Lakeside Hammers
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Lakeside Hammers | |
Founded | 1984 |
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Track Address | Arena Essex Raceway A1306 Arterial Road Purfleet |
Country | England |
Track Size | 252 metres |
Club Colours | Blue, Red and White |
Honours | Premier League Champions 1991 Premier League 4TT Champions 1991 Premier League KO Cup Winners 1991[1] |
League | Elite League |
2006 | 11th - Elite League |
Website | Official site |
The Lakeside Hammers are a speedway team who currently race in the British Speedway Elite League. They were founded by promoter Wally Mawdsley and stock car promoter Chick Woodroffe. The team were called the Hammers after the West Ham Hammers team that closed twelve years earlier.
From foundation in 1984 until January 2007 the club was known the Arena-Essex Hammers but new promotor Stuart Douglas renamed them to the Lakeside Hammers at Arena-Essex.
The Arena Essex Raceway was built in 1978 to stage banger racing. [2]
The speedway track itself was unusual because of the fact 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 from 1984 until 1990. In 1991 Arena Essex won the British League Division 2 Championship and were promoted to Division 1. They remained in the top flight until 1996, when a promotion change meant the Hammers had to drop to the Conference League. From 1997 to 2003 Arena Essex competed in the Premier League, before moving up into the Sky Sports Elite League, the top league of British Speedway.
Where & when to watch the Hammers
The Hammers race in the Elite League, usually ride on Friday night at 8pm. The Arena Essex Raceway is located next to the Lakeside Shopping Centre on the A1306 in Essex. See the Arena Essex Speedway Website for full information.
[edit] 2007 Team
Joonas Kylmakorpi
Krzysztof Kasprzak
Adam Shields
Leigh Lanham
Paul Hurry (Captain)
Henning Bager
Christian Hefenbrock
Chris Neath
[edit] External links
- Lakeside Hammers Speedway Website
- British Speedway Promoters Association
- Speedway Star Magazine published by Pinegen Limited
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bamford, R.(2004). Speedway Yearbook 2004. ISBN 0-7524-2955-8
- ^ The Hammers
Speedway Elite League | |
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Teams: Belle Vue Aces | Coventry Bees | Eastbourne Eagles | Ipswich Witches | Lakeside Hammers | Oxford Cheetahs | Peterborough Panthers | Poole Pirates | Reading Bulldogs | Swindon Robins | Wolverhampton Wolves | |
Leagues: Elite League | Premier League | Conference League | |
Related articles: Speedway | Speedway Grand Prix | Speedway World Cup | Speedway in the United Kingdom | |