THE Vortex Lakeside Hammers are extending their holiday time ‘Kids for a Quid’ scheme to cover all meetings starting with this Friday’s Play Off showdown against the Wolverhampton Wolves. It follows on from the Club’s third highest Friday crowd seen in seven seasons a fortnight ago when the Poole Pirates were the visitors and the scheme for children operated as a one off reduction.
Despite the season’s worst performances from Captain Davey Watt and Piotr Swiderski the Vortex Hammers led the for much of the match led by an inspired performance from Peter Karlsson and another stunning display from reserve Richard Lawson, which included a superb victory over veteran multi British Champion Scott Nicholls but with only Lewis Bridger and Seb Ulamek providing significant support the Essex side were eventually overhauled by the current League leaders.
THE Vortex Lakeside Hammers Co Promoter Jon Cook says his team need to keep their feet on the ground and focus this week as the Poole Pirates visit in red hot Friday action at the Arena Essex Raceway.
Says Cook: “Rebuilding the team has overnight put us amongst the favourites and we now need to concentrate match by match and fulfil the full potential that is there for all to see”.
LAKESIDE’S recent changes worked a wonder as they steamrollered Coventry 55-40 in the Elite League at Purfleet and move level on points with fourth-placed Swindon. Sebastian Ulamek won three races on his debut and Lewis Bridger picked up 13 points in a powerful display from the home side, whilst the Bees were totally reliant on Krzysztof Kasprzak’s huge 20-point haul having gone into the meeting without skipper Scott Nicholls (foot injury).
UNLIMITED Banger World Champion, Jason “Boxer Jack” Jackson, lasted just long enough to win the hardest hitting Destruction Derby of the season at Arena Essex on Sunday. Just as the crowd were giving him a justified round of applause around his victory lap, his car burst into flames in protest at its rough treatment.
EXCITEMENT is the name of the game as the Vortex Hammers have unveiled 17 year old whiz kid Adam Ellis as a surprise addition to the side alongside fellow new signing Seb Ulamek with both riders first appearances brought forward to this Friday’s home clash against Coventry.
ON a blustery Friday evening, The Vortex Lakeside Hammers eventually eased to a 51-39 Elite League victory against a dogged and determined Peterborough side.
The away team, who like the Hammers were fresh from a confidence building victory against the Poole Pirates, started proceedings brightly with heat victories in the first two races, with Hammers pairings packing the minor placings.
THE VORTEX Lakeside Hammers head into their next fixture, which is away against the Coventry Bees on Bank Holiday Monday, 6th May, with the positive news that their influential skipper Davey Watt is set to return to racing action this weekend. The Australian, who broke his scaphoid in a heat 15 crash at the Arena Essex Raceway in the Sky Sports Elite League match against Swindon in April, is set to practice in Poland on Saturday before making his competitive return for his Polish club on Sunday.
The win over the Stars surprised many pundits, who predicted an away win, but saw all six Vortex Hammers riders in great form led by masterful performances from Peter Karlsson and Piotr Swiderski, whilst late signing Richard Lawson showed in his clashes with the rider he replaced, Richie Worrall, that he was a shrewd signing by the Essex based Club. Worrall, whose signing by King’s Lynn in the build up to the meeting, in the eyes of many, should have sealed victory for the Stars.
THE Birmingham Brummies are the Vortex Hammers next opponents this Friday, 12th April, when the two teams meet at 8pm at the Arena EssexRaceway. The Brummies started the year well but slipped to a home defeat on Wednesday against the Swindon Robins, the team who beat the Vortex Hammers last Friday.
THE Sky Sports 2012 Elite League Champions, the Swindon Robins, are in town this Friday, 5th April, as the Vortex Lakeside Hammers Elite League season return to their traditional 8pm start time. The Robins have already made an impressive start to the year taking the Elite Shield from the Poole Pirates and are favourites to retain their League title.
THE Lakeside Hammers returned to action with a new 2013 line-up and emerged with a keenly fought victory over their closest rivals Eastbourne Eagles on Good Friday afternoon. This season opening curtain raiser – delayed by a week following last week’s snow-off against Peterborough – saw both sides dropped straight into Elite League action. With no time for formal match practice, it was very much a case of evaluating who would get off to the fastest start in the opening heat exchanges. Certainly, from the outset it was the Eagles who were by far the sharpest away from the start with the home side caught napping on many occasion.
THE Lakeside Hammers will be heating up this Friday, 20th March, as they face arch rivals the Eastbourne Eagles in Good Friday track action at the Arena Essex Raceway at 1pm.
While temperatures will only warm up slightly by the end of the week the on track action promises to be red hot as clashes with the Eagles are amongst the highlights of the Speedway season, which commences for the Essex based Club with this match.
Hammers co-promoter Jon Cook said; “We are fortunate that Richard was available and he jumped at the chance of joining us. He is a great big track specialist and as such gives us strength at reserve on our travels to compliment Rob Mear’s small track skills, whilst he learns the Raceway circuit. He is still in the early seasons of his Speedway career and we are delighted to be able to offer our No.7 spot to another ambitious up and coming English rider.”
THE Lakeside Hammers Elite League speedway team has announced a new sponsorship agreement with Vortex Performance Exhausts. Under the deal, the Essex-based team will be known as the Vortex Lakeside Hammers for the next two years. The agreement is the first in speedway for Vortex, which is based in nearby Grays.
THE Lakeside Hammers official Fixture List is out and the club’s first live Sky meeting has now been moved back a fortnight as the broadcasters live schedule requirements have changed. It means that the club are now having a rethink on the opening season plans and will bring fans the details shortly with Friday 22nd March being the first date that supporters will be able to see the 2013 Hammers team on track.
THE Lakeside Hammers are delighted to have been chosen to launch the new season of Live Sky Speedway with the news that they will be the first hosting track of the year on Monday 25th March when the League Champions Swindon will be the visitors.
Instead we have filled his spot and that of our last season’s Double Up pair of Kauko Nieminen and Stuart Robson, with Lewis (Bridger) and Piotr (Swiderski). We feel that gives us strength in depth, particularly at home, but importantly also at the three or four clubs we have targeted for away wins that are necessary to reach the Play offs”.
Heat two was stopped after a clash between South Ockendon’s Nick Milbourn and Ian Barley. Milbourn’s car was destroyed, but Barley had a worrying problem when his race harness came loose. Thankfully he was unharmed and was able to continue in the meeting. At the restart Jimmy Hughes lost power and drifted off and then back onto the track where he say signalling for others to hit him. They all ignored him and got on with the task of trying to win, Daniel Mann looked good for a while until Glenn Sexton blew a hose and left the track very slick and Mann spun fencewards as a result. Grays, Jamie Webb found the fence courtesy of Matthew Young whilst Jamie McAngus warmed up for the final with the win.
They came in their droves – from all over the country, fans piled through the turnstiles to pay their tribute to Rico and help to produce the second largest crowd seen at a UK meeting this year behind the British GP at Cardiff. The meeting started with a presentation of rider’s bibs by family of the former Lakeside Hammers skipper and the wealth of world talent on display was introduced to the vast crowd, eagerly awaiting what would ultimately turn out to be a fitting celebration of Lee’s life.
IT HAS BEEN a very emotional season for the Lakeside Hammers but the team gave it everything last night as they narrowly lost, 47-43 to the Poole Pirates in Speedway’s Elite League play-off semi-final.
The Hammers led with just four of the fifteen heats remaining. That despite having a number of technical problems and riders, giving it their very all, falling off.
THE Lakeside Hammers are ready for action tonight despite Sunday rain continuing through into Monday morning. With a dry, sunny and windy forecast for the rest of the day the Arena Essex Raceway circuit has been prepared accordingly.
THE Lakeside Hammers are ready for their very own Cup Final at their Arena Essex Raceway on Monday, 24th September, when they host the first leg of the Elite League Play Offs against the hot favourites, the Poole Pirates. All the pressure will be on the visitors and the home team are ready for the fight.
The 52-40 victory over the Panthers puts the Hammers into fourth place in the table level on points with Birmingham, but behind them on the difference between race points scored and conceded, and two points ahead of fifth placed club, Peterborough. The Brummies have two home meetings remaining against the top two sides, Poole and Swindon whilst the Panthers have two away trips to Belle Vue and Coventry.
