ALTHOUGH there are still three months to wait before the tapes rise on the 2009 speedway season, Lakeside Hammers have wasted little time in assembling their complete starting line-up for the new campaign. Two new faces join the club that came within touching distance of silverware last season but two favourites have departed, including the Hammers’ number one Andreas Jonsson.

The Swede is one of a host of Grand Prix riders who will be absent for the domestic scene in the forthcoming term while Leigh Lanham, who has been part of at Arena-Essex Raceway for more than a decade has also been omitted from the side.

The new recruits are Lee Richardson and Stuart Robson, while Kaukko Nieminen and Chris Mills, who both represented the club last year as guests, are now fully-fledged Hammers.

Retained from last year’s declared squad are Adam Shields, Jonas Davidsson and Joonas Kylmakorpi. Co-promoter and team manager Jon Cook believes that this new-look team is the equal of the 2008 side that finished runners-up in the Elite League and losing finalists in the Craven Shield.

“I think it’s as strong as last year’s team that went so far to bring success and silverware to the club,” he said. “We learned a lot of lessons in the run-in last year and we have put those into practice with this year’s line-up.”

Club owner and former Westcliff resident Stuart Douglas added: “Both Jon and I are tremendously proud of the progress the club has made over the past two years and this team gives us a great chance to keep the club at the top.

“The newcomers are all mad keen to ride for the Hammers which was an important consideration for us when we assembled the side. “We’ve had to make some tough decisions along the way before opting for this squad, but we believe we have a team that can make a real challenge and that will be able to race every Friday without the hindrance of a Grand Prix fixture list.

“It’s also a real pleasure to know that we have three British riders among our intended starting line-up and we will have another couple by the time we add two more riders to complete a nine-man squad.”

Richardson represents a shock signing with the rider previously having indicated that he intending to give British speedway a miss in 2009. But the British international who rode for Eastbourne last year will now join another former Eagle, Adam Shields, in spearheading the Hammers’ challenge next summer.

Robson who suffered a bad injury when riding for Premier League Rye House, is another surprise recruit.

“Robbo has been a target since he returned to racing and we have been talking to him since October,” Cook explained.

“He is one of the most exciting riders around and we had no hesitation in recruiting him as a fully-fledged club asset.

“Chris Mills is an Essex lad who desperately wanted to join his local side and, after talking to the senior riders in our side, it was felt that they could help him progress to do an effective job for us.“ Cook also confirm that Adam Shields, who crucially missed the closing weeks of the season through, will be fully fit by the time the tapes rise in March.

The promotional team of Douglas and Cook will be staging a questions and answers session at the supporters’ social gathering at the Raceway Tavern tonight starting at 7.30pm.