LAKESIDE once again showed exactly why they are undefeated around their own circuit in the Elite League this season - leaving the Buildbase Bees fighting damage limitation for much of the evening.
The Hammers ran just three last places all night and also had former Coventry captain Andreas Jonsson in typically brilliant form in the No.1 race-jacket as the Swede swept to another imperious maximum.
For Bees, it was always likely to be a long night once they had dropped a massive 18 points down after seven races, but they did contribute to some good racing and at least the meeting also demonstrated once more the rising talent that is Ben Barker.
Rory Schlein, too, impressed with two well-taken race wins, and he was close to defeating Jonsson in Heat 15 as well - but for the rest it was difficult, even if they didn't all get the points that their efforts deserved, a comment that could be applied particularly to Olly Allen.
Bees were without Andreas Messing on a circuit which may have helped him to regain some form given his previous experience at Purfleet. The reserve missed out due to food poisoning, and with No.8 Barker already in the team, Bees drafted in club asset Josh Auty to fill in.
The early stages were an unpleasant repeat of Bees' previous Purfleet trip back in June with the Hammers opening up with back-to-back 5-1s - and home track expertise was very much to the fore.
Jonsson swept around Allen in the first race and was then followed through on the inside by Leigh Lanham as Chris Harris was unable to get into contention, and Barker was then overhauled by both Lubos Tomicek and Ricky Kling as Bees struggled to find their set-ups.
The meeting was then held up after a first bend skirmish in Heat 3 which saw Shields hit the deck under challenge from Janniro - and with all four riders re-called, Bees initially looked set for a 4-2 before Janniro was overtaken by Shields on the third lap and then began to slow, eventually losing it all on the last bend to allow Simon Stead and Jonas Davidsson through too.
Schlein got Bees a race winner in Heat 4 with some strong work against Tomicek and Joonas Kylmakorpi on the first and second bends, but the Hammers were soon on their way again with a 4-2 in Heat 5, Harris initially splitting Shields and Davidsson but not quite being able to make a move for the lead. There was also a frantic battle for third place, taken by the Hammers man with Allen missing out, and that put the home side 12 points up.
That became 14 in Heat 6 with a 4-2 courtesy of Jonsson's cut-back under Schlein coming off turn two, and Bees were facing a heavy defeat when they conceded maximum points in Heat 7, Kylmakorpi hitting the front and Kling overcoming Stead on the first lap before moving clear.
Bees trailed 30-12, but they gained some respite it the next two races with Barker riding superbly in Heat 8, making a good start and riding the right lines to head home Tomicek and Lanham, who had his hands full with Allen's attempts to pass around the outside.
Schlein then donned the black and white helmet colour for the Bees and it turned out to be a well-timed tactical ride - albeit the usefulness of such a facility when you are already 18 points down is somewhat limited! Schlein, however, took the full six points on offer ahead of Shields and Davidsson with Auty suffering mechanical trouble, although he had been having his best ride before he came to a stop.
If there was any doubt about the destination of the Elite League points, those doubts ended in Heat 10 when both Lanham and Jonsson made their way past Janniro on consecutive laps, the American struggling with a lingering shoulder injury from last weekend - an obvious handicap on a tight circuit such as this.
Allen had ridden way above the one point he had gained to that stage, but he finally got the race win he deserved in Heat 11, a contest which initially saw Bees on a 5-1 before Kling made a good move at the end of the first lap to split the pairing and leave Harris in third place.
Barker then shot out of the gate once again to add the name of Hammers skipper Shields to his growing list of Elite League scalps, his defence of the lead being inch-perfect, and Stead's third place gave Bees a second consecutive 4-2 and a much more respectable scoreline.
Jonsson took control of Heat 13 after fending off Schlein early on, the race being shared with Harris in third place, before two good races rounded off the meeting, both ending in Hammers 4-2s.
Davidsson blasted from third to first to win Heat 14 before Kling salvaged third place against Janniro, Barker splitting the Lakeside pairing - and his efforts of the meeting earned Barker a deserved Heat 15 nomination alongside Schlein.
That race again underlined Jonsson's expertise as he again looked set to be denied a Purfleet maximum by Schlein, only to generate his speed on the outside in trademark style and then cut through on the inside for the win.
It was another meeting in which the inconsistency of the Buildbase Bees this season was shown up, and that is something they will need to address ahead of the Craven Shield Final later this season.
