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Weather thwarts Hammers' late bid for point

Belle Vue Aces 47, Lakeside Hammers 37

Match abandoned after 14 heats – result stands

FOR the second time in six days rain meant Hammers could only compete in 14 of the 15 scheduled heats on their travels, but unlike last week’s heavy defeat against Poole there was still mileage in Monday’s fixture when the referee called a halt.

Hammers welcomed backLee Richardson after illness and he was straight into the action, winning heat one but despite a good start from Kauko Nieminen he slipped back to last and honours were shared, as was heat two.

Aces edged ahead in this third thanks to a maximum from Patrick Hougaard and Leigh Lanham but heat wins in four and five from Adam Shields and Richardson kept Hammers in touch.

Hans Andersen edged Aces further ahead before another maximum, this time from Josh Grajczonek and Peter Karlsson gave aces a ten point lead after seven races.

Hammers decided against using the black and white helmet colour in the next race as Nieminen had failed to score and Stuart Robson had only picked up a single point.

Manager Jon Cook preferred to wait until the next race when Adam Shields would have been nominated. However, Nieminen sped into the lead and although Ulrich  Ostergaard managed to hold off Robbo the Hammers gained a 4-2 heat advantage reducing their deficit to eight points and, therefore, not allowing the tactical ride from Shields in the next heat.

Shields and Paul Hurry then combined for a Hammers 5-1 in heat nine to further reduce their deficit to just three points. By this time the rain was beginning to affect the track even more and it was disappointing to see the Davidsson brothers on the wrong end of their third 5-1 of the evening in heat 10. That put the Aces lead back up to eight points but that reduced down to 6 points following Nieminen claiming his second win of the night in heat 11.

Cook decided to replace Daniel Davidsson with Robson in heat 12 and this paid off as he gained the win but Paul Hurry was kept at the back. By now the only racing line was right up against the fence. With 12 heats completed everyone knew that there would be a result and the referee decided that the conditions were good enough for the riders for heat 13 to come out. Andersen got round the outside of Richardson to get the win and with Shields tailed off at the back the resultant 4-2 took the Aces lead up to eight points with two races to go. Andersen's winning time was seven seconds off the track record and just under four seconds slower than the opening heat.

Hougaard won heat 14 ahead of Robson but Jonas Davidsson was tailed off at the back behind Grajczonek. That home 4-2 meant that the Hammers needed a 5-1 in the final heat to claim one League point. However, the track was now very wet and riders were only able to race right up against the fence. Following discussions with Hougaard, the winner of heat 14, and the two captains it was agreed that the conditions were too dangerous to continue and the referee, therefore, abandoned the meeting. The result, however, stands.

Hammers: 1. Lee Richardson 9; 2. Kauko Nieminen 6; 3. Daniel Davidsson 1; 4.Jonas Davidsson 2; 5. Adam Shields 8; 6. Paul Hurry 4+1; 7.Stuart Robson 7+1.

Heat-by-heat:

Date published: 19/07/2010 23:15:00

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