was he, alongside the equally impressive Timo Lahti, who kick started the Eagles challenge with a 5-1 in the fourth race.

Lahti started like a train with three unbeaten rides and he followed up an ominous 5-1 from Cameron Woodward and Simon Gustafsson in heat seven with an assured race win in the following heat, driving past Kauko Nieminen to take victory for his side after Lukas Dryml had been excluded.

The silky smooth skills of Karlsson came to the fore in the next heat as he drove past Barker with clinical precision, leaving the visitor standing. The home side’s problem, though, was that they couldn’t find the down-the-line firepower to turn shared heats into advantages. In fact, much to the frustration of the home faithful, the next advantage after a run of 3-3’s came in the penultimate race when Woodward and Lahti slammed home a 5-1 over Mear and Nilsson.

With the scores level and a last race decider forced, Karlsson and Watt produced a stunning first bend to take out Barker and ensure the home side finished with a flourish and two Elite League points.

Lakeside Hammers = 47

 1. Davey Watt - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 = 15
 2. Kauko Nieminen - 2',1, 1',1 = 5+2
 3. Peter Karlsson - 3, 3, 3, 3, 2' = 14+1
 4. Kim Nilsson - 1, 0, 1, 0 = 2
 5. Jonas Davidsson - 0, 0, 0 = 0
 6. Justin Sedgmen - 1',1, 1' = 3+2
 7. Robert Mear - 2, 1, 2, 2, 0, 1 = 8

Eastbourne Eagles = 43

 1. Rider Replacement
 2. Lukas Dryml - 0, 1',X, 0 = 1+1
 3. Simon Gustafsson - 2, 2, 2',0, 2, 0 = 8+1
 4. Cameron Woodward - 0, 3, 2, 1',3 = 9+1
 5. Ben Barker - 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 1 = 13
 6. Morten Risager - 1, 0, 0 = 1
 7. Timo Lahti - 3, 2',3, 0, 1',2' = 11+3

Heat Results

 Heat 01: Watt, Nieminen, Risager, Dryml (5-1) 58.2
 Heat 02: Lahti, Mear, Sedgmen, Risager (3-3) (8-4) 58.9
 Heat 03: Karlsson, Gustafsson, Nilsson, Woodward (4-2) (12-6) 58.6
 Heat 04: Barker, Lahti, Mear, Davidsson (1-5) (13-11) 59.0
 Heat 05: Karlsson, Gustasson, Dryml, Nilsson (3-3) (16-14) 57.8
 Heat 06: Watt, Barker, Nieminen, Risager (4-2) (20-16) 58.0
 Heat 07: Woodward, Gustafsson, Sedgmen, Davidsson (1-5) (21-21) 59.4
 Heat 08: Lahti, Mear, Nieminen, Dryml (exc) (3-3) (24-24) 59.2
 Heat 09: Karlsson, Barker, Nilsson, Lahti (4-2) (28-26) 58.2
 Heat 10: Watt, Woodward, Nieminen, Gustafsson (4-2) (32-28) 58.9
 Heat 11: Barker, Mear, Sedgmen, Dryml (3-3) (35-31) 59.7
 Heat 12: Karlsson, Gustafsson, Lahti, Mear (3-3) (38-34) 58.7
 Heat 13: Watt, Barker, Woodward, Davidsson (3-3) (41-37) 59.0
 Heat 14: Woodward, Lahti, Mear, Nilsson (1-5) (42-42) 59.6
 Heat 15: Watt, Karlsson, Barker, Gustafsson (5-1) (47-43) 59.3

Photo: Robert Mear in action (Gavin Ellis/TGSPHOTO)