By Henry Chard
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches complete their 2025 team with the signing of Tom Brennan.
The former British Under-21 champion guested for the club in 2024 and is hoping a permanent move to Suffolk will help his career develop further.
“I was really fortunate to finish off the 2024 season with Ipswich which gave me a really good feel for the club and how they ran the club. From that point onwards I knew where I wanted to be, and it was a matter of just trying to confirm that. Ipswich is one of the most professional clubs in the league and it suits my style. I take my racing seriously and I want to be going to a club that can improve and hopefully I can push on with the team. The team is another big thing with Emil (Sayfutdinov) and (Jason) Doyle there, so the reason it is this year is I want to kick on my career, and I believe Ipswich above any team can give me that.”
The 23-year-old says the Foxhall track feels like home to him already having grown up on a smaller, more technical track.
“Foxhall is a very technical track, I grew up at Eastbourne which is also very technical. When I go there it feels like home and it is good going to a club where you can ride good. Obviously, you want to sign for a club where you go well at the track, and I am really looking forward to next year. It has been a long time coming and by the looks of things the team is going to be strong too.”
The Great Britain international has enjoyed a rapid rise in the sport having been a Rising Star just three years ago.
“We have progressed very quickly but at my own pace too and haven’t taken chances that we didn’t need to take. My first year was 2021 and that was my first year of proper, professional racing and from that point onwards I graduated from the Rising Star scheme fairly quickly which was fantastic. From there it has been an upward slope, maybe it plateaued a bit in 2023, we didn’t progress a whole bunch that year but sometimes that happens. The key has been having a support system around me, my family, my sponsors, they keep me on track. We’ve been on an upwards slope, and we don’t want that to stop now, and Ipswich can help me with that.”
Like his teammates, the Speedway of Nations gold medallist’s target in 2025 is winning the league with the Witches.
“The league title is the end goal, lifting the trophy with Ipswich would be unbelievable especially getting a bit of insight into what they did in 2024. They lost Doyley and Emil which were two huge losses and also had other problems with (Jordan) Jenkins unable ride as well. The end of the season did not reflect what Ipswich can do so it will be nice to come back and be part of the team and help them lift that trophy.”
Brennan might just be one of the busiest riders in the world over the winter with trips to Australia and America on the horizon.
“It is a busy winter; we are building bikes as we speak, and I would like to get that done this month as I leave for Australia on 8th December roughly. I go there for a month and a bit before returning in the middle of January and then I go to America at the end of January for a couple of weeks. I’ll be back in the middle of February and before you know it, it will be time to go again! We are trying to keep the ball rolling; speedway is my ultimate aim, and I am always looking to improve, and you can’t be chilling out too much. We want to go at a nice leisurely pace and Australia offers that opportunity for me to race as does America.”
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway