By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our Sports Insure Premiership play-off semi-final second leg fixture with Belle Vue.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Manchester to face Belle Vue at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday 25th September in a Sports Insure Premiership play-off semi-final second leg fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
TEAMS
BELLE VUE: 1. Brady Kurtz 8.33 © 2. Tom Brennan 6.16 3. Jaimon Lidsey 7.82 4. R/R for Charles Wright 6.55 5. Dan Bewley 8.00 6. Norick Blödorn 5.80 7. Connor Bailey (RS). Team Manager: Mark Lemon
IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 10.14 2. Erik Riss 5.03 3. Danny King 7.03 © 4. Danyon Hume 4.00 5. Jason Doyle 9.21 6. Keynan Rew 4.00 7. Jack Smith (G) (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: C. Gay
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Belle Vue | 24 | 44 |
| Wolverhampton | 24 | 38 |
| Sheffield | 24 | 37 |
| Ipswich | 24 | 34 |
| Leicester | 24 | 34 |
| Peterborough | 24 | 20 |
| King’s Lynn | 24 | 9 |
PLAY-OFF DRAW
SEMI-FINALS
First Leg: Ipswich 54-36 Belle Vue. Second Leg: Belle Vue vs Ipswich (Sep 25)
First Leg: Wolverhampton vs Sheffield (Sep 25). Second Leg: Sheffield vs Wolverhampton (Sep 28)
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased on the gate and online in advance here.
THE STORY
The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to the National Speedway Stadium to take on the Belle Vue Aces in the second leg of their Sports Insure Premiership play-off semi-final tie.
The two sides met last Thursday at Foxhall and despite missing Jason Doyle and Dan Thompson through injury the Witches raced to a thumping 54-36 victory in the first leg, to give them an 18-point lead going into the deciding leg. Belle Vue were without Charles Wright but it was a surprise result for many as the reigning champions and 2023 table-toppers fell to a heavy defeat, having won twice at Foxhall this season.
Ipswich certainly have momentum having won nine of their last 12 meetings in all competitions and lifted the Knockout Cup in that period. The Suffolk side have been beaten on both of their visits to the National Speedway Stadium this season, 55-35 and 49-41 and despite holding a healthy lead, the tie is by no means over with the Aces more than capable of overturning the 18-point deficit.
There is good news for Ipswich fans with Jason Doyle set to return to the side after his crash at the Danish Grand Prix forced him to miss the first leg. Jack Smith guests again for the injured Dan Thompson in the Rising Star position and has plenty of experience at the National Speedway Stadium having raced many laps there for the Belle Vue Colts in the NDL.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We need to attack from the off, I think it is going to be a very tough meeting. Belle Vue are going to be determined, they do not want to lose their title in the semi-final this year. They are very good around there, so we know we need to attack them, and we will need to fight for every point. We take it as a one-off meeting, we are certainly not going to be looking at an 18-point lead we have got, we have got to attack it and try and win the meeting.
“We are hoping to have Jason back on Monday, he is riding on Sunday so hopefully he comes through that and is fit.
“We have Jack Smith again at number seven, and he is very happy to be making another appearance in the Sports Insure Premiership. He knows the place very well and is capable of scoring points around there at number seven.”
THE ACES
The 2022 champions are looking to retain their title and won the league phase comfortably. Belle Vue have lost just once on home shale this season back in March and started the play-offs as favourites to lift the trophy again before that heavy defeat at Foxhall last Thursday put them on the back foot. However, the Aces have won by more than 18 points on their home track on six occasions in the Sports Insure Premiership this season, including once against Ipswich.
The hosts are without the injured Charles Wright and will be using rider replacement at number four in his absence. The likes of Brady Kurtz, Tom Brennan and Norick Blödorn were all part of last year’s title winning side and with the additions of Grand Prix rider Dan Bewley and Jaimon Lidsey this year, they are a formidable outfit at the National Speedway Stadium.
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