| Clubname: | Lakeside Hammers |
| Track: | Arena Essex Raceway A1306 Arterial Road Purfleet |
| Country: | England |
| Founded: | 1984 |
| Closed: | 2018[1] |
| Colours: | Blue red and white |
| Tracksize: | 252m (827feet) |
| Track Record Time: | 56.8 seconds |
| Track Record Date: | 30 May 2008 |
| Track Record Holder: | Andreas Jonsson |
| Honour1: | Knockout Cup (tier 1) |
| Year1: | 2009 |
| Year2: | 1991 |
| Honour3: | BL Div Two Four-Team Championship |
| Year3: | 1991 |
| Year4: | 1991 |
The Lakeside Hammers (formerly the Arena-Essex Hammers) were a speedway team who raced in the British league system from 1984 to 2018, most recently racing in the SGB Championship in 2018. The team were nicknamed the Hammers after the West Ham Hammers, a speedway team that closed twelve years earlier.[2] The team's home track, the Arena Essex Raceway, closed shortly before the end of the 2018 season.[3]
The Arena Essex Raceway was built in 1978 to stage banger racing.[4]
Speedway returned to Essex in 1983 following the founding of the Arena-Essex Hammers by promoter Wally Mawdsley and stock car promoter Chick Woodroffe.[5] Former West Ham promoter Mawdsley touted the new club as the successors to or the reincarnation of the old West Ham Speedway, which had closed in the early 1970s - the team took the Hammers nickname, the race colours of white crossed hammers on red and blue halves, and the racenight programmes also carried photos of past West Ham riders from the 1930s through to the early 1970s. There was even a direct link to West Ham speedway within the first Arena-Essex team itself - Alan Sage had ridden for West Ham in 1970 and 1971.[6]
The inaugural 1984 season ended with 14th place finish[7] but the following two seasons saw an improvement to 6th and 4th respectively.[8] the team's leading rider in the 1980s was Martin Goodwin.[9]
The speedway track was unusual because 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.
It was also in 1991 that major changes were undertaken, Terry Russell and Ivan Henry purchased the club from Chick Woodroffe[10] and they built a new team. Martin Goodwin left the club and six new signings came in. Three Danes (Bo Petersen, Brian Karger and Jan Pedersen) were joined by Alan Mogridge, Andy Galvin and Paul Hurry. The team were dominant, winning 21 of their 22 league matches, winning the Knockout Cup[11] and claiming the fours championship held at the East of England Arena on 21 July.[12]
Following the successful 1991 season the team were promoted to the first division (one of the rare seasons that speedway operated a promotion/relegation system) and remained in the top flight until the end of the 1995 season. The leading rider was Australian Leigh Adams.
A club promotion change resulted in the Hammers dropping to the Conference League for 1996 before moving into the Premier League from 1997.[13]
Little of note happened during the early part of the 2000s before the team entered the Elite League in 2004 and signed former world champion Mark Loram. The following season in 2005, two more former world champions were signed in Tony Rickardsson and Gary Havelock and Rickardsson went on to win his sixth world title as a Hammer's rider.
In January 2007, the new promoter Stuart Douglas renamed the team the 'Lakeside' Hammers.[14] [15] In 2008, the club had a successful year, finishing joint top of the Elite League table, but due to race points, were in second place. The Hammers lost three of their top four riders with serious injuries towards the end of the season, but still reached the Craven Shield and Elite League play-off finals.[16]
In 2009, the club won their first piece of silverware since 1991 and their most significant because it was the first trophy won in the highest division. They defeated the Coventry Bees 108–77 on aggregate in the KO Cup Final, with Adam Shields scoring 31 points over two legs.
Lee Richardson led the team into the new decade, with the Hammers making the play-offs on several occasions. The team continued to compete in the top division until they dropped two divisions to race in the National League for 2017.
In 2018, the team opted to move up into the SGB Championship, which would be their last season.[17] In September 2018, speedway racing ceased at the track and the Hammers moved to the Rye House Hoddesdon raceway to complete their fixtures.[18] [19]
| width=350 | Year and league | width=50 | Position | width=350 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14th | as Arena Essex Hammers | ||||
| 6th | |||||
| 4th | |||||
| 12th | |||||
| 9th | |||||
| 12th | |||||
| 14th | |||||
| 1st | Champions & Knockout Cup, fours | ||||
| 11th | |||||
| 4th | |||||
| 8th | |||||
| 10th | |||||
| 6th | |||||
| 7th | |||||
| 11th | |||||
| 9th | |||||
| 13th | |||||
| 10h | |||||
| 11th | |||||
| 7th | |||||
| 8th | |||||
| 10th | |||||
| 11th | |||||
| 5th | changed name to Lakeside Hammers | ||||
| 2nd | PO final | ||||
| 3rd | Knockout Cup winners | ||||
| 5th | |||||
| 4th | |||||
| 4th | |||||
| 6th | |||||
| 6th | |||||
| 8th | |||||
| 4th | |||||
| 4th | |||||
| 4th | PO final |
2018 team
2017 team
Also rode:
2016 team
2015 team
2014 team
2013 team
Also rode:
2012 team
The team finished in 4th place out of 10, qualifying for the play-offs, making it the 4th time in 5 years.
Also rode:
2011 team
The team finished 4th from 10, making the playoffs; however, they were eliminated by Eastbourne in the semi-finals.
Also rode:
2010 team
The 2010 team finished in 5th place from 9 teams, narrowly missing out on the playoffs.
Also rode:
2009 team
Lakeside finished 3rd out of 9, qualifying for the playoffs, but lost to Wolverhampton in the playoff semi-finals. The team became K.O Cup Champions by defeating Coventry.
Also rode:
(DU) Riders doubling-up between Premier and Elite League
2008 team
The team finished joint top on points with Poole, but lost the playoff final to an aggregate score of 108 – 75 to the Pirates. They also reached the Final of the Craven Shield, losing to Coventry.
Also Rode:
2007 team
The revamped Lakeside Hammers finished 5th from 10 teams (after the closure of Oxford).
Also Rode
2006 team
Arena Essex finished 11th out of 11, placing them bottom of the Elite League for a second consecutive season.
Also Rode
2005 team
The 2005 side finished bottom of the Elite League.
Also Rode
2004 team
Although the team finished 8th from 10 in their first season in the Elite League, they were 14 points above 9th place.
Also Rode
2003 team
The team finished 7th out of 18 teams. It would be their last at Premier League level.
Also Rode
1998 team
The team finished 11th out of 13 teams.