Ipswich skipper Danny King is determined to continue writing Tru7 Group Witches history after impressing as the club celebrated its 75th anniversary with a 50-40 win over Leicester on Thursday.
Foxhall was filled with a galaxy of former Witches heroes, who saw former Ipswich favourite Adam Ellis guest star on 10 paid 11 points, while Tobiasz Musielak tallied 10 and King notched nine paid 11.
After failing to beat the Lions on their two previous visits to Suffolk this season, the Witches defied some damp track conditions to deliver a vital victory in their quest for the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership play-offs.
But they weren’t just celebrating a win; the evening featured a series of attractions to mark 75 years of the Witches, including a Blast from the Past second half raced on vintage bikes and Pete Rout and Jason Bullard’s superb collection of Ipswich race jackets over the years.
King led the Witches to the 2025 Premiership title and is very much among the club’s greats in his 17th year at Foxhall. He was elated to share their victory over Leicester with the club’s fans and legends and hopes to enjoy plenty more big moments in Witches colours.
The 40-year-old said: “I thought the night was absolutely fantastic. I saw so many faces there from the past, and the smiles on their faces and the stories they were exchanging around the pits … It really made their day, which obviously made me happy to see it and be part of it. Credit to everyone involved who put this on. It was a big success.
“I am very proud of my career and of what I have achieved with Ipswich. I am obviously very honoured to still represent the club – the club that has been my childhood team and the club that stuck with me through my career. It’s nice to still be able to give back to them. I am not planning on stopping anytime soon.”
King admits adapting to a track that took some heavy downpours ahead of tapes up was no easy task for his side.
He said: “You can’t make it up! We’d had no rain for months and then we got about a month’s worth of rain in two hours. Credit to the track staff – they knew it was coming. They packed the track nice and hard and while it was wet, we managed to get the meeting to go ahead. It wasn’t ideal obviously, but we got the win. It was a tricky night in tricky conditions, but it was a really good, all-round team performance.”
King’s highlight of the night was a huge move on Leicester skipper Sam Masters in heat nine to join race partner Tom Brennan at the front. Even if it delivered a big 5-1, the Ipswich icon admits it wasn’t his best idea.
He said: “That was a bit of a silly move when conditions are like that. You don’t know what the track is going to do. It could have gripped and pushed me towards the fence; or it could have been like ice and spun me around in a circle.
“Unfortunately, that’s the racer in me. I just don’t know when to stop or when to give up. But it worked, so we’ll take it!”
Next up is a trip to East Anglian rivals King’s Lynn on Monday as the fourth-placed Witches bid to cement the top-four spot needed to secure play-off qualification, with the Stars just three points behind in fifth.
King said: “We have a few away meetings coming up. It would be nice to get some points on the road as well, and sort of establish that play-off spot.”
FINAL SCORES
IPSWICH TRU7 GROUP WITCHES 50: 1. Richard Lawson 4+1, 2. Adam Ellis 10+1, 3. Danny King 9+2, 4. Tom Brennan 9, 5. Tobiasz Musielak 10, 6. Kevin Juhl Pedersen 1, 7. Jason Edwards 7+1.
LEICESTER LIONS 40: 1. Richard Lawson 12, 2. Drew Kemp 7, 3. Rider Replacement – Nick Morris, 4. Anders Rowe 4, 5. Sam Masters 6+1, 6. Lewis Kerr 3, 7. Joe Thompson 8+2.