Author Archives: Henry Chard

About Henry Chard

Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway

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

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By Henry Chard

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

WHEN & WHERE

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Peterborough to face the Panthers at the East of England Arena & Events Centre on Monday 7th August in a Sports Insure Premiership R2 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

TEAMS

PETERBOROUGH: 1. Chris Harris 7.13 © 2. Vadim Tarasenko 5.00 3. Benjamin Basso 5.91 4. Ben Cook 5.09 5. Niels-Kristian Iversen 6.67 6. Patryk Wojdylo 5.00 7. Jordan Jenkins (RS). Team Manager: Rob Lyon

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. Dan Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: M. Wear

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2035
Wolverhampton1627
Leicester1527
Sheffield1422
Ipswich1922
King’s Lynn177
Peterborough175

TICKETS

Tickets are available on the gate.

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches are on the road again on Monday as they travel to face Peterborough in the Sports Insure Premiership.

Ipswich are looking to continue their good form having won away at Leicester and King’s Lynn last week to put pressure on the top four. It’s another must-win tie for Ritchie Hawkins’ team against the league’s bottom side and they take a big 18-point lead on aggregate for the bonus point having won 54-36 at Foxhall last month.

The Witches have already won at the East of England Arena this season, way back in March on the opening night of the season where they took a 48-42 victory. The visitors are unchanged from Thursday’s win in Norfolk.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“I think we will need to improve on our performance against King’s Lynn to win there but we go there confident and in a good run of form, looking to get another away victory and three more points.

“Erik is at two again and I feel like heat one off of the inside gate should suit him and I want to get off to a good start in the meeting. At the moment, Keynan takes a couple of rides to get into the meeting, he won heat 14 at King’s Lynn and it looks like it should suit Keynan. So, heat one for Erik and heat 14 for Keynan is what the idea is.

“We have got to go into it looking to take three big points. When you see their team on paper, I don’t think it is a bad line-up to be honest and they are capable. We are going to need to perform otherwise we will lose and that will end any faint hopes of the play-offs. We need to be professional and go there and do the job and if we perform to our capabilities, we will win the meeting but if we let that slip then we certainly won’t.”

THE PANTHERS

Peterborough sit bottom of the table after another campaign to forget. The Panthers have just one home win to their name this season and were heavily beaten by Wolverhampton last time out at the East of England Arena. The club have been hampered heavily this season by not being able to field a full one to seven on many occasions, but they will be at full strength on Monday.

The hosts recently signed Patryk Wojdylo to replace Hans Andersen and the Polish rider is at reserve for the Panthers. Peterborough also made a team change on Sunday, bringing back Chris Harris into the side as captain at number one with Richie Worrall leaving the club.

AWAY DAYS

An adult ticket costs £22, concessions (over 65), disabled and students £20, children (5-16) £5 and children under the age of 5 go free. Official programmes cost £3 with car parking priced at £1. Facilities include a 2200 capacity grandstand, grass banking on the back straight, fast food outlets on the grandstand side of the track and a licensed bar. For travel information head here.

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

RACEDAY REPORT: KING’S LYNN 40-50 IPSWICH – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1 (A)

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By Henry Chard

THE SCORES

KING’S LYNN 40: Artem Laguta 10+1, Thomas Jorgensen R/R, Benjamin Basso (G) 5, Emil Breum 4+1, Nicolai Klindt © 12+1, Simon Lambert 2+1, Anders Rowe (RS) 7+1. Team Manager: David Hoggart

IPSWICH 50: Emil Sayfutdinov 11+1 (Paid Maximum), Erik Riss 5+1, Danny King © 9, Keynan Rew 4+1, Jason Doyle 13, Danyon Hume 4, Dan Thompson (RS) 4+2. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: C. Turnbull

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2035
Wolverhampton1627
Leicester1527
Sheffield1422
Ipswich1922
King’s Lynn177
Peterborough175

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches secured victory in the East Anglian derby away at King’s Lynn on Thursday night in the Sports Insure Premiership.

Lowly King’s Lynn came into the fixture with a patched up side whilst the Witches were high on confidence after Monday’s win at Leicester. The Stars pushed Ipswich hard before the Suffolk side pulled away in the latter stages of the meeting for a comfortable victory which saw them pick up two league points and the aggregate bonus point. Jason Doyle top scored with 13.

Emil Sayfutdinov won a shared heat one as Erik Riss failed to get off the start due to mechanical issues. Danyon Hume won heat two and Dan Thompson passed Simon Lambert for a 2-4 to the visitors. Heat three didn’t get past the first turn as Emil Breum hit the deck and there was a delay before the re-run as the Dane received treatment. The Stars levelled the score with a 4-2 in the re-run before Doyle won a shared heat four with ease to leave the score 12-12.

Sayfutdinov was in his own postcode to win heat five and the away side had a stroke of luck as Stars guest Benjamin Basso packed up whilst in second and his teammate Breum made a mistake in third which allowed Riss into second for a 1-5. Doyle won heat six comfortably in a 3-3 and it was another share of the points in heat seven as Nicolai Klindt won. Klindt was back out again in heat eight and took the chequered flag again in another 3-3 making the score 22-26 to Ipswich.

Doyle took victory in heat nine in yet another 3-3 before the home team pulled two points back in heat 10 as Artem Laguta held off Danny King who had done well to pass Breum for second. Sayfutdinov coasted to victory in heat 11 and Riss won the battle at the back against Lambert for a heat advantage to the Witches. King produced a determined first lap to win heat 12 as Basso suffered another engine failure whilst in second which gifted Ipswich a 2-4 to put them 33-39 ahead.

Doyle and Sayfutdinov banged in a 1-5 in heat 13 and Ipswich added further gloss to the scoreline with another maximum in heat 14 as Keynan Rew and Thompson couldn’t be caught at the front. The hosts did hit a maximum in the final race of the night, but it was little consolation as Ipswich enjoyed their night in Norfolk having picked up three league points and won local bragging rights in the derby.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

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

“Another victory and another good performance, I felt we were solid throughout the meeting. Jason and Emil were superb and everyone else was picking up points. We kicked on nicely and pulled away a bit at the end which was nice.

“We need everyone chipping in with points to back Emil and Doyley up and it was nice to see Erik score a few tonight. He had machinery troubles in his first ride which was the same that he had at Leicester. It is a bit of a mystery to be honest, it is not through lack of effort because he must have changed everything to try and solve that before tonight and it happened again straight away in his first ride. For him to come back and score a few points was good hopefully that is something he can build on for Monday.

“We are doing everything we can do at the moment; we have got maximum points from our last three meetings, and we are going to have to go into next week looking for another five points and that is all we can do.

“It was great to win, and I saw more Ipswich fans than King’s Lynn tonight, it felt like a home meeting, and it was great to see so much travelling support and I hope they are back again in two weeks, and we can send them home happy again.”

RIDER OF THE NIGHT

It was a real team performance from the Witches, but we’ll give it Doyle who top scored with 13 points, his only points being dropped in heat 15.

WHAT IT MEANS

Ipswich pick up three points and move level with fourth-placed Sheffield. King’s Lynn stay sixth as their disappointing campaign continues.

UP NEXT

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to the East of England Arena to face Peterborough on Monday 7th August in the Sports Insure Premiership. Tickets can be purchased on the gate.

RACEDAY PREVIEW: KING’S LYNN – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1 (A)

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By Henry Chard

All the details ahead of our Sports Insure Premiership R1 fixture with King’s Lynn.

WHEN & WHERE

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to King’s Lynn to face the Stars at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday 3rd August in a Sports Insure Premiership R1 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

TEAMS

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

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. Dan Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: C. Turnbull

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2035
Wolverhampton1627
Leicester1527
Sheffield1422
Ipswich1819
King’s Lynn167
Peterborough175

TICKETS

Tickets are available on the gate.

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches make the short journey to Norfolk on Thursday as they face the King’s Lynn Stars in the Sports Insure Premiership.

The two sides met way back in May, and it was a dominant performance from the Suffolk side who ran out 52-38 winners in front of a big bank holiday crowd at Foxhall. Ritchie Hawkins’ side head to the Adrian Flux Arena knowing they must pick up all three points against a side struggling at the bottom end of the table.

The visitors go into the fixture with confidence high after a big win away at high-flying Leicester on Monday saw them close the gap on the top four. Jason Doyle hit a paid maximum that night whilst Dan Thompson starred at reserve scoring 9+4. Erik Riss has moved to number two with Keynan Rew at number four for this meeting.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“It was a great result on Monday, but it doesn’t take any of the importance away from a victory on Thursday. For our hopes of the play-offs, we need to win but the main thing is that we need to beat King’s Lynn. I’m sure we will have a lot of travelling support and we need to put in a great performance for them and send everyone home with a victory because they deserve that.

“It is Emil’s first trip to King’s Lynn with us, but I think you have seen everywhere he has been this year; he is very quick to adapt and I’m sure he will enjoy King’s Lynn. Keynan has no experience, but it is quite a fast, open racetrack so it is something he should be able to overcome, and it will be less tricky to get his head around compared to somewhere like Wolves or Leicester.

“King’s Lynn have had another poor season, but they will be made aware of what a victory over us means to them. I don’t think they will be as determined as we will be, everyone at the club and in the side is well aware of the importance of victory on Thursday and what it means to us. We will focus on ourselves and if we perform to our capabilities, we will win the meeting because we are the better side, we have just got to perform.”

THE STARS

King’s Lynn have endured another miserable campaign and are racing for nothing but pride at this stage of the season. It has been a year of wholesale changes within the team with the likes of Krysztof Kasprzak, Frederik Jakobsen, Jason Edwards, Josh Pickering and Kye Thomson all having been moved on and there has also been a change of team manager with David Hoggart replacing Alex Brady.  The Stars sit sixth in the table with just three wins to their name from 16 fixtures and they have been defeated six times already on home shale.

The home team have 2021 world champion Artem Laguta leading their side at number one. They have also recently signed young Danish prospect Emil Breum and he will ride at number four. The hosts will be without the injured Thomas Jorgensen with rider replacement in operation at number two. Benjamin Basso comes in as a guest for Michael Palm Toft at number three.

AWAY DAYS

An adult ticket costs £22, concessions (over 65), disabled and students £20 and children (under 16) go free. Official programmes cost £3. Facilities include free floodlit parking, seated grandstand, covered standing grandstand, restaurant, fully stocked bar and function room, four licenced bar outlets, merchandise stands, toilets and a first aid room. For travel information head here.

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

THOMPSON: EVERYONE HAS BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF ME

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By Mike Bacon

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches Rising Star, Dan Thompson has said he knew joining Ipswich would be a challenge – but one he hasn’t regretted taking on.

Thompson, 19, produced his best performance in a Witches race jacket on Monday night, as the Suffolk side kept their slim play-off hopes alive with a big victory at in-form Leicester Lions.

Now he, and the Witches, are looking to kick on in pursuit of that top-four place, with two more away-day Sports Insure Premiership clashes at King’s Lynn on Thursday night, and Peterborough next Monday. And Thompson is gunning for more points.

“I’ve been riding a lot lately and good results have been coming my way,” he said.

“To be honest, I’ve changed engine and that’s been good for me, but I’ve also been riding so much more regularly, and riding tracks I would only perhaps visit once a season.

“Being in the pits at Ipswich with the likes of Jason (Doyle), Emil (Sayfutdinov) and Danny (King), I’m being exposed to so much knowledge and experience, it’s helped me massively.

“They come over and give me advice. At Leicester on Monday, I spoke to Emil before my last ride about whether I should make a small change. They are always there for you. It’s amazing to have people like that next to you.”

Thompson has hit a consistent run of form that has seen his scores improve for the Witches, and individually. He finished on the British U-21 rostrum in third place after almost sealing the deal in Glasgow.

“The Under-21 final was a great experience, and I was gutted I couldn’t bring the trophy home,” he said.

“But I’ve got two more years to have a go at that and I’m confident I can get that title in the future.”

Joining the Witches from Leicester in June, Thompson admits it was a tough gig to take on, replacing his brother in the Ipswich team, as well as knowing little about the Foxhall circuit.

But he’s glad he made the move.

“I was in a bit of a dip mid-season when Leicester let me go and I was in and out of Championship teams, so Ipswich was a bit of a transition for me,” he said.

“I knew Ipswich would be a real challenge, having had no experience of the track. But since joining, everyone has been supportive of me. I’ve got to grips with the track over the last few weeks, so I’m contributing to the team and looking to continue to do that until the end of the season.

“Ipswich fans have been great. They come and speak to me after meetings and give me good support. Obviously, I knew my first few meetings, not scoring many points and making mistakes, I’d get a bit of stick. But since I’ve found my way, the fans have been there.

“It’s a great club to be part of.”

The Witches have kept their play-off hopes alive after the win at Leicester. But they have little wiggle room, lying fifth in the table. They need to beat Lynn and Peterborough in the next five nights away from home to keep their hopes alive.

“It was good for us as a team to beat Leicester and for me to put in a big performance,” Thompson added.

“We’ve talked about the play-offs. Winning at King’s Lynn and Peterborough isn’t out of the window. We can win there. Leicester are strong at home and look what we did to them.

“Anything can happen, and we are still pushing for it.”

KING’S LYNN V WITCHES, Sports Insure Premiership, Thursday, August 3, 7.30pm, Adrian Flux Arena

RACEDAY REPORT: LEICESTER 37-53 IPSWICH – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2 (A)

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Picture courtesy of Steve Dixon

By Henry Chard

THE SCORES

LEICESTER 37: Max Fricke 8, Justin Sedgmen 4, Troy Batchelor 2+2, Chris Harris © 9, Richard Lawson 6, Jake Allen 1+1, Drew Kemp (RS) 7. Team Manager: Stewart Dickson

IPSWICH 53: Emil Sayfutdinov 13+1, Keynan Rew 3, Danny King © 10, Erik Riss 1, Jason Doyle 14+1 (Paid Maximum), Danyon Hume 3, Dan Thompson (RS) 9+4. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: C. Turnbull

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2035
Wolverhampton1627
Leicester1527
Sheffield1422
Ipswich1819
King’s Lynn167
Peterborough175

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches raced to an impressive victory away at Leicester on Monday night in the Sports Insure Premiership.

The home team went into the fixture having raced to eight straight victories, but the Suffolk side started well and built a six-point lead after six races. The Witches kept Leicester at arm’s length before stepping it up a gear in the latter stages as they hit three maximums in the final four races. Jason Doyle top scored with a 14+1 paid maximum.

The hosts recorded a 4-2 in heat one after an extremely untidy first bend saw Justin Sedgmen hit the front with the other three riders all doing well to stay on the bike and avoid each other. Danyon Hume and Dan Thompson got themselves into a 1-5 position early on in heat two, but Drew Kemp had other ideas and passed both for a 3-3. Skipper Danny King won heat three and Erik Riss got the better of Troy Batchelor for a point for a Witches 2-4. The visitors went ahead in heat four as Doyle won and Thompson followed him home for a 1-5 that put them 10-14 ahead.

Emil Sayfutdinov won a shared heat five before Doyle won heat six and Hume held off Sedgmen for a 2-4. Leicester made a tactical substitution in heat seven bringing in Max Fricke and they hit a 4-2 as Richard Lawson won and King held off Fricke to keep second place. The points were shared in heat eight to keep the visitors 22-26 in front.

Leicester gated on a 5-1 in heat nine, but Doyle soon hit the front, rounding Batchelor at the end of the first lap before diving under Chris Harris at the start of second lap for a 3-3. The hosts recorded a 4-2 in heat 10 as Fricke beat King and Riss retired with bike issues whilst in third. Sayfutdinov won heat 11 with ease and Keynan Rew managed to hold on for a point for a heat advantage to Ipswich. The away side extended the lead in heat 12 as King and Thompson raced away for a maximum to make the score 32-40.

Ipswich secured victory in heat 13 in fine style as Sayfutdinov won and Doyle passed both Lions going into the second lap to join his partner at the front for another 1-5. It looked like it might be another maximum to the Witches in heat 14 as Thompson and Riss took an early lead, but Harris and Jake Allen got past Riss who retired with more bike troubles and Harris set his sights on Thompson at the front. The visiting Rising Star held his nerve and despite being passed by the Lions captain at the start of the last lap, he cut back and re-took the lead for a fantastic victory. The icing on the cake came in heat 15 as Doyle completed his paid maximum and Sayfutdinov backed him up for the maximum to give Ipswich a convincing 16-point win on the road against the high-flying Lions.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

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

“It was a brilliant performance and a great result. Leicester have been in great form, but we turned up there and the majority of the team rode to their capabilities which hasn’t happened too often this season.

“I think we have a couple of riders who have come into better form, Danny has got going again which really helps support the top two. Dan Thompson put in an outstanding performance tonight and he has got better every meeting. You can see his confidence has grown so much since the British Under-21 Final and having your number seven score paid 13 from five rides makes you a strong team.

“Doyley was terrific as well as Emil again tonight, I thought Doyley looked really quick and it was great to see him back on it. He has had maybe a couple of tough nights by his high standards, but he is never that far off really. He has been at the top for so long and it is a joy to watch them ride when they are riding like that.

“The win was the main thing, away from home we need to win the meetings. The aggregate bonus point doesn’t really matter, if we won by two or 16 because we have to win the home meetings. It doesn’t make a great deal of difference, but it was good to put in such a commanding victory. One thing that was a massive difference was that after the interval we kicked on and were superb whereas previously we have always dropped away at that point so that was a massive difference.”

RIDER OF THE NIGHT

Although Sayfutdinov and Doyle recorded big scores once again it was Thompson who caught the eye as the Rising Star racked up 9+4 from reserve.

WHAT IT MEANS

Ipswich pick up two points and close the gap on the top four, also building a 16-point lead ahead of the return fixture at Foxhall later next month with the aggregate bonus point up for grabs. Leicester drop to third.

UP NEXT

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to King’s Lynn to face the Stars at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday 3rd August in the Sports Insure Premiership. Tickets can be purchased on the gate.

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

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By Henry Chard

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

WHEN & WHERE

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Leicester to face the Lions at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena on Monday 31st July in a Sports Insure Premiership R2 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

TEAMS

LEICESTER: 1. Max Fricke 8.48 2. Justin Sedgmen 5.84 3. Troy Batchelor 4.99 4. Chris Harris 7.15 © 5. Richard Lawson 7.38 6. Jake Allen 4.00 7. Drew Kemp (RS). Team Manager: Stewart Dickson

IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.80 2. Keynan Rew 4.00 3. Danny King 6.73 © 4. Erik Riss 5.93 5. Jason Doyle 9.66 6. Danyon Hume 3.92 7. Dan Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: C. Turnbull

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2035
Leicester1427
Wolverhampton1524
Sheffield1422
Ipswich1717
King’s Lynn167
Peterborough165

TICKETS

Tickets can be purchased online in advance here and on the gate.

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches return to Sports Insure Premiership action on Monday night at Leicester.

Ipswich had a week off last week with the Speedway World Cup taking in place in Poland, but the focus is now back on the domestic campaign. The Witches have it all to do if they are to make the play-offs, currently sitting five points adrift of fourth having raced three more meetings. Monday’s fixture is the start of three on the road for the Suffolk side with Ritchie Hawkins saying that perfection is needed from those three fixtures to put pressure on the top four.

The Witches have had mixed fortunes at Leicester this season, winning in the Knockout Cup but suffering a 14-point defeat in the league in the R1 fixture. The visitors are at full strength and it is one of the many tracks Emil Sayfutdinov has taken a liking to, having scored a 12-point maximum and 17 on his two visits there this season.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“We are looking forward to getting back into action after a week off and a little break. We have got a run of three away meetings coming up and we need to start that run off with a win at Leicester. We need three wins from the three away meetings to put pressure on the teams in the play-off race. Hopefully that would put pressure on them to slip up and make a mistake. If we don’t win the away meetings, we will still be miles behind and it will be easy for them, so we need to make sure we perform well away from home and put the pressure on.

“It’s our third visit to Leicester this season, we started the season there brilliantly with a win early on and we will look to repeat that. When I look at our line-up, we have got seven riders capable of doing very well at Leicester. We have three heat leaders who can win races and score a lot of points and the four riders backing them up have also had good moments at Leicester and a lot of experience riding there between them. We look forward to it and certainly as individuals we should go there knowing we have got seven riders capable of winning races.

“Leicester are on a great run, they have won eight in a row but that has to come to an end at some point. We are concentrating on ourselves and what we are doing and if we can end that streak on Monday, it will give us a great boost going into the remainder of the season.”

THE LIONS

Leicester have enjoyed a fantastic return to the top-flight and are sitting pretty, second in the table. The Lions go into Monday’s fixture having won eight on the bounce, a run that has all but secured their play-off spot.

The home team are packed full of former Witches, and they added another this month, with the addition of Troy Batchelor to replace the suspended Nick Morris after he failed to comply with the Alcohol and Doping testing procedure. Max Fricke has been almost unbeatable on home shale of late, dropping just one point from his last three meetings at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena.

AWAY DAYS

An adult ticket costs £21, concessions £19, children (6-17) £1 and children aged 5 and under go free. There will be 235 free car park spaces available at the stadium with further free car parking facilities on the Beaumont Shopping Complex (maximum time of 4 hours). Three Coach/Mini Bus spaces, 15 Disabled spaces available, 15 Motorcycle spaces, Taxi drop-off point. For travel information head here.

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

RACEDAY REPORT: IPSWICH 54-36 PETERBOROUGH – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2 (H)

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By Dave Rowe

MEETING SPONSOR

Allard and Co Farming

THE SCORES

IPSWICH 54: Emil Sayfutdinov 12 (Maximum), Keynan Rew 3, Danny King © 12+1, Erik Riss 2+2, Jason Doyle 14+1 (Paid Maximum), Danyon Hume 5+1, Dan Thompson (RS) 6+2. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

PETERBOROUGH 36: Niels-Kristian Iversen 3+1, Richie Worrall © 9+1, Benjamin Basso 9, Ben Cook 5+1, Vadim Tarasenko 7, Connor Mountain (G) 3+2, Sam Hagon (G) (RS) 0. Team Manager: Laurence Rogers

REFEREE: C. Gay

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue2035
Leicester1427
Wolverhampton1524
Sheffield1422
Ipswich1717
King’s Lynn157
Peterborough153

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches returned to winning ways with a 54-36 victory over Peterborough on Thursday in the Sports Insure Premiership.

Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov both registered maximums as the Witches dominated the race wins, and with skipper Danny King also in double figures, the Panthers were limited to just four successes on the night.

The visitors were hampered by the absence of both regular reserves, Rising Star Jordan Jenkins having been hurt in a heavy crash at Oxford on Wednesday, and the Witches took full advantage that area with Danyon Hume and Dan Thompson racking up 11 (paid 14) between them, as Thompson in particular continued his excellent improvement during his fledgling Ipswich career.

The former Leicester youngster was involved in both early 5-1s which broke the deadlock, combining with Hume for a tapes-to-flag triumph in Heat 2 and then taking the scalp of Vadim Tarasenko for maximum points along with Doyle in Heat 4.

Sayfutdinov had won the opening race, which was shared, but the Panthers did take a 4-2 in Heat 3 with King splitting Benjamin Basso and Ben Cook to at least prevent a 5-1, and King then limited any damage by taking a re-started Heat 5 over Richie Worrall and Niels-Kristian Iversen after Erik Riss had come to grief.

Sayfutdinov and Doyle added clear wins in Heats 6 and 7 but the Panthers kept in touch with a series of 3-3s, and Heat 8 was also shared with a win for captain Richie Worrall over Keynan Rew and Thompson.

Stand-in Peterborough boss Laurence Rogers made his move in Heat 9 with a tactical substitute outing for Basso, but he came down on the second lap as he tried to get the better of Riss, with Tarasenko defeating King in yet another 3-3.

But the Witches then began to pull clear with back-to-back 4-2s even though Basso split Sayfutdinov and Rew in Heat 10, and there was a fine effort by Hume to keep Iversen at the back of Heat 11 as Doyle maintained his winning run.

After a shared Heat 12, the Witches finished strongly with Sayfutdinov and Doyle taking a convincing 5-1 over Tarasenko and Iversen in Heat 13 to extend the gap to 14 points, before Ben Cook produced a strong effort to defeat Hume in Heat 14 which again ended 3-3.

But there was one more maximum advantage for the Witches to enjoy and with Sayfutdinov sitting out Heat 15 on this occasion it was King who teamed up with Doyle for the 5-1, as Cook’s night came to an end with a fall coming out of the final corner.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

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

“I’m obviously happy to win, and to win convincingly. There were lots of positives to take from the meeting. We certainly can’t get carried away with beating Peterborough because they’re struggling – but we can only beat who’s in front of us, and tonight we did a good, solid professional job.

“There aren’t many meetings we go into where we look stronger on paper at reserve, but we did tonight, and we certainly took advantage of that. I think there’s been real improvement in Dan over the last few weeks, he had a brilliant performance in the Under-21s where he was so close to winning it and becoming the British Champion, and you can really see his confidence is growing and he’s enjoying being here. He’s done very well again tonight and the improvement meeting on meeting is very pleasing.

“Danyon did well again, and it was obviously good to see Danny riding that well, but we need to see it more consistently. With Erik I think it’s a confidence issue, he was out there practising afterwards which was great to see, and his last two rides were an improvement. But he has gone backwards from where he was a few weeks ago – when he first came back, he was showing good signs that he was going to kick on but he’s kind of gone the other way, and we need that No.4 position to be doing well, so that’s something we need to work on.

“We have ten days off now and then we have three away meetings, and that’s when we’re going to need to up our game and perform in them. If we can pull off a win at Leicester that will get the ball rolling into the next two meetings. It’s important for us to get into the Knockout Cup final, where we’ve got great lead, and we’ve got a very important trip to King’s Lynn where we need to win.”

ALLARD AND CO FARMING RIDER OF THE NIGHT

Doyle was the choice after his 14+1 paid maximum.

WHAT IT MEANS

Little change to the position in the Sports Insure Premiership with Ipswich moving on to 17 points, but they remain five points behind fourth-placed Sheffield who notched an important 50-40 home win over champions Belle Vue. Second-bottom King’s Lynn lost at home to in-form Leicester, who have now won eight matches in succession.

UP NEXT

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Leicester on Monday 31st July to take on the Lions at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena in the Sports Insure Premiership. Tickets can be purchased online in advance here and on the gate.

RACEDAY PREVIEW: PETERBOROUGH – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2 (H)

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By Henry Chard

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

WHEN & WHERE

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the Peterborough Panthers at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 20th July in a Sports Insure Premiership R2 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

MEETING SPONSOR

Allard and Co Farming

TEAMS

IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.80 2. Keynan Rew 4.00 3. Danny King 6.73 © 4. Erik Riss 5.93 5. Jason Doyle 9.66 6. Danyon Hume 3.92 7. Dan Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

PETERBOROUGH: 1. Niels-Kristian Iversen 7.07 2. Richie Worrall 6.15 © 3. Benjamin Basso 5.98 4. Ben Cook 5.13 5. Vadim Tarasenko 5.00 6. Connor Mountain (G) 4.62 7. Sam Hagon (G) (RS). Team Manager: Laurence Rogers

REFEREE: C. Gay

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue1935
Leicester1325
Wolverhampton1524
Sheffield1320
Ipswich1615
King’s Lynn147
Peterborough143

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 host the Peterborough Panthers in the Sports Insure Premiership on Thursday evening. Ipswich were in action on Monday at Belle Vue and put in a spirited display against the league leaders before falling to a 49-41 defeat in Manchester. The Witches have faced the Panthers twice already at home this season in the league and Knockout Cup, racking up big wins on both occasions against the league’s bottom side.

The home team are unchanged from Monday and will be desperate to return to winning ways after three defeats on the trot has made them big outsiders to make the top four and the end of season play-offs.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“We take on Peterborough and we have had good results against them already this year and I think we need to tackle the meeting in the same way we did a few weeks ago when they were last at our place. We put in a very professional and convincing performance on that occasion, and we need to do the same again on Thursday.

“They put in a great showing at Wolves and I’m sure that took Wolverhampton and a lot of people by surprise. We can’t afford to be lax because Peterborough are a team that have punished us in the past even when they have been struggling everywhere else. We are going to need to be on our toes and give them the respect they deserve so that we do not get upset again at home.

“After recent results, the play-off positions are looking a long way off so we need to treat one meeting at a time. We need the same effort that we saw at Belle Vue from the boys and there are still a lot of meetings to go and a lot to race for with the Knockout Cup as well. There are a lot of local derbies coming up as well against Peterborough and King’s Lynn, so we need to make sure we are winning them. We have provided great entertainment at home this year, but we have been on the wrong end of far too many results. We need to make sure we keep entertaining but getting the wins to reward our loyal supporters.”

THE PANTHERS

2023 has been a miserable year for Peterborough with the club sitting bottom of the table with just one win to their name after 14 fixtures. The club have little more than pride to race for in the league now and on Monday at Wolves they shocked many by taking the West Midlands outfit to a Super Heat before being defeated at the Ladbroke Stadium. That performance will give the bottom side a lot of confidence coming to Suffolk where they face an out of form Ipswich side.

The visitors are without captain Hans Andersen on Thursday due to a foot injury with a Connor Mountain guesting at number six. Sam Hagon guests for the injured Jordan Jenkins in the Rising Star position. Laurence Rogers is stand-in team manager for the Panthers with Rob Lyon on a pre-booked family holiday.

REW: I WOULDN’T HAVE ANY PROBLEM COMING BACK TO IPSWICH

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By Mike Bacon

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches’ young Aussie ace, Keynan Rew, has said he would welcome a return to Foxhall next season, while admitting he still has plenty of unfinished business this year.

The 20-year-old will be in the Witches team that entertain Peterborough Panthers in the Sports Insure Premiership at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday, 7.30pm start.

Rew has been picked in the Australian squad for the forthcoming World Cup, and currently sits equal second in the SGP2 series with one round to go. It’s been a steep learning curve for the amiable Aussie in 2023 as he debuts in England.

“It’s been a very up and down season for Ipswich and me,” Rew said. “I’ll be honest, I’ve found it quite hard at times and quite nice at times.

“It’s just difficult adapting to all the new things, the tracks are different every week, nothing really seems the same every week. The conditions last week against Belle Vue at Ipswich were, for me, not something I’ve ever raced in before. But it was another new challenge and I’ll take it on.

“It’s quite frustrating as I know I can beat nearly everyone in England on a good day, it’s just I struggle at times, losing races I shouldn’t be losing which is something I have got to fix and be a little bit more consistent.”

Rew has indeed beaten some of the best riders in the Sports Insure Premiership and he is in no doubt he wants to come back for more in 2024 – and with Ipswich.

“I would love to be back in English speedway next year, keep improving week on week and keep adapting to the things and be a bit more consistent,” he said.

“Ipswich has been great for me this year, great all year. I’ve had hardly any pressure put on me being my first year. The club have helped me out as much as they can. Everyone has treated me well. I wouldn’t have any problem coming back to Ipswich.

“The season isn’t finished yet and hopefully I can impress everyone with more consistent meetings, keep everyone happy and see how it all looks at the end of the year.”

On the international stage, Rew is slowly making a name for himself, culminating with being named in the Australian World Cup squad, alongside Ipswich No.5 and Aussie skipper, Jason Doyle.

“Yes, I made the 10-man squad, of course only five will race, but yes, it’s cool to be named,” Rew said. “All the hard work is paying off and as I said, it’s cool to be recognised for that.”

Currently sitting tied second in the SGP2 standings with one round to go in Vojens, Rew has enjoyed a positive two rounds so far.

“I had a strong second round and we’ll see where we end up at the end of the series,” he added.

“I messed up in the first round, but made up for it in Gorzow, so hopefully we’ll push on in Vojens and see what that brings.”

IPSWICH WITCHES versus PETERBOROUGH PANTHERS, Foxhall Stadium, Sports Insure Premiership, 7.30pm.