Lakeside Hammers
Lakeside Hammers | |||||||||||||||||||
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Club information | |||||||||||||||||||
Track address | Arena Essex Raceway A1306 Arterial Road Purfleet | ||||||||||||||||||
Country | England | ||||||||||||||||||
Founded | 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||
Team manager | Kelvin Tatum | ||||||||||||||||||
Team captain | Ben Morley | ||||||||||||||||||
League | National League | ||||||||||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
Club facts | |||||||||||||||||||
Colours | Blue red and white | ||||||||||||||||||
Track size | 252 metres (276 yd) | ||||||||||||||||||
Track record time | 56.8 seconds | ||||||||||||||||||
Track record date | 30 May 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
Track record holder | Andreas Jonsson | ||||||||||||||||||
Current team | |||||||||||||||||||
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Major team honours | |||||||||||||||||||
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The Lakeside Hammers are a speedway team who race in the British National League. They were founded (as the Arena-Essex Hammers) by promoter Wally Mawdsley and stock car promoter Chick Woodroffe. The team were nicknamed the Hammers after the West Ham Hammers, a speedway team that closed twelve years earlier.[1]
Brief history
From foundation in 1984 until January 2007, the club was known as the Arena-Essex Hammers but new promotor Stuart Douglas renamed them the 'Lakeside' Hammers at the Arena-Essex Raceway.[2] The Arena Essex Raceway was built in 1978 to stage banger racing.[3]
The speedway track was unusual because it did not have a safety fence as the stock car circuit acted as a run-off area. It was not until 1991 that a safety fence was installed, but the lack of fence encouraged the riders to ride wider lines than they would otherwise have done.
The Hammers competed in the National League (the second league tier) from 1984 until 1990. In 1991 Arena Essex won the British League Division Two Championship and were promoted to the British League. They remained in the top flight until the end of the 1995 season, when a promotion change meant the Hammers had to drop to the Conference League for 1996. From 1997 to 2003, Arena Essex competed in the Premier League, before moving up into the Elite League, the top league of British speedway.
The team manager is Jon Cook (previously of the Eastbourne Eagles). The Promoter Stuart Douglas, known affectionately to Hammers fans as 'Stan', took control of the club in 2006.[4]
In 2008, the club had one of its most successful years to date. The Hammers finished joint top of the Elite League table, but due to race points, were in second place. The Hammers lost three of their top four riders with serious injuries towards the end of the season, but still reached the Craven Shield and Elite League play-off finals.
In 2009, the club won their first piece of silverware since 1991. They defeated the Coventry Bees 108–77 on aggregate in the KO Cup Final.
2016 Team
- Andreas Jonsson
- Lewis Bridger
- Kim Nilsson
- Richard Lawson
- Edward Kennett
- Piotr Swiderski
- Lewis Kerr
- Robert Mear
- Dennis Jonsson
2015 Team
- Andreas Jonsson
- Mikkel Bech Jensen
- Richard Lawson (DU)
- Kim Nilsson
- Edward Kennett (DU)
- Steve Boxall (DU)
- Adam Ellis (DU)
- Ashley Birks (DU)
2014 Team
- Peter Karlsson
- Davey Watt
- Lewis Bridger
- Mikkel Bech Jensen
- Richard Lawson (DU)
- Adam Ellis - Fast Track
- Ben Morley - Fast Track
2013 Team
- Peter Karlsson
- Davey Watt
- Sebastian Ulamek
- Piotr Swiderski
- Lewis Bridger
- Richard Lawson (DU)
- Kevin Doolan(DU)
Also rode:
- Kim Nilsson
- Robert Mear
2012 Team
The team finished in 4th place out of 10, qualifying for the play-offs, making it the 4th time in 5 years.
- Peter Karlsson 8.61
- Davey Watt 8.06
- Jonas Davidsson 5.93
- Kauko Nieminen(DU) 4.90
- Stuart Robson(DU) 5.09
- Robert Mear 4.44
- Kim Nilsson 5.45
- Richie Worrall (DU) 3.00
- Justin Sedgmen (DU) 3.69
Also rode:
- Lee Richardson 8.20
2011 Team
The team finished 4th from 10, making the playoffs, however they were eliminated by Eastbourne in the semi-finals
- Lee Richardson 8.06
- Jonas Davidsson 6.88
- Piotr Swiderski 6.23
- Peter Ljung 5.60
- Kauko Nieminen(DU) 5.07
- Stuart Robson(DU) 5.22
- Robert Mear 4.83
- Kim Nilsson 4.15
- Jerran Hart(No 8)
Also rode:
- Adam Shields
- Tomasz Jedrzejak
- Chris Neath(DU)
- Kevin Doolan(DU)
- Kyle Legualt(DU)
- Luboš Tomíček, Jr.(No 8)
2010 Team
The 2010 team finished in 5th place from 9 teams, narrowly missing out on the Playoffs.
- Lee Richardson 8.67
- Jonas Davidsson 6.51
- Adam Shields 7.39
- Kauko Nieminen 5.35
- Stuart Robson 4.03
- Peter Ljung 5.17
- Paul Hurry 3.91
- Chris Neath (No 8) 3.49
Also rode:
- Krzysztof Kasprzak 8.33
- Daniel Davidsson 4.91
- Jerran Hart (No 8) –
2009 Team
Lakeside finished 3rd out of 9, qualifying for the Playoffs. They lost to Wolverhampton in the Playoff Semi-finals. The team however became K.O Cup Champions by defeating Coventry.
- Lee Richardson 8.56
- Jonas Davidsson 7.97
- Joonas Kylmäkorpi 6.02
- Kauko Nieminen 5.63
- Stuart Robson 4.17
- Phil Morris(DU) 3.56
- Chris Mills(DU) 2.29
- Robert Mear (No 8) 3.23
- Adam Shields 7.79
Also rode:
- Piotr Swiderski 7.82
(DU) Riders doubling-up between Premier and Elite League
2008 Team
The team finished joint top on points with Poole, but lost the Playoff final to an aggregate score of 108 – 75 to the Pirates. They also reached the Final of the Craven Shield, losing to Coventry.
- Andreas Jonsson 9.66
- Adam Shields 8.10
- Tomasz Jedrzejak 6.40
- Jonas Davidsson 6.75
- Leigh Lanham 5.10
- Ricky Kling 4.90
- Krzysztof Jablonski –
- Kauko Nieminen (No.8) 6.56
Also Rode:
- Joonas Kylmäkorpi 5.96
- Chris Mills (as No.8) –
- Luboš Tomíček, Jr. 4.48
2007 Team
The revamped Lakeside Hammers finished 5th from 10 teams (after the closure of Oxford).
- Andreas Jonsson 8.00
- Joonas Kylmäkorpi 6.12
- Krzysztof Kasprzak 8.68
- Adam Shields 7.40
- Leigh Lanham 5.05
- Luboš Tomíček, Jr. 3.37
- Ricky Kling 3.49
- Andreas Messing 3.11
- Chris Mills (No.8) 2.86
Also Rode
- Christian Hefenbrock 4.05
- Paul Hurry 4.00
- Henning Bager 4.07
- Chris Neath –
2006 Team
Arena Essex finished 11th out of 11, placing them bottom of the Elite League for a second consecutive season.
- Henning Bager 5.20
- Paul Hurry 5.35
- Joonas Kylmäkorpi 7.56
- Leigh Lanham 5.92
- Mikael Max 6.33
- Andreas Messing 2.88
- Steve Johnston 5.59
Also Rode
- Andreas Jonsson 7.56
- Mariusz Puszakowski 3.26
- Łukasz Romanek 1.40
- Shaun Tacey (No.8) 3.25
- Brent Werner (No.8) 3.75
2005 Team
The 2005 side finished bottom of the Elite League.
- Mark Loram 7.75
- Adam Skornicki 5.96
- Gary Havelock 5.60
- Leigh Lanham 5.39
- Paul Hurry 4.76
- Sergei Darkin 5.12
- Roman Povazhny 5.08
- Phil Morris (No.8) 4.02
Also Rode
- Tony Rickardsson 9.83
- Josh Larsen 4.00
- Piotr Swist 3.67
2004 Team
Although the team finished 8th from 10 in their first season in the Elite League, they were 14 points above 9th place.
- Mark Loram 9.66
- Roman Povazhny 5.71
- Dean Barker 5.67
- Grzegorz Walasek 5.02
- Paul Hurry 5.13
- Leigh Lanham 5.21
- Josh Larsen 5.10
- Ray Morton (No.8) –
Also Rode
- Ronni Pedersen 3.70
- Kelvin Tatum 5.75
2003 Team
The team finished 7th out of 18 teams. It would be their last at Premier League level.
- Joonas Kylmakorpi 9.06
- Leigh Lanham 9.38
- Kelvin Tatum 7.85
- Henning Bager 5.68
- Jason King 3.96
- Danny King 2.82
- Lee Herne 4.76
Also Rode
- David Ruud 7.41
- Andy Galvin 3.15
References
- ^ Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). Homes of British Speedway. ISBN 0-7524-2210-3
- ^ "Changing Fortunes". BBC. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "The Hammers". Lakeside Hammers.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 27 October 2007.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "New owner for Arena Essex". BBC. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
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