By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R1 fixture with Birmingham.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Birmingham to face the Brummies at the Perry Barr Stadium on Monday 27th May in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R1 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
TEAMS
BIRMINGHAM: 1. Piotr Pawlicki 7.50 2. Steve Worrall 6.14 © 3. Zach Cook 5.53 4. Justin Sedgmen 5.07 5. Tom Brennan 6.37 6. Wiktor Lampart 4.35 7. Leon Flint (RS). Team Manager: Sam Ermolenko
IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.65 © 2. Nicolai Klindt (G) 7.50 3. R/R for Jason Doyle 9.18 4. Dan Thompson 4.46 (RS) 5. Troy Batchelor (G) 5.74 6. Keynan Rew 4.00 7. Jordan Jenkins 3.83. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: P. Carrington
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 9 | 18 |
| Belle Vue | 10 | 17 |
| Sheffield | 7 | 12 |
| Oxford | 9 | 11 |
| Leicester | 8 | 9 |
| Birmingham | 9 | 3 |
| King’s Lynn* | 8 | 1 |
TICKETS
Tickets are available to purchase on the gate and in advance here.
THE STORY
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches face another test on the road as they face the Birmingham Brummies on Monday evening in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
The Witches were in action on Thursday at King’s Lynn where they managed to produce a sensational comeback to beat their local rivals in a super heat despite having lost Jason Doyle to injury and been 14 points down after eight races. Those three points took Ipswich back to the top of the table and made it three away wins on the bounce.
The visitors head to Perry Barr without their captain, the current world number three and Adam Ellis. Danny King is still recovering following an operation on his hand and Nicolai Klindt will guest in his place at number two. Doyle crashed out at King’s Lynn on Thursday and is suffering from some cracked ribs and a sore shoulder and rider replacement will be used at number three. Ellis suffered a dislocated shoulder on Sunday in France and Troy Batchelor will guest in his place at number five.
Ipswich have an eight-point lead having beaten Birmingham at Foxhall back in March as they hope to add more points to their already impressive tally despite their injury troubles.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We are buzzing with our form and are in great spirits, but we are going to be missing Jason, Danny and Adam which is a big blow to us. It is the first time we have been there for a long time, but we have faced a lot of challenges already this season and have taken them in our stride. We will continue to do that on Monday even though we are depleted we are looking to get another victory and carry on this superb run we are on at the top of the league.
“Adam Ellis will be missing our trip to Birmingham after suffering a dislocated shoulder back home in France on Sunday. We await further news on the severity from the hospital in France and we thank Troy Batchelor for stepping in at late notice to guest.”
“It is a new track for some of the boys, but it is one we can adapt to quickly. It will be exciting for some of them, I know Emil thrives to race on different tracks and it is one for Keynan to learn again. I think it is a place that could suit us but the way we are going at the moment, we can perform anywhere. The position we are in, it is not vital that we win but we are going to be back there the following week as well. That might be in the cup or the league but is a place we will need to get our head around quickly with two meetings there in quick succession, we can’t afford to be taking too long to adapt.
“We are depleted but we are still looking to win as we always would do. It is not vital as such seeing as we are in such a good position after our great start to the season but we have got a great guest coming in with Nicolai and anyone can take a ride for R/R so we should still be strong. We are still putting out a strong side and are looking to win the meeting.”
THE BRUMMIES
Birmingham have found life tough in the top-flight and have just one win to their name from nine outings so far. Their sole win has come against Belle Vue whilst they have picked up a point after a super heat defeat at home to Sheffield. The Brummies currently sit sixth in the table and have not raced since 6th May.
The hosts brought in Justin Sedgmen for Vaclav Milik earlier this month and he will make his debut against the Witches on Monday. Tom Brennan, who proved to be an inspired guest for the Witches at King’s Lynn, is at number five for the hosts.
AWAY DAYS
An adult ticket costs £23, concessions £20, students (17-22 with proof of ID) £10 and children 16 and under go free. Official programmes cost £3.00 and car parking is £3.00. There is a modern three level grandstand extending for the full length of the home straight. On ground level there is a bar and refreshments area plus souvenir sales shop. Closed circuit television monitors show the racing and replays. There are also extensive bar and restaurant and light refreshment facilities.
For more information about the club head to Birmingham’s official website.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway