By Henry Chard
MEETING SPONSORS
RN Euston – RN Euston Limited has supplied steel framed buildings in East Anglia for over 40 years. Established by Ray Euston the business has grown steadily over the years and now Ray works in partnership with his son Mark. The company is based in Suffolk and work all over East Anglia where they have gained a reliable reputation.
George Baker Shipping – George Baker (Shipping) Ltd has been a household name within the freight community for over 40 years. Despite its growth and success, George Baker Shipping continues to adhere to the same core values on which the company was founded. To this day, the business remains in the Baker family and is now under the ownership of George and Libby’s children, David Baker and Sharon Binns. Over 40 years on, the company is renowned as customs specialists, whilst also being recognised for its diversified and innovative high-quality logistics services.
THE SCORES
IPSWICH 41: Scott Nicholls (G) 15+1, Dan Thompson (RS) 1+1, Danny King © 12, Zach Cook (G) 2+1, Emil Sayfutdinov R/R, Keynan Rew 0 (Withdrawn), Jordan Jenkins 11+1. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
BELLE VUE 49: Dan Bewley 11+1, Norick Blödorn 7+1, Jaimon Lidsey 9, Ben Cook 5+2, Brady Kurtz © 10+1, Antti Vuolas 3, Jake Mulford (RS) 4+2. Team Manager: Mark Lemon
REFEREE: P. Carrington
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Sheffield | 21 | 38 |
| Leicester | 21 | 34 |
| Belle Vue | 21 | 34 |
| Ipswich | 22 | 34 |
| Oxford | 23 | 26 |
| King’s Lynn* | 20 | 16 |
| Birmingham | 22 | 6 |
THE STORY
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches suffered their third home defeat in a row on Thursday night as they were beaten by the Belle Vue Aces in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
It was another depleted Witches side that took to the track with Scott Nicholls and Zach Cook guesting for the injured Jason Doyle and concussed Adam Ellis whilst rider replacement was in operation for the injured Emil Sayfutdinov. The visitors were at full strength for the fixture. The Aces edged ahead and found themselves racing against a five-man team after heat two with Keynan Rew withdrawn following a crash. It looked like the away side were going to pick up a comfortable victory, but Ipswich produced a spirited fightback to narrow the gap to just four points after heat 12. However, Belle Vue had just about enough to get the job done and pick up three league points. Nicholls top scored with 15+1.
Nicholls won heat one, but it ended in a 3-3 as Dan Bewley got past Dan Thompson for a point late on in the race. Heat two was awarded as a maximum to the away side with Rew going into the fence as he chased Jake Mulford to the line. Rew was subsequently withdrawn from the meeting, adding further to Ipswich’s injury woes and leaving them with five riders for the second Thursday in succession. Danny King took victory in a shared heat three and the hosts clawed back two points in heat four as Nicholls picked up another win and Jordan Jenkins was third for a 4-2 that left the score 11-13.
Belle Vue raced to a maximum in heat five and Brady Kurtz couldn’t be caught as heat six ended in a 3-3. King was a winner again in heat seven as the points were shared. The away team hit another 1-5 in heat eight and were already well on the way to victory being 19-29 in front.
Heat nine ended in a 3-3 and the visitors recorded a heat advantage in heat 10 as Jaimon Lidsey beat Nicholls and Ben Cook nicked a point on the line. Nicholls was brought in as a tactical substitute in heat 11 and it worked a treat as he followed Jenkins home for a 5-1. Despite being down to just five riders, the home team kept on battling and brought themselves right back into the tie with another maximum in heat 12 courtesy of King and Jenkins, making it 34-38.
However, Belle Vue then eased the pressure with a maximum in heat 13 and sealed victory in heat 14 despite a 4-2 to the Witches as Jenkins took the chequered flag. Heat 15 was awarded as a 2-4 to the away team as Bewley won ahead of Nicholls and King was excluded as he fell at the start of the final lap with Lidsey coming under him, making the final result 41-49 to the Manchester outfit.
REACTION FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Thursday’s defeat against Belle Vue.
“It was a night we knew was always going to be really tough and that task became a lot tougher with Keynan crashing out in heat two. It was great to have Scott back in the side and he led the team brilliantly at number one. Danny was back on form as well and those two held the meeting together for us in the first part and then you saw the difference it made when Jordan clicked in mid-meeting. That really kept us in it and kept it interesting but understandably a five-man team wasn’t going to be good enough against a solid Belle Vue outfit.
“It was a spectacular crash for Keynan, but the early signs are quite positive that it is nothing too serious. He is very sore, and we will have to see how he goes over the next few days to see if he is fit for Monday or not.
“I was really pleased with the lads and the effort they showed. On Monday night we folded and had no answers but tonight we kept fighting and it is positive to see that going forward showing it was a one-off on Monday. We were back to that same mentality of fighting all the way to the end tonight.
“It is brilliant to see Jordan click into form, and it is something I have talked a lot about with him this year that his time is going to come. We need him firing for the business end of the season and he has certainly kept working hard and is making changes and that is brilliant. I’m pleased for him, but it is a shame that the top end of the team is decimated because with how Jordan is going, we certainly would be a formidable outfit.
“It is the end of a really tough period after three home defeats. We have done absolutely everything we could off the track to get the best teams out possible. We have got one more week of league action next week home and away against Birmingham and we will be looking at using lots of guests again. We will put out the best team possible and will fight for two wins next week as we look to get back to a more regular line-up for the cup final and go into that with better form as we look to retain the trophy.”
RN EUSTON & GEORGE BAKER SHIPPING RIDERS OF THE NIGHT
RN Euston selected Jenkins who scored 11+1 from reserve.
George Baker Shipping went for top scorer Nicholls.
WHAT IT MEANS
Belle Vue go above Ipswich into third after picking up three points including the aggregate bonus point following their big win over the Witches at the National Speedway Stadium.
UP NEXT
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Birmingham to take on the Brummies on Monday 26th August in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership. Tickets can be purchased on the gate and in advance here.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway