MEETING SPONSORS
Scott Properties – Scott Properties is a Land Promoter operating throughout the East of England, East Midlands and the South East. Working closely with Landowners and Local Authorities, they manage the land promotion and planning process from initial site identification through to the sale of consented development sites.
Volvo Truck and Bus Centre South & East – Your Volvo Truck or Bus specialists. For trucks, parts, advice and maintenance, they’re Volvo at its best. They give you exactly the vehicles you need, from new trucks and certified used trucks. Call them to ask for information on the latest stocks and prices.
SCORECARD
IPSWICH 54: Jason Doyle 8+1, Adam Ellis 10+2, Danny King © 8+1, Tom Brennan 12, Emil Sayfutdinov 8+1, Dan Thompson 7+1, Jason Edwards (RS) 1. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
OXFORD 36: Charles Wright 5, Richard Lawson (G) 11+1, Rohan Tungate R/R, Mitch McDiarmid (G) 1+1, Maciej Janowski © 3+2, Peter Kildemand 9, Luke Killeen (RS) 7. Team Manager: Peter Schroeck
REFEREE: M. Bates
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 19 | 36 |
| Belle Vue | 19 | 32 |
| Leicester | 18 | 30 |
| Sheffield | 17 | 29 |
| King’s Lynn | 17 | 14 |
| Oxford | 19 | 11 |
| Birmingham | 19 | 6 |
THE REPORT
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches picked up three points on Thursday night at Foxhall as they beat the Oxford Spires in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
Ipswich came into the fixture at full strength and top of the table after their first ever league win at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday. Oxford meanwhile were without Erik Riss, Rohan Tungate and Victor Palovaara and were yet to beat anyone in 2025 other than bottom side Birmingham. After a close start to the night, the away side took a surprise lead after five races, but the Witches found their groove and won the meeting without any further scares, picking up the aggregate bonus point as well to strengthen their grip on top spot. Tom Brennan top scored with 12.
Adam Ellis and Jason Doyle raced to a 5-1 in heat one with Doyle getting up the inside of Richard Lawson at the end of the first lap for second before the Spires registered a 4-2 in heat two. Brennan won heat three as Danny King worked his way into second early on, but he locked up at the end of the first lap and had to settle for third resulting in a heat advantage. The scores were level after heat four as Luke Killeen won and Maciej Janowski passed Jason Edwards for second with Emil Sayfutdinov retiring with mechanical issues early on, meaning it was 12-12.
The visitors took a shock lead in heat five as Lawson was victorious ahead of King with Brennan and Charles Wright trading places at the back, but it was the away number one who won that battle to secure a 4-2 to his side. Doyle and Ellis teamed up for another 5-1 in heat six to put the Witches back in front and Thompson and Sayfutdinov followed that with another maximum in heat seven. Lawson held off Ellis to win heat eight in a heat advantage to the away team making it 26-22.
Brennan and King were untroubled in heat nine as they coasted to a 5-1 and in heat 10 Lawson was brought in as a tactical substitute. The Spires guest led the race ahead of Doyle and Ellis, but he made a mistake on the final lap allowing Doyle to come through for the three points in a 4-2. Sayfutdinov and Thompson led heat 11 but Thompson got out of shape on the fourth turn and was relegated to the back in a 3-3. King took the chequered flag in a shared heat 12 with his side now 41-31 to the good.
Sayfutdinov won a shared heat 13 as Brennan and Thompson eased to a maximum in heat 14. Heat 15 was stopped as Kildemand cleaned out Brennan on the second turn and was excluded. Brennan picked himself to win the re-run as Ellis blasted round Lawson to join him at the front for a 5-1 to end the evening as the Witches rounded off the week with five points added to their tally.
RITCHIE HAWKINS REACTION
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Thursday’s win over Oxford…
“It wasn’t our best performance of the year, far from it, and it felt a bit of a slog at times, but we were experimenting with track conditions and overall, it didn’t work. We were battling with that and Oxford came and fought hard, and they will be happy with the two young lads, Luke and Mitch, I thought they put in really creditable performances and that is pleasing for them. It was one of those nights where we had to battle but we got another three points on the board, and we move on and come back for a tougher test next week.
“We have had a few different conditions at Ipswich, and we are just trying to find out what is best for everyone and what everyone is happy with. It is a good time to do it but overall, it wasn’t brilliant and didn’t provide great racing and that is one thing we want to do. We will learn from it and have another crack at it next week and see if we can get the balance to get everything correct.
“Adam rode really well, and he is having a good year abroad, he has just been struggling for us and has been a bit up and down. He had a good night tonight and looked back to how we know he can ride at Foxhall, Adam can be as good as anyone in the world at Foxhall. Whether that had anything to do with him being at number two, I’m not completely convinced but it was good to see him riding like that.
“Jordan (Jenkins) had a spin after the meeting and looked good to me. He rode at Oxford last night and is hoping to be back for them this weekend.
“It was nice to see a lot of the crowd stay behind and support the second half racing too.”
SCOTT PROPERTIES & VOLVO TRUCK AND BUS CENTRE SOUTH & EAST RIDERS OF THE NIGHT
Scott Properties chose Ellis who rode to 10+2 from five rides.
Volvo Truck and Bus Centre South & East opted for top scorer Brennan who won four out of his five races.
WHAT IT MEANS
Ipswich pick up two points and the aggregate bonus point to extend their lead at the top of the table. Oxford stay sixth and leave Suffolk empty-handed.
NEXT FIXTURE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches host the Belle Vue Aces at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 14th August in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership fixture. Tickets can be purchased on the gate and in advance here.
Press Officer at Ipswich Speedway