It is with a heavy heart that I have taken the decision that it is time for me to pass on the mantle as promoter and benefactor of The Lakeside Hammers. At times I have felt like Canute, seemingly facing every conceivable wave that battered us and stood in the way of achieving much desired success for the club. Jon Cook always said to me that we are merely custodians of this great sport, and if the time comes when I can no longer protect nor progress it, then that's the time to let someone else have a go. I have done as much as I can, at great personal and emotional expense, to raise the honourable name of The Hammers. Together we have had some great times, even through some really dark days, and I will treasure those memories.
I remain committed, however, in the pursuit of my ultimate objective, which is to obtain a facility for speedway in my home county of Essex, and to that end, I will continue to facilitate and support the work of Mark Sexton and the Hammers committee, along with the desires of Thurrock council, to make that dream reality.
The events of this year have proven a step too far for me, with the forced relocation to Rye House determining whether we would be able to keep racing. I remain extremely grateful to the Rye House owners for allowing us to at least finish the season's fixtures - a facility that was not extended to us by Arena. It wasn't quite the finale I had in mind, and it may well have been different had we been able to complete the campaign at our home track. This team, this year, has been one of the most exciting teams I've ever seen in the crossed Hammers, and I am grateful for their all out determination to battle on through constant adversity. They nearly achieved our joint aim of winning the title, too. They deserve our respect and gratitude.
It is my intention is to put my license on ice whilst we fight for the new facility in Thurrock, and whilst I can't say what the next few weeks may have in store, I am looking at all the options currently open to us, including third party stewardship, if the right person were to come forward ahead of the BSPA AGM on 12th November. If this IS the last time we see the Hammers race for a while, I look forward to seeing you all again as soon as we can, in a new place in Thurrock we can call home.
My thanks, as ever, to the dedicated, loyal, generous, incredibly hardworking volunteers who keep this club running. To ALL the riders, our sponsors, and to Jon Cook, who takes the weight of everything from everyone. Most of all, I want to thank you, the fans. You have been amazing from day 1 - I'm just sorry I could not bring you a league title.
Until next time, my friends.
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UPCOMING FIXTURES...
23/07/19 1930 Glasgow v Eastbourne (CS SF)
23/07/19 1930 Leicester v Plymouth (NL)
24/07/19 1930 Birmingham v Somerset (Champ)
25/07/19 1930 Ipswich v Wolverhampton (Prem)
25/07/19 1930 King's Lynn v Peterborough (Prem)
25/07/19 1930 Swindon v Belle Vue (Prem)
25/07/19 1900 Silver Ski Holidays Fours, Isle of Wight
26/07/19 1930 Edinburgh v Berwick (Champ)
26/07/19 1930 Glasgow v Leicester (Champ)
26/07/19 1930 Redcar v Sheffield (Champ)
26/07/19 1915 Silver Ski Holidays Fours, Plymouth
27/07/19 1930 Eastbourne v Somerset (Champ)
27/07/19 1930 Leicester v Glasgow (Champ)
27/07/19 1900 Stoke v Belle Vue (NL)
28/07/19 1830 Scunthorpe v Glasgow (Champ)
28/07/19 1730 Sheffeld v Newcastle (Champ)
28/07/19 1500 Mildenhall v Plymouth (NL)
29/07/19 1930 British Final, Belle Vue
29/07/19 1930 Cradley v Stoke (NL)
29/07/19 1830 Kent v Leicester (NL)
30/07/19 1930 Leicester v Isle of Wight (NL) 31/07/19 1930 Somerset v Glasgow (Champ)
01/08/19 1930 Ipswich v Belle Vue (Prem)
01/08/19 1930 Poole v Peterborough (Prem)
01/08/19 1930 Belle Vue v Kent (NL) 01/08/19 1900 Isle of Wight v Oxford Select (Ch)
02/08/19 1930 Edinburgh v Scunthorpe (Champ)
02/08/19 1930 Glasgow v Redcar (Champ)
02/08/19 1915 Plymouth v Leicester (NL) 03/08/19 1900 Berwick v Redcar (Champ)
03/08/19 1930 Eastbourne v Glasgow (CS SF)
03/08/19 1900 Stoke v Leicester (NL) 04/08/19 1600 Leicester v Sheffield (Champ)
NATIONAL LEAGUE Belle Vue 56 (Leon Flint 14) Isle of Wight 34 (Jack Smith 15) National League points: Belle Vue 3 Isle of Wight 0
Kent 53 (Dan Gilkes 13+1) Stoke 37 (Tom Perry 12) National League points: Kent 3 Stoke 0
SUNDAY JULY 21:
CHAMPIONSHIP
Newcastle 47 (Max Clegg 11+1)
Glasgow 42 (Rasmus Jensen 14)
Championship points: Newcastle 3 Glasgow 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Mildenhall 48 (Danny Ayres 14)
Leicester 42 (Danyon Hume 14+1)
National League points: Mildenhall 3 Leicester 1
FIM MONSTER ENERGY SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS - FINAL 2nd leg, Togliatti, Russia 1 Poland 26 (Bartosz Zmarzlik 18) 2 Russia 23 (Emil Sayfutdinov 14) 3 Sweden 19 (Fredrik Lindgren 10) 4 Australia 18 (Jason Doyle 14) 5 Denmark 18 (Leon Madsen 11) 6 Germany 16 (Kai Huckenbeck 11) 7 Great Britain 6 (Craig Cook 4)
FINAL STANDINGS 1 Russia 45 - Placed 1st after race-off 2 Poland 47 - Placed 2nd after race-off 3 Australia 41 - Placed 3rd after race-off 4 Denmark 37 5 Sweden 35 6 Germany 30 7 Great Britain 16 (RUSSIA crowned 2019 FIM Speedway of Nations Champions)
NATIONAL LEAGUE Kent 41 (Drew Kemp 12+1) Cradley 37 (Max Clegg 12) Abandoned after 13 heats - Curfew - RESULT STANDS. National League: Kent 3 Cradley 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS, Stoke 1 Stoke 15 (Tom Perry 4, Luke Priest 4, Joe Lawlor 4) 2 Isle of Wight 14 (Ben Morley 6) 3 Mildenhall 13 (Danny Ayres 5, Jason Edwards 5) 4 Kent 6 (Drew Kemp 4)
