The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches host the Leicester Lions at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 9th October in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Play-Off final second leg fixture. Parade: 7.30pm, first race: 7:45pm.
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LINE-UPS
IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 8.21 2. Danny King © 6.67 3. Tom Brennan 7.23 4. Keynan Rew (G) 6.07 5. Jason Doyle 7.86 6. Dan Thompson 6.02 7. Jason Edwards (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
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
REFEREE: S. Perkin
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 43-47 Ipswich, 2nd Leg: Ipswich vs Leicester (9th Oct)
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are available to purchase in advance here and on the gate and are priced at £24 for adults and £22 for concessions (65+) & students (21 & under). Tickets for children aged 6-16 are £1 whilst children 5 & under go free. Official programmes are priced at £3.50 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 PREVIEW
The Witches host the Leicester Lions at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday in the second leg of their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Play-Off final.
The two sides met on Monday in the first leg as Ipswich walked away with a four-point lead after a terrific battling performance on the road. Ritchie Hawkins’ side lost Adam Ellis to injury early on in the first leg and he will miss the second leg. Scans have shown no breaks to the neck or back but the former British champion remains in a lot of pain with a lack of movement and former Witch Keynan Rew will guest in his place at number four.
Last time the Lions were in Suffolk, the Witches raced to a big 54-36 win, but Leicester have shown they are capable at Foxhall, winning 47-43 back in May.
It’s set to be a massive night at Foxhall with the club looking to clinch its first league title since 1998 with a big home crowd willing them onto victory.
MANAGER’S NOTES
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“It is the biggest night at Foxhall for a couple of years now and to have the second leg of the Play-Off final at home is massive for the club. I know everyone will be out supporting us and we certainly did the Witches race jacket proud on Monday night with our battling performance and determination. That is what we will have to do on Thursday. The tie is evenly matched and they will know they are capable of winning at Foxhall and being very good, so we need to be completely focused, the same as Monday night. It is going to be one hell of a meeting and one hell of a final and we are fully focused on coming out on top.
“We will look for a quick start, so will they. They will want to pull back those four points straight away and we will want to extend it. 15 more heats and you can already see how quickly the score fluctuates, one race ago we were eight points up, so it can soon change and anything can happen. This is Play-Off speedway, and this is why it is exciting.
“Adam is not going to be fit. After a long night in hospital we had the good news that nothing is broken and after CT scans on his neck and back we had great news that nothing is broken there but there is no chance of him being fit for Thursday. We assume he will have some muscle damage but he is yet to be fully diagnosed and he is still in a lot of pain and has a lack of movement.
“I am delighted to be able to call upon Keynan, he is an Ipswich rider who we have a very close relationship with and we will use him at any opportunity we can. I know he is keen in a massive meeting like this so he will slot straight into the side.
“We know what this means to everyone at the club, it has been a long time coming and we have worked for many years. I have worked for many years for this, Chris even longer, Danny even longer than me and the boys like Doyley and Emil since they have come in. Everyone in our side is determined to make the dream come true and the opportunity is there. That is all it is at the moment, an opportunity and we have got to go and take it as it is not going to be given to us.”
LEICESTER LIONS
The Lions will have gone home disappointed on Monday night after losing their home leg of the final but knowing the tie is far from over. Leicester already got their name on the Knockout Cup earlier this season and are eager to add a league title to that after last year’s Play-Off final agony. The visitors have tasted success in Suffolk already this year and won seven times on their travels in the league. Stewart Dickson’s outfit know they need another big performance if they are to be crowned champions on Thursday.
The away side track the same line-up as on Monday led by Max Fricke who had his place in next year’s Grand Prix series confirmed after receiving a wild card. Luke Becker was key in their win at Foxhall in May, scoring 12+1 from number two with Drew Kemp notching nine on that evening from reserve.
LAST TIME WE MET IN SUFFOLK
Ipswich welcomed Leicester to Foxhall back in June as they registered a dominant win in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership. For the first time in over a month the hosts had all seven riders available to them whilst the Lions were operating rider replacement for the injured Luke Becker. The home team raced into a big lead early on in the tie and never looked back as they returned to the top of the table in front of their supporters and the TNT Sports cameras. Tom Brennan top scored with 11+1.
Press Officer at Ipswich Speedway