Author Archives: Henry Chard

About Henry Chard

Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway

RACEDAY REPORT: PETERBOROUGH 50–39 IPSWICH – PREMIERSHIP (A)

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By Henry Chard

THE SCORES

PETERBOROUGH 50: Michael Palm Toft 5+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 5+1, Hans Andersen 8+1, Scott Nicholls © 4+3, Chris Harris 14, Benjamin Basso 9+1, Jordan Palin (RS) 5. Team Manager: Rob Lyon

IPSWICH 39: Jason Doyle 14, Paul Starke 1, Danny King © 8+1, Erik Riss 1+1, Troy Batchelor 8, Ben Barker 4+1 (Withdrawn), Danyon Hume (RS) 3. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: S.H. Kennett

PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue917
Ipswich816
Wolverhampton815
Sheffield613
King’s Lynn68
Peterborough76

THE STORY

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches were defeated by bottom side Peterborough in an eventful meeting on Monday night in the Premiership.

Ipswich welcomed back Paul Starke from injury for the meeting and were hoping to continue their good form and return to the top of the table with a positive result. However, it turned out to be a frustrating night with the meeting heavily delayed by several crashes and track work. Peterborough started well and but for numerous crashes early on would have been ahead but after seven races it was the Witches who held a one-point lead. However, the meeting turned after heat eight when Ben Barker crashed and was withdrawn for the meeting. After a whole host of crashes, plenty of track work took place before the action resumed and it was the hosts who kicked-on and ended up recording a comfortable victory. Jason Doyle top scored with 14 points for Ipswich.

Doyle won heat one as the points were shared with Michael Palm-Toft winning the battle at the back against Starke. The hosts went ahead in heat two with Jordan Palin getting the better of Barker at the front and Benjamin Basso picked up a point. Danny King was a winner in heat three and with Erik Riss having retired with a blown engine it looked like being a 3-3 but Scott Nicholls took a heavy fall late on in the race after getting into trouble with teammate Hans Andersen and was excluded meaning a 3-2 was awarded to Ipswich. After a delay to fix the air fence, the action resumed and Troy Batchelor was an early leader in heat four, but Chris Harris had other ideas and passed the Witches man in what was another heat advantage to the Panthers, giving them a 13-10 lead.

Doyle was a winner again in heat five but with Starke at the back, it was a 3-3. Heat six was stopped as early leader Palm-Toft fell and was excluded. The Witches took advantage in the re-run as Batchelor won and Barker joined him at the front having seen off Ulrich Ostergaard for a maximum to the visitors that edged them ahead on the night. There was yet another stoppage in heat seven with the Panthers duo of Harris and Basso comfortable at the front for a 5-1, Basso then collided with his teammate with both riders hitting the deck. Basso was excluded and the race was awarded as a 3-3. There was a further delay in heat eight as Ostergaard went through the tapes and was replaced by Basso in the re-run. The re-run saw yet another crash and this time it was Witches man Barker who fell and was excluded. The latest incident caused officials, management and riders to take a look at the track before lengthy work was done to improve conditions in the problem areas. Barker was withdrawn from the meeting and taken to hospital, leaving the Witches one rider down for the rest of the meeting. In the re-run of heat eight Basso won with Danyon Hume second, meaning a 4-2 to the Panthers to put them one point in front.

Andersen looked like he was going to win heat nine, but Batchelor produced a fine move to get past the Dane on the last lap and ensure a shared heat. The home team extended their lead in heat 10 with a 5-1 and things got worse for Ipswich in heat 11 when Doyle was excluded for causing Basso to crash. Peterborough capitalised in the re-run and recorded another maximum to extend their lead to nine points. Ritchie Hawkins responded by putting Doyle in as a tactical substitute in heat 12 and it worked to perfection as he won and was joined by teammate King for a maximum to reduce the deficit to five points with three heats to race.

Harris made it four wins from four in heat 13 ahead of Doyle and Palm-Toft passed Batchelor late on in the race for a 4-2 to the Panthers that put them on the brink of victory. Peterborough then recorded a 5-1 in heat 14 to secure the three points. Doyle produced yet another fabulous ride in heat 15 to pass both Panthers and win a shared heat but it was little consolation for Ipswich who headed home empty-handed.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

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

“It was a really long eventful meeting with a lot of crashes and incidents holding the meeting up. Ben was flying until he had his crash and he looked like one of our quickest riders, so he was in for a big night which would have compensated for Erik and Starkey struggling. Once we lost him, we were in trouble, and we didn’t have enough riders going well enough to get anything out of the meeting.

“There was a little rut that appeared on turn three and four and everyone was riding on the limit and because the racing was so evenly matched, any little mistake resulted in a crash. I don’t think it was anything massively or drastically wrong like sometimes they can have, it was just a couple of riders putting everything into it and it all seemed to happen on one night. I don’t think it was anything specific.

“Paul came back and was maybe suffering from a lack of race-sharpness tonight and he was one rider who was struggling for speed as well. I’m sure he will be sore in the morning, but he has a busy period coming up racing-wise so hopefully his shoulder will strengthen up. Erik blew his engine in his first ride and that hampered his evening as well. Ben is currently in hospital with a shoulder injury being assessed.

“We were the meeting until we lost Ben, so we would have been in with a chance of getting something from the meeting and it was disappointing to lose him. There is nothing we drastically we need to worry about after that result.”

RIDER OF THE NIGHT

Once again Doyle was the main man for Ipswich, scoring 14 points from six rides.  

WHAT IT MEANS

Peterborough pick up three points which leaves them less marooned at the bottom, Ipswich remain second despite not being able to add to their points tally.

UP NEXT

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the Peterborough Panthers at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 23rd June in a Premiership fixture. Tickets can be purchased on the gate and in advance here.

RACEDAY PREVIEW: PETERBOROUGH – PREMIERSHIP (A)

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By Henry Chard

All the details ahead of our Premiership fixture with Peterborough.

WHEN & WHERE

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Peterborough to face the Panthers at the East of England Arena & Events Centre on Monday 20th June in a Premiership fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

TEAMS

PETERBOROUGH: 1. Michael Palm Toft 7.12 2. Ulrich Ostergaard 6.62 3. Hans Andersen 6.49 4. Scott Nicholls 6.23 © 5. Chris Harris 6.90 6. Benjamin Basso 4.85 7. Jordan Palin (RS). Team Manager: Rob Lyon

IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 9.84 2. Paul Starke or R/R 4.95 3. Danny King 8.00 © 4. Erik Riss 4.62 5. Troy Batchelor 5.44 6. Ben Barker 4.44 7. Danyon Hume (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: S.H. Kennett

PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue817
Ipswich716
Sheffield613
Wolverhampton712
King’s Lynn68
Peterborough63

TICKETS

Tickets can be purchased online here and are available on the gate.

THE STORY

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches are back in Premiership action on Monday as they travel to take on the Peterborough Panthers. Ipswich are in terrific form and find themselves sat nicely in second position in the table having picked up points in all four of their last league meetings since defeat to Sheffield. That run included an away win at East Anglian rivals King’s Lynn last time out and they will be hoping to pick up more points on the road against the bottom side. The two sides met at the East of England Arena in the League Cup earlier this season with the hosts running out 53-37 winners.

Team manager Ritchie Hawkins is hoping to welcome back Paul Starke to the side following injury and will make a late decision on his fitness. Should Starke be unfit to ride then rider replacement will be used in his absence. Jason Doyle and Troy Batchelor will be in buoyant mood and looking to continue their good form after clinching victory for Ipswich in the second round of the Premiership Pairs at Foxhall last Thursday. Danyon Hume keeps his place at number seven in the Rising Star position.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“We have started the season very well so far away from home and we go to Peterborough which is a place we enjoy going to. As much as we can talk about them not being in great form in the league this season, they got a win last week over Sheffield which is no easy task, they are still the league champions, and they still possess a team full of very good speedway riders who can no doubt hit form at any point. We are going to have to be at the top of our game, as we have been in the other three away meetings, to get the better of Peterborough over two meetings next week.

“We are very hopeful of Paul being back on Monday. It is hard to run rider replacement for a sustained period of time so if he is back on Monday that will be great, but we will give him as long as he needs to see if he is fit. He has been a massive part of our team for a little while and has done a great job when he has ridden for us. He has suffered from illness and injury this season but when he has been with us, he has been very good and hopefully he can find that form when he comes back. The Showground is a place he should go well at so hopefully he will be back.”

THE PANTHERS

Peterborough are the reigning Premiership champions after a fantastic campaign in 2021 but it is fair to say that 2022 is not going to plan so far. The Panthers lost their opening five league fixtures before picking up their first points of the season last time out having got the better of Sheffield in the very first Super Heat, with the scores level after 15 heats of racing. Team manager Rob Lyon will be hoping that result gives his side confidence to start a run of positive results as they look to bring themselves back into contention for the play-off spots.

Chris Harris has been in decent form for Peterborough so far this season with the highlight being an 18-point maximum on home shale in their defeat to Wolverhampton. Reserve Benjamin Basso has also been a positive with some good scores from reserve including 12+2 in their League Cup win over the Witches at the start of the season. Jordan Palin gets the nod at number seven in the Rising Star position.

AWAY DAYS

An adult ticket costs £20, concessions (over 65), disabled and students £18, 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.

2022 END OF SEASON AWARDS NIGHT

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The End of Season Awards Night will take place on Friday 4th November at Venue 16, Ipswich.

Please call into the Supporters Club hut on the second bend to book. The cost is £40.00 for ISSC members and £45.00 non-members. A £10.00 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your booking. Payment by cash or cheque only.

There will be a three course meal, disco and luxury raffle on the night. Doors open at 6.45pm for a 7.30pm start (prompt) and doors will close at 12.30am.

Due to Venue 16 needing final numbers and menu choices a month before the event, there will be no online purchases. All final payments and menus need to be back at the Supporters Club hut by 8th September 2022, this will allow time to collate information ready for Venue 16. 

Full address: Venue 16, 312 Tuddenham Road, Ipswich, IP4 3QJ.

Ipswich-Speedway-Supporters-Club-End-of-Season-Dinner-DanceDownload

RACEDAY REPORT: PREMIERSHIP PAIRS – ROUND 2

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By Henry Chard

THE SCORES

QUALIFYING SCORES

SHEFFIELD 29: Adam Ellis 10, Tobiasz Musielak 17, Connor Mountain (RS) 2. Team Manager: Simon Stead

BELLE VUE 24: Matej Zagar 8, Brady Kurtz 16, Tom Brennan (RS) 0. Team Manager: Mark Lemon

IPSWICH 24: Jason Doyle 17, Troy Batchelor 7, Danyon Hume (RS) 0. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

KING’S LYNN 23: Richard Lawson 8, Josh Pickering 15, Jake Mulford (RS) 0. Team Manager: Alex Brady

PETERBOROUGH 21: Chris Harris 13, Hans Andersen 8, Jordan Jenkins (RS) 0. Team Manager: Rob Lyon

WOLVES 14: Sam Masters 14, Ryan Douglas 0, Leon Flint (RS) 0. Team Manager: Peter Adams

SEMI-FINAL: Doyle, Zagar, Batchelor, Kurtz – 6-3 to Ipswich

FINAL: Doyle, Musielak, Batchelor, Ellis – 6-3 to Ipswich

REFEREE: W. Jarvis

PREMIERSHIP PAIRS TABLE

TeamPoints
King’s Lynn16
Sheffield16
Ipswich14
Belle Vue12
Wolverhampton4
Peterborough2

THE STORY

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches pairing of Jason Doyle and Troy Batchelor won the second round of the Premiership Pairs at Foxhall on Thursday.

Doyle was in sublime form once again all night and was unbeaten by an opponent in qualifying until heat 15 where he picked up a crucial third place to send the hosts into the semi-finals whilst Batchelor picked up seven points in an up and down qualifying for the Australian. When it came to the semi-final and final, Doyle was untouchable out front and with Batchelor battling to pick up vital third places, it was enough to see the Witches stand on the top step of the podium in front of their home supporters.

Doyle flew from the gate to win heat two comfortably but with Brady Kurtz and Matej Zagar both in the points and Batchelor at the back it was a 4-5 to the Belle Vue pairing.

It was a similar story in heat four as Doyle won the race with ease ahead of Tobiasz Musielak but in the battle of the Rising Stars at the back Connor Mountain held off the best efforts of Danyon Hume to secure a 4-5 to Sheffield.

Batchelor and Doyle were quickest from the gate in heat seven and stormed to a maximum 7-2 over Wolverhampton to the delight of the home fans.

Doyle was looking unbeatable once again in heat 12 and cruised to victory but sadly he couldn’t be joined by his partner Batchelor on this occasion which resulted in a 4-5 to Peterborough.

It all came down to a heat 15 battle against East Anglian rivals King’s Lynn to see who would progress to the semi-final. Josh Pickering won the race ahead of Batchelor, but it was a crucial battle at the back that decided it as Doyle produced a superb move on the last lap to round Richard Lawson and pick up the all-important third place that put Ipswich through to the semi-final and ended the Stars’ night.

It was Ipswich against Belle Vue in the semi-final to see who would progress to face Sheffield in the final. Doyle and Batchelor made the gate and although Zagar managed to pass Batchelor late on in the race for second, it was a 6-3 to the Witches which secured their spot in the final.

Yet again Doyle made the start in the final as Musielak moved into second place ahead of Batchelor but that was enough to secure victory and send the home fans happy.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Thursday’s second round at Foxhall.

“We are delighted to win; I think every club will be aiming to win their home round and it should be your best chance of winning a round, but it is very tough in these Pairs meetings. The level of competition in this event is a very high standard and it is so even across the board, so to get over the line on the night is superb and it carries on our good run of form. It gives us an extra buzz going into next week.

“Batch struggled in his first ride, so we got Danyon out early on. Doyley was superb, the only bad start he made was in heat 15 but he rode a superb race to nip past Richard on the last lap. Batch stepped up when he was needed so they dovetailed well between them and worked brilliant as a pair. In the last two heats Batch came off gate three and made two superb starts.

“We mixed the gates around during the night. Troy went from taking the outside to the inside and we kind of mixed it up through the night. In heat 15 we had one and three and that was the one start Doyley missed and he didn’t feel confident going off of gate three in the semi and final and Troy was happy to go off anything and it worked so well in the semi-final that we stuck with that for the final.

“It has been a long time since we have actually won anything of any standing so to get this round win in front of these supporters who stuck with us last season which was so tough and are still supporting us this year is brilliant for them and we all want more of that.”

WHAT IT MEANS

Ipswich pick up the maximum 12 points on offer to push them up into third in the standings, two points behind the top two King’s Lynn and Sheffield with four rounds to race.

UP NEXT

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to the East of England Arena to take on the Peterborough Panthers on Monday 20th June in a Premiership fixture. Tickets can be purchased here.

KING PRAISES TRU7.COM SUPPORT

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By Henry Chard

‘Tru Mix’ Witches skipper Danny King has revealed that club sponsor Tru7.com and Guy Nicholls have helped with his recent machinery issues with sponsorship for a new engine.

The captain has struggled to find his best form in 2022 with his equipment not giving him the speed he needs on track, but Nicholls has come to his aid, something that King is extremely grateful for.

“It’s been machinery issues, I’m not sure why but I didn’t seem to be going very fast and I wasn’t very sure why,” said King. “I’ve been having a few engine problems and it started spitballing and it got to a stage where I wasn’t sure what to ride and what I was riding. This is where this has come from, and I want to say a huge thank you to Guy for what he has done for me, and I think you can already see that my results have changed in the last week or so.

“After hearing that I was going to get a new engine, Guy came forward and said that he would sponsor me for the season to get me going and sort myself out. Everything he does for the club speaks volumes and to see that I’m struggling and to do this is absolutely huge. I can’t thank him enough.”

The 35-year-old has been using the new engine in recent meetings and feels he is already improving his form.

“It took me two meetings to understand it and in the last two I feel I am making good progress and have had some good solid scores. Eight points at Belle Vue and eight points at King’s Lynn, it felt like it could have been more, and I feel I still can get more out of this engine. I am already feeling more confident, and it is doing what I want it to do so I’m really pleased.”

Despite the 2016 British champion not being at his best, Ipswich currently sit top of the Premiership table and King believes there is more to come from the team.

“I said it the other day on our TV meeting, I think if you speak to any of the team other than Jason (Doyle), everyone feels like they can do a bit more, they are not hitting 100%. We are still top of the league which is a good sign so we can’t be disappointed with where we are.

“We are all not quite firing yet and we keep going to these last-heat deciders which isn’t fun for Jason or anyone but to have someone like him leading the team is fantastic and he is doing a great job, but we all need to step up that little bit more and support him. It would be nice to seal a meeting before the last heat!”

King has thanked the Foxhall faithful for their continued support in recent weeks as he continues to work hard to get back to his best.

“Ipswich fans are some of the best around and they have always been supportive of me and they can see that I’ve had problems. I think you can see it hasn’t been me and I have been trying and racing hard, but it was just a case of the equipment not working. Hopefully in the last two meetings they can see things are changing and the effort is going into changing things and hopefully we can push on and get to the form of last year.”

GEN X RADIO BACKING DANNY’S DAY

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Danny’s Day, to be held at Mildenhall Stadium, on the 19th June have joined together with Gen X Radio Suffolk as official media partner.

Gen X Radio Suffolk’s involvement in Danny’s Day will provide a further opportunity to raise important questions relating to men’s mental health and they will feature content, in the lead-up to Danny’s Day, which many will hopefully find useful.

Interviews will feature Danny’s Ayres partner Jodie in an emotional tribute to her man, on Wednesday morning, and Speedway GB star Danny King will explain life under the bib for a speedway rider on Monday morning.

The radio station represents a county with a proud speedway history that includes both the Mildenhall Fen Tigers and the Ipswich Witches.

GenX is available as a high-quality digital stream on:

On-Linegenxradio.co.uk
Alexa “Enable Gen X Radio Suffolk” (or ‘Play’, once enabled)
AppleApple Store – GenX Radio Suffolk or TuneIn
AndroidGoogle Play Store – GenX Radio Suffolk or TuneIn
Car RadioBluetooth via app or integrated TuneIn App
Sonos via Streema or TuneIn
Google HomeTuneIn

Or via listen again on gexnradio.co.uk.

RACEDAY PREVIEW: PREMIERSHIP PAIRS – ROUND 2

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By Henry Chard

All the details ahead of the second round of the Premiership Pairs.

WHEN & WHERE

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the second round of the Premiership Pairs at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 16th June which starts at 7.30pm.

TEAMS

BELLE VUE: Matej Zagar, Brady Kurtz, Tom Brennan (RS). Team Manager: Mark Lemon

IPSWICH: Jason Doyle, Troy Batchelor, Danyon Hume (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

KING’S LYNN: Richard Lawson, Josh Pickering, Jake Mulford (RS). Team Manager: Alex Brady

PETERBOROUGH: Chris Harris, Hans Andersen, Jordan Jenkins (RS). Team Manager: Rob Lyon

SHEFFIELD: Adam Ellis, Tobiasz Musielak, Connor Mountain (RS). Team Manager: Simon Stead

WOLVES: Sam Masters, Ryan Douglas, Leon Flint (RS). Team Manager: Peter Adams

REFEREE: W. Jarvis

PREMIERSHIP PAIRS TABLE

TeamPoints
King’s Lynn12
Sheffield8
Belle Vue6
Wolverhampton4
Ipswich2
Peterborough0

TICKETS

Tickets are available to buy online (until 7pm on raceday) and on the gate and are priced at £20 for adults (17+) and 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 meeting will also be streamed online here. A BSN+ subscription is required to watch. BSN+ passes are now available for £42 which covers the five remaining rounds. Each round can be purchased individually, priced at £12.99. BSN’s coverage of the 2nd round will start at 7.00pm. BSN’s web URL is watch.britishspeedway.co.uk. BSN also has an App which is now available on Amazon Fire TV and on all IOS (Apple) devices.

THE STORY

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the second round of the Premiership Pairs on Thursday at Foxhall. The first round of the new competition was held last month at Peterborough where King’s Lynn were victorious on the night to give them the early lead in the overall standings. The Witches finished a disappointing fifth that evening, meaning they have work to do to get themselves back into contention for the title and they will be looking to make the most of their home advantage in this round.

Jason Doyle was in fantastic form in the first round scoring 17 of Ipswich’s total of 21 points and after a 15-point maximum in the Witches’ last league outing, his name was a given on the teamsheet for this event. Team manager Ritchie Hawkins has elected to field Troy Batchelor as his partner for this round who comes in for Danny King. ‘Rising Star’ Danyon Hume keeps his place and is guaranteed at least one ride as part of the regulations.

For those still getting to grips with the competition, here is what it is all about…

The competition is a new addition to the calendar for 2022 with all six Premiership clubs staging a round throughout the season. Each club will have two riders and a ‘Rising Star’ at each round with scores accumulated over all six rounds before the overall aggregate winner is declared after the final round of the competition at Belle Vue in September. 12 points will be awarded to each round winner, eight points to second, six points to third, four points to fourth, two points to fifth and no points to sixth.

There will be 15 qualifying heats of action at each round with the top scoring team from the qualifying heats going directly to the final. The teams placed in second and third will compete in a semi-final with the winning side from that race progressing to the final to decide the round winners. Each team has five qualifying heats each and the ‘Rising Star’ must take at least one ride during the meeting. The points scoring system for the competition in each race will be 4-3-2-0.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“I hope everyone comes out to back the event. The line-up is extremely strong, and you are seeing all the top boys in one night. I think it will be a cracker of a meeting, in the last few seasons we have produced some brilliant meetings at Foxhall and having all these boys here will be extremely competitive.

“Doyley picks himself with the form he is in at the moment. We then had a choice to make with his partner. Danny is improving his form and Erik was another consideration, but Troy has had a lot of heat 15s this season and has proved his worth. I felt with Troy having ridden in so many heat 15s and done a solid job he is our strongest pick for the night.

“We still have Danyon involved and I think it’s good that the gates are not allocated so we have to decide between ourselves about the gates. The programme and the scores can be quite difficult to follow in this type of meeting, so we need to make sure we are up on that and improve a lot from the first meeting and give ourselves a shot of at least getting into the semi-final.”

THE LINE-UP

Current Premiership Pairs leaders King’s Lynn have been forced into two changes to their desired line-up for this round with Thomas Jorgensen and Jack Thomas both facing a spell on the sidelines with injuries. That means the Stars have the same pairing that won at Peterborough with captain Josh Pickering partnering Richard Lawson again in Suffolk. Sheffield have elected to field British champion Adam Ellis again, but Tobiasz Musielak comes in for Jack Holder at Foxhall. The Belle Vue Aces bring Matej Zagar and Brady Kurtz to Suffolk with both riders scoring double figures in their Premiership fixture at Ipswich in May as Max Fricke sits this round out. Wolves have selected track specialist Sam Masters who scored 16 in his last visit to Foxhall, and Ryan Douglas is in as a late replacement as his partner after Nick Morris picked up an injury on Monday at Belle Vue. Bottom side Peterborough have Chris Harris leading their side again and he is joined by Hans Andersen instead of Michael Palm Toft for their trip across East Anglia and they will be hoping their experience as former Witches riders can make a difference.

RACEDAY REPORT: KING’S LYNN 43–47 IPSWICH – PREMIERSHIP (A)

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By David Rowe

THE SCORES

KING’S LYNN 43: Richard Lawson 3, Lewis Kerr 5+1, Chris Harris (G) 9+1, Thomas Jorgensen R/R, Josh Pickering © 12+1, Richie Worrall 13+2, Jack Thomas (RS) 1, Jake Mulford (no.8) 0. Team Manager: Alex Brady

IPSWICH 47: Jason Doyle 15, Paul Starke R/R, Danny King © 8, Erik Riss 4+1, Troy Batchelor 9+1, Ben Barker 8, Danyon Hume (RS) 3. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: S.H. Kennett

PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Ipswich716
Belle Vue714
Wolverhampton612
Sheffield512
King’s Lynn68
Peterborough50

THE STORY

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches delighted their travelling supporters with a 47-43 victory at local rivals King’s Lynn to regain their position as Premiership league leaders.

It was a second away win of the season for the men from Foxhall, and it was secured thanks to the brilliance of Jason Doyle who completed a 15-point maximum in a last-heat decider.

The Stars were forced into changes on the day of the meeting with Danish duo Niels-Kristian Iversen (food poisoning) and Thomas Jorgensen (injured on Wednesday) both ruled out, but they did call up in-form Chris Harris as a guest, and another close-fought battle ensued which always looked destined to go all the way to the last race.

Doyle and Erik Riss got the Witches off to a flyer with a 5-1 in Heat 1, but the hosts quickly turned that around and edged in front with maximum points from Harris and key reserve Richie Worrall in Heat 3.

But the Stars lost their Rising Star Jack Thomas after a heavy crash in Heat 4 when he clipped Ben Barker on the exit of turn two, with both riders coming down, and with Troy Batchelor holding off Josh Pickering in the re-run with Barker third, the scores were back level.

Doyle and Danyon Hume put the Witches back ahead in Heat 5, and Batchelor and Barker doubled the advantage with another 4-2 in the next, Barker collecting third place after Lewis Kerr hit mechanical trouble.

But the match turned back the Stars’ way when Harris stormed inside Batchelor to join Pickering for a Heat 9 5-1, before Kerr recovered from his bike trouble to head up a 4-2 in Heat 10 as the home side edged two points up.

Doyle’s third win in Heat 11 left the scores at 34-32, but a big win for skipper Danny King in Heat 12 saw him hold off Harris, whilst Barker added the crucial third place to level the scores – and Heat 13 also went Ipswich’s way with a 4-2 even though Pickering was able to split Doyle and Batchelor.

A brilliant ride by Barker to charge past Worrall in Heat 14 ensured the Witches would go into the last race with the advantage, and Doyle was the man for the pressure race with a tremendous start to take victory, whilst King added third place to leave the visitors winners by four points after another tremendous contest.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

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

“Any away win is good, but obviously at King’s Lynn it feels very satisfying, and it was a brilliant night for the team and our travelling fans. It was nice to send them home happy after an away meeting, and especially after last season, so I’m delighted for them.

“Jason Doyle was superb again, he leads from the front and it was another last-heat decider which I seem to be saying after every meeting, but when he’s going out there he fills you with complete confidence.

“I do think the standard of the league is very competitive. Nowadays you see a lot more away victories, it’s very close between the teams and it’s all down to who performs on the night, which is good for the sport.

“But for us I still don’t think we’re as good as we could be – but it was another improved performance, and I’m delighted with the way things are going. We’re top of the league now but we’re still improving, so it’s nice to be in this position and we still need to keep progressing.”

RIDER OF THE NIGHT

It can only be No.1 Jason Doyle with a superb 15-point maximum thanks to a string of fast gates and decisive first bend manoeuvres, underlining the class he has brought to the Witches’ ranks this season.

WHAT IT MEANS

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches are back on top of the Premiership table, two points ahead of Belle Vue, and four clear of Sheffield and Wolverhampton after the Tigers beat the Wolves 46-44 in a last-heat decider at Owlerton. King’s Lynn remain fifth after their home defeat.

UP NEXT

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the second round of the Premiership Pairs at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 16th June. Tickets can be purchased here.

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

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By David Rowe

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

WHEN & WHERE

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Norfolk to face the King’s Lynn Stars at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday 9th June in a Premiership fixture that starts at 7.30pm.

TEAMS

KING’S LYNN: 1. Richard Lawson 7.84 2. Lewis Kerr 5.43 3. Niels-Kristian Iversen 7.33 4. Thomas Jorgensen 6.05 5. Josh Pickering 7.31 © 6. Richie Worrall 5.33 7. Jack Thomas (RS). Team Manager: Alex Brady

IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 9.84 2. Paul Starke R/R 4.95 3. Danny King 8.00 © 4. Erik Riss 4.62 5. Troy Batchelor 5.44 6. Ben Barker 4.44 7. Danyon Hume (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: S.H. Kennett

PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue714
Ipswich613
Wolverhampton511
Sheffield49
King’s Lynn58
Peterborough50

TICKETS

Tickets can be purchased online here and are available on the gate.

THE STORY

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Norfolk on Thursday night for the East Anglian derby against local rivals King’s Lynn in the Premiership. Ipswich were in action on Monday night in Manchester, going down 48-42 in a tight contest which saw them return with another league point.

The Witches welcome back Erik Riss who missed Monday at Belle Vue due to his involvement in the Grand Prix qualifier in Debrecen where he finished seventh with eight points, and therefore missed out on one of the four places in the GP Challenge.

The two sides met in Norfolk earlier this season in the League Cup with a depleted Ipswich side going down 56-34, but with a much stronger side this time around the Suffolk side will be hoping it is a different story this time around.

Rider replacement will again be in operation for the injured Paul Starke, which means another busy night is expected for Ben Barker at reserve, and he will be keen to impress against the club he had a spell with in the second half of last season.

FROM THE BOSS

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

“Obviously we go into the meeting looking to win, and if we can back Monday’s point at Belle Vue up with a good result on Thursday then we’ll be in a very good position in the league.

“The way the boys are riding, if a few of them carry on their progress and even step it up a little bit then we can certainly go to King’s Lynn with a great shout of winning there.

“But they are in good form as well, and anything can happen on the night. We’ll definitely go there full of confidence, and looking to take an away victory.

“It will be great to have Erik back, and hopefully Starkey (Paul Starke) will be back sooner rather than later, but I can’t see him being back for Thursday.”

THE STARS

King’s Lynn’s dismal 2021 season is now but a distant memory, and the Stars look set to make a concerted play-off challenge this time around.

They have already triumphed in the League Cup group which also involved the Witches, and are into the Final of that competition where they will face Sheffield.

In the league, they have won two of their five matches, with comfortable home successes over Belle Vue and Peterborough, scoring 50 and 51 points respectively, and they have also shown durability on the road by taking points from narrow defeats at both Belle Vue and then at Foxhall last Thursday.

Captain Josh Pickering has become a true driving force for the Stars, and backed up by the likes of Niels-Kristian Iversen and Richard Lawson, it’s clear that the Adrian Flux Arena is a far tougher place to visit than it was last season.

AWAY DAYS

An adult ticket costs £20, concessions (over 65) and students £18 and children (ages 12-17) £5. 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.

RACEDAY REPORT: BELLE VUE 48-42 IPSWICH – PREMIERSHIP (A)

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Picture courtesy of Ian Charles

By David Rowe

THE SCORES

BELLE VUE 48: Max Fricke R/R, Jye Etheridge 3, Matej Zagar 17, Charles Wright 6+4, Brady Kurtz © 13+1, Zach Cook (G) 2, Tom Brennan (RS) 7+2. Team Manager: Mark Lemon

IPSWICH 42: Jason Doyle 13, Paul Starke R/R, Danny King © 8, Justin Sedgmen (G) 1+1, Troy Batchelor 8+1, Ben Barker 10+1, Danyon Hume (RS) 2. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

REFEREE: C. Ackroyd

PREMIERSHIP TABLE

TeamMeetingsPoints
Belle Vue714
Ipswich613
Wolverhampton511
Sheffield49
King’s Lynn58
Peterborough50

THE STORY

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches were edged out 48-42 in a last-heat decider at Belle Vue on Monday but still took a useful league point towards their play-off quest.

Both sides were forced into several changes due to injuries and Grand Prix qualifiers, but a tight contest ensued with the Aces sealing victory with a 5-1 in Heat 15 – the only time Ipswich No.1 Jason Doyle was beaten.

Slovenian star Matej Zagar was the home side’s hero as he racked up 17 points from six rides, losing out only to Doyle in Heat 5, and he gained support from skipper Brady Kurtz at the crucial time of the meeting.

The Witches roared into an early six-point lead with key reserve Ben Barker partnering Doyle to a Heat 1 5-1 over Kurtz, and Barker then doubled up by winning Heat 2 with Danyon Hume snatching third place from Tom Brennan on the last bend.

It took the home side until Heat 6 to get back level, and even then there was a stroke of fortune as Barker suffered mechanical trouble on the last lap to allow Jye Etheridge through into third place.

Ipswich moved back ahead with Troy Batchelor charging around the field to win Heat 8 whilst Hume supplied third place, and a tense battle continued with the Aces levelling the match in the next race, and the scores were deadlocked at 33-33 after Doyle held off Kurtz’s fierce challenge in Heat 11.

The home side looked set to make a big move in Heat 12 when they gated on a 5-1, but Ipswich skipper Danny King showed plenty of determination to pass Brennan, and with Doyle defeating Kurtz and Charles Wright in Heat 13, the meeting was still very much alive.

Barker took a superb win in Heat 14 with Hume desperately unlucky to miss out to Wright for third place, leaving the Aces 43-41 up going into the decider.

But on this occasion Doyle was out-gated by Zagar, and with Kurtz having the speed around the outside to join him on the first lap, the Witches were beaten but still did enough for a league point.

REACTION FROM THE BOSS

Picture courtesy of Ian Charles

Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Monday’s 48-42 defeat at Belle Vue.

“It’s not a bad result as a whole, although when you’re in it all meeting, leading for a time, it would have been good to capitalise on that and get the win. But a point at Belle Vue is certainly not a terrible result.

“Obviously going into Heat 15 Doyley was confident, and he was absolutely superb, but we also needed Batch to back him up, and it just didn’t happen for us.

“Both Erik (Riss) and Starkey (Paul Starke) are in great form, Starkey goes well here, so I would have much preferred to come here with a full team, although R/R does cover Starkey quite well now. We did miss Erik, but I do accept they were hampered missing Max (Fricke) and using R/R as well, so that did kind of even itself out.

“It’s great to see Ben (Barker) going well, in the last two meetings since he’s dropped to reserve he’s stepped up his scoring, and I know he’ll be been to carry that on this Thursday, and we’re going to need him to.

“At this stage of the season we’re not badly placed without fully firing, so overall I’m pretty happy with where we are.”

RIDER OF THE NIGHT

Jason Doyle put on a display of awesome track craft at the National Speedway Stadium and it was just a pity he lost out in Heat 15 on what would have been a thoroughly deserved 15-point maximum.

WHAT IT MEANS

Belle Vue take over at the top of the Premiership table, a point clear of the Witches, who are in second place after Wolverhampton’s home match with Peterborough was abandoned after the first attempt to run Heat 1 due to track conditions at Monmore Green.

UP NEXT

The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Norfolk to face the King’s Lynn Stars at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday 9th June in a Premiership fixture. Tickets can be purchased here.