By Steve Waller
MEETING SPONSOR – The Thursday Night Club
SCORECARD
IPSWICH 65: Jason Doyle 9+3 (Paid Maximum), Danny King © 14+1 (Paid Maximum), Adam Ellis 10, Tom Brennan 11+3, Emil Sayfutdinov 11, Dan Thompson 6+3, Jordan Jenkins (RS) 4. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
OXFORD 25: Rohan Tungate 3, Justin Sedgmen (G) 1, Charles Wright 9, Peter Kildemand R/R , Maciej Janowski © 4, Francis Gusts 6, Luke Killeen (RS) 2+1. Team Manager: Peter Schroeck
REFEREE: S.H. Kennett
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 3 | 7 |
| Belle Vue | 3 | 5 |
| Sheffield | 2 | 4 |
| Leicester | 1 | 2 |
| Birmingham | 2 | 0 |
| Oxford | 2 | 0 |
| King’s Lynn | 3 | 0 |
THE REPORT
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches demolished the Oxford Spires at Foxhall on Thursday night in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
With Jason Doyle and Danny King unbeaten by an opponent and Tom Brennan and Emil Sayfutdinov narrowly missing out on paid maximums, the visitors had no answer.
It was a real demolition job, with every home rider enjoying being involved in maximum heats, as the Witches continued their unbeaten start to the year.
With Justin Sedgmen guesting for the injured Erik Riss and rider replacement in operation for the also injured Peter Kildemand, the visitors arrived on the back foot, but they will still be disappointed by the performances of some of their star riders, who offered little resistance.
King and Doyle led the way with a Witches with a 5-1 in the opening head and this was followed in the reserves race by another maximum, with Jordan Jenkins and Dan Thompson taking the honours over Francis Gusts.
Adam Ellis, minus his steel shoe for the majority of the race, and Brennan made it three 5-1s ones on the trot, with another in the third heat and then Oxford pulled a couple of points back in the fourth with Gusts just holding off Sayfutdinov’s late challenge, as they headed to the line.
Heat five saw Brennan hold off former Witch Rohan Tungate, with Ellis finishing third, in a 4-2 for the Witches and then King and Doyle flew to a 5-1 over Maciej Janowski in the sixth.
Sayfutdinov won the seventh, from Charles Wright and Thompson, before Jenkins was excluded following a fall on the first bend of heat eight.
It looked a tight first turn with Jenkins hitting the track, but he found himself thrown out of the race with King taking the honours in the re-run, from Gusts and Luke Killeen, in a share of the spoils.
Janowski then fell on the first bend of heat nine and also found himself excluded. Ellis and Brennan made no mistake in the re-run with another 5-1 to the home side.
Two more maximums followed, Doyle and King, over Janowski in the 10th and then Sayfutdinov and Thompson were untroubled by Spires guest Sedgmen in the 11th with Tungate pulling up when well adrift of the Witches pair.
Drama followed in heat 12 with Wright squaring up to Ellis after the race had finished. The pair had started the race rubbing elbows at the start, with Wright looking to get the better initially, although it was Ellis who took the lead going down the back straight. On the slow-down lap Wright confronted Ellis on the back straight and again when the pair got back to the pits. It livened up the terraces.
Sayfutdinov and Doyle made no mistake in the 13th, in another home 5-1 and then Wright, defeated both Witches, in the 14th, much to the annoyance of the home fans who made their feelings known.
More boos greeted Wright’s nomination for heat 15, alongside Spires teammate Janowski, but it was King who completed his paid maximum in style, taking a final heat maximum with Brennan to round off a fine night for the Suffolk side.
RITCHIE HAWKINS REACTION
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Thursday’s win over Oxford…
“Everyone was getting 5-1s and winning races whilst having fun and working together as a team. It was another superb night for the boys and a brilliant result, I hope everyone has gone home happy with another win.
“It is great to start so strongly at home and it is a massive boost going into the season. Tougher tests will come, and teams will improve and I’m sure when Oxford come again, they will be a lot better than they were tonight, and the same goes for Belle Vue. At the moment, we haven’t been tested at home, but we will be, and it will get a lot harder as the year progresses and riders get into form. We can’t be getting carried away, but the early signs are good, and confidence should be up.
“Danny was superb and got a well-deserved maximum. Everyone at the club knows how much work he has been putting in the last few years and he has had various issues with his hand last year. That is the fastest he has looked for a couple of years and it is pleasing for him to happen at this stage of the season because he can build on this now going forward.
“I know it is another big home win and expectations on us are very high which is testament to how well the boys have started the season. We need to enjoy it; every season has ups and downs and at the moment we are on the up and are looking good. There will be times when it gets tough and our last two away meetings have shown that. We have to keep realistic and keep supporting the boys through everything. It is a long season, and it is a hard game, and nothing is won at this time of the year. We need to remember that and keep our feet on the ground.
“It was great to see another healthy crowd in, thank you for coming and supporting the boys, they deserve it. They are a superb team, and they are doing the town and club justice, they are a side to be proud of. I look forward to seeing a lot of you at Leicester next week.”
THE THURSDAY NIGHT CLUB RIDER OF THE NIGHT
Captain King won the award after racing to a paid maximum from five rides.
WHAT IT MEANS
Ipswich pick up two points for the win and the aggregate bonus point after that victory at Oxford earlier in the month. The three-point haul sends the Witches top of the early table whilst Oxford remain pointless.
NEXT FIXTURE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches travel to Leicester to take on the Lions on Thursday 17th April in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership. Tickets can be purchased on the gate and in advance here.