By Rob Binns
MEETING SPONSOR
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.
SCORECARD
IPSWICH 60: Jason Doyle 11+1, Danny King © 10+1, Adam Ellis 8+2, Tom Brennan 10, Emil Sayfutdinov 8+1, Dan Thompson 7+2, Jordan Jenkins (RS) 6. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
BIRMINGHAM 30: Tobiasz Musielak © 3+1, Jonas Jeppesen 5+1, Danyon Hume (G) 3, Keynan Rew 4, Michael Jepsen Jensen 11, Antti Vuolas 2+1, Jason Edwards (RS) 2. Team Manager: Chris Adams
REFEREE: C. Ackroyd
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 5 | 12 |
| Belle Vue | 4 | 7 |
| Sheffield | 3 | 6 |
| Leicester | 4 | 4 |
| King’s Lynn | 4 | 2 |
| Birmingham | 3 | 0 |
| Oxford | 5 | 0 |
THE REPORT
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches earned another dominant home victory, beating Birmingham Brummies 60-30 on Thursday night at Foxhall in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
Ipswich came into the meeting at full strength while Birmingham were without Matej Zagar due to visa issues, former Witch Danyon Hume guested in his place at number three. The Witches also picked up the aggregate bonus point following a 47-43 victory at Perry Barr earlier this month. Jason Doyle top scored with 11+1.
The meeting got off to a flyer for the Witches in heat one with Danny King cruising to victory and Doyle passing both Brummies on the second bend for a maximum. Jordan Jenkins and Dan Thompson followed suit in heat two as they gated on a maximum and faced minimal challenge. The 100% start for the Witches continued in heat three as Tom Brennan took the chequered flag with Adam Ellis having the pace on the back straight to get into second on lap one for another 5-1. Birmingham hit back in heat four with Michael Jepsen Jensen storming to victory and Jason Edwards holding off the challenge of Emil Sayfutdinov at the back for a heat advantage to make the score 17-7 to Ipswich.
Heat five saw Brennan and Ellis cruise to another maximum as Tobiasz Musielak hit the deck on the fourth bend but he was quickly up to avoid a re-run. Heat six was re-run after Doyle lost control on the second bend and crashed heavily into the air fence, which saw him excluded. The re-run saw King split the two Brummies in a 2-4. Sayfutdinov won his first race of the night in heat seven with Thompson producing a superb ride to get the better of Hume for a 5-1 to increase the lead to 29-13.
Heat eight was initially stopped as Jenkins was given a warning for not remaining stationary at the start. The second time round saw King romp to victory and Jenkins in a great battle for second with Jonas Jeppesen with the Birmingham number two eventually getting the better on the home straight in a photo finish to limit the damage to a heat advantage. Heat nine saw Musielak come in as a tactical substitute for Antti Vuolas but he finished at the back as Brennan held off Jepsen Jensen for the win with Ellis in third for another 4-2. Heat 10 saw Sayfutdinov take the chequered flag in the first share of the points. Doyle bounced back from his earlier crash to win heat 11 with King close behind for the sixth Ipswich maximum of the meeting, making it 45-21.
Jenkins hit the deck in the second lap of heat 12 but quickly remounted to still finish the heat while Ellis took the win in a 3-3. Doyle and Sayfutdinov earned another maximum in heat 13 with the Witches number five holding off the challenge of Jepsen Jensen. Thompson raced to victory in heat 14 with Keynan Rew squeezing out Brennan’s attempt to pass him on the back straight to keep it to a heat advantage. Ritchie Hawkins selected Doyle and Brennan for heat 15 with the Australian getting his third win of the meeting in a 3-3 to make the final score 60-30 to the Witches, who also took the aggregate bonus point with a score of 107-73.
BILLY SANDERS CHAMPION OF THE EVENING
A three-heat second half followed the fixture in memory of former Witch Billy Sanders who passed away 40 years ago on 23rd April. The four top scorers (including bonus points) after their programmed rides from both teams were due to feature which saw King (10+1), Brennan (10), Ellis (8+2) and Thompson (7+2) qualify for Ipswich. Sayfutdinov was level on 8+1 but was suffering with bike issues on the night, whilst Doyle on 8+1 was put out in heat 15 instead, meaning Thompson got the nod. With Rew and Jeppesen suffering from illness and Jepsen Jensen absent, Birmingham put out Hume (3), Vuolas (2+1), Musielak (2) and Edwards (2).
The first semi-final was contested by Thompson, King, Hume and Vuolas. It was the two Witches who progressed to the final with Thompson taking the chequered flag. The second semi-final was contested by Musielak, Ellis, Edwards and Brennan. The Brummies number one took the chequered flag with Ellis joining him in the final. Musielak retired on lap one of the final, leaving the three Witches to battle it out for the title which was won by Thompson to conclude another fantastic evening for the Ipswich reserve.
RITCHIE HAWKINS REACTION
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Thursday’s win over Birmingham…
“All seven riders have won a race again and lots of 5-1s! Another very solid team performance and the pleasing thing is we know we can still go better. We’re enjoying it while we can but there is going to be tougher tests to come. We had a couple of falls but nothing that should be lasting. A couple of sore bodies in the morning but I’m sure the boys will be back in no time from them.
“We have everybody contributing and scoring, that’s dreamland for us! No one has had any massive issues as well. Birmingham tonight had a lot of illness in their side and obviously missing Matej [Zagar] which weakened them, but we can only beat what’s in front of us. We’re delighted with how the season has gone so far and we’ll look ahead now to a big meeting on Bank Holiday Monday here against King’s Lynn.
“[On Dan Thompson winning Billy Sanders Champion of the Evening] It’s another string to his bow to go out there and win that. It’s only going to fill him with more confidence, and it is great to see the boys perform so well. The final was a good race with our three boys, and it was a great way to honour Billy. He [Thompson] is going superbly and hopefully he can keep progressing throughout the season. He’s on a crest of a wave at the moment and he’s got to keep pushing on and enjoy it.”
SCOTT PROPERTIES RIDER OF THE NIGHT
Brennan won the award from the sponsors after he raced to 10 points on the night which included three heat wins.
WHAT IT MEANS
Ipswich maintain their 100% record and move up to 12 points. Birmingham have to wait for their first points of the season.
NEXT FIXTURE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches host the King’s Lynn at Foxhall Stadium on Monday 5th May in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership fixture. Tickets can be purchased on the gate and in advance here.