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.
Doug Wade Insurance
THE SCORES
IPSWICH 53: Scott Nicholls (G) 11+1, Dan Thompson (RS) 7, Danny King © 9, Adam Ellis 1 (Withdrawn), Emil Sayfutdinov 12 (Maximum), Keynan Rew 11+2, Jordan Jenkins 2+1. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
OXFORD 37: Rohan Tungate 13, Charles Wright 2+1, Lewis Kerr 1, Maciej Janowski 6, Chris Harris © 9+1, Erik Riss 2, Ashton Boughen (RS) 4+1. Team Manager: Peter Schroeck
REFEREE: P. Carrington
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 13 | 26 |
| Sheffield | 11 | 20 |
| Belle Vue | 13 | 19 |
| Oxford | 13 | 13 |
| Leicester | 12 | 12 |
| King’s Lynn* | 10 | 7 |
| Birmingham | 12 | 6 |
THE STORY
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches picked up another victory in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership on Thursday night at Foxhall as they beat the Oxford Spires.
The home team had regular guest Scott Nicholls in at number one for the injured Jason Doyle whilst the visitors were at full strength. Ipswich started strongly and built a 12-point lead after seven races but lost Adam Ellis to injury before the Spires fought back mid-meeting with back-to-back maximums. However, the Witches just stepped it up another gear and cruised to a comfortable win to make it six wins on the trot. Emil Sayfutdinov top scored with a 12-point maximum.
Nicholls won heat one as the hosts registered a 4-2 and there was a 5-1 in heat two as Keynan Rew stormed past Erik Riss for the lead which also allowed Jordan Jenkins through into second. The strong start continued in heat three as Danny King took victory in another heat advantage as Ellis picked up a point in his only ride of the night before being withdrawn with pain in his side. Heat four was shared as Sayfutdinov won making it 16-8 to Ipswich.
Oxford got their first race win as Rohan Tungate finished first in heat five but with partner Charles Wright falling having been passed by King it was a 3-3. Nicholls picked up another three points in heat six as the Witches bagged another 4-2 with Chris Harris managing to get past Dan Thompson for second late on in the race. Ipswich were running away with things at this point and there was another heat advantage in heat seven as Sayfutdinov took the chequered flag with Rew in third. Heat eight was stopped as Jenkins fell and was excluded, and the visitors took advantage with a maximum in the re-run to narrow the score to 28-20.
Tungate came in as a tactical substitute in heat nine and suddenly the visitors were just four points behind as he and Harris raced to a 1-5. The home team responded immediately in heat 10 as Thompson and Nicholls teamed up for a maximum. There was further breathing room after heat 11 as Sayfutdinov picked up another win in a 4-2 and the tie was all but over after heat 12 as King won and Rew passed Riss for the 5-1 that put the hosts 43-29 up.
Tungate led heat 13 but was hunted down by Sayfutdinov who came through to win as a 4-2 sealed the victory for Ipswich and a maximum for him personally. Rew picked up three points in heat 14 as the Witches racked up another heat advantage. Harris won the final race of the night as partner Tungate beat King on the run to the line for a 2-4 but it was little consolation for the visitors as the Suffolk side strengthened their grip at the top of the table and built a big lead with the aggregate bonus point up for grabs next week at Oxford.
REACTION FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Thursday’s win against Oxford.
“Result wise it was brilliant and another team performance again, so I am delighted with that. It certainly wasn’t without its worries and stress with different injuries, but we managed to cope with our problems and all the boys are working well as a unit to cover each other. Missing Adam after one heat puts a lot of pressure on the team, Danny is not fully fit yet and Jordan had a crash and picked up a knock. Even though he went through the card Emil was feeling pretty under the weather, so we were far from fully fit.
“Keynan really stepped up and took the pressure off and Dan Thompson had a superb win in heat 10 when Oxford had got back into the meeting. That 5-1 in heat 10 turned it back in our favour and what a performance from the young guys to get us through.
“Adam and Jordan both have muscle injuries. We are hoping with a few more days of rest Adam will recover and the same with Jordan really. They will have a bit of treatment, it is nothing massively serious, more niggles really which a lot of the boys have been suffering with most of the year. At the moment we are coping with it well.
“Adam is having pain in the side of his body and pulled it in his first ride and Jordan has a tight back and tenderness in the muscles and the fall certainly didn’t help.
“We will go to Oxford next week looking to win the meeting, but it is a good lead to take for the bonus point.”
RN EUSTON & DOUG WADE INSURANCE RIDERS OF THE NIGHT
RN Euston chose maximum man Sayfutdinov.
Doug Wade Insurance opted for Rew who scored 11+2 from reserve.
WHAT IT MEANS
Ipswich extend their lead at the top of the table to six points whilst Oxford stay fourth.
UP NEXT
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to the National Speedway Stadium to take on the Belle Vue Aces on Monday 1st July in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership. Tickets can be purchased on the gate and in advance here.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway