MEETING SPONSORS

Scott Properties – Scott Properties is a Land Promoter operating throughout the East of England, East Midlands and the South East. Working closely with Landowners and Local Authorities, they manage the land promotion and planning process from initial site identification through to the sale of consented development sites.

The Waveney Valley Witches Supporters

SCORECARD

IPSWICH 59: Emil Sayfutdinov 4+2, Danny King © 10, Jason Doyle 11, Dan Thompson 10+3, Tom Brennan 12+2, Adam Ellis 7+1, Jason Edwards (RS) 5+3. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

BELLE VUE 31: Brady Kurtz © 4+1, Norick Blödorn 7+1, Jaimon Lidsey 5, Zach Cook 7, Dan Bewley 4, Tate Zischke 2, Jake Mulford (RS) 2. Team Manager: Mark Lemon

REFEREE: M. Bates

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE

Team	Meetings	Points
Ipswich	23	43
Sheffield	23	40
Leicester	23	39
Belle Vue	24	37
King’s Lynn	24	30
Oxford	23	11
Birmingham	24	6

PLAY-OFFS

SEMI-FINALS:

1st Leg: Belle Vue 48-42 Ipswich, 2nd Leg: Ipswich 59-31 Belle Vue

1st Leg: Leicester vs Sheffield (15 Sep), 2nd Leg: Sheffield vs Leicester (18 Sep)

THE REPORT

The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches progressed to the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Play-Off final after beating Belle Vue in the semi-final at Foxhall on Thursday.

The reigning champions arrived in Suffolk with a six-point lead after their 48-42 win in the first leg at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday, but that lead was wiped out after just four races. Ipswich had far too much for their opponents and booked their spot in the final in comfortable fashion with three races to spare. Tom Brennan top scored with 12+2.

After rain in the afternoon at the track, conditions were tricky in heat one and the visitors took advantage of the unfamiliar surface as they raced to a 4-2 and extended their aggregate lead. The Witches halved the deficit in heat two with a 5-1 from Adam Ellis and Jason Edwards. Heat three was stopped as Jaimon Lidsey lifted on the back straight of the first lap and hit the deck. With Lidsey excluded, it left Zach Cook as the sole Ace, but he managed to win to ensure a 3-3. Ellis came in as a reserve substitute in heat four and he took the victory as partner Brennan steamed under Tate Zischke at the end of the first lap to join his teammate at the front for a 5-1 that put the Witches 15-9 up and levelled the aggregate score.

Jason Doyle was a convincing winner in heat five as Dan Thompson came under Norick Blödorn going into the third turn of the opening lap for second to give Ipswich another maximum. Dan Bewley won a shared heat six and heat seven was stopped with the home team on a 5-1 as Cook spun off on the second turn and was excluded. Lidsey won the re-run preventing a home advantage before King was a clear winner in a shared heat eight making it 29-19 to the hosts, meaning they were four points ahead on aggregate.

Doyle flew to another three points in heat nine and Thompson kept Bewley behind him for the 5-1. King blasted to victory in heat 10 with Emil Sayfutdinov in second for another maximum which edged the home team closer to the play-off final. Brennan took the chequered flag in heat 11 but it ended in a 3-3 as Ellis slipped off late in the race whilst in third as he tried to get past Blödorn for second. The Witches secured their spot in the play-off final in heat 12 as Doyle and Edwards registered another 5-1 that put the tie beyond doubt with Ipswich 47-25 in front on the night and 89-73 up on aggregate.

Brennan raced to victory in heat 13 in a Witches 4-2 and the points were shared in heat 14. The evening ended with yet another maximum to the hosts as Thompson and Brennan finished the night in style in front of a jubilant Foxhall crowd as their side moved one step closer to winning the top-flight title for the first time since 1998.

RITCHIE HAWKINS REACTION

Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Thursday’s win over Belle Vue…

“We certainly weren’t complacent which is something we have been guilty of in the past and I am really pleased with the boys. They were 100% focused on winning and not on track conditions. The will to win outshone everything tonight and that is what got us the victory. I know it was a big margin in the end, but it didn’t feel that way in the first half of the meeting where it was tight. For us, it was a bad toss for us to lose tonight but we negotiated those first four heats well and then in the second half of the meeting we stepped it up a gear. The result can be exaggerated a bit because once Belle Vue know they’re beaten, it can be hard to carry on for them. I’m delighted with the boys and the attitude they showed tonight, they got their rewards from it.

“The weather can be a leveller, but we have had a few weeks recently where the track has not been ideal. Tonight ended up better than some of those recent weeks and we are used to not having a massive advantage. We were more confident than they were even though it was tricky and there was still a bit of home track knowledge there. We did a great, professional job on Monday and followed it up with our best performance at home for a long time. We need to keep focused, nothing is won in a semi-final, we have slipped up in finals before and have lost a couple, so we need that focus and determination for 30 heats in the final.

“Dan Thompson’s performance made a massive difference; it was superb from him. He has really struggled since returning from injury at Ipswich and I know he hasn’t been enjoying it as it has been tricky for everyone. Tonight, he got his head around it and it makes a massive difference to the team when he is riding like that. It is a lot on a young man’s shoulders but at the start of the season you saw what his scores did for us and that was a big difference tonight. I thought Jason (Edwards) contributed brilliant points after a few tough meetings at home. He has been working harder than anyone and he got his rewards for it.

“I think Tom has been gradually progressing throughout the season and I have been happy with him all year. I can’t rate him highly enough, I think he has the talent and potential to go a long way, and it was a great performance from him at number five.

“It is not ideal to have a week off now, but all the riders will be keeping sharp riding elsewhere and as a club we will be hoping they don’t pick up any injuries in those meetings. We will be watching next week, and I think it will be two close meetings between Leicester and Sheffield, and we will look forward to racing whoever comes through that.

“It was another great crowd, and we are grateful for your support. I know it will be packed out for the final and it means the world to the boys. Track conditions were far from ideal for racing, but I hope the result gave you great pleasure.”

SCOTT PROPERTIES & WAVENEY VALLEY WITCHES SUPPORTERS RIDERS OF THE NIGHT

Scott Properties chose Doyle who dropped just one point.

The Waveney Valley Witches Supporters went for King who only dropped two points.

WHAT IT MEANS

Ipswich will contest the play-off final against either Sheffield or Leicester whilst Belle Vue’s season ends.

NEXT FIXTURE

The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches will travel to either Sheffield or Leicester on Monday 22^nd September in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Play-Off final first leg fixture.