By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R2 fixture with Belle Vue.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Manchester to face the Belle Vue Aces at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday 1st July in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R2 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
TEAMS
BELLE VUE: 1. Brady Kurtz 8.87 © 2. Norick Blödorn 5.20 3. Jaimon Lidsey 7.58 4. Ben Cook 6.57 5. Dan Bewley 8.13 6. Tate Zischke 4.57 7. Connor Bailey (RS). Team Manager: Mark Lemon
IPSWICH: 1. Tom Brennan (G) 9.36 2. Dan Thompson 4.84 (RS) 3. Danny King 7.72 © 4. Adam Ellis 6.07 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.15 6. Keynan Rew 4.52 7. Jordan Jenkins 3.66. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: A. Steele
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 13 | 26 |
| Sheffield | 11 | 20 |
| Belle Vue | 13 | 19 |
| Oxford | 13 | 13 |
| Leicester | 12 | 12 |
| King’s Lynn* | 10 | 7 |
| Birmingham | 12 | 6 |
TICKETS
Tickets are available to purchase online in advance here and on the gate.
THE STORY
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches begin a week on the road at Belle Vue on Monday in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
The Suffolk side are flying high at the top of the table and made it six wins on the bounce with victory over Oxford at Foxhall on Thursday. That win extended their lead at the top to six points and the Witches have lost just twice in the league this season, one of those defeats being a 55-35 loss at Belle Vue back in April.
Former Ace Tom Brennan guests at number one for the injured Jason Doyle whilst the visitors are hoping that Adam Ellis and Jordan Jenkins are fit enough to take their places in the side having picked up injuries in Thursday’s win over the Spires.
Ipswich will be hoping to win their first ever meeting at the National Speedway Stadium having lost all 11 of their fixtures raced in Manchester.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“It is well documented that it is a place we have struggled at in the past but form wise, we could not be going there in a better position. We have got six wins on the bounce and results wise the season has been very good. Fitness wise we are sweating on a few riders and even if they are fit to ride, we are going to be far from 100% in that area.
“Tom is someone we have used before with great success, he knows Belle Vue well and we are delighted to have him back with us.
“We say it every time but we may well be there later on the season in the play-offs so it would be nice to put in a good performance and know we can perform there in case we need to later in the year.
“We will enjoy racing the track, but we have not been quick enough, and it is something we are working on every time we go there and at some point, we need to get it right.”
THE ACES
Belle Vue currently sit third in the table and are looking well placed to reach the play-offs for a fourth season in a row. As always, the Aces have been strong at home and have lost just once on home shale in a rain-affected meeting against Sheffield. It has been on their travels where they have struggled with five defeats in six although they have picked up five aggregate bonus points, the most in the division.
Brady Kurtz returns from injury at number one for the hosts having missed the last month of action. British champion Dan Bewley rides at number five having won his third national title in a row earlier this month. The home team have signed Tate Zischke to replace Connor Mountain at reserve and he makes his debut on Monday.
AWAY DAYS
Ticket prices can be found here and official programmes cost £3.50. For more information about your visit to the National Speedway Stadium, head here.
For more information about the club head to Belle Vue’s official website.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway