By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R1 fixture with Oxford.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Oxford to face the Spires at the Oxford Stadium on Thursday 11th April in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R1 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
TEAMS
OXFORD: 1. Maciej Janowski 8.00 2. Charles Wright 6.20 3. Nicolai Klindt 6.68 4. Rohan Tungate 6.63 5. Chris Harris 6.89 © 6. Lewis Kerr 5.32 7. Ashton Boughen (RS). Team Manager: Peter Schroeck
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
REFEREE: C. Turnbull
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Oxford | 3 | 7 |
| Ipswich | 2 | 4 |
| Belle Vue | 2 | 2 |
| Sheffield | 2 | 2 |
| Leicester | 2 | 2 |
| Birmingham | 4 | 1 |
| King’s Lynn | 1 | 0 |
TICKETS
Tickets are available to purchase online in advance here.
THE STORY
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches return to ROWE Motor Oil Premiership action on Thursday with a trip to top-flight newcomers Oxford.
The Witches have started the season strongly with two wins from two in the league at Foxhall and they have already tasted victory on the road with a win at Leicester in the first leg of their Knockout Cup quarter-final first leg tie. Thursday’s test promises to be a tough one with both teams yet to taste defeat in 2024.
The visitors are at full strength for this fixture, and it is a place Jordan Jenkins knows well with the youngster having ridden for Oxford in previous seasons.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“It is our first trip to Oxford for a very long time and I’m delighted to see them back in the league and doing so well since they re-opened a couple of seasons ago. It will be a new test for us, they have built a very good side and have started the season well, they look a very strong side. After winning at Leicester, I said to the boys if we can win there, we can win anywhere. We have shown our own strengths at the start of the season, and we will hope to carry that on at Oxford.
“It will be a new track for some of the boys and unusually in speedway the lesser experienced riders will have probably done more laps at the track than the more experienced guys. Jordan has raced at Oxford many times and hopefully his knowledge of the circuit can help us. I’m sure the top guys will quickly adapt to a different track and Keynan has the experience of learning new tracks last year, so it is another for him and hopefully he picks it up quickly because it could be an important role he has now he is down at number six. We have got a great bond going already throughout the team and I’m sure we will all work together to help each other out to get our heads round the track quickly.
“Last week we lost a true Ipswich legend in John Louis. To start a career so late and achieve so much is remarkable but to be so highly regarded by so many is even more remarkable. John set the standard for future Witches to follow, and we will continue to strive and achieve these standards.”
THE SPIRES
Oxford make their return to the top level of British Speedway for the first time since 2007 in what is an extremely positive news story for the sport. The club closed down that year and a wheel wasn’t turned in anger at the Oxford Stadium until the club returned in the Championship in 2022. The club run a team in each division of British Speedway, and it has been a dream return to the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership so far for the Spires as they sit top of the table with three wins from three.
The hosts have built a competitive team for 2024 with former Grand Prix star Maciej Janowski leading the side having made his return to racing in Britain for the first time since 2015. Chris Harris captains the team with Australian champion Rohan Tungate, former British champion Charles Wright and Nicolai Klindt completing a strong top five. Lewis Kerr is at reserve alongside Rising Star Ashton Boughen.
AWAY DAYS
An adult ticket costs £22 with accompanied children under 16 going free if bought in advance. There is a £2 price increase for adult tickets purchased on the day. Due to limited parking at the stadium, free parking will be available thanks to Unipart at their site just a short walk from the stadium (approx 800m) on a first come first served basis, please remember to select this option if required when purchasing your tickets as this will be required when arriving at the car park. A free shuttle bus service will be provided to and from the stadium from the Unipart car park site. Unipart postcode is OX4 2PG. Limited disabled car parking is available at the stadium; these spaces are on a first come first served basis. For further information head here.
For more information about the club head to Oxford’s official website.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway