Jack Giordmaina reports from Arena Essex Raceway where the Hammers steal the show…
Lakeside Hammers fought off a resilient Poole Pirates at Arena Essex Raceway last night, as the Purfleet-based side came from behind to take all three points against the reigning Elite League champions with a 50-40 win.
Having fallen eight points behind two nights before after heat six of the return meeting, the Lakeside finally found their stride and did not lose any of the remaining nine heats on the night.
Andreas Jonsson showed some his best form at the Raceway as he picked up a win in each of his allocated heats, while Piotr Swiderski and Lewis Bridger also rode superbly in the second half of the meeting to ensure all the points were kept by Lakeside.
Bridger was delighted that the team was able to stay calm and collected under the intense pressure the Pirates placed on them at the beginning of the match.
“We had to fight back from Wednesday’s defeat,” said Bridger.
“We did some practice in the afternoon in preparation for this meeting. However, we struggled at the beginning to win races.
“I had a bit of a rocky start, but we made some adjustments and I think we all really kicked on from there.”
Strong Start
The hosts started the meeting strongly as Jonsson and Swiderski beat Chris Holder and Brady Kurtz out of the gate and controlled the race from there to pick up a 5-1 victory for the Hammers.
However, the Pirates responded immediately in heat two, as former Hammer Adam Ellis stormed to victory with Kyle Newman coming home in second place to level the scoring.
The Hammers claimed a heat advantage in the third heat, as Kim Nilsson raced away from the field at the front, while Bridger managed to move his way past Krzysztof Buczkowski to grab third place and a 10-8 lead.
Pirates fight back
But confusion quickly swept through the Hammers pits over the next three heats, as the Pirates scored two 5-1s either side of a shared heat to gain an eight-point advantage.
Hans Andersen and Kyle Newman dominated from the start of heat four to claim a Poole maximum, before the points were shared in heat five.
The Pirates struck again with Buczkowski claiming victory with Holder following him home to put Pirates 21-13 up.
The hosts needed to respond quickly and Jonsson came up with a fantastic overtaking move on Andersen as the Swede dived down the inside at turn two on the final lap to take the chequered flag in a 4-2 advantage as Nilsson finished third.
The home side claimed another heat advantage in heat eight with Richard Lawson taking victory. Lewis Kerr battled Ellis for second place, but the Hammer rider could not find a way through and had to settle for third.
Heat nine saw the points shared again, but heat 10 saw Bridger give the Hammers another advantage with a daring overtake around the outside of turn three to pass Ellis and bring the scores back level at 30-30.
The home side began to take the sting out of the meeting as they took a commanding 5-1 win after Jonsson took a ‘gates-to-flag’ victory, with Swiderski passing Buczkowski to claim second place.
The points were shared in heat 12, but the Hammers extended their advantage to eight points in heat 13 as Jonsson again led from start to finish, with Nilsson coming home in third.
Hammers hold their nerve
Bridger completed the comeback for the Hammers by producing the race of the meeting, as the 26-year old moved from third to first in one lap, passing Ellis and Lawson to claim a massive 5-1 victory and secure the win on the night.
The Hammers had to make sure Poole did not secure a 5-1 of their own in heat 15 to take a losing point home with them, and they did just that as the points were shared.
The result moves Lakeside seven points clear at the top of the Elite League table and jubilant promoter Jon Cook believes they have what it takes to launch a title challenge as the season progresses.
“We are totally delighted with the win, and it takes a proper speedway team to be able to lower Poole’s colours,” he said.
“I know a lot of people have said that this is a one-team league, but I’d say after tonight it’s a two-team league.
“It’s early days, but we’ve done six meetings and we have to be very pleased with where we are at and the way things are going at the moment.”
A trip to Wolverhampton is up next for Hammers on April 18, before they return to home shale to host Swindon on April 22.