A depleted Arena Essex fought off a solid challenge to beat Ipswich 48-42 last night at the Purfleet Raceway.

Already missing Kelvin Tatum (hip injury) and Greg Walasek (suspended,) the Hammers then lost their stand-in captain Leigh Lanham with a suspected trapped nerve in his side following a heat three spill that forced him out of the remainder of the meeting.

Mark Loram won four of his six races to underpin the home side's success, but it was the influential American reserve Josh Larsen ensured that the Hammers exacted revenge for their six-point defeat by the Witches when the two sides met earlier in the season.

Arena were locked in battle at 30 points apiece after 10 heats before Loram and Larsen combined for a 4-2 in the next, with Hammers' Grand Prix rider countering after Hans Andersen drove around him to steal the lead only for the Hammer to respond, also with an outside swoop to regain he advantage whilst Larsen settled for the point.

Larsen then re-appeared taking a spare ride from Lanham and showed superb gating technique to lead his rivals around the first turns.

And with Paul Hurry using track craft to hold the line around the pits turn, the Arena pair eased to a comfortable and crucial maximum earning their side a 39-33 advantage.

The battle of England's current top two riders provided a trap to line win for Scott Nicholls, who seemed on course for a maximum with Andersen before Loram found drive to split the Witches duo on the third lap.

With just two heats remaining, it was Larsen who gained a vital victory powering away from the tapes to head off Chris Louis whilst the third place for one-time Hammer and guest Henning Bager ensured a win for the home side.

Published Thursday July 1, 2004

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