The latest news regarding the Lakeside Hammers home Sky Sports Elite League match tonight against the pre season favourites to take this season's League title, the Poole Pirates, at the Arena Essex Raceway is that the Pirates have been forced into making some last minute changes to their line-up.
They were already going into the fixture minus Pole Adam Skornicki, who had sufferd an injury a couple of weeks ago but they will now also be without their two other Poles, Karol Zabik and Zbigniew Suchecki. Zabik suffered a reoccurance of a wrist injury when the Hammers met the Pirates down in Dorset on Wednesday. He fell in his fourth ride and was not able to take his final ride and was seen in the pits after the crash with an ice pack on the wrist. He has subsequently returned to his homeland for treatment. Suchecki has also returned to Poland at the insistence of his Polish club.
Poole have drafted in Eastbourne's Australian Cameron Woodward to replace Skornicki and Premier League Isle of Wight's New Zealander Andrew Bargh for Suchecki. They will cover Zabik's rides by utilising the 'Rider Replacement' facility. This will mean that Bargh, on form reserve Freddie Eriksson, Woodward and Chris Holder will be able to take additional rides.
The Hammers have booked in Chris Louis from Ipswich as a guest for their injured No. 1 Andreas Jonsson.
Ths important Elite League encounter against the Pirates gets underway at the Arena Essex Raceway at 8 pm this evening, although for supporters who are able to arrive earlier, there will be a series of junior heats between 6.45 and 7.15pm.
