Lakeside Hammers

Lakeside Hammers
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.lakesidehammers.co
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
Rider CMA
United Kingdom Zach Wajtknecht 10.67
United Kingdom Paul Hurry 9.47
United Kingdom Ben Morley 9.09
United Kingdom Alfie Bowtell 6.32
United Kingdom Nick Laurence 3.39
United Kingdom Connor Locke 3.00
United Kingdom Jamie Couzins 3.00
Total 44.94
Major team honours
British League Division Two1991
BL Div Two Four-Team Championship1991
BL Div 2 KO Cup1991
Elite League KO Cup2009

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.

2017 Team

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2016 Team

2015 Team

2014 Team

2013 Team

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2012 Team

The team finished in 4th place out of 10, qualifying for the play-offs, making it the 4th time in 5 years.

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2011 Team

The team finished 4th from 10, making the playoffs, however they were eliminated by Eastbourne in the semi-finals

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2010 Team

The 2010 team finished in 5th place from 9 teams, narrowly missing out on the Playoffs.

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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.

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(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.

Also Rode:

2007 Team

The revamped Lakeside Hammers finished 5th from 10 teams (after the closure of Oxford).

Also Rode

2006 Team

Arena Essex finished 11th out of 11, placing them bottom of the Elite League for a second consecutive season.

Also Rode

2005 Team

The 2005 side finished bottom of the Elite League.

Also Rode

2004 Team

Although the team finished 8th from 10 in their first season in the Elite League, they were 14 points above 9th place.

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2003 Team

The team finished 7th out of 18 teams. It would be their last at Premier League level.

Also Rode

References

  1. ↑ Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). Homes of British Speedway. ISBN 0-7524-2210-3
  2. ↑ "Changing Fortunes". BBC. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
  3. ↑ "The Hammers". Lakeside Hammers.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 27 October 2007.
  4. ↑ "New owner for Arena Essex". BBC. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
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