Author Archives: Henry Chard

About Henry Chard

Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway

RACEDAY REPORT: IPSWICH 51-39 SHEFFIELD – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2 (H)

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By Henry Chard

MEETING SPONSOR

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.

THE SCORES

IPSWICH 51: Jason Doyle 12, Danyon Hume 5, Danny King © 11, Ben Barker R/R, Emil Sayfutdinov 13+1, Keynan Rew 10+3, Joe Thompson (RS) 0. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

SHEFFIELD 39: Tobiasz Musielak 15, Lewis Kerr 6+2, Adam Ellis 7, David Bellego 0, Jack Holder 6, Kyle Howarth © 3, Dan Gilkes (RS) 2+1. Team Manager: Simon Stead

REFEREE: C. Gay

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue1222
Wolverhampton916
Leicester813
Sheffield810
Ipswich1010
King’s Lynn95
Peterborough82

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches returned to winning ways with a hard-fought victory over the Sheffield Tigers at Foxhall on Monday in the Sports Insure Premiership.

The Witches lost Ben Barker on the morning of the fixture due to a back injury with rider replacement in operation in his absence. Ipswich started positively to hold a six-point lead after four races, and they kept the Tigers at arm’s length throughout before extending the lead to 10 points in heat 12. A 4-2 in the final race gave some added gloss to the scoreline as the Suffolk side ended their bad run of form, in front of the Eurosport cameras. Emil Sayfutdinov top scored with 13+1.

Jason Doyle won a shared heat one from the gate and Keynan Rew did the same in heat two. The opening lap of heat three was as tight as they get as Danny King, Danyon Hume and Adam Ellis went into third turn three abreast, but it was King who prevailed ahead of Ellis with Hume picking up third for a 4-2 to the hosts. Ipswich extended their lead in heat four with a maximum from Sayfutdinov and Rew to make it 15-9 after the opening heats.

The Tigers responded in heat five with a 1-5 before Doyle won heat six ahead of Jack Holder with Hume third for a 4-2 to the home team. Ellis made a fast start in heat seven and was the early leader, but Sayfutdinov stormed under the Sheffield man going into the third turn of the opening lap and went on to take the chequered flag with Rew third for another heat advantage. Sheffield gated on a maximum in heat eight with Lewis Kerr and Dan Gilkes at the front, but Hume worked hard to split the visiting pair and reduced the damage to a 2-4, leaving the Witches 26-22 ahead.

The away team narrowed the gap further in heat nine as Holder beat King with Kyle Howarth third for the heat advantage. Doyle was pushed wide at the start of heat 10 as Ellis took the lead but the Australian wasted no time in catching the Sheffield man before diving under him to take the win and with Hume third it was a 4-2 to Ipswich. Sayfutdinov cruised to victory in heat 11 and it was another heat advantage to the Suffolk side with Rew keeping Kerr at the back. King and Rew romped home for a 5-1 in heat 12 to give Ipswich some more breathing space with a 41-31 lead.

Heat 13 was a blockbuster as all four riders exchanged positions throughout. Sheffield duo Tobiasz Musielak and Holder were in a 1-5 position early on before Doyle and Sayfutdinov relegated Holder to the back at the end of the first lap. Sayfutdinov then did well to stay on the bike and avoid Musielak, momentarily dropping to the back before getting past Holder for third again as a breath-taking race ended in a 3-3. Sheffield team manager Simon Stead put Musielak in as a tactical substitute in heat 14 and he won as the points were shared, a result that confirmed victory on the night for the home team. Musielak made the gate in the final race of the night, but Sayfutdinov was having none of it and produced one of his dive-bombs up the inside to get to the front as Ipswich ended with a 4-2 to make the final score 51-39.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

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

“I’m really happy with the fight back from the team after last week. It was one of our best performances of the year and a much needed one. We are delighted with them.

“Keynan certainly made the most of his first meeting at reserve and showed great determination right from the off, it was a brilliant performance. I thought Danyon did really well at number two and scored some vital points. To get five from him which takes five from them, he did a great job at number two. I was delighted to see Danny only have one race where he was off the pace, but it was great to see him back on form and he can build on that now.

“There was some superb racing tonight and we have been serving up some great entertainment at Ipswich this year and it is nice for it to be shown on TV. Heat 13 is probably one of the best races you are ever going to see and a lot of it comes from our top two. When they miss the start, they do provide great entertainment.

“We were missing Ben tonight and were left in a bit of a situation where Erik (Riss), our signed rider, could go and guest for Peterborough but he is not allowed to race in that position for us until the 28-days are up. That is up on Friday and Ben hopes to be back for Sheffield on Thursday and after that we have got decisions to make on the team.”

TRU MIX RIDER OF THE NIGHT

Sayfutdinov was chosen by Tru Mix after he top scored with 13+1.

WHAT IT MEANS

Ipswich pick up two points but stay fifth, level on points with Sheffield in fourth. The Witches take a 12-point lead to South Yorkshire when the two teams meet on 10th July and the aggregate bonus point will be decided.

UP NEXT

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to South Yorkshire on Thursday 15th June to take on the Sheffield Tigers at Owlerton in the Sports Insure Premiership. Tickets can be purchased on the gate.

REW: WE SO WANT TO GET IT RIGHT

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By Mike Bacon

Keynan Rew is hoping a move to reserve will help him regain a bit of confidence, as well as help the team, as the Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches entertain Sheffield Tigers in a Sports Insure Premiership clash at Foxhall on Monday, 7.30pm.

The 20-year-old Aussie U-21 champion, by his own admission, has found things tough of late, after a bright spell of form that culminated in him racing to his first-ever paid maximum in England a month ago in a win against Peterborough.

That performance displayed Rew’s talent and why Witches boss Chris Louis was so keen to get the young Aussie on board at Foxhall.

However, recent meetings haven’t been so good for Rew and the Witches, with three defeats on the bounce dropping them out of the Sports Insure Premiership play-off zone.

“I had a good run for a week or two and I thought things were coming together a bit earlier than I thought they were going to over in England,” Rew said.

“I started looking alright, but I’ve gone back into a bit of a hole lately which is very frustrating seeing as I know what I can do, and others can see what I can do. I’m trying my hardest. I don’t want to be scoring 2,3,4 points a meeting I want to be in the 8s and 9s helping the boys win meetings.”

Rew flew straight back to Poland after the Witches’ defeat at Leicester on Thursday night, to take the opportunity for more practice. He admits it’s a frustrating time for the Witches and their fans.

“Of course, it’s frustrating for me and it’s frustrating for the whole team and the fans. We need a few more boys chipping in to get the results and wins.

“As a team we know what’s wrong, but it’s not as easy to fix the problem. Me and Danny (King) are struggling a little bit. It’s impossible for Emil (Sayfutdinov) and Jason (Doyle) to do get the job done on their own.

“But like me, Danny’s trying his socks off to get it right. We so want to get it right.”

The maximum Rew thumped home against Peterborough was on the back of a paid eight points against King’s Lynn. He’s showed Witches fans a glimpse of his true colours.

“I think it’s going to take me a bit more time than perhaps I thought to settle in,” he said.

“It’s remaining a new experience almost every week, it’s different for me. I’ve never had anything like this before coming into the English league. It’s a challenge for sure, but I’ll get there and hopefully sooner rather than later.”

Rew drops down to reserve for this week’s tasty looking home and away clashes against a strong Sheffield team.

“I probably would have liked to have started my time at Ipswich at reserve to be honest,” he said.

“There’s a bit less pressure and you might get a few more heats. A bit easier one at the start of the meeting to help get the ball rolling. But that’s the way it is. So, hopefully next couple of meetings I can find my feet again and this will get my confidence up and get me going well.

“It’s an important week, Sheffield are a very strong team. We need to all chip in, as I say, and stop this losing streak on Monday and start looking good as a team again.”

IPSWICH WITCHES v SHEFFIELD TIGERS, FOXHALL STADIUM, 7.30pm, Monday, June 12.

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

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By Henry Chard

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

WHEN & WHERE

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the Sheffield Tigers at Foxhall Stadium on Monday 12th June in a Sports Insure Premiership R2 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

MEETING SPONSOR

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.

TEAMS

IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 10.13 2. Danyon Hume 4.00 3. Danny King 6.79 © 4. R/R for Ben Barker 4.38 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.40 6. Keynan Rew 4.00 7. Joe Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

SHEFFIELD: 1. Tobiasz Musielak 8.24 2. Lewis Kerr 5.35 3. Adam Ellis 6.09 4. David Bellego 5.80 5. Jack Holder 8.12 6. Kyle Howarth 5.18 © 7. Dan Gilkes (RS). Team Manager: Simon Stead

REFEREE: C. Gay

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue1119
Wolverhampton916
Leicester813
Sheffield710
Ipswich98
King’s Lynn85
Peterborough82

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 Sheffield Tigers in the Sports Insure Premiership on Monday evening. It’s been a disappointing run of results for the Suffolk side who have lost three meetings on the bounce and have slipped out of the top four. Team manager Ritchie Hawkins knows his side can’t afford many more slip-ups in the race for the play-offs with a gap developing between the top four and the bottom three in the table.  

Monday sees a change to the riding order with Keynan Rew now at reserve and Danyon Hume moving up to number two. The home team will be without Ben Barker who has a back injury after crashing last week. He is seeing a chiropractor on Monday and hopes to be fit for Thursday’s fixture at Sheffield. Rider replacement will be in operation at number four. The Witches have faced the Tigers once already at Foxhall, coming out on top after a four-point victory and the home team know that it is imperative to return to winning ways on home shale and start a positive run of form.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“We go into Monday after a disappointing run of results, but everyone is very determined to turn that around. We need to win on Monday and there is a change in the riding order which will hopefully give a few of the boys a boost. Even though things are tough we are on our home track, and we need to pull it together. We have had too many slip-ups already and we need to win.

“Keynan goes to reserve mainly due to Knockout Cup results not counting towards his average and a few meetings at reserve won’t do him any harm and will hopefully give him a boost. We know how good he can go around Ipswich so that gives us another strong option at reserve now. Danyon is rewarded for the progress he is making this season and it certainly won’t faze him being in the main body of the team. I’m pleased for him to see his hard work paying off.

“We need to start better than we did at Leicester. We want to start well and get everyone’s heads back up and give all our supporters a boost and show everyone what we are all about.”

THE TIGERS

Sheffield arrive at Foxhall having made a steady start to the season, sitting fourth in the table. The South Yorkshire outfit are unbeaten on home shale and have already picked up two victories on the road at Belle Vue and King’s Lynn. The Tigers will be eyeing a third win away from home on Monday night, knowing they came so close on their last visit which ended in a narrow defeat after a last-heat decider.

Jack Holder is enjoying a good Grand Prix series so far, currently sitting third in the world ahead of the German Grand Prix and he rides at number five for the visitors. Lewis Kerr has moved up from reserve since their last visit to Suffolk with captain Kyle Howarth now at reserve.

RACEDAY REPORT: LEICESTER 52-38 IPSWICH – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1 (A)

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Picture courtesy of Jeff Davies

By Henry Chard

THE SCORES

LEICESTER 52: Max Fricke 11, Justin Sedgmen 7+1, Richard Lawson 4+1, Chris Harris © 9+1, Nick Morris 7+1, Jake Allen 7+2, Drew Kemp (G) (RS) 7+1. Team Manager: Stewart Dickson

IPSWICH 38: Jason Doyle 7+1, Ben Barker 1, Danny King © 6, Keynan Rew 3, Emil Sayfutdinov 17, Danyon Hume 3, Joe Thompson (RS) 1. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: C. Gay

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue1119
Wolverhampton916
Leicester813
Sheffield710
Ipswich98
King’s Lynn85
Peterborough82

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches were beaten by Leicester on Thursday night in the Sports Insure Premiership.

The Suffolk side held a four-point lead in the battle for the aggregate bonus point after a narrow win at Foxhall over the Lions in May, but the home team started strongly to build a big lead and they never looked back as they picked up all three points on offer to go third in the table. Emil Sayfutdinov top scored with 17 points.

Justin Sedgmen kept Jason Doyle at bay in heat one with Max Fricke third for a 4-2 to the Lions. The home team then extended their lead in heat two with a comfortable 5-1. Danny King made the gate in heat three, but Chris Harris passed the Witches skipper at the end of the first lap as Leicester recorded another heat advantage. Nick Morris was the early leader in heat four, but Sayfutdinov stormed under the Australian at the start of the second lap to go on and take the win in a shared heat, but the Witches already had work to do being 16-8 down.

Doyle blasted pass both Lions down the back straight on the opening lap of heat five to take the win as Ben Barker picked up a point for a 2-4. Danyon Hume went through the tapes in heat six and was replaced by Joe Thompson as the hosts picked up another 4-2 in re-run. Heat seven was awarded as a 5-1 to the home team. Morris and Jake Allen were leading the race with King right on their tail before Morris blocked a move from the Ipswich captain on the final lap causing him to fall. Heat eight was stopped as Barker locked up and fell and he was excluded. Leicester raced to another 5-1 in the re-run to give them a big 32-16 lead.

Sayfutdinov coasted to victory in a shared heat nine before the home team added another two points to their lead with a heat advantage in heat 10. Team manager Ritchie Hawkins brought in Sayfutdinov as a tactical substitute in heat 11 to partner Doyle but it was Morris who made the gate. However, the Ipswich number five charged under Morris at the start of the second lap which in the process allowed Doyle through into the second for a 1-5 to the Witches. King won heat 12 as Hume finished third for a 2-4 to make the score 42-30, keeping the Witches just about in contention for the aggregate bonus point.

Heat 13 was stopped with the home team on a 5-1 as Doyle was excluded after being adjudged to have brought down Morris. Sayfutdinov won the re-run, but Leicester secured the two league points with the 3-3. The Lions then secured the aggregate bonus point in heat 14 with a 5-1. Sayfutdinov and King were on a maximum in heat 15 but Fricke managed to split the Witches pair, resulting in a 2-4 that left the final score 52-38.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

Picture courtesy of Jeff Davies

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

“It was another disappointing result and that is three in a row. We have clearly not been strong enough in those three meetings and tonight we were not making good starts for the first two thirds of the meeting. You can’t let teams get that far ahead of you. We need to pick ourselves up quickly for Monday because if we don’t improve vastly then we will get beaten again.

“We started the season well, but maybe other teams have improved and hit form. We have been missing riders and using R/R a lot and that has caught up with us. At the moment we are a team down in form whereas others are on the up. We have got to pull our socks up quickly and get back on the upwards trend to get the feel-good factor back at the club.

“We are not a million miles away even though the final scores would suggest otherwise. By watching the actual races, we are not a million miles off, but we need to improve in areas, be more clinical and not make mistakes. The effort and determination are certainly there but the execution hasn’t been.

“Emil was superb again and he has taken a real liking to this track, and he provided some real entertainment tonight. Erik (Riss) is going to race for Redcar on Friday which is very positive. He has improved since his last treatments, and he is going to ride. We will wait and see how he gets on and we hope he comes through that well. He will have two meetings with Redcar before Ben’s 28 days are up, so we will wait and see how he gets on.”

RIDER OF THE NIGHT

Sayfutdinov was in a league of his own on the night dropping just one point from six rides.

WHAT IT MEANS

With three points Leicester move up to third in the table as Ipswich stay fifth.

UP NEXT

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the Sheffield Tigers at Foxhall Stadium on Monday 12th June in the Sports Insure Premiership. Tickets can be purchased online in advance here and on the gate.

NEW DATES FOR KING’S LYNN & PETERBOROUGH FIXTURES

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Our Sports Insure Premiership R1 fixture away at King’s Lynn has been re-arranged for August 3.

Our R2 home fixture against the Stars will now be on August 10 with the away fixture now on August 17.

Our Knockout Cup semi-final second leg fixture away at Peterborough has been re-arranged for August 7.

RACEDAY PREVIEW: LEICESTER – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1 (A)

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By Mike Bacon

All the details ahead of our Sports Insure Premiership R1 fixture with Leicester.

WHEN & WHERE

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Leicester to face the Lions at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena on Thursday 8th June in a Sports Insure Premiership R1 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

TEAMS

LEICESTER: 1. Max Fricke 8.32 2. Justin Sedgmen 5.35 3. Richard Lawson 7.54 4. Chris Harris 7.45 © 5. Nick Morris 6.69 6. Jake Allen 4.00 7. Drew Kemp (G) (RS). Team Manager: Stewart Dickson

IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 10.15 2. Ben Barker 4.42 3. Danny King 6.71 © 4. Keynan Rew 5.00 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 8.00 6. Danyon Hume 3.93 7. Joe Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: C. Gay

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue1017
Wolverhampton916
Sheffield710
Leicester710
Ipswich88
King’s Lynn75
Peterborough82

TICKETS

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

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches will look for their first Sports Insure Premiership double of the season at Leicester on Thursday night.

The Suffolk side beat the Lions 47-43 at Foxhall Stadium just a few weeks ago. This after having knocked out the Lions from the Knockout Cup at the start of the season, with home and away wins.

However, since then the Lions have regrouped, while the Witches have lost their last two Sports Insure Premiership meetings – at home to Wolves last Thursday and a heavy defeat at Belle Vue on Monday.

Certainly, the Suffolk side would like to finish what has been a difficult week with at least a bonus point at Leicester, preferably the full three.

Early days it may still be in the Sports Insure Premiership, but Wolverhampton and Belle Vue are already looking strong contenders for a top four play-off spot, with the other two places very much up for grabs. A win and a bonus point for the Witches would see them leapfrog into third place, ahead of Monday night’s big clash at Foxhall against Sheffield Tigers.

The Witches name an unchanged team to the one beaten at Belle Vue.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“For me, it’s the biggest meeting of the season so far. On the back of two disappointing results, it’s important we get points there.

“Leicester are a team who are going to fight to be in the play-offs, that’s obvious, and we need a win to keep in the mix.

“We’ve already been to Leicester this season and won and it will be nice not to have R/R this time. Leicester are in better form than they were back then. But we know we’ve won there, so we go there confident.

“We have a big meeting at Foxhall on Monday against Sheffield. It will be good to go into it on the back of a really good performance at Leicester.”

THE LIONS

Back in the Sports Insure Premiership for 2023, Leicester Lions have made a steady start to life in the top league.

The Witches may well have beaten the East Midlands side home and away in the Knockout Cup, but that’s been Leicester’s only home defeat of 2023 so far, with Sheffield, Peterborough and Wolverhampton all sent packing in the Premiership at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena.

Indeed, only Belle Vue have taken any league points away from Leicester, winning a Super Heat after a 45-45 draw.

Grand Prix star, Max Fricke leads the home side’s challenge, and he is given support from a solid middle order that includes Richard Lawson, Chris Harris and Nick Morris.

The fast-starting Justin Sedgmen has put nearly a point on his average so far this season, while the Witches will come up against Drew Kemp, the former Ipswich youngster, guesting for young Lion Dan Thompson, who is serving his mandatory period of absence due to concussion.

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: BELLE VUE 55-35 IPSWICH – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1 (A)

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Picture courtesy of Ian Charles

By Dave Rowe

THE SCORES

BELLE VUE 55: Dan Bewley 10, Tom Brennan 5, Jaimon Lidsey 12, Charles Wright 7+1, Brady Kurtz © 13+1, Norick Blödorn 7+1, Jake Mulford (RS) 1+1. Team Manager: Mark Lemon

IPSWICH 35: Jason Doyle 9+1, Ben Barker 3+1, Danny King © 3, Keynan Rew 5, Emil Sayfutdinov 10, Danyon Hume 2, Joe Thompson (RS) 3+3. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: C. Ackroyd

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue1017
Wolverhampton916
Sheffield710
Leicester710
Ipswich88
King’s Lynn75
Peterborough82

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches were beaten 55-35 at Belle Vue on Monday in a meeting which saw them provide just two heat wins – both of them from Emil Sayfutdinov.

The meeting opened up with two shared races, Jason Doyle protecting Ben Barker in Heat 1 as the Aces’ Dan Bewley went clear, before Norick Blödorn rounded a fast-starting Danyon Hume to take the win in Heat 2.

Belle Vue broke the deadlock with a 5-1 in Heat 3 as Jaimon Lidsey and Charles Wright flew from the start with Wright then holding off a strong challenge from Keynan Rew, before a super Heat 4 saw Sayfutdinov chase and catch home skipper Brady Kurtz before surging through on the inside on the last lap.

Witches gated on a 5-1 in Heat 5 but as Doyle and Barker looked to ride side by side, Lidsey found a gap down the inside coming off the fourth bend and passed the pair, with Barker then losing third place to Wright after another fierce battle as the hosts went six points up.

A run of Belle Vue 4-2s followed with Bewley heading Sayfutdinov in Heat 6, and then Blödorn threatened to set up another maximum advantage in the next race before Rew fought hard to regain second place, with skipper Danny King just squeezed out.

After a shared Heat 8, Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins made his move by bringing Doyle into the next race to partner Sayfutdinov as a tactical substitute, and the Australian rode a superb first lap around the outside to get the better of Lidsey and Wright with Sayfutdinov racing clear up-front for a 5-1 to the visitors.

That cut the gap to six points, and the prospects looked promising in Heat 10 too when King and Rew established themselves up front for the Witches – only for Bewley and Tom Brennan to simultaneously pass Rew, before Bewley hunted down and passed King going into the last lap for a 4-2.

And the Aces’ advantage was back to ten points thanks to another 4-2 in Heat 11, with Doyle passing Blödorn after a tough first-lap battle but by that stage Kurtz had already gone clear.

The league points were in the bag for the home side in the first race after the interval with Belle Vue manager Mark Lemon bringing in Blödorn as a reserve switch in Heat 12, and he gated to a 5-1 with Lidsey to leave King and Hume trailing.

A spectacular Heat 13 battle saw Kurtz surge to the front for the Aces whilst the Witches looked to close ranks on Bewley, but whilst his unbeaten run was ended by Sayfutdinov, the British Champion did manage to move inside Doyle for third place heading into the last lap.

Rew led Heat 14 for two laps before Wright forced his way through with a brutal move on turn four, and even with Bewley rested from Heat 15 the Aces still finished off with a 5-1 from Lidsey and Kurtz, who did their work from the start against Doyle and Rew as Sayfutdinov sat out on this occasion.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

Picture courtesy of Ian Charles

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

“I didn’t feel we were as far off as the scoreline suggests. We got ourselves in good positions at times and just made mistakes. They were very, very slight errors but the Belle Vue boys really took advantage and showed their home track knowledge.

“We’ve ridden here enough times now and certainly when we come back, we need to not make those mistakes again, because we’re going to get punished. We did last season and we have done again tonight.

“Emil got two race wins but Doyley looked a bit down on power, he had an engine problem in one race, and he wasn’t as quick as normal tonight, but I’m sure that’s something he’ll very quickly rectify.

“Keynan has done well all season, and he’s not far off scoring big points everywhere. For his first meeting here he did do well, and he’ll definitely come back here again with a lot more knowledge and confidence in himself, because he’s not done a bad job at all tonight.”

RIDER OF THE NIGHT

Whilst Emil Sayfutdinov produced the individual ride of the night to pass Brady Kurtz in Heat 4, the most encouraging display for the Witches came from Keynan Rew who was on the pace all night and deserved more than his five-point total. There’s no reason to believe he won’t improve further on that on his next visit to the National Speedway Stadium.

WHAT IT MEANS

Belle Vue’s win along with the aggregate point takes them back to the top of the Sports Insure Premiership table, whilst the Witches are left in fifth place, two points adrift of fourth placed Leicester ahead of their trip to face the East Midlands side on Thursday.

UP NEXT

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Leicester on Thursday 8th June 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: BELLE VUE – SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1 (A)

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By Henry Chard

All the details ahead of our Sports Insure Premiership R1 fixture with Belle Vue.

WHEN & WHERE

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Manchester to face Belle Vue at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday 5th June in a Sports Insure Premiership R1 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

TEAMS

BELLE VUE: 1. Dan Bewley 8.62 2. Tom Brennan 5.78 3. Jaimon Lidsey 7.23 4. Charles Wright 7.06 5. Brady Kurtz 8.41 © 6. Norick Blödorn 5.56 7. Jake Mulford (RS). Team Manager: Mark Lemon

IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 10.15 2. Ben Barker 4.42 3. Danny King 6.71 © 4. Keynan Rew 5.00 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 8.00 6. Danyon Hume 3.93 7. Joe Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: C. Ackroyd

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Wolverhampton916
Belle Vue914
Sheffield710
Leicester710
Ipswich78
King’s Lynn75
Peterborough82

TICKETS

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

THE STORY

The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches are back in Sports Insure Premiership action again on Monday as they head to Manchester to take on the Belle Vue Aces. The Witches suffered a disappointing night at Foxhall last time out as they were beaten by Wolverhampton. The new week gives the Suffolk side the opportunity to bounce back with two fixtures on the road and after two defeats on home shale already this season, team manager Ritchie Hawkins knows his side need to pick up some points on their travels.

The Witches are back to full strength on Monday as Keynan Rew returns to the team. Ipswich have already been beaten 41-49 by the Aces at home this season so the aggregate bonus point may seem like a tall order, but they head to the National Speedway Stadium looking to react positively to last Thursday’s home defeat.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“We have already lost at home to Belle Vue so there is no bonus point coming into play, we go there with a free hit to try and win the meeting, there is nothing to defend if you like. We are going there to try and win the meeting and the boys will enjoy riding that track. It is a great track to go to as a speedway rider. In a sense we can go there, relax, enjoy it and race our nuts off, and we will see what everyone is all about.

“We did plenty of meetings there last year and went there enough times and we need to use that experience to help each other. At some point, like we said the other week, it is another track we are going to have to go well at, at some point. We are at the stage where we can’t afford to drop too many points so we need to go there looking for a win and a win there would make up for our last home defeat against Wolves.

“I’m pleased we will be a full one to seven on Monday, there is no R/R and we will look to make the most of that.”

THE ACES

Belle Vue currently sit second in the table having recovered well from a poor start to the campaign. The Aces lost their opening two fixtures of the season but bounced back quickly and put together a strong run of results to establish themselves at the top end of the table. However, the Manchester side have shown they are not untouchable at home this season with Sheffield running out winners at the National Speedway Stadium and Wolverhampton gave them a fright last time out, narrowly missing out on the win after a Super Heat against the champions.

Grand Prix rider Dan Bewley headlines their side and with captain Brady Kurtz at number five they make an impressive duo at the top end of the team. Jaimon Lidsey has moved up into the main body of the team since the win at Foxhall with Norick Blödorn now at reserve.

AWAY DAYS

Ticket prices can be found here and official programmes cost £3.50. 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.