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Elite League A fixture : Monday 30th June 2008 @ 8pm
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The Hammers demolished Elite League rivals Coventry, who went into the meeting without British Grand Prix crash victim Chris Harris and lost Billy Janniro to injury in the opening race.
The home side were in no mood for sympathy and ripped into the Bees in this live televised encounter, opening with three consecutive maximum heat advantages in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Adam Shields' first maximum and Andreas Jonsson's one of the paid variety were just some of the Hammers' highlights and the duo rounded the night off in style. Missing the start in the final race, Shields passed Schlein on the third corner with a powerful drive leaving AJ to pick up the chase. The Swede produced a fantastic cut-back entering the final lap to dive up the inside of Schlein and ensure the Hammers finished with a 5-1.
Bees boss Peter Oakes had to make full use of his limited resources and juggled the reserve pairing of Stanislaw Burza and Hammers asset Andreas Messing around to cover all of his team's outings. Messing produced a superb ride in heat four to ride a controlled line to hold off the returning Joonas Kylmakorpi after Jonas Davidsson had taken a tumble.
Despite the early Coventry mishaps, the racing - particularly in the second half of the meeting - was competitive, especially since the Bees were often quicker from the start but less so around the second corner. No doubt Hammers fans were warmed by the return to form of Lubos Tomicek, who celebrated his national side's qualification for the World Cup finals by racking up a paid ten score.
Ultimately it was Leigh Lanham who earned the rider of the night plaudits but in truth any of his compatriots could have taken the honour, such was their determination in front of the cameras and pride in wearing the special body colours of the Children with Leukaemia charity.
 Related Link: Hammers back in the top four with televised victory : Match Statistics
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