By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our Premiership R1 fixture with Sheffield.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches host the Sheffield Tigers at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 20th April in a Premiership R1 fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
MEETING SPONSORS
Jim Buxton & Friends
TEAMS
IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 10.32 2. R/R for Erik Riss 6.00 3. Danny King 6.41 © 4. Keynan Rew 5.00 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 8.00 6. Danyon Hume 3.07 7. Joe Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
SHEFFIELD: 1. Jack Holder 8.47 2. Kyle Howarth 5.47 © 3. Adam Ellis 6.75 4. David Bellego 5.80 5. Scott Nicholls (g) 8.08 6. Lewis Kerr 4.88 7. Dan Gilkes (RS). Team Manager: Simon Stead
REFEREE: M. Bates
PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Sheffield | 2 | 5 |
| Belle Vue | 4 | 4 |
| Wolverhampton | 2 | 3 |
| Leicester | 1 | 2 |
| Ipswich | 2 | 2 |
| King’s Lynn | 2 | 2 |
| Peterborough | 3 | 0 |
TICKETS
Tickets are available to buy online (until 7pm on raceday) and on the gate and are priced at £22 for adults and £20 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 Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches are back in Premiership action on Thursday as they host the Sheffield Tigers at Foxhall. The Witches will be looking to return to winning ways in the league after they were beaten last week on home shale by the Belle Vue Aces. The Suffolk side were in action on Monday in the Knockout Cup and progressed to the semi-final of the competition after an impressive win on the road at Leicester.
The hosts were hoping to welcome back Erik Riss to the side after he has missed the last two fixtures. The German has been being treated for a viral infection and was hopeful of being fit enough to return to action on Thursday however it has come too soon and rider replacement will be in operation again in his absence. Emil Sayfutdinov recorded a 12-point maximum at Leicester on Monday and he and Jason Doyle will be looking to carry on the powerful relationship they have formed together on track against the high-flying Tigers.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“It is certainly going to be another tough night for us at Foxhall and we will certainly need to perform better than we did last week. The morale is straight back up after our performance at Leicester and we have stepped it up a gear now. We need to make sure we are at that level again on Thursday if we want to win the meeting.
“We are monitoring the situation daily with Erik at the moment and were hopeful to have him back on Thursday, but it is a day-by-day thing. We don’t know how long he will take to recover but he has shown improvement and we are hopeful he will be back with us soon.
“Sheffield have put together another very good team, like they have done the past two seasons in the Premiership. They will be one of the favourites for the title again alongside Belle Vue probably and it will be a tough test for us. They will come full of confidence having started the season brilliantly and will come to our place going all out to get the win so we will have to be on top form if we want to win the meeting.”
THE TIGERS
Sheffield narrowly missed out on Premiership glory in 2022 after they were defeated in the play-off final. Once again, the Tigers have assembled a side fancied by many to compete at the top end of the table with the bulk of last year’s side staying in South Yorkshire. Simon Stead’s men have made a strong start to the campaign with home and away wins over Belle Vue to start the league season.
Grand Prix rider Jack Holder is at number one for the visitors with Adam Ellis and Tobiasz Musielak forming a familiar top three at Owlerton. However, Musielak will miss this fixture after breaking his collarbone with Scott Nicholls guesting in his absence. David Bellego was a new winter signing and will ride at number four with Kyle Howarth captaining the side at number two. Lewis Kerr is one of the strongest reserves in the league and Dan Gilkes is their ‘Rising Star’.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway