The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Sheffield to face the Tigers at Owlerton Stadium on Thursday 28th August in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R2 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
LINE-UPS
SHEFFIELD: 1. Jack Holder 9.14 2. Anders Rowe 5.83 3. Josh Pickering © 8.08 4. Nick Morris 6.43 5. Chris Holder 7.80 6. Jye Etheridge 3.34 7. Leon Flint (RS). Team Manager: Simon Stead
IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 8.42 2. R/R for Adam Ellis 5.88 3. Emil Sayfutdinov 8.38 4. Danny King © 6.64 5. Tom Brennan 7.09 6. Dan Thompson 5.42 7. Jason Edwards (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: W. Dishington
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 22 | 43 |
| Sheffield | 21 | 38 |
| Belle Vue | 23 | 37 |
| Leicester | 22 | 36 |
| King’s Lynn | 22 | 24 |
| Oxford | 23 | 11 |
| Birmingham | 23 | 6 |
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are available to purchase on the gate.
THE PREVIEW
The Witches race their final away fixture of the regular ROWE Motor Oil Premiership campaign on Thursday at Sheffield.
Ipswich beat local rivals King’s Lynn last time out at Foxhall to keep their bid to finish top of the table on track ahead of the final two regular meetings of the season. The Suffolk side have a five-point lead over the Tigers in second place with the South Yorkshire outfit having a meeting in hand to race at King’s Lynn. A win in 15 heats at Owlerton would confirm first-placed position for Ritchie Hawkins’ side which would see them face whoever finishes fourth in the play-offs.
The visitors will be without the injured Adam Ellis who suffered a knee injury in a crash in Sweden last week with rider replacement in operation at number two. Jason Edwards will continue in the Rising Star position for the remainder of the season after Jordan Jenkins suffered further injuries in a crash last week whilst riding for Oxford.
The Suffolk side’s last visit to South Yorkshire went to the wire as Sheffield claimed a 46-44 win back in May.
MANAGER’S NOTES
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We are in a brilliant position in the league and a win would secure top spot but all four teams in the play-offs are all very capable of beating each other. It would be great to seal top spot but at the end of the day it is all about what happens in the play-offs. It is a great opportunity to race at Sheffield so close to the play-offs, a place we may end up going to if we both make it to the final. It is a really challenging end to the season with two meetings against Sheffield but that is a great thing going into the play-offs and good results will give us confidence and momentum rolling into next month. We have had a good run of results, but this will be a stern test to get us ready for the massive meetings next month.
“Adam will be missing with his knee injury, and it doesn’t look like it is as severe as it could have been. We are hoping he will be back for our final home meeting next week and will be back soon and fit for the play-offs. That is positive with him moving to reserve next month. Jason will be carrying on for the rest of the season, he has done very well since coming in and fits in very well and I’m happy to have him with us. It is a big shame to lose Jordan after picking up another injury at Oxford and he needs time off the bike and time to recover to get himself fit. As it turns out we didn’t need to make a decision, but we are delighted to have Jason in the side.
“We have kept the line-up the same as it has been for the last few weeks and it is all going to change next month anyway. R/R fits a lot better at number two, and it will have to be covered by Danny and the reserves again. Extra rides are very helpful for the reserves, and it was for Jason at home last week to get plenty of laps around Foxhall. It will give him plenty of laps at Sheffield if we do end up going there in the play-offs.”
SHEFFIELD TIGERS
Sheffield, like Ipswich, have already secured their place in the play-offs and still hold ambitions to overhaul the Witches and finish top of the table. To do that, they must win on Thursday night to keep those hopes alive before they visit King’s Lynn on Monday and Foxhall next Thursday. The Tigers are strong on their home patch and have only been beaten once at Owlerton by Leicester.
The hosts have made changes since last facing Ipswich with Nick Morris and Jye Etheridge replacing Lewis Kerr and Justin Sedgmen.
LAST TIME OUT IN SHEFFIELD
The Witches last travelled to Sheffield in May of this season. Ipswich went into the fixture with a 100% record in the league whilst the Tigers were looking to preserve their unbeaten home record and there was never more than four points between the two sides throughout the contest. Ipswich held a two-point lead heading into the final race of the night after a heat 14 maximum, but the home team responded in the final heat with a 5-1 to snatch victory. Jason Doyle top scored with 10+1.
AWAY DAYS
An adult ticket costs £25, concessions (over 65s & students) £23, juniors (aged 12-17) £5 whilst children aged 11 under cost £1. Official programmes cost £4. All the stadium is open except the back straight which remains closed for safety reasons. There is seating in the Panorama Room, which also boasts a restaurant and bar overlooking the track. There is a fast-food bar, and the Panorama Room Restaurant also offers a ‘Speedway Special’ carvery with a choice of meats. The Panorama Room Restaurant has large bar with ideal viewing facilities in addition to the carvery. Reserve your table now by calling Owlerton Stadium on 01142 343074. For travel information head here.
For more information about the club head to Sheffield’s official website.
Press Officer at Ipswich Speedway