The Lakeside Vortex Hammers sealed three home points with an emphatic 59-31 victory over Leicester Lions, in their first Elite League meeting at Arena Essex.
‘The Hammers’ reeled off five consecutive maximum heats on their stroll to victory with Mikkel Bech claiming a paid maximum.
Leicester only managed three heat wins throughout the entire meeting with two of those going to Josh Auty in both the reserve rides.
The home side kicked of the evening with a 4-2 heat victory- Kim Nilsson held off Ben Barker to win as Andreas Jonsson followed in third, after passing recent Elite League Riders Champion Jason Doyle.
Heat two was a split session, as Josh Auty lead from the first bend and despite the chase from Adam Ellis and Ashley Birks settled for second and third.
Richard Lawson and Mikkel Bech reacted first out of the gate to spark spectacular riding from ’The Hammers’ as they gained the first maximum of the night.
Formal debuts for Edward Kennett and Birks did not faze them with back to back 5-1’s, Kennett and Birks overtook Ben Barker as he faded further into the race.
A third maximum was claimed by the hosts, despite Leicester’s tactical ride failing to make an impact. Nilsson gained his second victory followed by a superb ride by Ellis to take second, which opened up a commanding 22-8 lead.
Lakeside continued their spell of dominance with another 5-1 race, with Kennett’s second victory of the meeting followed by Danish star Bech.
Hammers number one Jonsson made it five maximums in a row to extend their lead to 22 points, as he was supported by Lawson in second.
Kennett shortly after had a hat-trick of race wins in heat eight but Birks pushed for second place and ended up dropping off, as ‘The Hammers’ levelled the heat.
Nilsson matched teammate Kennett with a third race victory and Ellis came from the back of the pack to snatch third, for a 4-2 heat to lead 39-15.
‘The Hammers’ eased of in heats 10, 11 and 12 splitting all three heats. Bech took heat 10- Bjarne Pedersen broke the dominance in heat 11 and Auty won the second reserve race in heat 12.
Lakeside had claimed all three points after 12 heats with the score at 48-24. Jonsson snapped up his second victory of the night in heat 13, supported by Lawson to continue the class display from the home side.
Bech sped to his second race win, as in-form Kennett settled for second- to notched up a sixth maximum to give ‘The Hammers’ a 30 point lead.
In the final heat, Jason Doyle’s fall on the first attempt of the race did not faze him as he took the re-run victory and a consolation 4-2 heat victory for Leicester, as it concluded 59-31.
Heat Results
Heat 01: Nilsson, Doyle, Jonsson, Barker 4-2; 4-2; 59.4
Heat 02: Auty, Birks, Ellis, Lambert 3-3; 7-5 60.1
Heat 03: Lawson, Bech, Walasek, Pedersen 5-1; 12-6 60.7
Heat 04: Kennett, Birks, Lambert, Wozniak 5-1; 17-7 61.3
Heat 05: Nilsson, Ellis, Auty, BARKER 5-1; 22-8 59.4
Heat 06: Kennett, Bech, Doyle, Pedersen 5-1; 27-9 59.8
Heat 07: Jonsson, Lawson, Wozniak, Walasek (R) 5-1; 32-10 60.0
Heat 08: Kennett, Auty, Barker, Birks 3-3; 35-13 60.1
Heat 09: Nilsson, Wozniak, Ellis, Lambert 4-2; 39-15 60.5
Heat 10: Bech, Doyle, Barker, Lawson 3-3; 42-18 60.1
Heat 11: Pedersen, Jonsson, Nilsson, Walasek 3-3; 45-21 60.3
Heat 12: Auty, Birks, Ellis, Lambert 3-3; 48-24 61.4
Heat 13: Jonsson, Doyle, Lawson, Pedersen 4-2; 52-26 59.4
Heat 14: Bech, Kennett, Wozniak, Walasek 5-1; 57-27 60.8
Heat 15: Doyle, Jonsson, Barker, Kennett 2-4; 59-31 59.7
Updates Courtesy of @lakesidelive
https://www.lakesidehammers.co/hammers-silence-lions-roar/
