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Post by Administrator on Apr 20, 2009 6:14:30 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Wednesday 15th April 2009
HAMMERS SET FOR A BUSY TIME
The Lakeside Hammers Speedway team have a busy few days ahead of them as they are due to race three Sky Sports Elite League matches over a period of just three days. On Thursday, 16th April they travel down to Swindon, who are considered by many to be the favourites to win the League this season. The next match is at their Arena-Essex Raceway on the Friday (17th) when they take on the Eastbourne Eagles and then, on the Saturday, they travel down to Sussex for the return match against the Eagles. The Hammers will go into these three meetings without Finnish rider Joonas Kylmakorpi, who is still recovering from surgery to the elbow he broke at Peterborough at the beginning of this month. The Club have been attempting to secure the services of another rider to cover for Kylmakorpi during his absence but it is likely that they will need to cover the Finn’s rides in these matches by utilising the ‘Rider Replacement’ facility. They will also need to make match by match changes at reserve due to the unavailability of their doubling up riders. It is expected that Robert Mear will ride in the Swindon match but he has to ride for his Premier League Club, Rye House, on both Friday and Saturday. Phil Morris will also miss the trip to Eastbourne on Saturday as his Premier League club, Stoke, have a home match on that day, although he should be able to take his place in the Hammers side for Friday’s home match. After Saturday’s match at Eastbourne the team then have a short break as they will not be racing in this Country again until Friday 1st May. That is with the exception of Robert Mear, who will be racing in the British U-21 Final, which is due to be staged at the Hammers Arena-Essex Raceway on Friday 24th April. Jon Cook the Hammers Co-promoter and Team Manager has stated: “We have a busy few days ahead of us and all three matches are going to be quite difficult. Swindon are virtually unbeatable around their big Abbey Stadium track whilst I believe that Eastbourne will put in a far stronger performance against us than they did last month when we knocked them out of the Knockout Cup. The priority will be to get the maximum three League points from the home match against the Eagles and to keep it as close as possible on our travels in the hope that we are able to pick up the odd additional League point. We remain positive and a win in either of these away matches is not out of the question but the lads will all have to be on-form. "We need to consolidate our present position up at the top of the table. Going into these matches without JK (Joonas Kylmakorpi) is a blow for us as using the ‘Rider Replacement’ facility has not really helped us since his injury. I am still looking into the possibility of drafting in a temporary replacement for JK until he recovers but that has not proved to have been easy. However, I won’t give up but in the meantime the remaining lads will have to cover for him.” Friday’s match against Eastbourne at the Arena-Essex Raceway gets underway at the usual start time of 8pm with the parade commencing at 7.50pm.
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Post by Administrator on Apr 20, 2009 6:19:36 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Friday 17th April 2009 HAMMERS BEATEN BY THE WEATHER
Tonight’s Sky Sports Elite League Speedway meeting between the Lakeside Hammers and the Eastbourne Eagles due to take place at the Hammers Arena-Essex Raceway has been postponed due to the persistent rain of the last 24 hours and the forecast for further rain from late afternoon onwards. The provisional restaging date for this match is Friday 29th May. Following changes to the Fixture List since the allocation of a live Sky meeting against Coventry on Monday 18th May a full updated Fixture List will be released next Monday, when news on the team front with regards to the Club’s search for a short term replacement for Joonas Kylmakorpi is also expected.
For more information contact: Alan Sargent. General Manager 07703 491586 Jon Cook. Co-Promoter 07711 765726 Stuart Douglas. Co-Promoter 07785 390524
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Post by Administrator on Apr 20, 2009 15:10:35 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Monday 20th April 2009
SKY DELIGHT AS RIDER SEARCH CONTINUES
Whilst the spotlight rightly falls on individual action at the Arena-Essex Raceway this coming Friday with the Club having the privilege of staging the Under 21 British Championship for the second year running, all at the Essex based Club are delighted to have been granted two live Sky Sports matches over the coming couple of months.
This means a change to the published home fixtures for May and also a reshuffle of other fixtures during the month. Details for home May fixtures are as follows: -
Friday 1st Wolves
Friday 8th Now Eastbourne
Friday 15th Belle Vue* This meeting is likely to move back to later in the season.
Monday 18th Coventry - Live on Sky Sports
Friday 22nd Swindon
Friday 29th Reserved
The Hammers Co-Promoter, Jon Cook, commented on these changes stating: "May looks like being the toughest month of the season and a great one for the fans to enjoy with all of the current form teams visiting. We have been able to bring forward the re-arranged Eastbourne date, with the help of the Eagles, to a night when all riders are available and, provided the sun shines, it should be a bumper month at the turnstiles too. We have had an extremely encouraging start to the year with crowds up over 15% on last year, now averaging over 1300, and, of course, the incredible support of our Season Ticket holders where sales pushed over the 250 mark for the first time in our history. We now have to get back to winning ways once this fortnight break concludes to make the most of the varied promotional efforts that are kicking in during May. Obviously having Sky here on the 18th is a fantastic opportunity to reach out to even more people".
Commenting on team matters Cook revealed that the Club had agreed terms with a short term replacement for the injured Joonas Kylmakorpi but were awaiting start permission to determine whether the change could be made within the 28 day time period required to allow the flying Finn to then return to the team. Joonas, having had a successful operation on his broken elbow, is due for an all-clear date to be decided when visiting his specialist on April 27th.
With Lakeside Hammers asset, Jerran Hart, having been unexpectedly eliminated from the Under 21 Championship last week, Hammers fans will join with their arch rivals from Rye House in supporting double up rider Robert Mear this Friday.
Cook stated: "Robert had been absolutely mustard in his efforts for us this year, as have Phil (Morris) and Chris (Mills), and I think he has a really good shout at the Championship this coming Friday. He will certainly be the best supported rider on the night".
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Post by Administrator on Apr 21, 2009 15:51:36 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Tuesday 21st April 2009 HAMMERS TO MAKE A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT The Lakeside Hammers Elite League Speedway Club will be making an important announcement tomorrow (Wednesday) at 1pm. This announcement will not relate to team matters but is likely to result in a great deal of interest not only from the Hammers supporters but also from Speedway supporters in general. A full Press Release will be issued at 1pm on Wednesday 22nd April.
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Post by Administrator on Apr 29, 2009 16:43:26 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Wednesday 29th April 2009 POLE TO RETURN TO THE HAMMERS[/color]
The Lakeside Hammers Speedway Club have announced that Polish rider Tomasz Jedrzejak will be returning to the Hammers side to deputise for the injured Joonas Kylmakorpi for the month of May.
Jedrzejak was an extremely popular and effective member of the side in the final months of the 2008 season and, after protracted negotiations due to the riders’ racing commitments back in his home Country and on the continent, he will now be free to undertake the Hammers fixtures next month. He will make his debut next Thursday, 7th May, at Coventry with his home debut 24 hours later in the re-arranged local derby against Eastbourne at the Arena-Essex Raceway. The Hammers have made this change after Kylmakorpi had a successful visit to his specialist on Monday, with his broken elbow healing well, but still counting him out of action until later in May.
The Hammers Team Manager Jon Cook commented on this news by saying: "We are delighted that Tomasz has been able to answer our cry for help and he is coming over at the earliest date possible, although, of course, I wish it was in time for Friday's big match with Wolves. He was a firm favourite of the fans last season and will fit into the team very well. My thanks also go to his Polish club, Wroclaw, and Chris Morton of Belle Vue for their help in this matter.”
He continued: “We have looked at all options open to us since JK's crash and this was the only one that saw a like for like swap in scoring, or even better of course. As far as Joonas is concerned he rightly wants to wait until he is one hundred percent fit and although that may be within the minimum of 28 days that Tomasz will be in our line up he was totally understanding of the fact that we could not operate with only six riders for much longer, even if it means him missing some of our fixtures, when he is fit."
The Hammers will be resorting to the ‘Rider Replacement’ facility one more time on Friday for the clash with new title favourites Wolverhampton and will use the experienced Phil Morris as the choice of double up rider. The Club have also been boosted by Kauko Nieminen's decision to forego practise for the following day’s Speedway World Cup round in Latvia, where he captains his country, Finland, in order to be able to race for the Hammers on Friday.
Lakeside Hammers Team for Friday: 1. Adam Shields, 2. Jonas Davidsson, 3. Lee Richardson, 4. Rider Replacement, 5. Kauko Nieminen, 6. Phil Morris, 7. Stuart Robson.
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Post by Administrator on May 2, 2009 15:34:37 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Saturday 2nd May 2009
HAMMERS BOSSES HAPPY
Lakeside Hammers Co-Promoter, Stuart Douglas, expressed delight at the end of a thrilling encounter with Wolverhampton at the Arena-Essex Raceway on Friday evening, which saw The Hammers run out victors 47-42. Club owner Douglas stated after the match: "I'm very pleased with the victory and the two League points, but I am absolutely full of admiration for both teams who showed total commitment in their desire to win. Two very good sides slugged it out, and there were some fantastic displays of riding right up and down each team. It's not good for my nerves, but this is the kind of Speedway I want to see every week. I think Wolves were maybe stung by their previous night's result at Ipswich where they suffered a big loss and they arrived highly focussed on winning. Our lads could sense this and stepped up to the plate when it mattered." That fight was typified by Hammers Finnish rider, Kauko Nieminen, who was the only rider to lower the colours of Wolves Swedish GP star, Freddie Lindgren. "This victory was really important for the team, which is why I stayed here in the UK rather than travel to Latvia to join up with the Finnish World Cup team. I'm very happy to be part of this team - the spirit in the pits is fantastic," said Nieminen. "When Adam (Shields) came in with his bike bent after his crash with Peter Karlsson, the rest of the lads jumped into action getting it ready to go straight back out to secure the points. It was a great team effort." Nieminen joins up with the Finland team on Saturday for the World Cup qualifier in Latvia. The Hammers Team Manager and Co-Promoter, Jon Cook, was also pleased to get the win after what was a very busy build up to the match. He commented: “Wolves are now one of the favourites to take the League title this year so I was pleased to get the win although it would have been nice to have got the additional League point by winning by seven points but Freddie (Lindgren) and PK (Peter Karlsson) are a formidable pairing and are going to pick up a lot of maximum heat advantages when they come out in heats 13 and 15.” Cook continued: “I would like to thank all of our supporters, and those who made the journey down from Wolverhampton, for their perseverance as many had difficult journeys to our Raceway. There were several accidents on the roads in the area, which cause heavy congestion, so we decided to delay the start by half an hour. By doing so everyone was able to get in by the first heat and the crowd numbers indicated that the majority of the fans did not give up on the journey. I think most of them will think their travel difficulties were worth it as we all witnessed a very competitive close match with some great racing.” The Lakeside Hammers next home match will be against the Eastbourne Eagles in another vital League fixture. It will take place at the Arena-Essex Raceway on Friday 8th May with the opening race scheduled to start at 8pm.
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Post by Administrator on May 7, 2009 11:24:52 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Wednesday 6th May 2009
HAMMERS ROCKED BY JEDRZEJAK BLOW
The Lakeside Hammers preparations for this Friday’s home local derby match with rivals Eastbourne in the Sky Sports Elite League have suffered a blow with the news that Polish star Tomasz Jedrzejak will not be in their line up for this week’s action.
The Hammers, who also race away at Coventry on Thursday, expected the popular Pole to make his season’s debut this week as a replacement for the injured Joonas Kylmakorpi but the Club will now have to revert to using a facility for the Finn as Jedrzejak was unable to travel to England after complaining of a sickness bug that has seen his form over the last fortnight drop alarmingly, culminating in a failure to score for his Swedish club on Tuesday night.
Team Manager Jon Cook commented on this news by saying: "Tomasz is a super bloke and hopefully he will be back to his best soon. I appreciate his honesty in this matter and we will just have to plug on for the time being until Joonas is back. Obviously this is a far from perfect situation to be in but Tomasz has a great regard for his clubs and did not want to come over when not at his best, especially at a time when he has to concentrate his efforts on getting back to full fitness and form to help Wroclaw, his Polish team and main employers, get over their poor start to the year."
Any further change of line up has to be for a minimum of 28 days from Friday 8th but the Essex based Club fully expect Kylmakorpi's return to be well within that time frame.
Popular young Brit, Robert Mear, will return to the side at reserve for both matches this week, with Lee Richardson and Kauko Nieminen swapping riding numbers for the away meeting at Coventry.
Hammers team at Coventry on Thursday: 1. Adam Shields, 2. Jonas Davidsson, 3. Kauko Nieminen, 4. R/R, 5. Lee Richardson, 6. Robert Mear, 7. Stuart Robson.
Hammers team at home to Eastbourne on Friday: 1. Adam Shields, 2. Jonas Davidsson, 3. Lee Richardson 4. R/R, 5. Kauko Nieminen, 6. Robert Mear, 7. Stuart Robson.
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Post by Administrator on May 12, 2009 16:20:04 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Tuesday 12th May 2009
HAMMERS PREPARE FOR BIG NIGHT
The Lakeside Hammers have a big date with Coventry Bees next Monday, 18th May at 7.30pm at their Arena-Essex Raceway. The match, which is going to be shown live on Sky Sports, is expected to be in front of a large crowd at the Essex track due to two special initiatives being arranged by the Hammers promotion. In last Friday’s Hammers programme for the fixture against Eastbourne there was a voucher entitling a paying adult to bring a friend to the Coventry match for just £5 compared to the usual adult admission charge of £15. These vouchers will also appear in several of the Essex local papers covering the Barking, Basildon, Dagenham, Ilford, Newham, Romford, Thurrock and Southend areas. In a separate initiative the Club will also be re-introducing the ‘999 Special’. This scheme, which was run last season at a live Sky Sports match, will throw open the doors for Free Admission to the often unsung heroes that look after the community. All personnel from the emergency services or armed forces will be granted free entry to the meeting for themselves and their immediate family on production of their service ID card. Hammers Co Promoter, Stuart Douglas, was thrilled to make this gesture stating: "Speedway is very much a community sport, and this is our small way of showing our appreciation to those who perform these vital, and often very difficult, duties in an effort to make all our lives and communities safer and more pleasant. We're looking forward to seeing as many fire fighters, police, ambulance, coast guard, and armed forces that can make it down to the Raceway. We can guarantee they won't be disappointed by the fantastic Speedway action they will see on the night." Supporters of both the Hammers and the Bees are asked to turn up next Monday as early as possible to ensure they gain their favourite viewing places. The gates will open at 5.30pm with the meeting due to start at 7.30pm. The Lakeside Hammers go into this meeting hopeful of fielding their full seven riders as Joonas Kylmakorpi is expected to return to the side following his broken elbow. Coventry have also been struck by injuries recently and, at this stage, they still have to name their side although broken leg victims Ben Barker and Oliver Allen are not expected to be included but Australian Rory Schlein should have recovered from his recent injuries. It is likely to be a fiercely competitive match with the Hammers looking to revenge their Craven Shield Final defeat against the Bees at the end of last season.
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Post by Administrator on May 19, 2009 16:35:10 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Tuesday 19th May 2009
HAMMERS SWINDON SHOWDOWN
The Lakeside Hammers will take on the team club owner Stuart Douglas has tagged 'Champions Elect' this Friday at the Arena-Essex Raceway in what is without doubt the biggest meeting of the season so far for the Essex based Club.
The Swindon Robins were most pundits choice for Champions and although Wolverhampton are currently making all the running at the head of the table the Hammers Co Promoter feels the Championship is there is be wrestled away from the Robins.
Douglas commented on the build-up to this match saying: "Swindon are a real class act and it’s clear to the rest of the League that if they finish in the top two it will be difficult to match them over two legs. We have Championship aspirations of our own, and with Wolves currently leading the way, if we can also break into the top two and relegate Robins to a lower finishing position then the Play offs will be within our grasp. To do that a win on Friday is imperative."
The meeting is the fourth in a row for the Hammers against top of the table opposition at a time when the team are without Joonas Kylmakorpi and with wins already on the board against Wolves, Eastbourne and Coventry hopes are high of a similar result against the team spearheaded by the Sport’s No1 League rider Leigh Adams.
To add to the drama this will be the first return to the Raceway for the Robins since they were thrashed in last years Play Off semi final amid accusations of a doctored track as well as behind the scenes fallouts with regards to both team’s line up’s.
Hammers Team Manager Jon Cook states: "Our semi final victory last year will live long in the memory of Hammers fans but Swindon visited us in the regular season and made us look pretty stupid as we posted our only League home defeat of the year. We certainly don't want that to happen again. We are not at full strength on track but the boys are totally committed to the cause and we know it’s going to be a real hard night’s racing. Over the years Swindon have turned themselves into probably one of the biggest clubs, if not the biggest, in Elite Speedway and this is always one of the outstanding fixtures of our season. Roll on Friday".
The action gets underway at the Arena-Essex Raceway at 8pm this Friday, 22nd May. The gates open at 5.30pm with the parade of riders scheduled for 7.50pm. Normal admission prices apply of £15 for adults, £11 for concessions, £10 for unemployed, £3 for children aged 6 to 15 with children under 6 admitted free if accompanied by a paying adult. A Matchday programme will be available priced at £2.50.
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Post by Administrator on May 27, 2009 16:17:27 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Wednesday 27th May 2009
LAKESIDE PROMOTERS CALL FOR OVERHAUL OF BRITISH SPEEDWAY
Lakeside Speedway Promoters Stuart Douglas and Jon Cook have called for a complete overhaul in the way Speedway is run plus an independent inquiry into the controversy surrounding allegations of race fixing during Poole’s visit to Swindon earlier this month.
The pair have issued a joint statement in an attempt to save the Sport from all the infighting that is in danger of undoing much of the stability winter changes have brought to the Elite League.
Their Statement reads as follows:-
“Over the last three years we have put considerable efforts into re establishing our Speedway for the enjoyment of our fans and to become a solid member of both the Elite League and the British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA). It has become obvious during that time that the continued move towards total self governance by the BSPA through the continued weakening of the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) is not in the best interests of the Sport and presents an opportunity for individual promoters to stretch the rule book to the extreme to gain advantage.
“The time has come to return back to the old values of being overseen by an independent body and for rule making to be taken out of the hands of the promoters, who will naturally vote for what they want, as opposed to what is often best for the Sport.
“We share the concerns of many supporters with what is alleged to have gone on at Swindon when Poole visited and a public wall of silence from the SCB and BSPA does nothing but fan the flames. For that reason we have contacted the SCB and requested an independent inquiry in to the match, so the matter can be put to rest, such is the unprecedented furore surrounding it.
“Whether Poole are exonerated of blame, averages on both sides are disallowed or other action taken, an inquiry has to address this matter with urgency.
“We make public our actions with a heavy heart but to stay silent would suggest we do not care about the situation and the fans of Speedway. Both our own supporters, and those in opposition, deserve clarity as without them we have no Sport and Speedway cannot retain its integrity until the stigma of allegations of race fixing are addressed.”
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Post by Administrator on Jun 1, 2009 6:45:17 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Sunday 31st May 2009 INJURY JINX HITS THE HAMMERS AGAIN
No sooner had the Lakeside Hammers Speedway side returned to a seven man team than the injury jinx has hit again. Hard on the heals of losing Stuart Robson and Robert Mear on Thursday at the away Sky Sports Elite League fixture at Swindon , Sunday saw new No.1, Lee Richardson, sustain a knee injury whilst racing in Poland. Although the full state of the injury to Richardson is not yet known he will not race for the Hammers in their Sky Sports Elite League match at Wolverhampton on Monday. His place will be taken by Edward Kennett of Coventry. Stuart Robson made a successful return to action over the weekend and will ride against the Wolves at No.7 whilst Phil Morris comes in for Robert Mear, who is expected to be on the sidelines for at least a fortnight.
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Post by Administrator on Jun 7, 2009 17:02:11 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Sunday 7th June 2009
HAMMERS BOSS TARGETS 'MUST WIN' MEETING
Stuart Douglas, owner of The Lakeside Hammers Speedway Club, has upped the ante ahead of his team's Elite League clash with Belle Vue in Manchester on Monday. "This fixture has taken on increased significance," said Douglas. "There are points up for grabs everywhere under the new scoring system this season, and we have let far too many of them slip through our fingers. Those teams that have had the opportunity to strengthen up, have done so, and Belle Vue will have the same opportunity after this meeting. The teams that have done pretty well and have already hit the 42 point limit, including ourselves, don't get that same facility, and so are forced to fight on, as we are. Rightly or wrongly, those are the rules by which we abide. This may well be our last chance to pull off a victory at Belle Vue against the Aces this season, so for that reason we absolutely must target the win". Douglas also feels that the Aces inspired use of 'wonderkid' guest, Darcy Ward, a King’s Lynn rider, will make the home team stronger. He explained: "Young Ward is undoubtedly a prodigious talent, but I would like to ensure that the greater experience of our middle order riders, Jonas Davidsson, Joonas Kylmakorpi and Kauko Nieminen, do their utmost to nullify that talent". The Hammers themselves are boosted by the return to form of their recently injured Finn, Joonas Kylmakorpi. The Hammers owner concluded saying: "JK on his day can be very impressive around the Belle Vue track. If he can hit his full potential, he could be a key figure in the meeting for us. Either way, the lads will be well aware of the crucial nature of this fixture if we are not to lose sight of the play off places."
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Post by Administrator on Jun 10, 2009 13:09:44 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Wednesday 10th June 2009 HAMMERS WELCOME PLAY OFF CHANGE
The Lakeside Hammers have welcomed the decision to change the Play Off system from 6 to 4 teams following a majority vote involving all nine Elite League Clubs. Co promoter Jon Cook stated: "We will have to work considerably harder now as a team to make the top four but we voted with Speedway's best interests in mind, rather than that of our team. A six team Play Off system in a League of only nine was clearly too large an amount of fixtures to race late in the season and the idea that a team could come from 5th or 6th to win the title totally undermines the whole 32 match League season before it. "Personally I don't like Play Offs, or the Americanisation of Sport that they represent, but at least now we have a system whereby the top minority of the Elite have a chance of the title whereas previously two thirds of the League were in with a chance. That was crazy and thankfully commonsense has prevailed, albeit at a rather embarrassingly late stage." The Hammers will, however, be concentrating on the Cup this week with their semi final tie against Swindon. The away leg down at their Abbey Stadium takes place tomorrow, Thursday 11th June, with the return leg at the Hammers home Arena-Essex Raceway the following evening (Friday 12th June). The two tracks are considerable different in size so the Hammers riders will be looking to keep the scores as close as possible down in Wiltshire to give them the opportunity to claiming the win on aggregate in front of their own loyal supporters on the Friday. The Hammers are expected to be at full strength for both matches but the Swindon Robins appear to have a few problems. Their No.1 Leigh Adams will not be available for the second leg due to GP practice and their new signing, Matej Zagar is likely to miss their home leg due to a re-arranged Polish league fixture on the same night. Coventry’s Edward Kennett will replace Adams on Friday but the Robins will need to bring in a Premier League rider whose average is 6 points or below to cover for Zagar on Thursday. The two legs will be made even more interesting due to former long serving Hammer, Paul Hurry, making his debut for the Robins in these fixtures following his departure from Poole. The action on Friday at the Arena-Essex Raceway will get underway at the usual time of 8pm for the first race.
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Post by Administrator on Jun 14, 2009 20:16:38 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Sunday 14th June 2009 HAMMERS FIXTURES UPDATE
The Lakeside Hammers Speedway Club have had to undertake a huge change to the fixture list for the first part of July partly due to the success, and expected success, of their riders.
The first three weeks of July make it impossible for the Club to run Elite League Speedway on a Friday as on Saturday 4th the GP Challenge Semi Finals, which already include Hammers riders Kauko Nieminen and Joonas Kylmakorpi (as reserve) takes place and the riders are required to attend the practice. In addition Lee Richardson and Jonas Davidsson have still to ride in their qualification round and it is hoped that they also will reach the semi final stages. Friday 10th is the day before the first Speedway World Cup Round and riders, including Davidsson, are required to be in Denmark, and the following Friday 17th, is the day between the World Cup Race Off and the actual Final. The Club have, therefore, taken the decision to move their fixture list rather than run without some of their star riders or to race on an alternative race day. The Club has, however, been aided in this by their geographical position, which has granted them their second Sky Monday meeting on July 20th so that Sky's broadcast team can come straight to the Arena-Essex Raceway from the World Cup Final. Stuart Douglas and Jon Cook, the Hammers Co-Promoters, have also taken into consideration the need to keep the team on the boil and have listened to many of their fans who have voiced concerns about the London Riders Championship taking place in the World Cup week as holidays had been booked for that week by many Speedway supporters.
Consequently there will no home meeting now on 3rd July, but as an added bonus for the fans they will race the Rye House Rockets from the Premier League at their Arena-Essex Raceway in an extra meeting on July 10th. The Rockets side will include an Elite League guest and The Hammers are expected to include three from Richardson, Nieminen, Kylmakorpi and Adam Shields as well as Stuart Robson, Phil Morris, Chris Mills and Jamie Courtney, who has remained a close friend of the Club after working for them for much of last season as a mechanic. With a Sky Match against Poole on the 20th July the Club have decided to move the London Riders Championship to the end of the season when they can gather a better field and welcome those supporters and former riders, promoters, dignitaries etc who could not make the July date. The date for this Championship with that of the Knockout Cup Final will be confirmed once the hammers opposition in the Final are known. It is hoped that these plans meet with approval of their fans as they did not wish to run on days other than their usual Friday’s on any more occasions that is absolutely necessary. Two Monday’s will have been used for Sky live matches and they have their big Saturday clash with same race day track, Coventry, on 22nd August and the visit of Wolverhampton on Wednesday 24th June. The Wolves match was arranged as the Club decided to move away from the Friday 17th June clash with Belle Vue in answer to the many requests they had received from fans not to race the day before the British Grand Prix, which takes place in Cardiff as many of them travel overnight and take in Premier League action on the way to Wales.
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Post by Administrator on Jun 22, 2009 10:12:46 GMT
PRESS RELEASE Monday 22nd June 2009
HAMMERS HIT THE HIGH SEAS
This Wednesday, 24th June, sees the Lakeside Hammers looking to continue their march up the Sky Sports Elite League in a vital crunch match against the in-form Wolverhampton Wolves. The calibre of racing on the night will reflect the importance of the meeting, and it will take place against the backdrop of an impressive sponsorship deal struck with the innovative and forward thinking Royal Navy. The Hammers team will take to the track against Wolves sporting a one off Royal Navy race jacket design, whilst one whole bend of the Arena-Essex Raceway will be adorned with the Royal Navy branding. Hammers co-promoter, Jon Cook, expressed his delight at the new partnership. "For this Club to be associated with an organisation as prestigious as the Royal Navy is a feather in the cap for us, and for Speedway as a whole, as it shows our Sport can be used effectively as an alternative advertising force in these belt tightening times." said Cook. "We are very proud of our armed forces here at the Hammers, and we feel privileged to have been chosen for this new initiative." Commander Steve Pearson, the officer behind the deal, was equally ebullient. "The UK is an island with over 10,500 miles of coastline, and 600 official ports. We are totally dependent on the sea for trade and our survival. The Royal Navy ensures the high seas remain safe across the globe, whilst, as seaborne soldiers, The Royal Marines are widely acknowledged as some of the most highly trained and effective soldiers in the world," said Commander Pearson. "Speedway provides a new way for us to communicate this message to the people we want to talk to, and I'm looking forward to the meeting very much." The Hammers will track their usual line-up with Phil Morris continuing to take the role of the doubling-up rider, whilst Robert Mear recovers from injury. Joonas Kylmakorpi, following his dash across Europe after last Friday’s emphatic win over Peterborough, will move to No.5 in the riding order whilst his fellow Finn, Kauko Nieminen, will ride in the No.2 position. The Wolves, who are currently second in the League table, will be led by Swedish duo of Peter Karlsson and Fredrik Lindgren. Karlsson is somewhat of an expert around the Hammers Raceway, whilst Lindgren is competing in this year’s Grand Prix Series. They will be joined by Tai Woffinden, who recently won his World U-21 semi final and, therefore, will ride in the final later this season. Their top five is completed with the current Polish champion, Adam Skornicki, who is a former Hammers rider and Nicolai Klindt, another Swede. At reserve Australian Ty Proctor will be joined by Jesper Kristiansen a new recruit to the Wolverhampton squad having recently been appointed their official No.8 in place of the injured Jo Haines. Kristiansen also rides alongside Hammers Welshman Phil Morris in the Premier League for the Stoke Potters. The action gets underway at the Hammers Arena-Essex\Raceway on Wednesday at the earlier time of 7.30pm, in what will be a vital match for both sides.
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