By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our Knockout Cup quarter-final second leg fixture with Leicester.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches host the Leicester Lions at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 4th April in a Knockout Cup quarter-final second leg fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
TEAMS
IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 10.22 2. Jordan Jenkins 4.37 3. Danny King 7.28 © 4. Adam Ellis 5.67 5. Jason Doyle 9.12 6. Keynan Rew 4.00 7. Dan Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
LEICESTER: 1. Max Fricke 8.84 © 2. Richard Lawson 6.67 3. Sam Masters 6.96 4. Luke Becker 6.95 5. Ryan Douglas 7.10 6. Drew Kemp 4.22 7. Joe Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Stewart Dickson
REFEREE: M. Bates
KNOCKOUT CUP DRAW
QUARTER-FINALS
First Leg: Belle Vue 49-41 Sheffield. Second Leg: Sheffield – Belle Vue
First Leg: Leicester 42-48 Ipswich. Second Leg: Ipswich – Leicester
TICKETS
Tickets are available to buy online (until 7pm on raceday) and on the gate and are priced at £23 for adults and £21 for concessions (65+) & students (21 & under). Tickets for children aged 6-16 are £1 whilst children 5 & under go free. Official programmes are priced at £3.50 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 Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches race the decisive second leg fixture against Leicester on Thursday at Foxhall in the Knockout Cup quarter-final.
The two sides met on Monday at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena in the first leg, and it was the Witches who came away with a six-point lead after a terrific performance on the road maintained their 100% record in 2024. That advantage puts Ipswich in a strong position to progress to the semi-finals, but they know that Leicester have a team of riders capable of overturning the deficit at Foxhall.
The Witches line up the same as they did in the first leg where Dan Thompson continued his sensational start to the campaign scoring 9+1 from the Rising Star position and a repeat performance from the Suffolk side will see them move into the last four as they look to retain their title.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“Back to Foxhall on Thursday after a tight, hard-fought victory at Leicester on Monday and I’m sure the second leg will be no different. I am expecting a very tough, challenging meeting and I’m sure it will be an entertaining one.
“I know Stewart and Leicester will be coming to Ipswich to win and go through in the tie. They are capable of doing that and we will need to have the same determination as we did on Monday to get the job done and get through to the next round.”
THE LIONS
Leicester will be hurting after Monday’s first leg defeat and come to Foxhall knowing they must perform better and win by more than six points if they want to stay in the Knockout Cup. The Lions ran Ipswich close on their visits to Suffolk in 2023 but lost all three fixtures.
The visitors are packed with riders who tend to go well at Foxhall with Sam Masters in particular having enjoyed many high scores in Suffolk. They also have three former Witches returning in Richard Lawson, Drew Kemp and Joe Thompson who have all done plenty of laps at Foxhall.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway