By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R1 fixture with Sheffield.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches host the Sheffield Tigers at Foxhall Stadium on Monday 10th June in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership R1 fixture. Parade: 7.30pm, first race: 7:45pm.
MEETING SPONSORS
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TEAMS
IPSWICH: 1. Chris Harris (G) 9.36 2. Dan Thompson 4.46 (RS) 3. Scott Nicholls (G) 7.50 4. Adam Ellis 5.95 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.24 © 6. Keynan Rew 4.15 7. Jordan Jenkins 4.00. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
SHEFFIELD: 1. Jack Holder 8.86 2. Kyle Howarth 5.32 © 3. Chris Holder 7.83 4. Josh Pickering 6.92 5. Tai Woffinden 8.71 6. Jason Edwards 3.00 7. Dan Gilkes (RS). Team Manager: Simon Stead
REFEREE: C. Gay
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 10 | 18 |
| Sheffield | 9 | 17 |
| Belle Vue | 11 | 17 |
| Oxford | 11 | 13 |
| Leicester | 10 | 12 |
| Birmingham | 11 | 6 |
| King’s Lynn* | 8 | 1 |
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 at Foxhall again on Monday evening as they welcome the Sheffield Tigers in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
The Witches were in Knockout Cup action last week, beating Birmingham home and away in the semi-final to book their spot in the final as they remain on course to retain their title. Attention now turns back to the league with the second-placed Tigers posing a stern test.
The home side are gradually getting members of the team back to full fitness and Dan Thompson returns to the side at number two following illness. Scott Nicholls guests again for Danny King who is not yet ready to return, and Chris Harris deputises at number one for the injured Jason Doyle.
A win for Ipswich would see them pick up the aggregate bonus point too having defeated Sheffield in the reverse fixture and would extend their lead at the top of the table.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We are back for a rare Monday meeting against the reigning champions, and we are coming into the meeting without our number one and captain which is not an ideal scenario when you are facing Sheffield. We have got a couple of great guests coming in with Chris and Scotty and Sheffield will be coming to avenge the victory we got at their place. We want to walk away with three points, and I think it will be another close, tough battle.
“We welcome Dan back and it is great to have another rider back alongside Adam. We are slowly getting there and when Scotty comes in, he doesn’t feel like a guest. We know what we are going to get with Chris, and they have both been brilliant on their recent visits to Foxhall so we will hope for the same again. We are putting out a good one to seven and one that is capable of winning the meeting, so we have got to come out again and keep fighting.
“I’m sure everyone will be looking forward to Emil going to battle with the big stars from Sheffield. They are bringing a lot of big names and I think it is going to be one hell of a meeting for everyone at Foxhall, it should be a classic.”
THE TIGERS
Sheffield are going along strongly this season as they look to retain their title. The Tigers currently occupy second place in the table just a point behind Ipswich and have a good record on the road with three wins from four outings. The visitors will be hoping to get one over the Witches on Monday after Ipswich inflicted a 46-44 defeat on Simon Stead’s men in the reverse fixture at Owlerton.
The visitors have two current Grand Prix riders in their ranks with Jack Holder and Tai Woffinden at one and five. Former world champion Chris Holder is at number three to ensure there will be plenty of big-name battles on Thursday night in Suffolk.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway