By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our Premiership fixture with King’s Lynn.
WHEN & WHERE
The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the King’s Lynn Stars at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 2nd June in a Premiership fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
MEETING SPONSORS
RN Euston – RN Euston Limited has supplied steel framed buildings in East Anglia for over 40 years. Established by Ray Euston the business has grown steadily over the years and now Ray works in partnership with his son Mark. The company is based in Suffolk and work all over East Anglia where they have gained a reliable reputation.
TMB Utilities Ltd
TEAMS
IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 9.84 2. R/R for Paul Starke 4.95 3. Danny King 8.00 © 4. Erik Riss 4.62 5. Troy Batchelor 5.44 6. Ben Barker 4.44 7. Danyon Hume (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
KING’S LYNN: 1. Richard Lawson 7.84 2. Lewis Kerr 5.43 3. Niels-Kristian Iversen 7.33 4. Thomas Jorgensen 6.05 5. Josh Pickering 7.31 © 6. Richie Worrall 5.33 7. Jack Thomas (RS). Team Manager: Alex Brady
REFEREE: P. Carrington
PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Belle Vue | 6 | 11 |
| Sheffield | 4 | 9 |
| Ipswich | 4 | 9 |
| Wolverhampton | 4 | 7 |
| King’s Lynn | 4 | 7 |
| Peterborough | 4 | 0 |
TICKETS
Tickets are available to buy online (until 7pm on raceday) and on the gate and are priced at £20 for adults and £18 for concessions (65+). Children 16 and under go free. Official programmes are priced at £3 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 STORY
The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches are back in action on Thursday evening as they host the East Anglian derby against the King’s Lynn Stars in the Premiership at Foxhall. Ipswich go into the meeting in buoyant mood after beating Wolverhampton last week in a last-heat decider and will be looking to back that up with another victory on home shale against their local rivals. The Stars have already been victorious in Suffolk this season as they beat an Ipswich team who were missing both reserve riders in the League Cup.
The hosts welcome back Erik Riss to the team after he missed last week’s win over Wolves due to his Long Track of Nations commitments, where he led Germany to victory. Ritchie Hawkins is without Paul Starke who suffered leg and shoulder injuries in last week’s crash against Wolverhampton, with rider replacement in operation at number two. The new averages mean that Ben Barker moves to reserve where he will be aiming to recapture his best form and he is joined by Danyon Hume at the bottom end of the team who keeps his place at number seven after another strong performance last time out. After being beaten by the Stars earlier in the season, Ipswich will be keen to deliver a victory over their rivals and give their supporters local bragging rights.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We had an important win last week and we need to carry that on this week. We have improved week on week at home. There were still a few mistakes last week and points we threw away, but we are gradually improving, and we will be looking for a bit more improvement again this week.
“It will be great to have Erik back, he did superbly in his Long Track last week so it will be great to have him back in the team. We still have injury concerns over Starkey who had another crash last week. Hopefully he will be fit enough to ride but if not, we will be operating rider replacement for him.
“The new averages are out which moves Ben to reserve and it’s an opportunity for him to get himself back to where he knows he can be in this league. When Starkey is fit, he will be in the main body of the team, but he has hurt his wrist again and is still feeling it a bit after that crash last week.
“When King’s Lynn came here in the cup, we had half a team, and we were miles off where we are now. If we carry on how we have been improving, I expect us to win the meeting. If we do that puts us in a decent position going into a couple of away meetings next week.”
THE STARS
King’s Lynn have enjoyed a positive start to the season having already booked their place in the League Cup final where they will face the Sheffield Tigers. The Stars also won the first round of the Premiership Pairs at Peterborough as Josh Pickering and Richard Lawson surprised many and got their campaign off to the perfect start. In the league, they started with a heavy defeat at Wolverhampton but went to Belle Vue and picked up a point before beating the Aces at the Adrian Flux Arena and on Monday they recorded victory over Peterborough on home shale.
Niels-Kristian Iversen extended his stay with the club earlier this month, having been signed as cover for the injured Peter Kildemand originally. Reserve Richie Worrall and ‘Rising Star’ Jack Thomas proved to be key in their last victory at Foxhall clocking up 18+2 between them and they will be hoping that pairing can prove to be the difference again on Thursday night.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway