The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Leicester to face the Lions at the Hydroscand Arena on Thursday 17th April in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R1 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
LINE-UPS
LEICESTER: 1. Max Fricke © 9.14 2. Luke Becker 6.57 3. Ryan Douglas 7.30 4. Kyle Howarth 5.05 5. Sam Masters 7.32 6. Drew Kemp 3.95 7. Sam Hagon (RS). Team Manager: Stewart Dickson
IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 9.36 2. Danny King © 6.14 3. Adam Ellis 5.47 4. Tom Brennan 6.52 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.12 6. Dan Thompson 3.11 7. Jordan Jenkins (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: D. Watters
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 3 | 7 |
| Belle Vue | 4 | 7 |
| Sheffield | 2 | 4 |
| Leicester | 2 | 2 |
| King’s Lynn | 4 | 2 |
| Birmingham | 2 | 0 |
| Oxford | 3 | 0 |
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are available to purchase online in advance here and on the gate.
THE PREVIEW
The Witches travel to Leicester on Thursday night looking to continue their 100% start to the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership season.
Ipswich have begun 2025 in fine fashion, winning all five fixtures in all competitions so far this year which sees them top of the very early table. Victories in the league have included two on the road already at Oxford and Birmingham accompanied by a huge win at Foxhall over the Spires last time out.
There are no changes to the line-up for the trip to the Hydroscand Arena as the Suffolk side head to a venue where they enjoyed two wins in 2024.
MANAGER’S NOTES
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We are really looking forward to Thursday. We have had a superb start to the season which has been talked about. It is a place we enjoy riding individually and collectively. All the boys will be excited to get back together and get racing and keep the ball rolling.
“It is a place we have had a lot of success at in the past couple of years. Obviously, it is a new season, and past results don’t necessarily come into play but when we are in the pits, we have those winning memories in our minds. The team is already full of confidence, but it is another positive in that respect.
“Leicester have also had a good start to the season, and they had a great finish to last year to get to the play-off final. They are a strong, solid outfit again and they are a team that we know will have great ambitions to not just make the play-offs but to win them. It will be a very tough challenge between two of the top teams in the league and I’m sure it will be a close, hard-fought battle and it is one we relish and can’t wait to get stuck into.”
LEICESTER LIONS
Leicester finished as runners-up in 2024, their most successful campaign in the top-flight since their return to this level in 2023. Up until Monday evening, they boasted a 100% record in 2025 after winning home and away against Birmingham in the Knockout Cup quarter-final and beating Belle Vue in their league opener last week. However, the Lions suffered their first loss of the season at King’s Lynn, falling to a 46-44 defeat at the Adrian Flux Arena. The hosts know they will need to be at their best on Thursday night against a side they have lost to four times on home shale since 2023.
There was no need for wholesale changes in the winter at Leicester and they made just one change with Kyle Howarth replacing Richard Lawson. However, they were forced into another change on the eve of the new season with Drew Kemp replacing Craig Cook, who informed the club he was unavailable to race.
LAST TIME OUT IN LEICESTER
The Witches last travelled to Leicester in September of 2024 in what turned out to be a nail-biting play-off semi-final second leg. A depleted Witches side had built up an eight-point lead at Foxhall in the first leg and defied the odds and some questionable refereeing decisions to take it to a last-heat decider in the second leg before the Lions secured a maximum giving them a 51-39 win to progress on aggregate to the final. Brennan, a guest for the Witches back then, top scored with 11+1.
AWAY DAYS
An adult ticket costs £23, concessions £21, 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.
Press Officer at Ipswich Speedway