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Elite League A Fixture : Friday 14th May 2010
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This eagerly awaited clash between the Hammers and the Pirates didn't fail to live up to expectation with some cracking racing, plenty of incident and a home win for the Essex men.
The Lakesiders made it seven Elite League points out of seven with a fairly comprehensive 53-40 win over the Pirates, although the scoreline belies the superiority of the Hammers on the night against the fairly luckless Pirates, who started proceedings minus World Under-1 Champion Darcy Ward and saw their skipper Davey Watt endure a nightmare meeting.
Returning home number one Lee Richardson got his comeback off to a lively start by passing former Hammer Gary Havelock in the opening race behind Chris Holder, giving the Pirates an opening advantage. There was almost of air of expectation in the second race with Daniel Davidsson lining up at the tapes as "double D" has been nigh on unbeatable from the start in recent weeks. The Swede certainly didn't disappoint, jetting from the gate to take the flag.
The Pirates gated in a 5-1 position in heat three before Kauko Nieminen and Jonas Davidsson overhauled Jason Doyle. This was to spark a series of heats in which the Hammers would demonstrate their prowess from the back, often passing their rivals after missing out the start. Heat five was a cracking example with Doyle gating and Chris Holder trying everywhere on the track to hang on for a Pirates heat advantage. He was eventually overhauled by Jonas Davidsson, who joined Nieminen for a 3-3 shared race.
Stuart Robson passed Leon Madsen in heat six for a 4-2 with Richardson before Paul Hurry produced a masterclass to pass both Doyle and Bjarne Pedersen to put the Hammers twelve points to the good. Hurry was rewarded for his efforts in heat eight when he was asked to replace Robson and he duly obliged in what was a disastous heat for the Pirates. Skipper Davey Watt was nominated by Poole boss Neil Middleditch for a tactical ride but fell on the fourth turn whilst chasing Daniel Davidsson. His exclusion allowed Davidsson and Hurry to increase the lead with another 5-1, this time over Havelock.
Things didn't get any better for Watt when he was excluded under the two minutes time allowance after being found not having his dirt deflector attached to his rear wheel. When the race got underway the lively Leon Madsen jetted from the gate but was chased down gradually by Jonas Davidsson and passed in a dramatic finish over the line.
The tide turned a little in heat eleven when Holder, riding in the black/white helmet, scored a doubled up six points as Madsen took third place. This 7-2 to the Pirates was followed by a 5-1 to the Dorset men as Madsen, now looking very fast out on track, joined Pedersen for a 5-1 over Nieminen and Daniel Davidsson.
Richardson's third win of the night was followed by an incident packed penultimate race which was stopped at the first time of asking after Doyle and Hurry clashed on the home straight and crashed alarmingly. After some attention out on track both men took to their feet with Doyle excluded as the primary cause of the stoppage and Hurry choosing not to come out for the re-run with reports of a damaged finger or two.
The re-run itself was another excellent heat which saw Jonas Davidsson reel in and pass Madsen on the final lap to huge cheers from the home crowd. That just left Richardson and Shields to slot in behind Holder in the final race, their side already assured of the full quota of league points as they sit comfortably in second place in the Elite League table.
 Related Link: Rico leads Pirates sinking : Match Details
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