Author Archives: Henry Chard

About Henry Chard

Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway

RACEDAY REPORT: WOLVERHAMPTON 46-44 IPSWICH – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2 (A)

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Picture courtesy of Phil McGlynn

By Mike Bacon

THE SCORES

WOLVERHAMPTON 46: Sam Masters © 7+1, Steve Worrall 6+2, Luke Becker 5, Ryan Douglas 8+2, Rory Schlein 8, Zach Cook 6+2, Leon Flint (RS) 6+1. Team Manager: Peter Adams

IPSWICH 44: Emil Sayfutdinov 12+2, Erik Riss 5+1, Danny King © 4+1, Keynan Rew 1, Jason Doyle 15, Danyon Hume 6, Jason Edwards (G) (RS) 1. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: B. Horley

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2240
Wolverhampton1933
Leicester1829
Ipswich2228
Sheffield1826
Peterborough208
King’s Lynn197

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches fell agonisingly short of picking up all three points they so desperately needed in their play-off chase, after a narrow 46-44 defeat at Wolverhampton, although they did have the consolation of picking up the aggregate bonus point.

The Witches had travelled to the West Midlands knowing victory would be a huge fillip in their late play-off chase. And, in a nip-and-tuck meeting they almost did it, taking an early heat two lead and were still level with their hosts after heat six.

However, the home side went six up by heat 10, before Emil Sayfutdinov and Jason Doyle reduced the arrears to two with three heats to go.

Wolves clinched the victory in the penultimate heat, before Ipswich’s top pairing of Sayfutdinov and Doyle sealed a heat 15 1-5 maximum to give Ipswich a point on the night.

A heavy shower just before the start of the meeting made the track tricky as Wolves No.1, Sam Masters, was relegated to the back in heat one.

Danyon Hume gated to the front from gate two to win the reserves race with Jason Edwards, guesting for the injured Dan Thompson for Ipswich, riding well for third, as Leon Flint packed up at the back.

The home side drew first maximum blood in heat three as Luke Becker and Ryan Douglas gated to the front ahead of Danny King and Keynan Rew to put Wolves 10-8 ahead.

Doyle won his opening race of the night for the Witches in the next, as Wolves packed the minor placings, and it was Sayfutdinov’s turn to win his first race of the evening as he rounded everyone to charge for victory in heat five, with Erik Riss, in second for much of the race, gaining third after Douglas passed him to level the scores at 15-15.

Doyle beat Masters, before Wolves netted their second 5-1 of the night with King falling while trying to pass Zach Cook.

Ipswich were four behind and it stayed that way in heat eight despite a win for Riss, as Steve Worrall passed Edwards on lap three. Hume was excluded in the next, falling on the first bend of lap two after passing both Wolves men, as Doyle made it three wins on the spin for him.

King split the Masters/Worrall pairing in heat nine with the Witches now six down at 33-27, and Doyle was brought in by Ipswich team boss Ritchie Hawkins as a tactical substitute alongside Sayfutdinov.

It was Rory Schlein who hit the bend first for Wolves, but he drifted wide and both Witches were through to bring the scores back to 34-32 in the home side’s favour with just four races to go.

Hume made a fast start in heat 12 but Leon Flint passed him in a drawn heat, before a thriller of a heat 13 also ended all square after Doyle flew up the inside of both Wolves men to join Sayfutdinov at the front, before over-cooking it as he did so, and the Wolves pairing got Doyle back to share the spoils.

Wolves made sure of the win in heat 14 after Rew crashed out after dicing with Cook for two exciting laps, with Wolves taking the 5-1, to lead by six with one to go.

While the meeting was lost for the Witches, the aggregate bonus point was still up for grabs and Sayfutdinov and Doyle duly delivered with their second 1-5 of the night, to leave the Witches still clinging on by their fingertips to a play-off place.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Monday’s defeat to Wolverhampton.

“I thought it was a great performance, and I can’t fault the team. Ordinarily you would be happy with that result at Wolves, picking up the bonus point. But obviously we’ve left ourselves with such a big gap to make up, it looks like not being enough.

“There was rain before the start and the track was tricky. But the boys put everything into it and at times got caught out. But certainly, I can’t fault them for that.

“I would rather they were putting themselves on the edge to try and get the win rather than taking the easy option and losing anyway.

“We’ve got two league meetings left, starting on Thursday against Leicester. We must win them, and we’ll have to see if anything happens elsewhere to get us in the play-offs.

“We’ve got the Knockout Cup to go for which I like to think we’ll get into the final after we race at Peterborough next week.

“So, two more wins in the league and then we can go into the cup final with confidence and look to finish the season with a trophy.”

RIDER OF THE NIGHT

Doyle won five races and almost made it a full maximum after just over-cooking a pass on Schlein and Masters in heat 13.

WHAT IT MEANS

The Witches picked up the aggregate bonus point and have two more meetings in the regular season to race. They stay in fourth place. Should they pick up the six points on offer they will give themselves an outside chance of staying in the top four, but they are relying on other teams dropping points. Wolves, meanwhile, are as good as sealed for a play-off spot. They sit in second.

UP NEXT

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the Leicester Lions at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 24th August in the Sports Insure Premiership. Tickets can be purchased online in advance here and on the gate.

RACEDAY PREVIEW: WOLVERHAMPTON – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2 (A)

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By Henry Chard

All the details ahead of our Sports Insure Premiership R2 fixture with Wolverhampton.

WHEN & WHERE

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Wolverhampton to face the Wolves at the Ladbroke Stadium on Monday 21st August in a Sports Insure Premiership R2 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

TEAMS

WOLVERHAMPTON: 1. Sam Masters 7.96 © 2. Steve Worrall 6.62 3. Luke Becker 7.05 4. Ryan Douglas 6.42 5. Rory Schlein 6.22 6. Zach Cook 4.84 7. Leon Flint (RS). Team Manager: Peter Adams

IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.91 2. Erik Riss 4.86 3. Danny King 7.03 © 4. Keynan Rew 4.00 5. Jason Doyle 9.37 6. Danyon Hume 3.74 7. Jason Edwards (G) (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: B. Horley

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2138
Wolverhampton1831
Leicester1829
Ipswich2127
Sheffield1726
King’s Lynn187
Peterborough195

TICKETS

Tickets are available on the gate.

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Wolverhampton on Monday in the Sports Insure Premiership. The Witches had an unexpected week off last week with their fixture away at King’s Lynn called off by the hosts due to being ‘unable to field a competitive team’ for the meeting. Ipswich head to the West Midlands in good form, having won their last five, a run that has given the club an outside shot at the top four, but team manager Ritchie Hawkins knows his side must make it six wins in a row if the play-off hopes are to remain alive.

Ipswich take a four-point lead to the Ladbroke Stadium having won 47-43 at Foxhall in July with the aggregate bonus point up for grabs on Monday and the away side know they must collect all three points on offer in their quest for the top four. The visitors use Jason Edwards as a guest for injured Rising Star Dan Thompson.

FROM THE BOSS

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…

“We are all looking forward to getting back on track on Monday at Wolverhampton. We are in a good run of form with a run of victories, and we wanted to carry that on last week, but that opportunity was taken away from us. We look forward to Monday and we face a tough challenge.

“Dan is missing which is a blow to us in the Rising Star position. He has come in and done a terrific job and his points have clearly made a difference. It has been a pleasure for all of us to see his improvement. He is going to be on the sidelines for a few weeks I would guess but it is too early to put an exact timescale on it yet.

“We will be using Jason Edwards as a guest on Monday and the plan is for him to be guesting for us until Dan is fit. He is a rider I have been wanting to work with for a little while now. I know him well from his time at Mildenhall last year and we got to know each other well, he is a great British talent. I’m delighted to give Jason an opportunity and I know he will want to grab it with both hands.

“Clearly, it is a massive meeting for us and as we have been saying for a long time it is a must-win for us and we have got to go there looking to win the meeting and put as much pressure on them and the teams around them in the play-off race. We still have an outside chance but that will be gone if we don’t win at Wolverhampton and take three points.

“We had some great results there last year and we are in good form so we can take a lot of positives from that. It is the last-chance saloon for us, and we must win there but ultimately it is an extremely tough test and they are very good at their home track. We know with the line-up we have got that we can win anywhere if we put it all together at the same time and we have the opportunity to do that on Monday. We are going to need to put it all together because they are a good team.”

THE WOLVES

Wolverhampton have enjoyed another good campaign so far and currently sit second in the table. Wolves recorded a big away win at Leicester last Thursday and they are unbeaten at home in 2023 although they have been taken to the Super Heat twice. Wolverhampton ran out 49-41 winners when the two sides last met in the West Midlands.

The hosts’ strength is always continuity in the side and this year is no different. Zach Cook was the only winter addition who had not ridden for the club before with the other six riders knowing their home track like the back of their hands. Steve Worrall recently finished second in the British Final and will be the Wild Card at the British Grand Prix.

AWAY DAYS

An adult ticket costs £21, concessions £19, juniors (aged 13-18) £6, children (aged 7-12) £1 and children under the age of 7 go free. Official programmes cost £3. For travel information head here.

For more information about the club head to Wolverhampton’s official website.

KING’S LYNN V IPSWICH – POSTPONED

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The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches’ Sports Insure Premiership fixture against King’s Lynn on Thursday 17th August has been postponed.

The postponement is due to ‘rider unavailability’ for King’s Lynn. We apologise, again, to our supporters who had made plans to travel and support the team but the matter is out of our control as a club.

The fixture has been rearranged for Monday 4th September.

DOYLE: IPSWICH FEELS RIGHT, I DON’T WANT TO GO ANYWHERE ELSE

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By Mike Bacon

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches rider Jason Doyle is looking forward to another tough derby test against the King’s Lynn Stars as the Witches look to make it four league wins out of four over their Norfolk rivals this year.

The Witches ace was speaking ahead of the Sports Insure Premiership tie at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday, where the Witches will be looking for maximum points in their pursuit of an outside shot at a play-off place.

“There is still a little bit of a chance to make the play-offs, and we know a lot of matches need to go our way,” Doyle said.

“But we need to do what we are doing and just keep winning. If we were to make the play-offs, it would be all to play for.”

The Witches are the in-form team in the Sports Insure Premiership and will be looking to make it six wins on the spin at the Adrian Flux Arena. But they will have to do it without reserve Dan Thompson who crashed out against Lynn at Foxhall last week.

“It was a big downer, Dan getting injured,” Doyle added.

“He’s been a massive boost of us, a reserve scoring consistently and making it a bit easier for the top boys.

“Yes, it would be nice to beat Lynn again. That little bit of Ipswich/King’s Lynn rivalry is good for the fans. There were so many of them there a couple of weeks ago at Lynn. It proves it’s a vital fixture to win.

“I’m glad we won there the other week, but it’s going to be tough again this time, we know that. We’ve just got to go and get the points.”

Doyle has enjoyed another superb season for the Witches, just as he did in 2022 when he led the team into the play-offs. And he admits, Ipswich is where he would happily stay for the foreseeable future.

“I hope Chris (Louis) will have me back at Ipswich next year,” Doyle added.

“I don’t want to go anywhere else. I want to be part of the furniture and stay there for many years, not just do a couple of seasons. Ipswich feels right. I don’t know how many years I have left racing, but I want to stay at one club and finish my time in England.

“I’m enjoying my time at Ipswich and hopefully I can continue that.”

KING’S LYNN v IPSWICH WITCHES, SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP, THURSDAY 17TH AUGUST, 7.30pm.

RACEDAY REPORT: 2023 SPORTS INSURE BRITISH FINAL

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Picture courtesy of Ian Charles

By Henry Chard

THE SCORES

QUALIFYING SCORES: Dan Bewley 12, Steve Worrall 12, Ben Barker 12, Adam Ellis 11, Chris Harris 11, Richard Lawson 9, Tom Brennan 9, Simon Lambert 8, Charles Wright 8, Danny King 7, Connor Mountain 6, Kyle Howarth 5, Leon Flint 4, Joe Thompson 2, Danyon Hume 2, Freddie Hodder (Res) 1, Sam Hagon 0.

SEMI-FINAL: Lawson, Barker, Ellis, Harris.

FINAL: Bewley, Worrall, Barker, Lawson

REFEREE: P. Griffin

THE STORY

Dan Bewley retained his title in Monday’s Sports Insure British Final at the National Speedway Stadium.

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches skipper Danny King endured a frustrating night in difficult conditions as he fell short of the top six. Witches reserve Danyon Hume picked up two points, but no one could stop Bewley from taking the crown as Steve Worrall picked up the Wild Card for the Cardiff Grand Prix, having finished second.

After a lot of rain in Manchester the action got underway in tricky conditions and Hume retired early on in heat one with mechanical issues. King made the gate and won heat two, holding off last year’s runner-up Tom Brennan.

King made a good move at the start of heat six as he cut back on turn two to settle into second as Adam Ellis couldn’t be caught. Hume finished at the back in heat seven as Bewley coasted to victory.

King made the gate in heat nine but was swallowed up coming out of the second turn and went to the back before trying the wide line on turn three which left him too far behind to trouble the scoring with Simon Lambert winning the race. Hume picked up his first point in heat 11 as Brennan wasn’t troubled at the front.

Hume was the early leader in heat 15 but was passed by former champions Chris Harris and Charles Wright and was forced to settle for another point. King’s hopes of adding another title to his name ended in heat 16 when he slid off and was excluded whilst trying the outside line in the difficult conditions.

King blasted around Leon Flint at the end of the first lap of heat 19 but couldn’t catch Richard Lawson as Hume finished at the back.

Having snuck into the semi-final, Lawson went and won it as Ben Barker held off Ellis for second to join Lawson in the final.

However, Bewley was in a class of his own in the final as he retained his crown ahead of Worrall and Barker.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Monday’s event.

“It was a disappointing night for the Witches at the British Final. It was great learning experience for Danyon and that experience in those conditions in a big meeting should be invaluable to him. He may not have got the points he would have liked but certainly there is a lot he can take from it going forward in his career.

“Having seen those conditions, Danny would have felt confident in himself, and he started strongly, he just made one mistake in his third ride in the first bend which really cost him. That left him playing catch up and then in the fourth ride, he was victim of circumstances in the first bend of that one, which we saw quite a lot of all evening. The guy on the outside was getting stuck and judging by the other three rides he would have been back in it. One big mistake cost him dearly, but Danny is very experienced and will move on quickly from that.

“Fair play to everyone getting the meeting on, and it was nice to see a meeting not cancelled due to difficult conditions. The boys that were there handled it well on the whole.”

UP NEXT

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to King’s Lynn to face the Stars at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday 17th August in the Sports Insure Premiership. Tickets can be purchased on the gate.

RACEDAY PREVIEW: 2023 SPORTS INSURE BRITISH FINAL

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By Henry Chard

All the details ahead of the 2023 Sports Insure British Final.

WHEN & WHERE

The 2023 Sports Insure British Final takes place at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday 14th August in an individual fixture that starts at 7.30pm, live on Eurosport.

LINE-UP

1. Simon Lambert 2. Adam Ellis 3. Danyon Hume 4. Kyle Howarth 5. Sam Hagon 6. Danny King 7. Connor Mountain 8. Tom Brennan 9. Ben Barker 10. Chris Harris 11. Steve Worrall 12. Leon Flint 13. Richard Lawson 14. Joe Thompson 15. Dan Bewley 16. Charles Wright. Reserves: TBC

REFEREE: P. Griffin

TICKETS

Tickets are available to buy online and on the gate.

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches are represented at Monday’s Sports Insure British Final in Manchester by Danny King and Danyon Hume.

The showpiece event takes place at the National Speedway Stadium with sixteen riders doing battle to become the British champion. Ipswich skipper King has lifted the title once before back in 2016 and has come close on different occasions since but has just fallen short in the final race of the meeting.

Fellow Witch Danyon Hume also received a late call-up to the line-up. Hume was due to be a meeting reserve but now replaces Richie Worrall who withdrew from the fixture. The Witches number six made his debut in last year’s abandoned staging of the meeting and will be hoping the weather allows him to complete event this time around.

The winner of the meeting, or the runner-up if Dan Bewley clinches back-to-back titles, will receive a Wild Card for the British Grand Prix at Cardiff on September 2.

We wish both ‘Tru Mix’ Witches the best and hope to welcome another British champion back to Suffolk.

FROM THE BOSS

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives his pre-match thoughts…

“We have got representation in the British Final again and this year it is Danny and Danyon, after his late call-up. Danny is fully focused on winning another British title and he wants to get another one before his career ends. It is a place we know he can go well at, and he has already won there once before.

“I saw Richard Lawson talking about it the other day, in an ideal world we would have a series that goes across different types of tracks across the country, and I think that is something in the future that could happen. At the moment, the finance isn’t there to make it financially viable which is the main reason it isn’t like that. There are no qualifying rounds now like there used to be and now it is a straight final, it would be great to see it run over different areas of the country and different types of tracks. That would give you a true reflection of the British champion.”

THE CONTENDERS

Grand Prix rider Bewley won the title in 2022 and will be heavy favourite to retain his crown on his home track. Belle Vue teammate Tom Brennan finished second last season and will be hoping to challenge for the title again. Adam Ellis, Chris Harris and Charles Wright have all tasted glory before and will be looking to add to their titles.

AWAY DAYS

Tickets can be purchased here. For more information about your visit to the National Speedway Stadium, head here.

For more information about the club head to Belle Vue’s official website.

RACEDAY REPORT: IPSWICH 51–39 KING’S LYNN – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2 (H)

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By Henry Chard

MEETING SPONSORS

Tru Mix – Tru7 is the leading supplier of ready mixed concrete in Ipswich. They offer a professional, reliable service with a range of mixer sizes from 4-8m3 along with Volumetric site batched lorries. They can supply large scale commercial or small domestic sites from our Suffolk wide locations, including a new state of the art batching facility in Kesgrave.

Ipswich Town Football Club – They offer an extensive range of hospitality, advertising and sponsorship opportunities to place your business front and centre, plus unforgettable experiences for their passionate and loyal supporters.

Whether you’re looking to catapult your brand through a bespoke partnership or impress and engage key clients at a memorable match day, Ipswich Town Football Club is the place to do it.

THE SCORES

IPSWICH 51: Emil Sayfutdinov 13+1, Keynan Rew R/R, Danny King © 9+1, Erik Riss 9+2, Jason Doyle 10, Danyon Hume 10+1, Dan Thompson (RS) (Withdrawn). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

KING’S LYNN 39: Artem Laguta 2, Thomas Jorgensen R/R, Benjamin Basso (G) 6+1, Connor Mountain (G) 3+1, Nicolai Klindt © 15, Simon Lambert 10+2, Sam Hagon (G) (RS) 3+2. Team Manager: David Hoggart

REFEREE: B. Horley

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2138
Wolverhampton1729
Leicester1729
Ipswich2127
Sheffield1624
King’s Lynn187
Peterborough185

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches recorded victory again in the East Anglian derby as they overcame King’s Lynn on Thursday night at Foxhall in the Sports Insure Premiership.

The home team were using rider replacement for Keynan Rew but were still heavy favourites against a patched-up Stars side. However, a heat two crash for Dan Thompson saw him withdrawn with a dislocated shoulder, leaving the Witches with just five men and up against it for the rest of the meeting. The Suffolk side battled on though and still had too much for the Norfolk side as they made it five wins on the spin. Emil Sayfutdinov top scored with 13+1.

Heat one was stopped as Danyon Hume fell on the opening lap under pressure from Simon Lambert and the referee decided to exclude the Ipswich man. Sayfutdinov won the re-run setting a new track record in the process with a time of 55.0 seconds. Heat two was also stopped as Thompson hit the deck after some first bend bunching with the Witches man receiving treatment from the paramedics. There was a lengthy delay to the meeting with Thompson being withdrawn and taken to hospital and an early interval was called. When the action did resume Hume won the re-run and Ipswich went in front in heat three as Erik Riss won and Danny King got himself into third for a 4-2. Nicolai Klindt won heat four in a 3-3 leaving Ipswich 13-11 ahead.

Heat five was awarded as a 5-1 to Ipswich with King leading the race but Artem Laguta fell late on in the race having done well to get into second, meaning Riss was promoted to second. With the Witches down to five riders, Sayfutdinov was out on his own in heat six and won with ease. Jason Doyle and Hume were on a maximum in heat seven, but Hume fell again on later on in the race meaning a 3-3. Riss was on his on own in heat eight and made the gate but couldn’t prevent Klindt from taking the chequered flag, meaning a heat advantage to King’s Lynn to make the score 26-22.

There was another stoppage in heat nine as Klindt left King no room on the outside, putting the Ipswich captain in the fence, a move which he was excluded for. King dusted himself down and teamed up with Riss for a maximum in the re-run. Klindt was back out in heat 10 as a tactical substitute but he was no match for Sayfutdinov who was the sole Ipswich rider in the race. Doyle won heat 11 as Laguta retired, giving Ipswich a 4-2 to extend the lead to 10 points. The hosts hit another maximum in heat 12 as Hume and King raced home to give their side a big 43-29 lead.

Klindt held off Doyle to win a shared heat 13 and the Stars hit a 2-4 in heat 14. Sayfutdinov took the final race of the night as his partner King retired with bike issues, but it was job done for Ipswich despite the difficult circumstances as they made it five wins in row.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Thursday’s win against King’s Lynn.

“I am delighted with the effort shown by the five remaining riders and the seven mechanics that worked their socks off to keep the boys on track. It was an amazing effort in the pits by all twelve of them and I couldn’t have asked for more, I am delighted with them.

“The loss of Dan in heat two was a massive blow to us with us already using rider replacement. It has been confirmed on x-ray that he has dislocated his shoulder. We will know more about the damage in the coming days. To pick up an injury when you are hitting the best form of your life is really disappointing for him. Hopefully it isn’t too severe, he is young, and I know he will work hard to make sure he recovers as quickly as he can. He will come back stronger.

“There was a lot of dirt on the track and some riders struggle to ride a speedway track with dirt on nowadays, that makes it difficult for them. Our boys dealt with it well and there was lots of incidents and good racing.

“That makes it five wins in a row, but we can’t get carried away with that. We have another important meeting next week that we need to win away from home to keep the pressure on everyone and then we will go to Wolves the following week.”

TRU MIX & IPSWICH TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB RIDERS OF THE NIGHT

Title sponsors Tru Mix chose top scorer Sayfutdinov.

ITFC picked Riss who continued his good form with 9+2.

WHAT IT MEANS

Ipswich remain fourth and add two points to their total, closing the gap on the two teams above them. King’s Lynn stay sixth.

UP NEXT

The 2023 British Final takes place at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday 14th August. Tickets can be purchased on the gate and in advance here.

BEN FUND COLLECTION

The annual collection for the Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund raised £3195.06 at this meeting, beating last year’s total of £2773.65. All donations go to a fantastic cause and thank you for giving generously! This total included a £200 donation from Sayfutdinov who had been presented with a cheque by A&S Aggregates Ltd for breaking the track record.

LOUIS: WE WANT TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING

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By Mike Bacon

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches promoter, Chris Louis, is looking for his team to keep the pressure up on those around them in the play-off spots, as well as heap more misery on Norfolk rivals King’s Lynn, as the Stars come to Foxhall on Thursday (7.30pm).

Lynn head to Suffolk in a Sports Insure Premiership clash, with the Witches having already triumphed home and away against the Stars this summer.

The Witches are the form team in the Sports Insure Premiership, with four wins on the bounce, three of them on the road. And they return to Foxhall in buoyant mood.

“We want to keep the momentum going. I want us to beat Lynn, beat Lynn next week at their place and pick up all the points,” Louis said.

“I want us to keep winning for all the obvious reasons. Because it gives us a chance to make the play-offs and it keeps confidence high, puts us in a better position when it comes to the Knockout Cup, which obviously first we have a job to do at Peterborough in the second leg of the semi-final.”

The Witches currently sit in the final play-off position in the Sports Insure Premiership table with only Belle Vue seemingly home and hosed for a guaranteed play-off place.

However, the Witches have ridden more meetings than Wolves, Sheffield and Leicester and remain outsiders to claim a top-four spot. But they are at least giving themselves a chance.

“Yes, we’re in the top four, although it doesn’t’ feel we are exactly in the play-offs, as such,” Louis said.

“But we’re putting a lot of pressure on the teams around us. That wasn’t happening, now it is, which makes their job a little bit harder knowing that although they have meetings in hand, they must put the points on the board.

“Everyone is keeping a close eye on the league table. If we can beat Lynn on Thursday and win at their place next week, that’s another five points. Others around us only need to slip up once or twice, especially at home and we are right back in it.”

King’s Lynn will want to put an end to the Witches’ slim play-off hopes once and for all at Foxhall on Thursday.

They arrive in Ipswich having had a tough season and will be desperate to put one over their Suffolk rivals, who they have yet to beat in 2023.

Lynn are led by former world champion, Artem Laguta, the 2021 world champion, who will be making his Foxhall debut. He will be up against Emil Sayfutdinov – the pair have been Speedway of Nations winners three times with Russia.

“It will be good to see Artem up against Emil,” Louis said. “Emil has been in superb form all year and was brilliant at Peterborough on Monday. And it was good to see Erik (Riss) score so well.

“It was another good win for us and, even though Jason (Doyle) didn’t appear to have the speed he usually has, he showed his huge commitment to the club making unbelievable moves.

“There’s always added spice with King’s Lynn in town. We’ve beaten them twice already; it would be nice to whitewash them with all four wins this season.”

IPSWICH WITCHES v KING’S LYNN STARS, Sports Insure Premiership, Thursday, August 10, 7.30pm.

RACEDAY PREVIEW: KING’S LYNN – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2 (H)

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By Henry Chard

All the details ahead of our Sports Insure Premiership R2 fixture with King’s Lynn.

WHEN & WHERE

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the King’s Lynn Stars at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 10th August in a Sports Insure Premiership R2 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

MEETING SPONSORS

Tru Mix – Tru7 is the leading supplier of ready mixed concrete in Ipswich. They offer a professional, reliable service with a range of mixer sizes from 4-8m3 along with Volumetric site batched lorries. They can supply large scale commercial or small domestic sites from our Suffolk wide locations, including a new state of the art batching facility in Kesgrave.

Ipswich Town Football Club – They offer an extensive range of hospitality, advertising and sponsorship opportunities to place your business front and centre, plus unforgettable experiences for their passionate and loyal supporters.

Whether you’re looking to catapult your brand through a bespoke partnership or impress and engage key clients at a memorable match day, Ipswich Town Football Club is the place to do it.

TEAMS

IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.91 2. R/R for Keynan Rew 4.00 3. Danny King 7.03 © 4. Erik Riss 4.86 5. Jason Doyle 9.37 6. Danyon Hume 3.74 7. Dan Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

KING’S LYNN: 1. Artem Laguta 8.00 2. R/R for Thomas Jorgensen 5.04 3. Benjamin Basso (G) 6.69 4. Connor Mountain (G) 5.00 5. Nicolai Klindt 6.50 © 6. Simon Lambert 3.66 7. Sam Hagon (G) (RS). Team Manager: David Hoggart

REFEREE: B. Horley

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2138
Wolverhampton1729
Leicester1629
Ipswich2025
Sheffield1522
King’s Lynn177
Peterborough185

TICKETS

Tickets are available to buy online (until 7pm on raceday) and on the gate and are priced at £22 for adults and £20 for concessions (65+). Children 16 and under go free. Official programmes are priced at £3 and are available at the stadium. Car parking is free for all supporters. Debit and credit card payments are accepted. Turnstiles open at 6.40pm.

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches are back on home shale on Thursday as they take on the King’s Lynn Stars in the Sports Insure Premiership. The Witches have been on the road since a big win over Peterborough on 20th July in front of their home supporters, winning at Leicester, King’s Lynn and Peterborough to make it four wins in a row, a run that has taken them into the top four. With just four league fixtures remaining there is no room for error for the Witches in their bid for the play-offs.

The Suffolk side will be confident of making it five wins on the bounce against a patched-up Stars side, but they will be without Keynan Rew on Thursday who is competing in the Speedway of Nations Under-21 World Championship in Latvia on Friday. Rider replacement will be used at number two in his absence.

FROM THE BOSS

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…

“We will be heavy favourites to win against a patched-up King’s Lynn side and we need to do a professional job and carry on our run of wins and make sure we don’t give them a sniff. We need to dominate and make sure we win the meeting and not make life hard for ourselves.

“We always talk about it being a local derby and we have beaten them a couple of times and we need to carry on that run.

“We have got riders coming into form, maybe slightly too late but it is nice to see everyone back in form now and it is something we need to carry on from the last few meetings and continue building on it to finish the season strongly.

“Keynan is not going to be there as it is the Speedway of Nations Under-21 World Championship on Friday and he has to be there early on Friday morning which means he can’t get there from being at Ipswich on Thursday night which he would have liked to have done.”

THE STARS

King’s Lynn have had a season they would rather forget about as they sit sixth in the table with any play-off hopes long gone. The Norfolk side are yet to pick up a point on the road this season, with seven defeats from seven.

2021 world champion Artem Laguta is the star name of their side and captain Nicolai Klindt often goes well at Foxhall. The visitors have four absentees on Thursday with Anders Rowe and Emil Breum both competing in the same event as Rew, whilst Thomas Jorgensen and Michael Palm Toft are out injured. Rider replacement is used at number two for Jorgensen whilst Benjamin Basso guests in place of Palm Toft. Connor Mountain is the guest for Breum and Sam Hagon comes in for Rowe.

BEN FUND COLLECTION

We will be holding our annual collection for the Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund at this meeting. All donations go to a fantastic cause and last year we raised £2773.65 at Foxhall. Please give generously as we try to beat last year’s total! 

RACEDAY REPORT: PETERBOROUGH 43-47 IPSWICH – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2 (A)

Posted on ,
Picture courtesy of Jeff Davies

By Henry Chard

THE SCORES

PETERBOROUGH 43: Chris Harris © 4+1, Vadim Tarasenko R/R, Benjamin Basso 11+1, Ben Cook 7+1, Niels-Kristian Iversen 6+1, Patryk Wojdylo 12, Jordan Jenkins (RS) 3. Team Manager: Rob Lyon

IPSWICH 47: Emil Sayfutdinov 15 (Maximum), Erik Riss 8+2, Danny King © 6, Keynan Rew 0, Jason Doyle 9+1, Danyon Hume 4+1, Dan Thompson (RS) 5+1. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: M. Wear

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2138
Wolverhampton1729
Leicester1629
Ipswich2025
Sheffield1522
King’s Lynn177
Peterborough185

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches made it four wins in a row with a narrow victory away at Peterborough on Monday night in the Sports Insure Premiership.

The Panthers brought in Chris Harris as a new signing a day before the fixture to give them a boost but lost Vadim Tarasenko on the day of the meeting due to family reasons with rider replacement being used in his absence. Ipswich started strongly but were soon pegged back by Peterborough who then built a six-point lead by heat 10. The Suffolk side ended strongly though to pick up an important two league points as well as the bonus point, a result that edged the Witches into the top four. Emil Sayfutdinov top scored with a sublime 15-point maximum.  

The visitors enjoyed the perfect start in heat one as Sayfutdinov and Erik Riss raced to a maximum. The good start continued in heat two as Danyon Hume won and Dan Thompson picked up a point for a 2-4. The hosts hit back in heat three with a 5-1 and then went in front with another maximum in heat four to turn things around and lead 13-11.

Sayfutdinov passed Benjamin Basso to win heat five as the Witches hit a 2-4 to level the scores. The home team went back in front in heat six as Patryk Wojdylo got the better of Jason Doyle to win with captain Harris third for a heat advantage. Peterborough extended their lead to four points in heat seven with another 4-2 before there was a delay to proceedings as medics attended to an incident in the pits. The racing resumed in heat eight as Riss won in an Ipswich 2-4 to reduce the Panthers’ lead and make it 25-23 overall.

The first 3-3 of the night came in heat nine as Doyle won but the home team went six points in front in heat 10 as the impressive reserve Wojdylo took the chequered flag again and was followed home by Harris. Sayfutdinov and Riss were proving a strong pairing on the night, and they raced to a maximum in heat 11 to get Ipswich back within two points. It was a shared heat 12 with Basso winning and Thompson rode well to keep Wojdylo at the back, leaving it finely poised at 37-35.

Sayfutdinov won heat 13 and Doyle did excellently to work his way through the traffic join his partner at the front for the maximum that edged Ipswich in front. Ben Cook won heat 14 but the reserve duo of Thompson and Hume were both in the points for a 3-3 that kept the Witches in front going into the final race of the night. Sayfutdinov completed his maximum by winning heat 15 as Doyle picked up a point to secure a big three league points that pushed Ipswich into the play-off places.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Monday’s win at Peterborough.

“It is another victory and that is what we needed, and it was a really close meeting. Emil was exceptionally fast and was a joy to watch again. It was brilliant to see Erik back, from that first heat you could see him grow into the meeting and I also thought our reserves did brilliantly as well.

“It was great to see Erik score well and it is something for him to now work on, progress from and keep going. It should do him the world of good with his confidence and it was vital for us and needed. Danny scored steady points and to have Erik scoring points in the side with him really helps and that made a massive difference.

“All we can do is keep winning and getting as many points as we can on the board and hope someone else slips up. That hasn’t happened yet, but we just need to keep winning and we are home and away against King’s Lynn now and we need to take five points and that is all we can do.”

RIDER OF THE NIGHT

Riss had his best night in Ipswich kevlars since his return to fitness, but it has to be Sayfutdinov who was majestic once again as he raced to a 15-point maximum.

WHAT IT MEANS

Ipswich pick up three points and go fourth in the table above Sheffield, although the Witches have raced five more fixtures than the Tigers. Peterborough stay bottom.

UP NEXT

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the King’s Lynn Stars at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 10th August in the Sports Insure Premiership. Tickets can be purchased online in advance here and on the gate.