By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R2 fixture with Oxford.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Oxford to face the Spires at the Oxford Stadium on Thursday 4th July in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R2 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
TEAMS
OXFORD: 1. Rohan Tungate 7.43 2. Drew Kemp 4.45 3. Maciej Janowski 6.04 4. Charles Wright 6.27 5. Chris Harris 6.33 © 6. Erik Riss 4.30 7. Ashton Boughen (RS). Team Manager: Peter Schroeck
IPSWICH: 1. Scott Nicholls (G) 9.36 2. Dan Thompson 4.84 (RS) 3. Danny King 7.72 © 4. Adam Ellis 6.07 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.15 6. Keynan Rew 4.52 7. Jordan Jenkins 3.66. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: C. Turnbull
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 14 | 26 |
| Belle Vue | 14 | 21 |
| Sheffield | 12 | 20 |
| Oxford | 14 | 15 |
| Leicester | 12 | 12 |
| King’s Lynn* | 10 | 7 |
| Birmingham | 12 | 6 |
TICKETS
Tickets are available to purchase online in advance here.
THE STORY
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Oxford in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership on Thursday.
The Suffolk side started the week in Manchester where they fell to a heavy defeat against Belle Vue, just their third defeat of the season. Thursday’s trip to Oxford is the restaging of the abandoned clash from last month where the Witches had a 10-point lead after six races before rain stopped play.
Regular guest Scott Nicholls again comes in for the injured Jason Doyle at number one. Nicholls knows most tracks well and has plenty of recent experience at this one, riding for the Oxford Cheetahs in the Championship.
It is a place that Ipswich have already won at this season, taking a 48-42 victory back in April.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“It is great to be straight back in on Thursday and not have a big gap. We have raced one and a half meetings there this year and have gone very well in those. We were in a great position before the unfortunate rain-off a few weeks ago and the boys are determined to go and get those points.
“We have come off a bad result, but our confidence is still high going to Oxford, a team we have beaten a few times this year and we have done well at their home track. We go with confidence and determination and after Monday’s result it puts more emphasis on winning and getting back on another winning streak quickly.
“Injury wise, Adam didn’t struggle too badly on Monday with his side and he and Jordan have had a few days of rest which has been really good for them, and they have a couple more days now. We have got Scott back in the team which has worked very well this year, and it is a track he clearly knows well. We will go there with what feels like a full team and high expectations of ourselves.”
THE SPIRES
Oxford currently occupy fourth place in the table and got a much-needed win on Monday against a depleted Sheffield to boost their play-off hopes. Remarkably the 48-42 winning margin against the Tigers was their biggest home win of the season and their home form has been vital to their top four hopes with six wins from seven, the only defeat on home shale being against Ipswich.
The Spires made a team change last week with Drew Kemp replacing Lewis Kerr and he rides at number two for the hosts.
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