Ipswich Tru7 Group Witches racer Jason Edwards admits he’s in for a “massive year” as he launches his final season as a rising star at home to East Anglian rivals King’s Lynn on Thursday.
Billericay-born star Edwards was signed in place of the injured Jordan Jenkins midway through the 2025 campaign, which ended with him helping the Witches to their first league title since their famous 1998 Elite League treble season.
Edwards was not even born when the likes of Tony Rickardsson, Tomasz Gollob, Chris Louis and Scott Nicholls swept all before them. But the 23-year-old has quickly become a popular face at Foxhall, which is now his local club.
The doubling-up star also races for the Redcar Bears in the Cab Direct Championship, facing a four-and-a-half-hour hike for every home meeting.
So Edwards is understandably keen to keep things local in the Premiership and establish himself with the Witches. He said: “It’s funny in speedway. You drive three or four hours for a home meeting sometimes. Having my home matches an hour and a bit up the road – you can’t beat that. I just need to go out and perform, and hopefully make it more of a long-term thing.
“Starting the season for Ipswich kind of feels like a fresh start. I kind of came into the team for the last two months of the season in 2025.
“This year, I want to get better as much as I can. It’s my last year as a rising star, so it’s a massive year. I have to go out and perform. Last year was a bit of a practice period, but this year I want to move up the team and score some points.”
The Witches head into 2026 under new ownership following Mayfield’s takeover, spearheaded by co-promoters Richard Coleman and Andrew Chisholm. Edwards looks forward to working with the parent company of the FIM Speedway World Championships.
He said: “I was worried it was going to be very corporate, but the thing I really liked was that it’s a company that’s into bikes and into motorsport. That’s at their core.
“It’s not a big commercial company that just looks at numbers. It is people that love racing at heart. To me, if you have that in the business, you are always going to be winning.
“The other thing I liked is that they didn’t come in and say, ‘We are going to change everything.’ A lot of times, when someone new comes in, they have all of their new ideas and say, ‘This will be better, and this will be better.’
“I was really impressed, and if everything they say they are going to do happens, I think it will be really exciting for fans, riders and everyone.”
The line-ups for Thursday’s Premiership Knockout Cup Southern Section showdown with King’s Lynn have been confirmed, with both teams at full strength.
Double FIM Speedway of Nations world champion Tom Brennan prepares for his first fixture at No.1, partnered by skipper Danny King at No.2. Polish star Tobiasz Musielak at No.3 joins forces with local legend Scott Nicholls at No.4, while 2019 Witches star Richard Lawson is named at No.5. Swedish debutant Philip Hellstrom-Bangs is at No.6, with Edwards at No.7.
The Stars have opted for a powerful opening pair of Speedway GP star Max Fricke and Aussie sensation Ben Cook. British icon Chris Harris is teamed with Italian international Paco Castagna at No.3 and No.4 and Czech charger Jan Kvech at No.5. British shooting stars Cooper Rushen and Jody Scott complete the side.
Be part of the club’s opening night – 2026 season tickets are still available HERE, while King’s Lynn advance tickets can be purchased HERE.
STARTING LINE-UPS
IPSWICH TRU7 GROUP WITCHES: 1. Tom Brennan, 2. Danny King (captain), 3. Tobiasz Musielak, 4. Scott Nicholls, 5. Richard Lawson, 6. Philip Hellstrom-Bangs, 7. Jason Edwards. TEAM MANAGER: Paul Hurry.
KING’S LYNN STARS: 1. Max Fricke, 2. Ben Cook, 3. Chris Harris (captain), 4. Paco Castagna, 5. Jan Kvech, 6. Cooper Rushen, 7. Jody Scott. TEAM MANAGER: Rob Lyon.