Vortex Hammers march on

The Vortex Lakeside Hammers continued their unbeaten home record and extended their position at the top of the Elite league this evening with a 53-40 victory over the Wolverhampton Wolves, in a meeting which the Hammers dominated in the early stages, were then pegged back, before consolidating the points in the latter stages.

After an initial shared heat, with Richard Lawson taking victory over World Champion Tai Woffinden and Jacob Thorsell getting the better of Peter Karlsson, the Hammers then continued in a similar fashion to recent weeks, stamping their initial authority.

Heat 2 saw fast track rider Adam Ellis launch from the tapes, whilst  fellow Hammer Ben Morley and Joe Jacobs for the vistors clashed on bend 1, causing the Wolves rider to lose power. With Morley in third, Ashley Morris then spun on the third bend, enabling the Hammers to stretch out to a 5-1.

This scoreline was maintained in a re-run of heat three, after in the initial running, Piotr Pawlicki lifted on the third bend, resulting in Nicholls laying his bike down, and referee Jim McGregor excluding the Polish rider as the cause of the stoppage.  Nicholls and Hammers Captain Davey Watt team rode in the re-run to a maximum heat advantage over Wells.

A shared fourth, after a dominant first bend from Lewis Bridger, then led to a third 5-1 of the night, this time with Karlsson pulling off a great move around the first and second bends to allow Scott Nicholls, guesting for the Hammers in place of Mikkel Bech, to join him at the front.

Twelve points down by heat 6, Wolverhampton introduced a  tactical ride with Pawlicki making no mistake second time out, with a great ride to take full points, backed by Woffinden, despite the best efforts of Watt to pass for four laps.

After a 4-2 to the Hammers in the seventh, with the consitent Lawson taking victory, Watt and Bridger then teamed up for a further 5-1 to the Essex team in the re-run of heat 8, after Thorsell fell on the third bend in the original running.

Points were shared in the second reserves race in heat 9, although the Hammers pairing were on a 5-1 before Ellis shed a chain.  Heat ten saw a fantastic battle over three lap between Karlsson and Ricky Wells, as Pawlicki showed he had found the quickest route around the Raceway track. A sublime gate from Davey Watt saw him take a tapes to flag victory in heat 11, whilst Nicholls delivered a 360 degree spin on the third bend.

With the Hammers nine points to the good, Fast track reserve Ben Morley then gained another second string scalp, maintaining his composure to join Lawson for a 5-1 ahead of Thorsell. Woffinden took another race win with victory over Nicholls in heat thirteen, before Morley claimed a further second string name with another convincing ride, this time keeping Ty Proctor behind him for three laps, as Bridger swept to victory.

Nicholls sneaked a second place over Woffinden in the nominated heat, behind the impressive Pawlicki, but the Hammers had long since tamed the Wolves to take all three Elite League points ahead of their next meeting against The King’s Lynn Stars, which will be in front of the Sky Sports Cameras.

Lakeside Hammers = 53

1. Peter Karlsson – 0 , 3 , 2 , 0 = 5
2. Richard Lawson – 3 , 3 , 0 , 3 = 9
3. Davey Watt – 3 , 1 , 3 , 3 , 0 = 10
4. Lewis Bridger – 3 , 0 , 2′ , 3 = 8+1
5. Scott Nicholls (Guest) – 2′ , 2′ , 0 , 2 , 2 = 8+2
6. Ben Morley – 2′ , 0 , 3 , 2′ , 2′ = 9+3
7. Adam Ellis – 3 , 1 , R , (BM – 2′) = 4

Wolverhampton Wolves = 40

1. Tai Woffinden – 1′ , 2′ , 2 , 3 , 1 = 9+2
2. Jacob Thorssell – 2 , 2 , F/X , 1 = 5
3. Ricky Wells – 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 = 4
4. Ty Proctor – 0 , 2 , 1′ , 0 = 3+1
5. Piotr Pawlicki – X , 6^ , 3 , 1 , 3 = 13
6. Joe Jacobs – R , 0, 1′ , 1 = 2+1
7. Ashley Morris – 1 , 1′ , 2 , 0 = 4+1

Heat Results

Heat 01: Lawson, Thorssell, Woffinden, Karlsson 3-3 Time: 59.20
Heat 02: Ellis, Morley, Morris, Jacobs – Retired 5-1 8-4 Time: 60.40
Heat 03: Watt, Nicholls, Wells 5-1 13-5 Time: 59.20 (Pawlicki – Excluded)
Heat 04: Bridger, Thorssell, Morris, Morley 3-3 16-8 Time: 59.50
Heat 05: Karlsson, Nicholls, Wells, Proctor 5-1 21-9 Time: 59.00
Heat 06: Pawlicki – Tactical Ride, Woffinden, Watt, Bridger 1-8 22-17 Time: 59.30
Heat 07: Lawson, Proctor, Ellis, Jacobs 4-2 26-19 Time: 59.40
Heat 08: Watt, Bridger, Wells 5-1 31-20 Time: 59.40 (Thorssell – Fell / Excluded)
Heat 09: Morley, Morris, Jacobs, Ellis – Retired 3-3 34-23 Time: 61.00
Heat 10: Pawlicki, Karlsson, Wells, Lawson 2-4 36-27 Time: 59.80
Heat 11: Watt, Woffinden, Proctor, Nicholls 3-3 39-30 Time: 59.30
Heat 12: Lawson, Morley, Thorssell, Morris 5-1 44-31 Time: 60.40
Heat 13: Woffinden, Nicholls, Pawlicki, Karlsson 2-4 46-35 Time: 59.20
Heat 14: Bridger, Morley, Jacobs, Proctor 5=1 51-36 Time: 60.00
Heat 15: Pawlicki, Nicholls, Woffinden, Watt 2-4 53-40 Time: 59.40

Courtesy of @speedwayupdates / @lakesidelive

Image: Heat 12: Ben Morley (blue), Richard Lawson (red) and Max Fricke (white) – Lakeside Hammers vs Coventry Bees, Elite League Speedway at the Arena Essex Raceway. CREDIT: Rob Newell/TGSPHOTO