Witches Continue Good Run

The Ipswich Witches have continued their good run with a strong home performance over a much fancied Wolves side who have set the pace at the top of the SSEL thus far this season. In a solid all round display the Witches took victory by11 points thus taking a maximum 3 points from the encounter.

Even the fantastic efforts of Grand Prix leader Freddie Lindgren were not enough for Wolverhampton as Tai Woffinden took two uncharacteristic falls and Nicolai Klindt and Peter Karlsson both struggled on the deep and fast Foxhall surface.
 
The meeting hung in the balance until two heat advantages in heat 10 from Hampel and Risager and then heat 11 from Swiderski and Stachyra opened up a six-point gap and the Witches never looked back.  A 5-0 in heat 12 after falls from both Woffinden and Stichauer saw the Wolves nominate Freddie Lindgren for double points alongside Foxhall expert Peter Karlsson.  With a nervous hush on the terraces it was Swiderski that pulled clear from the start and secured the three league points for the Witches.
 
Keith Martin Group Man of the Match award went to Dawid Stachyra as he picked himself up from two heavy first turn falls to score an impressive 8+2 points.

Skipper Leigh Lanham successfully came through a practise session after the meeting and will be named in the side that travel down to Eastbourne on Saturday.  Once again Ipswich were well served by stand in replacement Morten Risager who now moves on permanent loan from Swindon to Belle Vue for the rest of the season.  Team Manager Peter Simmons explained, “It is a real shame to be saying good bye to Morten after doing a great job for us and who knows if the circumstances had been different he may have stayed with us.  With the Swedish first division season now kicking off Morten had sixteen fixture clashes as they also run on Thursdays so a long-term contract was never going to be viable but we have to thank him for the effort and commitment he has given us this month.  That said I will be happy when our original team is back fit and on track and with confidence now beginning to come back I am pleased with how things are going.

Last nights performance against League leaders Wolverhampton was a solid performance against strong opposition and that is what I expect from this squad.  Again our top three did their jobs and It was nice to see the way Jarek and Piotr dealt with the Tactical Ride threat from Lindgren in heat 13.”
After Eastbourne on Saturday the Witches face The Peterborough Panthers at Foxhall on Bank Holiday Monday in what will surely turn out to be another classic local derby.  The gates will open early at 1.15pm for the fans to once again get close to the riders and check out the bikes, kit and track.  The riders will be signing free team posters and there are attractions for the youngsters, so be sure to arrive early.

Match details

Ipswich 51

1 Jarek Hampel 3 1' 3 1 = 8+1
2 Morten Risager 1 2 3 1 = 7
3 Tobi Kroner 0 1 2 2' = 5+1
4 Danny King 1 3 F 3 2 = 9
5 Piotr Swiderski 2 2 2 3 1' = 10+1
6 Dawid Stachyra 2' 2' 1 3 0 = 8+2
7 Carl Wilkinson 3 R 0 N = 3

Wolves 40

1 Peter Karlsson 2 2 2 0 0 = 6
2 Nicolai Klindt 0 0 0 0 = 0
3 Tai Woffinden 2' 3 Fx Fx = 5+1
4 Adam Skornicki 3 1 2 2 = 8
5 Freddie Lindgren 3 3 3 ^4 3 = 16
6 Hynek Stichauer 1 Fx 1 Fx = 2
7 Chris Kerr 0 1 1 1 = 3


Ht 1 Hampel, Karlsson, Risager, Klindt 4-2 60.0
Ht 2 Re-Run Wilkinson, Stachyra, Stichauer, Kerr 5-1, 9-3 60.8
Ht 3 Skornicki, Woffinden, King, Kroner 1-5, 10-8 61.8
Ht 4 Lindgren, Swiderski, Kerr, Wilkinson 2-4, 12-12 60.1
Ht 5 King, Karlsson, Kroner, Klindt 4-2, 16-14 59.8
Ht 6 Awarded Lindgren, Risager, Hampel 3-3, 19-17
Ht 7 Woffinden, Swiderski, Skornicki, Wilkinson 2-4, 21-21 61.2
Ht 8 Risager, Stachyra, Kerr, Klindt 5-1, 26-22 61.9
Ht 9 Lindgren, Kroner, Stichauer, King Fell 2-4, 28-26 60.8
****Interval****
Ht 10 Re-Run Hampel, Skornicki, Risager, Woffinden Fx  4-2, 32-28
Ht 11 Swiderski, Karlsson, Stachyra, Klindt  4-2, 36-30 60.7
Ht 12 Re-Run x 3  Stachyra, Kroner, Woffinden Fx, Stichauer Fx 5-0, 41-30
Ht 13 Swiderski, Lindgren (T/R), Hampel, Karlsson 4-4, 45-34
Ht 14 King, Skornicki, Kerr, Stachyra  3-3, 48-37 61.2
Ht 15 Lindgren, King, Swiderski, Karlsson  3-3, 51-40  61.2

heat details courtesy of speedwayupdates.co.uk

Other results in the SKY Sports Elite League tonight:

Swindon 59-34 Belle Vue

30, Apr, 2009