Coventry Buildbase Bees successfully retained the Craven Shield at Brandon to secure major team silverware for the fourth season running.

They had done much of their hard work at Lakeside last Thursday to come away from Purfleet with a four-point win, but had to guard against complacency in the second leg. And they put on a near-perfect display in front of a big crowd, with No.1 Hans Andersen scoring a paid maximum from five rides - and, remarkably, reserve Ben Barker was also unbeaten with a brilliant four-ride full maximum.

In the middle order, Bees were solid throughout, whereas the Hammers were almost totally reliant on top man Andreas Jonsson, who dominated their scorechart.

Bees eased any early nerves by scoring 19 points from the first four races, and they still held a comfortable 13-point aggregate lead after Jonsson had won Heat 7 for double-points. An inspired Barker team-rode to a 5-1 with Olly Allen in Heat 8, and further maximum points from the profitable Allen/Andersen pairing in Heat 10 took Bees to the brink of the silverware.

That was secured in Heat 12 when Barker wrapped up his full house, combining with Chris Harris for the last of Bees' seven 5-1s in the meeting. But there was still more good racing in the closing stages as Andersen defended his unbeaten record against Jonsson, the two Grand Prix stars enjoying a terrific battle in Heat 13 which was just won on the line by the Bees man.

Coventry manager Peter Oakes said: "We were expecting a far tougher fight because we had to respect their previous performances around here, but I think the start we got stunned Lakeside. It was vital for them to get a really good start, and I do commiserate with them because it must be absolutely shattering to get into two Finals so magnificently after major injuries and then to lose each of the four legs of those two Finals.

"But the last two months or so we've shown what a good team we can be, and it's just a pity that we weren't able to track seven rides in almost every meeting. We've looked a different team since Hans Andersen came in, he's been awesome at the top end, and it was an absolutely magnificent performance by Ben Barker too. But it was about all seven riders, and a good way to finish off for us."

Barker added: "There's no better way to end the season, and it was a great night for me. We'd done the hard work last week but we didn't want to let it slip, and when I won my first two rides I wasn't going to let them stop me. It's all about going for what you want, you set your goals to win the race and you do it. I wanted to win the meeting for Coventry, but to finish with a maximum was a dream come true. My engine was awesome, and I'd love to use it again next year!"

BUILDBASE BEES 58:
Hans Andersen 14+1 Ben Barker 12, Olly Allen 8+2, Billy Janniro 7+1, Simon Stead 6+2, Chris Harris 6+2, Filip Sitera 5+2.

LAKESIDE 35:
Andreas Jonsson 18, Tomasz Jedrzejak 6+1, Jonas Davidsson 5, Leigh Lanham 3+1, Krzysztof Jablonski 2, Ricky Kling 1, Adam Shields r/r.