This Thursday 15th May the Evening Star Ipswich Witches take on the Eastbourne Eagles in a Sky Sports Elite League B fixture sponsored by Turnkey.
Only three weeks have passed since the Eagles last contested an Elite League fixture at Foxhall Stadium on a night that was marred by the loss of Witches captain Chris Louis through injury. Despite finishing the meeting a man short, the Witches still managed to record a 51-39 victory, with Jarek Hampel, Piotr Swiderski and Tobi Kroner all returning double figure scores.
This time around Chris Louis will be spurring the team on from the pits as those riders again attempt to make the most of the rider replacement facility in his absence. Louis was sent tumbling down the track after Eastbourne’s Lewis Bridger lost control of his machine in heat 5 causing an unavoidable collision that left the Ipswich Captain with a damaged shoulder. While Louis may be unavailable at present, the team can take comfort in the knowledge that the rider replacement facility has been a success in terms of the points it has raised. In the last two home matches it has provided scores of 11 and 8 against Peterborough and Wolverhampton respectively. To add to this, a technicality in the rider average system means that Piotr Swiderski will temporarily drop to a reserve position. Tobi Kroner will move into the side at number 3, while rider replacement will still be at number 1, leaving stand in captain Steve Johnston at number 4. Jarek Hampel
returns to the Witches side after his tremendous display in the European Grand Prix in Leszno, Poland, on Saturday evening. Hampel made a statement of intent to those who decided he was not suitable for the wild card slot for the series this year, blasting his way into the final and eventually finishing fourth on the night. With Hampel on a high from his weekend’s success, and Swiderski at reserve, the Witches are in the driving seat for this Thursday’s meeting.
The Eagles come to Foxhall with two riders that have an average of over nine points after the new averages have been published in Scott Nicholls and Lee Richardson, and they are due to line up at 1 and 3 respectively. In their last visit on 24th April, the two heat leaders scored the bulk of their side’s points. Nicholls was beaten twice in four outings, with Swiderski and Hampel inflicting the damage. He went on to record a score of 12, after a second place tactical ride in the fateful heat 5. Richardson managed 11, with three wins and a second after falling off in his first ride. Edward Kennett again rides at number 5, and he scored well last time also, managing two wins on his way to a score of 9+1. Kennett recently stood in for Chris Louis as a guest in the match with the Lakeside Hammers on 2nd May. He scored 6+3 in Witches colours that evening.
The remainder of the Eagles side managed only 7 points between them last time out. Lewis Bridger again lines up at number 2, and finished the meeting with just 1+1 after the heavy tumble that led to Chris Louis’s crash. Eastbourne’s number 4 Cameron Woodward also saw the Foxhall Circuit close up on two occasions, falling twice in his four rides. He managed 2 points. At reserve Simon Gustaffson lines up at 6 and recorded 4 points from 5 outings on his last visit. Last time out the Eagles used Rye House’s Danny Betson as a replacement for the injured James Brundle. He failed to score that evening. This time they have brought in USA international Brent Werner at number 7. He deputised at reserve in the home match against Poole on Monday and scored 2 points from 4 rides.
The Eagles began the season in great style by beating Coventry away in the season’s opening televised meeting. They have also won away at Belle Vue to pick up another 3 points. On Monday night however they had to face Poole without Edward Kennett, who had been called up to a Grand Prix qualification meeting. Poole eventually ran out winners in a match that finished 41-48.
The Witches beat the Eagles by 12 points in their last encounter. Despite the form book moving firmly in the Witches favour, the team will know that speedway is never that simple, and that all riders will need to do their bit to ensure a victory on Thursday. Should the team continue to make a success of the rider replacement facility, then Witches fans should expect to see some fantastic racing against a side that boasts three British internationals in Kennett, Richardson and Nicholls.
