Hammers hit the road...

There's no meeting at the Purfleet Raceway this coming Friday for the Kent Sweepers Hammers are on their travels, taking in three important away Premier League matches in as many days.

On Friday they visit Edinburgh before moving onto Berwick (Saturday) and Glasgow (Sunday).

It's a tough schedule for both man and machinery but the riders are confident that they can achieve good results at all three venues and return south with more league points in the bag.

The only concern at this stage surrounds second string Andy Galvin who picked up a knock to his knee and aggravated his long standing shoulder injury in last Friday's 52-38 home win over Berwick.

However, with a few days rest coupled with physiotherapy, Galvin is expected to be fit to travel north with the rest of the side.

Mixed fortunes...

No luck against Swindon:

The Arena Essex Kent Sweepers Hammers contested two tough Premier League matches in the space of 24 hours last week with mixed success.

On Thursday night they travelled to Swindon for a meeting that was shown live on Sky Sports TV, and it was a meeting that had just about everything - drama, controversy, a fire and a last heat decider!

Unfortunately that last heat produced a 5-1 maximum for the home side which saw them clinch victory by 49 points to 41 and the bonus point for the aggregate victory, the two sides having drawn 45-45 when they met at Purfleet earlier in the season.

The drama started in an explosive opening heat when Swindon's No. 1 Olly Allen made straight for the centre of turn one despite having started off the inside gate thus taking Kelvin Tatum wide where he fell.

The re-run, with all four riders, almost produced a carbon copy at the first bend but a fired-up Tatum surged from third to first in brilliant fashion. It all ended with a minor alteration between the two protagonists as they returned to the pits, the atmosphere becoming red hot thereafter with Tatum on the end of great hostility from the home fans throughout the meeting.

In Heat 4 there was a bizarre incident when Swindon's Charlie Gjedde's bike caught fire on the start line and the two minute warning was cancelled rather than the Dane being excluded from the race, much to the mystification of the Arena Essex camp.

With the Hammers only 4 points in adrift going into heat 8, there was more controversy as the referee, Jim Lawrence failed to exclude home rider Ritchie Hawkins after he clearly touched the starting tapes and the resultant 5-1 saw Swindon move eight points clear.

Entering the final race, with the scores standing at 44-40 in Swindon's favour, a draw was still possible, which would have facilitated a run-off for the bonus point.

Gjedde and fellow Dane Claus Kristensen lined up for the home side against Lanham and Tatum. Although Tatum made a good start his partner was never in contention and the resultant 5-1 to the Robins saw them take the spoils. Final score - Swindon 49 - 41 Arena Essex.

Hammers scorers: Leigh Lanham 13, Kelvin Tatum 10, Shaun Tacey 6+2, Colin White 6+1, Lee Herne 4, Scott Courtney 2+1, Andy Galvin 0.

Convincing win against Berwick:

The Kent Sweepers Hammers soon put any disappointment surrounding the previous night's match behind them as they romped to a 52-38 home victory over Berwick on Friday.

The meeting started well for the Hammers with Kelvin Tatum and Shaun Tacey taking a comfortable maximum heat advantage.

And that set the tone for what was to follow for the rampant Hammers simply tore away from their opponents and, after the first eight races, they had established a 20 point lead at 34-14.

Falls for various Berwick riders in the early stages of the match certainly didn't help their cause but heat 9 produced a crash that had the home camp worried.

Key second string Andy Galvin fell whist in last place causing the race to be stopped and forcing referee Chris Gay to order a re-run.

Galvin fell heavily on his shoulder but after a lengthy period laying on the track he finally rose and it appeared that a leg problem was a greater concern.

In the re-run Colin White did well to split the Berwick pairing after being pushed wide at the first bend but the 4-2 to Berwick reduced the Hammers lead to 18 points.

The next three heats were drawn and then Lanham and Tatum roared to an Arena Essex 5-1 in heat 13.

It looked as if the Hammers could reach the 60 point mark but, to their credit, Berwick hit back in the final two heats taking maximum advantages in both to leave the final score at Arena Essex 52 Berwick 38.

Hammers scorers: Colin White 12, Shaun Tacey 11+1, Leigh Lanham 11, Kelvin Tatum 7+2, Lee Herne 6+2, Andy Galvin 3+1, Scott Courtney 2+1.