Elite League
Ipswich Speedway: Panthers return to Foxhall.
By Admin
May 1, 2008, 18:29

On Monday 5th May the Evening Star Ipswich Witches take on the Peterborough Panthers in a Sky Sports Elite League A fixture in a meeting sponsored by The Back Straight Gang that will begin at 3.30pm.

The gates will open at 1.45pm with amusements for children. There will also be opportunities to meet the riders and there will be a special rider signing session (all signatures must be on the Evening Star Posters which will be given out free with the purchase of an Evening Star).  The pit area will also be open from 2.00 pm until 2.30pm so that the public will be able to look behind the scenes. Children under the age of 15 will be admitted free of charge to the meeting if accompanied by a paying adult and have a voucher from the Evening Star. Evening Stars will be available at the entrance of the meeting.

This will be the fourth time the sides have met this season, with Ipswich already recording a resounding 61-31 victory at Foxhall in the Craven Shield. The Panthers have taken the spoils in two meetings on their track, but not without a fight from the Witches. In the Craven Shield the Witches pushed the Panthers all the way but narrowly missed out by four points losing 47-43, whilst in the Elite League a depleted Witches outfit with Chris Holder guesting led until heat ten before losing out by eight points in a 49-41 victory for Peterborough.

While the Witches may have picked up their first league victory of the season last Thursday over the Eastbourne Eagles, the meeting was marred by the injury to popular captain Chris Louis who suffered a shoulder injury that will keep him out for the majority of the season. The Witches expect to use the rider replacement facility for their skipper as the availability of suitable guests on the Bank Holiday is limited. This has meant a change in the team formation with rider replacement for Chris Louis at number 1. Piotr Swiderski returns to the number 2 race jacket with Robert Miskowiak at number 3. Steve Johnston takes on the role of captain at number 4 and Jarek Hampel wears number 5 as usual. Tobi Kroner is at 6 with Chris Schraam at 7.

Team manager Pete Simmons will however be able to take some comfort from the Witches previous performance against the Panthers at Foxhall this season. Tobi Kroner scored a paid maximum on that occasion, with Piotr Swiderski beaten only once whilst Jarek Hampel also scored double figures.

The Panthers are led by former Witch Hans Andersen, who got his 2008 Grand Prix campaign off to a good start by finishing third in last weekend’s Slovenian Grand Prix. He is also the captain of their side and undoubtedly their most important rider. So far this season the Panthers have scored 127 points against the Witches in three matches, with Andersen scoring 41 of those, meaning that he has scored a massive 32% of their total against Ipswich so far. Despite this, the Danish star was beaten in his first 3 rides at Foxhall in his last appearance, with Swiderski, Louis and Hampel all getting the better of him.

The makeup of the Panthers’ side is currently uncertain with Team Manager Trevor Swales unhappy with performances so far this season and stating that he intends to make changes. Morten Risager rode at number 2 recently and is one of 5 Danes in the Panthers line up. He managed 4+1 in the Craven Shield fixture at Foxhall. Kenneth Bjerre was at number 3, and he also struggled to show his best form at Foxhall in the Craven Shield, failing to score a heat victory when scoring 6 points. Czech rider Sam Simota has found life difficult in the main body of the Panthers side this season having ridden at number 4. He has scored just 2 points against the Witches all season. The third heat leader has been another former Witch in Danny King, who recorded 5 points on his last Foxhall appearance, recording a race win in heat 10 over Chris Louis and Steve Johnston. At reserve were Claus Vissing and Henrick Moller. Moller is still finding his feet in the Elite League, and failed to score in his first appearance at Foxhall with the Panthers this season. The young Dane broke a bone in his hand whilst racing in the Danish League last weekend and will be out of action for at least a fortnight. Claus Vissing has faired better on the track, racking up some impressive scores that will see him make his way into the main body of the side before too long. Despite this, he only managed a single point on his last visit to Ipswich.

With the Panthers side wanting to make up for their disappointing outing last time around, the Witches will need to rise to the challenge of filling the gap left by their absent captain Chris Louis. With Steve Johnston drafted into the captain’s role, the Witches fans will need to get behind their new leader to inspire the team to victory, and send out a positive message, which might not repair the shoulder injury sustained by Chris Louis, but may well raise his spirits on his long road of recovery.