The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Oxford to face the Spires at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium on Thursday 3rd April in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R1 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
LINE-UPS
OXFORD: 1. Rohan Tungate 7.71 2. Erik Riss 5.55 3. Charles Wright 6.32 4. R/R for Peter Kildemand 6.00 5. Maciej Janowski © 7.02 6. Francis Gusts 4.50 7. Luke Killeen (RS). Team Manager: Peter Schroeck
IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 9.36 2. Danny King © 6.14 3. Adam Ellis 5.47 4. Tom Brennan 6.52 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.12 6. Dan Thompson 3.11 7. Jordan Jenkins (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: G. Allen
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Belle Vue | 1 | 2 |
| Birmingham | 0 | 0 |
| Ipswich | 0 | 0 |
| Leicester | 0 | 0 |
| Oxford | 0 | 0 |
| Sheffield | 0 | 0 |
| King’s Lynn | 1 | 0 |
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are available to purchase online in advance here.
THE PREVIEW
The Witches begin their 2025 ROWE Motor Oil Premiership campaign away at Oxford on Thursday night.
The Suffolk side started the competitive action last week with an impressive Knockout Cup quarter-final win, beating the Belle Vue Aces home and away in convincing fashion to progress to the semi-finals. Now attentions turn to the league where it is all about ensuring a top four finish come September before the end of season play-offs.
Ritchie Hawkins has stuck with the same riding order that was so successful against the Aces last time out. Ipswich enjoyed their visits to Oxford in 2024, winning on both occasions and will be eager to start the new season in positive fashion.
MANAGER’S NOTES
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We had a great start to the season last week in the cup and now we head into the league campaign where the pressure is off a bit because we have got plenty of fixtures to make sure we get into the play-offs at the end of the season. We are high on confidence from last week and want to keep that ball rolling at Oxford and we can’t wait to get going and get back together on track.
“Oxford is a place we went well at last season and obviously with the vast majority of the same team as we had in those fixtures, it is just another reason for us to go into the fixture with great confidence. We are very much focused on getting an away win on the board early.
“Oxford had a tough start to the season in the cup but now we are into league action, and they will obviously be looking to improve on those results. I’m sure they will be well aware of the tough test we will bring, and they know from last year what we are all about. They will know they will have to be on top of their game to beat us, but we are only into the second week of the season, it is very hard to predict what is going to happen, but we are looking forward to it.”
OXFORD SPIRES
The hosts returned to top-flight speedway last season for the first time since 2007 and there has been much to admire about the rebirth of the club since its closure 18 years ago. Big crowds have supported the return of the club at a professional and welcoming venue in what has been a real success story. The Spires finished fifth last season, missing out on the play-offs by eight points and will believe that with a year of experience behind them they will be better prepared for a play-off push in 2025.
Oxford have made two changes over the winter with Peter Kildemand and Francis Gusts replacing Chris Harris and Ashton Boughen. However, Kildemand will be missing from Thursday’s fixture due to the concussion protocol after he crashed out of their defeat to King’s Lynn last week with rider replacement in operation at number four.
LAST TIME OUT IN OXFORD
The Witches last travelled to Oxfordshire in July of 2024, and they came away victorious after a dramatic contest. The Suffolk side had battled back from eight points down as things were level going into heat 15 before Ipswich guest Scott Nicholls was controversially excluded after a clash with Rohan Tungate. Emil Sayfutdinov won the re-run and took the meeting to a super heat where he and Nicholls prevailed for the away side.
AWAY DAYS
An adult ticket costs £23 with accompanied children under 16 going free if bought in advance. There is a £2 price increase for adult tickets purchased on the day. £2 parking will be available thanks to Unipart at their site just a short walk from the stadium (approx 800m) please remember to select this option if required when purchasing your tickets as this will be required when arriving at the car park. A free shuttle bus service will be provided to and from the stadium from the Unipart car park site. Unipart postcode is OX4 2PG. Limited disabled car parking is available at the stadium; these spaces are on a first come first served basis. For further information head here.
For more information about the club head to Oxford’s official website.
Press Officer at Ipswich Speedway