The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Leicester to face the Lions at the Hydroscand Arena on Monday 6th October in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Play-Off final first leg fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
LINE-UPS
LEICESTER: 1. Max Fricke © 9.89 2. Luke Becker 6.88 3. Ryan Douglas 8.12 4. Kyle Howarth 5.13 5. Sam Masters 7.28 6. Drew Kemp 4.84 7. Joe Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Stewart Dickson
IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 8.21 2. Danny King © 6.67 3. Tom Brennan 7.23 4. Adam Ellis 6.07 5. Jason Doyle 7.86 6. Dan Thompson 6.02 7. Jason Edwards (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: G. Hunter
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Sheffield | 24 | 43 |
| Ipswich | 24 | 43 |
| Leicester | 24 | 42 |
| Belle Vue | 24 | 37 |
| King’s Lynn | 24 | 30 |
| Oxford | 24 | 11 |
| Birmingham | 24 | 6 |
PLAY-OFFS
SEMI-FINALS:
1st Leg: Belle Vue 48-42 Ipswich, 2nd Leg: Ipswich 59-31 Belle Vue
1st Leg: Sheffield 46-43 Leicester, 2nd Leg: Leicester 47-43 Sheffield
FINAL
1st Leg: Leicester vs Ipswich (6th Oct), 2nd Leg: Ipswich vs Leicester (9th Oct)
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are available to purchase online in advance here and on the gate.
LIVE COVERAGE
You can watch the meeting live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
THE PREVIEW
The Witches begin their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Play-Off final on Monday with the first leg at Leicester.
Ipswich progressed with relative ease to the final after a big win over last year’s champions Belle Vue in the semi-final. Now the season comes down to 30 heats of action over two legs to determine who are crowned 2025 champions.
Dan Thompson drops back down to reserve due to the latest averages with Adam Ellis back at number four. Jason Doyle moves to number five with Tom Brennan at three.
Ritchie Hawkins’ side won at the Hydroscand Arena back in April as they raced to a 49-41 win and they kept things close on their second visit back in August, with the Lions victorious in their own 49-41 win after a last-heat decider.
MANAGER’S NOTES
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We have been wating for this all season and we head to a place where we have a great record at in recent years and as a team we love racing there. We will go there with confidence knowing how good we can be there but also knowing that they are an extremely good team and what a challenge it will be. This is the first leg of what will be two cracking meetings and whatever the result on Monday, the reverse could happen on Thursday. It will be 30 great heats between two top teams who both go well on each other’s tracks, it will be a dog fight from start to finish.
“With the break we have drifted into the next month and Dan has dropped to reserve. He is probably our best rider around Leicester so to have him at reserve could be a trump card if he performs as he has done every other time he has rode there for us. Either way I was happy with Dan or Adam at reserve it doesn’t make too much difference, we are solid from one to seven. You will see we have gone back to our line-up from the start of the season when we were going so well. The partnerships are the same, just with different numbers on their backs and that’s why we did it and prepared for it. The boys are comfortable in whatever order and know what works best and with the averages changing this is our best riding order, we are just looking forward to Monday night.
“We will try and approach the meeting like most, but everyone knows the importance of it. Everyone has worked hard for a number of years to get here, and it is a couple of years since the massive disappointment of the last Play-Off final. A lot of the team are still here and are ready to put that right. Last year’s semi-final at Leicester was a disappointment and we don’t want to have that feeling again. We always go there looking to win as we know how good we can be at that track and because of how good we are as a one to seven. We are capable of winning anywhere so we will look to get a first leg lead which will set the tie up nicely for the second leg at Ipswich where we know how strong we are.”
LEICESTER LIONS
The Lions finished third in the table just a point behind the Witches and are looking to go one step further in 2025 after losing out in last year’s Play-Off final. Leicester overcame Sheffield by just one point on aggregate in a dramatic semi-final to set up the clash with the Witches. The home team have lost twice on home shale this season, against the Witches and surprisingly, bottom side Birmingham.
The hosts are at full strength for the fixture, led by Grand Prix rider Max Fricke who raced to a paid maximum against the Witches on home shale last time out.
LAST TIME OUT IN LEICESTER
The Witches last travelled to Leicester in August of this year. The hosts edged ahead early on but there was never more than six points between the two sides heading into a last-heat decider. However, Leicester secured the victory with the sole maximum of the meeting in heat 15 as Ipswich took the aggregate bonus point for their efforts. Dan Thompson top scored with 12+2.
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