Elite League
Coventry Speedway: Match report - Bees 41 Lakeside Hammers 49
By Nick
May 13, 2008, 19:38

FORMER Coventry riders Andreas Jonsson and Joonas Kylmakorpi made the difference as the Buildbase Bees lost at home for the second time in the Elite League this season.

The ex-Bees duo gave the Hammers strength at the top and bottom of their order, and received enough support from Jonas Davidsson to take their second away win of the campaign.

Bees endured a hugely frustrating evening on their home circuit, unable to pull off any of the kind of moves which had turned the previous Brandon match against Poole into a thriller.

The visitors were quicker from the start for the majority of the meeting and Bees were unable to pass, a fact exemplified by the fact that skipper Chris Harris ran five second places - although admittedly four of them were behind the almost faultless Jonsson.

The Swede was beaten by Rory Schlein in Heat 5 but combined with Kylmakorpi - a trump card reserve who took his full quota of rides - for a 5-1 in Heat 11 which took the visitors four points in front.

And then Jonsson conjured up the ride of the night in Heat 13 when Bees were on a match-levelling 5-1, first coming inside Harris on the third lap and then surging under Simon Stead with an element of surprise which was probably the cause of Stead's last-bend fall.

That was the match virtually done and dusted, and Kylmakorpi made sure with victory in Heat 14 to leave the outcome of the last race academic - Jonsson heading home Harris and Schlein with Kylmakorpi finally beaten into last place.

Coventry manager Peter Oakes said: "We were beaten by a team who came not knowing what the track was going to be like, whereas we went from one extreme last week to a different extreme tonight, and I believe that was one of the major reasons why we lost.

"We had a lot of grip on the track for our last home meeting, and you only had to see the lack of passing tonight to know there wasn't enough grip to encourage passing. It's the same for both teams, but when riders expect certain conditions, it's a psychological downer.

"Credit to Lakeside, they set about it and beat us convincingly, they deserved their victory, but we have got to look at the circumstances and get a situation where the track is the same every single week, so that the riders go out and race in the same conditions each week."

BUILDBASE BEES: Rory Schlein 10+2, Chris Harris 10, Stan Burza 9+1, Simon Stead 8, Billy Janniro 3+2, Ben Barker 1, Olly Allen r/r.

LAKESIDE: Andreas Jonsson 17, Joonas Kylmakorpi 15+1, Jonas Davidsson 11, Ricky Kling 5+2, Leigh Lanham 1, Lubos Tomicek 0, Adam Shields r/r.