5th May 2008
Good day all round for Witches at Foxhall
Ipswich Witches 60 Peterborough Panthers 31
A large Bank Holiday crowd saw the Evening Star Ipswich Witches defeat the Peterborough Panthers 60-31 in an Elite League A meeting sponsored by The Back Straight Gang this afternoon at Foxhall Stadium.
Many supporters took advantage of the opportunity to walk the track and look around the pits before the meeting and the riders were available for photographs and autographs. Ipswich lined up operating the rider replacement system at number 1 for the injured Chris Louis. For Peterborough Claus Vissing moved up from the reserve berth into the team proper at number 4 following the issue of new averages and with Sam Simota injured, Redcar’s young Australian, Ty Proctor rode at reserve at number 6.
There was a minute’s silence before the start of the meeting in memory of the Newport Promoter Tim Stone who passed away suddenly last weekend.
Piotr Swiderski raced into the lead in the opening heat and held off Hans Andersen coming out of the second bend only for the Panthers’ captain to grind to a halt at the next corner. Steve Johnston came through for second place to gives the home side the best possible start to the meeting. In the reserves heat there was drama at the first bend with Chris Schraam parting company with his machine with the two Peterborough riders at the front. With the fallen Witch still on the track referee Dan Holt was forced to stop the race and exclude Schraam as being the prime cause of the stoppage. In the rerun Tobi Kroner outgated the two Panthers to score his seventh win in the reserves heat in seven matches at Foxhall this season. Heat 3 saw Kenneth Bjerre win comfortably from Steve Johnston and Robert Miskowiak before the Witches extended their lead to six points after four heats courtesy of a 4-2 from Jarek Hampel and Chris Schraam over Daniel King and Henrik Moller.
In heat 5 Hans Andersen continued his nightmare start to the meeting by being rather controversially excluded after an incident which saw Steve Johnston finish in the fence on the second bend. In the rerun Johnston won from Robert Miskowiak to stretch the Witches lead to ten points. The very next heat witnessed a further incident on the second bend when Piotr Swiderski tangled with Robert Miskowiak and both riders crashed through the safety fence. Fortunately neither rider was injured but Swiderski was excluded from the rerun in which Miskowiak held off Daniel King and Ty Proctor for a shared heat. Peterborough team manager Trevor Swales gave a tactical ride to Kenneth Bjerre in the seventh race but the young Dane was unable to prevent Jarek Hampel and Tobi Kroner from racking up a further 5-1 for the Witches. Team manager Swales played another card in heat 8 by bringing in Hans Andersen as a tactical substitute off a fifteen metre handicap in place of Henrik Moller. Chasing hard from the start Andersen fell on the first bend but remounted to give chase to the others. Meanwhile Chris Schraam fell on the third bend and was excluded whilst the remounted Andersen was eligible to ride in the rerun. In the rerun Morten Risager led Piotr Swiderski for three and three quarter laps before the Pole executed a perfect pass off the last bend. With Andersen’s third place scoring double points the Witches led 31-18 after eight races.
The Witches put the meeting beyond doubt in the next two heats with 5-1s from firstly Robert Miskowiak and Steve Johnston and then Jarek Hampel and Piotr Swiderski. Heat 11 was drawn with Hans Andersen winning his first race of the afternoon from Jarek Hampel and Tobi Kroner. The Witches scored yet another 5-1 in the next race when Robert Miskowiak and Chris Schraam held off Kenneth Bjerre before the young Dane suffered engine failure on the last lap. With three races left the Witches led 49-24.

Piotr Swiderski took victory in heat 13 from Hans Andersen with Jarek Hampel third and then Tobi Kroner and Steve Johnston scored the Witches’eighth 5-1 of the meeting in the penultimate heat. The Panthers gained gained some small consolation in the final race with a 4-2 from Daniel King and Hans Andersen over Robert Miskowiak and Steve Johnston.
For the Witches Robert Miskowiak showed a welcome return to form by scoring fourteen points and two bonus points. Jarek Hampel notched twelve and Steve Johnston was paid for 14 including three bonus points.
Hans Andersen scored 8+1 for the Panthers and Daniel King 8.
The injured Chris Louis was at the meeting and seemed in good spirits when commenting “I find it very frustrating being unable to ride especially when it looked as if all the boys were having fun out there. If we continue to ride like that we will surely climb up the Elite League table.”
Stand-in captain Steve Johnston was awarded the rider of the afternoon prize and he praised his team mates saying “It has been a little disappointing that in some meetings one or two of us have been a little off the pace but today everyone rode well and we showed just what we can do as a team”.
The Witches now look forward to Thursday with a home meeting against Wolverhampton where they will attempt to avenge being knocked out the Cup last month by the side from the Black Country.
Ipswich Witches:
Chris Louis rider replacement, Piotr Swiderski 11+1, Robert Miskowiak 14+2, Steve Johnston 11+3, Jarek Hampel 12, Tobi Kroner 9+2, Chris Schramm 3+1.
Peterborough Panthers:
Hans Andersen 8+1, Morten Risager 4, Kenneth Bjerre 5, Claus Vissing 1, Daniel King 8, Ty Proctor 4+1, Henrik Moller 1+1.

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2nd May 2008
Witches no match for Hammers
Lakeside Hammers 51 Ipswich Witches 42
The Evening Star Ipswich Witches were defeated this evening at the Arena Essex Raceway by the Lakeside Hammers 51-42.
Ipswich were without skipper Chris Louis following the shoulder injury he sustained against Eastbourne last week. The Eastbourne rider Edward Kennett rode as a guest at number 1. The popular Australian Steve Johnston took over the captain’s role. Lakeside tracked their usual seven riders but following the new averages the former Witches rider Joonas Kylmakorpi dropped into the reserve position with Lubos Tomicek moving up into the team proper.
The track was still rather wet following a heavy rain shower in the afternoon and Andreas Jonsson came from behind in heat 1 to pass Steve Johnston on the second lap. With Edward Kennett passing Leigh Lanham on the last lap the heat was shared. It was a similar scoreline in the reserves race with Tobi Kroner coming home in front from the two Lakeside riders. The Hammers went ahead in the next race with a 5-1 from Adam Shields and Lubos Tomicek. Robert Miskowiak started well but slipped back through the field before falling. The home side doubled their lead in heat 4 with a 5-1 from Jonas Davidsson and Joonas Kylmakorpi over Jarek Hampel. The Hammers therefore led 16-8 after four races.The next race was shared with Edward Kennett and Steve Johnston keeping Lubos Tomicek at the back although they could not catch Adam Shields in front. Lakeside extended their lead to twelve points in heat 6 with a 5-1 from Andreas Jonsson and Leigh Lanham over Jarek Hampel. The Witches gained their first heat advantage in heat 7 after Piotr Swiderski passed Jonas Davidsson with Robert Miskowiak third. Ipswich Team Manager Pete Simmons then sent out captain Steve Johnston for a tactical ride and the Australian duly responded with a victory. Although Tobi Kroner finished at the back the Witches nevertheless pulled back three further points to trail 29-22 after eight heats.
The Hammers’ lead was extended in the next race when Adam Shields and Lubos Tomicek gained a further 5-1 after Jarek Hampel lost power. Worse was to follow for the Witches with a further 5-1 to the Hammers in heat 10 courtesy of Andreas Jonsson and Leigh Lanham. The Witches then gained their first 5-1 of the evening through Steve Johnston and Edward Kennett only for Lakeside to reverse the situation in the next race when Adam Shields and Joonas Kylmakorpi comfortably defeated Tobi Kroner. The Hammers now led 45-30 with three heats remaining.
The Witches had been looking to finish stronger in meetings and so it proved this evening. Heat 13 was drawn with Andreas Jonsson winning but Jarek Hampel and Edward Kennett filled the minor placings. The penultimate race saw Piotr Swiderski finish first from Lubos Tomicek with Tobi Kroner third. Andreas Jonsson’s hopes of a maximum were dashed in the final race when he could only finish third behind the Witches’ pairing of Piotr Swiderski and Steve Johnston but this left Hammers running out comfortable winners 51-42.
For the Witches stand-in captain Steve Johnston did an outstanding job scoring fourteen plus two bonus points whilst Piotr Swiderski was equally strong with eleven. For the Hammers Andreas Jonsson scored 13 and Adam Shields 12.
Ipswich Team Manager Pete Simmons said “Steve Johnston set a superb example as captain and Piotr Swiderski continues to show outstanding form. Unfortunately this evening too many of the other riders were just not at the races. We finished on a high note but realistically it was a case of too little too late.”

Ipswich now look forward to hosting Peterborough on Monday afternoon (start 3.30pm) in their next Elite League fixture.
Lakeside Hammers:
Andreas Jonsson 13, Leigh Lanham 6+2, Adam Shields 12, Lubos Tomicek 6+2, Jonas Davidsson 6, Ricky Kling 2, Joonas Kylmakorpi 6+4.
Ipswich Witches:
Edward Kennett (guest) 6+3, Steve Johnston 14+2, Robert Miskowiak 1, Piotr Swiderski 11, Jarek Hampel 4, Tobias Kroner 5, Chris Schramm 1.

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1st May 2008
Panthers return to Foxhall
Ipswich Witches v Peterborough Panthers 5th May 2008
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.
Ipswich Evening Star Witches
1
2 Piotr Swiderski
3 Robert Miskowiak
4 Steve Johnston ©
5 Jarek Hampel
6 Tobi Kroner
7 Chris Schraam
T/M Pete Simmons

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24th April 2008
Injury to skipper mars Witches victory
Ipswich Witches 51 Eastbourne Eagles 39
The Evening Star Ipswich Witches gained their first Elite League victory of the season this evening when they defeated the Eastbourne Eagles 51-39 at Foxhall Stadium in a match sponsored by Orwell Motorcycles. The victory was marred however by a crash involving Chris Louis which saw the Ipswich captain taken to hospital with a suspected broken arm.
Ipswich tracked their normal team having switched their riding around. Piotr Swiderski and Steve Johnston swopped places so that the Pole now wore the number 4 race jacket and the Australian Johnston lined up at number 2. Eastbourne had to make a change to their regular team. James Brundle had been injured the previous evening whilst riding at Poole for the Eagles. The incident had also involved the former Ipswich rider Zibi Suchecki who unfortunately suffered a broken femur. Brundle’s place in the side was taken by the Rye House rider, Danny Betson.
The Eagles captain Scott Nicholls took the chequered flag in the opening heat with Robert Miskowiak and Steve Johnston filling the minor places for a shared heat. The riders looked uncomfortable on the track which had been subjected to rain and sun during a day of very mixed weather. The conditions then played a major part in the reserves race. Simon Gustafsson led for the visitors only to drift extremely wide on the fourth bend whilst trying to retain control and this allowed Tobi Kroner to come through and maintain his record of winning heat 2 in every home meeting this season. With Chris Schraam in second place the Witches took a four point lead. A bizarre start to the next heat saw both Eagles’riders, Lee Richardson and Cameron Woodward fall at the first corner in separate incidents. The Referee stopped the race in the interests of safety and firstly excluded Woodward as being the prime cause of the stoppage and then had to exclude Richardson as he was not under power at the time the race was stopped. This meant that Chris Louis and Piotr Swiderski rode around unopposed for a 5-0 to the Witches. The fourth heat was also full of incident with Danny Betson falling on the fourth bend of the second lap. With noone behind him 4Chris Schraam then lost control entering the second bend on the last lap and also fell. Although Schraam got up and completed the race the Referee had already put the red lights on and was forced to exclude the Ipswich rider as being the prime cause of the stoppage. The 3-2 heat win meant that the Witches led 16-6 after four heats.
Heat 5 was to prove an extremely unfortunate race for the home side. Scott Nicholls was given a tactical ride for Eastbourne but it was Piotr Swiderski who roared into the lead from the Great Britain captain. Lewis Bridger and Chris Louis were tussling for third place with the Eastbourne man just ahead and seeming set to hold on for one point. Coming out of the second bend on the final lap Bridger lost control and fell and Louis was unable to take avoiding action in time and crashed heavily. It was immediately obvious that the Ipswich skipper was in trouble and he lie on the track for some minutes being attended to by the parmedics before being taken to hospital by ambulance with suspected damage to his arm. Lewis Bridger was excluded for causing the stoppage and a 4-2 was awarded to the Witches. After a considerable delay heat 6 saw Edward Kennett score a convincing win over Steve Johnston and Robert Miskowiak. In the next race the Eagles reduced the deficit by two points after Lee Richardson defeated Jarek Hampel with Cameron Woodward third. Steve Johnston won heat 8 but with Chris Schraam falling again the race was shared and the Witches now led by eight points.
Edward Kennett won his second race of the evening in heat 9 from Piotr Swiderski whilst Tobi Kroner taking the place of the stricken Chris Louis finished third. Eastbourne chipped a further two points off the Witches lead in the next race when Lee Richardson was first home ahead of Robert Miskowiak with Cameron Woodward third. The next race was shared with Scott Nicholls overtaking both Tobi Kroner and Jarek Hampel on the second bend of the opening lap. Ipswich had surrendered reasonable leads in each of their opening four Elite League matches this season and supporters were becoming a little nervous with a six point lead and four heats to go. In heat 12 Tobi Kroner again replaced Chris Louis to partner Chris Schraam. The young German rider however produced the ride of the night to comfortably defeat British International Lee Richardson and with Schraam third the Witches extended their lead to eight points.
The lead was maintained in the next race when Jarek Hampel scored an excellent win over Scott Nicholls with Edward Kennett third. Victory for the Witches was assured in the penultimate race with Piotr Swiderski and Tobi Kroner defeating Simon Gustafsson after Cameron Woodward had fallen and been excluded. The final race saw Lee Richardson score his third win of the evening from Piotr Swiderski and Jarek Hampel to leave the Witches victorious by twelve points.
For the Witches Piotr Swiderski led the way with twelve points with Tobi Kroner scoring 11+2 and Jarek Hampel 10+2. This was however a tremendous effort by all the riders after the unfortunate injury to Chris Louis. Team Manager Pete Simmons’ changes to the riding order also proved successful as the team did look much stronger towards the end of the meeting.
The bulk of the Eagles’ points were recorded by their heat leader trio with Scott Nicholls scoring twelve points including a tactical ride with Lee Richardson notching 11 and Edward Kennett 9+1.
The Witches therefore gained their first League victory of the season but at a considerable cost with the injury to their popular captain Chris Louis.

Ipswich Witches:
Robert Miskowiak 4+2, Steve Johnston 7, Chris Louis 4, Piotr Swiderski 12+1, Jarek Hampel 10+2, Tobi Kroner 11+2, Chris Schraam 3+1.

Eastbourne Eagles:
Scott Nicholls 12, Lewis Bridger 1+1, Lee Richardson 11, Cameron Woodward 2, Edward Kennett 9+1, Simon Gustafsson 4, Danny Betson 0.

 

22nd April 2008
High flying Eagles visit Foxhall
Ipswich Witches v Eastbourne Eagles 24th April 2008
This coming Thursday 24th April the Evening Star Ipswich Witches resume the hunt for their first Sky Sports Elite League victory of the campaign when they host the Eastbourne Eagles. Having lost two of their four competitive fixtures at Foxhall Stadium so far this term, the Witches will be desparate to turn the tables on the much fancied Eagles side.
While last season’s World Champion Nicki Pedersen may have departed from the Eagles set-up in the winter, new promoter Martin Hagon has revamped the side to add much greater depth to the team than in previous years by bringing in three Great Britain international riders as heat leaders, with the former Ipswich captain Scott Nicholls as their number 1. Eastbourne’s winter changes have caused many pundits to suggest the Eagles will be looking to challenge for honours this season, and they raised a few eyebrows when beating 2007 champions Coventry in their first away fixture of the season in a match shown live on Sky Sports. Scott Nicholls picked up an injury in that fixture and has been out of action for the last few weeks, but will be fit enough to take his place on Thursday.
The Witches have shuffled their team around in an attempt to improve their fortunes. Steve Johnston and Piotr Swiderski have swopped positions in the side forming new partnerships with Robert Miskowiak and Chris Louis respectively, with team manager Pete Simmons looking for the new pairs to capitalise on team riding opportunities and give the team greater strength towards the end of meetings. Jarek Hampel and Piotr Swiderski will return to the line up having been absent from the last two away fixtures at Swindon and Peterborough due to the restaging of the Polish Championship qualification meeting.
Eastbourne’s top order this season is the backbone of the Great Britain side that lined up for last years World Cup campaign, and will probably be so again this season. British captain Scott Nicholls is their number 1 rider, with Lee Richardson and Edward Kennett at numbers 3 and 5. Richardson had mixed fortunes in the colours of Swindon last season, but still finished the season with an average over 7 points. The 1999 World Under-21 Champion captains the Eagles this season, and managed a total of 18+4 in 11 rides at Foxhall last season for Swindon, winning two of those heats. Edward Kennett has returned to Eastbourne after spending the 2007 season on loan with Poole. Kennett first appeared for the south coast side in 2002, having ridden the majority of his career for Rye House in the Conference and then Premier League. The 21 year old has been twice British Under-21 champion and has also ridden for Team GB on three occasions, including a 10 point haul on his World Cup debut at Coventry last season. He rode 9 races for Poole at Foxhall in 2007, scoring 15+1 and winning 4 of those heats.
Number 2 for the Eagles is young British prospect Lewis Bridger. The 18 year old is now in his third season with Eastbourne, having moved from Conference side Weymouth in 2006. He recorded an average over 4 points in that first season, and has continued to hold his own at the top level despite his young age. He has begun the season in the main body of the side, and is hotly tipped to challenge for British Under-21 honours this season. At number 4 is another youngster in Australian Cameron Woodward. He first rode for the Eagles in 2006, having previously ridden for Poole and Edinburgh. Woodward established himself as an Eastbourne favourite last season when raising his average by almost two points, before injury took its toll in the middle of the campaign. He has begun the season in great form and has no doubt been aided by partnering Lee Richardson.
At reserve are youngsters Simon Gustafson and James Brundle. Gustafson is the son of former GP star Henka, and returns to the Eagles line up after making his debut late last season. He has already emerged from his fathers shadow with some eye catching scores this term, notably 10+2 against Wolves in the Elite League earlier this month. James Brundle makes his debut at Elite League level this season having previously ridden for Mildenhall and Kings Lynn in the Premier and Conference Leagues.
Eastbourne are the current league leaders, but face a tricky fixture away at Poole before they visit Foxhall on Thursday. They have lost two of their six Elite League fixtures so far, and will come to Foxhall confident that they can take all three points. In order to redress the balance, the Witches will need to raise their spirits after their recent bad spell, and look to capitalise on their new team partnerships. With the Eagles looking to continue their tenure as league leaders, and the Witches eager to put some pride back into their Elite League campaign, Thurday evening should provide some excellent racing, with both sides going all out for a victory.

Ipswich Evening Star Witches
1 Robert Miskowiak 6.69
2 Steve Johnston 5.41
3 Chris Louis © 7.10
4 Piotr Swiderski 5.19
5 Jarek Hampel 6.27
6 Tobi Kroner 4.89
7 Chris Schramm 3.00
T/M Pete Simmons

Eastbourne Hagon Shocks Eagles
1 Scott Nicholls 9.28
2 Lewis Bridger 4.46
3 Lee Richardson © 7.66
4 Cameron Woodward 4.53
5 Edward Kennett 5.80
6 Simon Gustafsson 4.00
7 James Brundle 3.00
T/M Trevor Geer
Meeting referee: FRANK EBDON

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21st April 2008
Witches fail to hold on to lead again
Peterborough Panthers 49 Ipswich Witches 41
The Evening Star Ipswich Witches were defeated at the East of England Showground this evening 49-41 by the Peterborough Panthers to remain rooted at the bottom of Elite League table.
Ipswich were once again without both Jarek Hampel and Piotr Swiderski who were riding in a Polish Championship meeting which had been rained off twice already and rearranged for this evening. As at Swindon last Thursday Poole’s exciting young Australian rider Chris Holder came in at number 2 as a guest for Piotr Swiderski whilst the Witches operated the rider replacement system for Jarek Hampel at number 5. The Panthers lined up at full strength.
The Witches went straight into the lead with guest Chris Holder winning heat 1. Hans Andersen got past Robert Miskowiak after the Witches pairing had both got out of the start quickly. The scores were immediately tied up in the reserves race when Klaus Vissing went past Tobi Kroner and Chris Schraam fell to leave Henrik Moller third. Steve Johnston and Chris Louis then scored a 5-1 in the third heat from Kenneth Bjerre. The next race was drawn with Daniel King taking the chequered flag but Witches reserves Tobi Kroner, who was taking the rider replacement outing and Chris Schraam filled the minor places to leave the Witches ahead by four points.
Heat 5 saw the Witches extend the lead with a 4-2 with Chris Holder winning, Kenneth Bjerre second and Robert Miskowiak third. The next race was shared with home skipper Hans Andersen coming home in front. He was hard pressed in the early stages of the race by Steve Johnston who took the rider replacement ride but the Australian eventually finished third behind team mate Tobi Kroner. Heat 7 was also shared after Claus Vissing was excluded after falling on the opening lap. In the rerun Danny King led home the Ipswich pairing. With Chris Holder clocking up his third consecutive heat win but with Chris Schraam at the back the Witches led 27-21 after eight heats.
Robert Miskowiak took the rider replacement outing in heat 9 but Tobi Kroner touched the tapes and was forced to race off a 15 metre handicap. Kenneth Bjerre proved too strong for Miskowiak and with Tobi Kroner unable to make any impression on Claus Vissing at the back the Panthers reduced the deficit by two points. The Witches’ lead was down to only two points after the next race which was won by Hans Andersen from Chris Louis with Morten Risager third. The scores were level after heat 11 which saw the clash of the two unbeaten riders Danny King and Chris Holder. It was the Perborough man King who came out on top with Holder second and Claus Vissing third. The Panthers then went ahead following their fourth 4-2 heat win in a row. This time Kenneth Bjerre was the victor from Tobi Kroner with Claus Vissing third.
In recent meetings the Witches have looked vulnerable towards the end of meetings and so it proved again tonight. A 5-1 to the home side came in heat 13 courtesy of Danny King and Hans Andersen before a shared heat in the penultimate race sealed the Panthers victory when Claus Vissing kept the Ipswich pairing of Steve Johnston and Tobi Kroner behind him. In the final race Hans Andersen went beyond Chris Holder and with Kenneth Bjerre third the Panthers ended victorious by 49-41.
For the Witches guest Chris Holder did sterling work with thirteen points with Tobi Kroner next best with nine paid ten. Steve Johnston again tried very hard for his seven paid nine.
Danny King notched a four ride maximum for the home side whilst skipper Hans Andersen scored thirteen plus one.
Team Manager Pete Simmons was understandably disappointed afterwards when reflecting on the outcome “We have ridden four Elite League matches this season and have led in each meeting yet failed to win any. We rode well during the first half of the meeting tonight but then made some mistakes at crucial times to allow Peterborough back into the meeting. In addition Robert (Miskowiak) had a puncture and Chris Louis had some machine problems. Chris Holder was again an excellent guest for us and Steve Johnston and Tobi Kroner both did well. We now move on to Thursday’s clash with Eastbourne at Foxhall where we will be changing the pairings around in attempt to be stronger towards the end of meetings”.

Peterborough Panthers:
Hans Andersen 13+1, Morten Risager 3, Kenneth Bjerre 10, Sam Simota 0, Danny King 12, Claus Vissing 9, Henrik Moller 2+1.

Ipswich Witches:
Robert Miskowiak 5, Chris Holder 13, Chris Louis 6+1, Steve Johnston 7+2, Jarek Hampel R/R, Tobias Kroner 9+1, Chris Schraam 1+1.

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17th April 2008
Witches gain first League point of season
Swindon Robins 45
Ipswich Witches 45
The Evening Star Ipswich Witches continued their topsy-turvy form at Blunsdon this evening when they drew 45-45 with the Swindon Robins to gain their first Elite league point of the season.
Both teams showed changes from the two sides that met at Foxhall Stadium on Monday evening when the Robins were victorious 50-43. Ipswich were without both Jarek Hampel and Piotr Swiderski who were riding in a Polish Championship meeting which had been rained off on Tuesday and rearranged for this evening. Poole’s exciting young Australian rider Chris Holder came in at number 2 as a guest for Piotr Swiderski whilst the Witches operated the rider replacement system for Jarek Hampel at number 5. The Robins were without Mads Korneliussen who had made such a vital contribution at Foxhall on Monday. The young Swede had been injured on Wednesday evening whilst guesting for Poole against Coventry at Wimborne Road. The Robins operated rider replacement in his place. The other change to Swindon side saw the return of Cory Gathercole at number 6 after injury.
The World number 2 and Swindon captain Leigh Adams won the opening race by a considerable distance but with the Witches pairing of Robert Miskowiak and Chris Holder second and third the heat was shared. The Witches reserve pairing of Tobi Kroner and Chris Schraam kept up their excellent run of results in the reserves’ race so far this season by scoring another 5-1 to put the Witches ahead. Steve Johnston, riding in the town where he lives won the third heat from Troy Batchelor and with Chris Louis third Ipswich extended their lead to six points. Swindon then reduced the deficit to four points when Sebastian Alden took the chequered flag in heat 4 from Tobi Kroner after James Wright had managed to get past Chris Schraam on the third lap.
Heat 5 saw the Robins gain another 4-2 with Travis McGowan winning and Robert Miskowiak just holding onto second place ahead of Troy Batchelor. Swindon took the lead in the match for the first time in the next race with a 5-1 from James Wright and Leigh Adams over Steve Johnston who was given the rider replacement outing. The Witches returned the compliment however in the next race courtesy of Chris Louis and Steve Johnston although the Australian had a tremendous battle with Sebastian Alden before finishing behind his team mate. Chris Holder showed his class to win heat 8 and Chris Schraam looked set to follow him home until James Wright passed him close to the end of the race. This meant that the Witches led 26-22 after eight heats.
Robert Miskowiak took the rider replacement outing in heat 9 and promptly won the race from Troy Batchelor and with Tobi Kroner third the Witches extended their lead to six points again. Leigh Adams won the next heat however from Steve Johnston and James Wright overtook Chris Louis for a 4-2 to the home side. Back came the Witches with a 4-2 of their own in heat 11 when Chris Holder won his second race of the night from Travis McGowan with Robert Miskowiak third. Heat 12 saw only the second shared heat of the evening when Troy Batchelor passed Chris Louis with Tobi Kroner third. Ipswich therefore led 39-33 with three heats to go but the unbeaten Leigh Adams would almost certainly feature in two of those races.
The Australian master as expected duly obliged by winning heat 13 and Sebastian Alden managed to split Chris Holder and Robert Miskowiak to reduce the gap to four points with two heats left. Ipswich brought in Tobi Kroner for the penultimate heat and although Sebastian Alden was first the Ipswich pairing kept Travis McGowan behind them to retain the four point advantage with one race left. Swindon fielded Leigh Adams and Troy Batchelor whilst Ipswich sent out Steve Johnston and Chris Holder but it was the home pairing who raced away to leave the match drawn 45-45.
For the Witches Steve Johnston led the way with ten points and two bonus points whilst Chris Holder and Tobi Kroner both scored nine paid ten. With the exception of Chris Schraam who was paid for a win in heat two, every Witch won at least one race.
Leigh Adams notched a paid maximum for the home side supported by Troy Batchelor with 10.
Team Manager Pete Simmons had slightly mixed feelings afterwards when he said “I am delighted that we came back from Monday’s poor result to get a draw but am also disappointed that after leading for so much of the meeting we did not win. The riders gave their all this evening and can be rightly proud of themselves particularly Steve Johnston. I must thank Chris Holder for coming in and doing a good job for us. I think we deserved to win but we know with Leigh Adams in two of the final three heats the end of the meeting will always be difficult here. Now we look forward to going to Peterborough on Monday and continuing the good work”.

Swindon Robins:
Leigh Adams 14+1, James Wright 7, Troy Batchelor 10+1, Travis McGowan 5, Mads Korneliussen R/R, Cory Gathercole 0, Sebastian Alden 9.

Ipswich Witches:
Robert Miskowiak 8, Chris Holder 9+1, Chris Louis 6, Steve Johnston 10+2, Jarek Hampel R/R, Tobias Kroner 9+1, Chris Schraam 3+1.

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14th April 2008
Witches slump to home defeat
Ipswich Witches 43 Swindon Robins 50
The Evening Star Ipswich Witches slumped to a 43-50 home defeat against the Swindon Robins in the Elite League this evening at Foxhall Stadium in a match sponsored by Gemini Travel. The Witches led by ten points after four heats but fell away badly in the later stages of the meeting.
Ipswich tracked their normal team with Chris Schraam returning to the side much quicker than expected following the foot injury sustained in the last home meeting with Wolverhampton whch saw him miss the away fixtures at Coventry and Wolverhampton. Swindon had to make a change to their side with Phil Morris injured and his place was taken by Joel Parsons.
Piotr Swiderski was forced to start off a fifteen metre handicap in heat 1 after touching the tapes but Robert Miskowiak left the World Number 2 Leigh Adams in his wake and the race was shared. Tobi Kroner maintained his unbeaten record in the reserves heat at Foxhall this season with his fifth consecutive victory but Chris Schraam made a mistake when in second place and was overtaken by Joel Parsons so the Witches took a two point lead. This lead was quickly trebled after Chris Louis and Steve Johnston scored a 5-1 over Troy Batchelor and Mads Korneliussen. Heat four saw the maximum feat repeated with Jarek Hampel and Tobi Kroner beating Travis McGowan, to give the Witches a ten point advantage after four races.
Swindon team manager Alun Rossiter played his cards early by giving his captain Leigh Adams a tactical ride in the next heat and the 37 year old Australian duly obliged with a victory but with Steve Johnston and Chris Louis filling the minor placings the Robins only reduced the deficit by three points. Robert Miskowiak scored his second victory in the next heat but with Piotr Swiderski falling and remounting the heat was shared. Jarek Hampel gained his second victory in heat 7 where Mads Korneliussen looked much faster riding a bike borrowed from Leigh Adams and with Chris Schraam at the back the heat was again drawn. James Wright then surprised the Witches pairing of Swiderski and Kroner to win heat 8 well but the Witches still held a seven point advantage.
Chris Louis was awarded victory in heat 9 after Steve Johnston had fallen on the third lap which meant the fourth drawn heat in a row. The sequence was broken however in the next heat. After both Robert Miskowiak and Troy Batchelor had fallen at the first corner referee Chris Gay ordered a rerun with all four riders. This time however Robert Miskowiak fell on the fourth bend and Mads Korneliussen showed that he was still fast when riding his own equipment by winning from team mate Batchelor. The Witches lead was therefore reduced to three points. The gap was down to only one point after the next race but it could have been so different. Firstly Chris Schraam was excluded for touching the tapes and his place in the rerun was taken by Tobi Kroner. The Witches pairing of Kroner and Jarek Hampel raced away from the tapes to lead from Leigh Adams. Exiting the third turn however Tobi Kroner lost control, spun and fell to be excluded. Leigh Adams then out gated Hampel in the rerun for a 4-2 to Swindon. The following heat was drawn with Chris Louis defeating Troy Batchelor and Joel Parsons with Tobi Kroner at the back. This left the Witches one point ahead with three races to go.
Despite strong efforts by the Witches pairing of Robert Miskowiak and Jarek Hampel, Leigh Adams won heat 13 and he did very well to stay with his machine after appearing to make contact with the safety fence coming out of the second bend. The penultimate heat was decisive with Mads Korneliussen and Joel Parsons scoring a 5-1 over Chris Schraam who tried everything to find a way past. With the Witches now needing a 5-1 in the final heat it was the Robins’ pairing of Leigh Adams and Mads Korneliussen who kept ahead of Chris Louis and Jarek Hampel to give the Robins victory by seven points.For the Witches skipper Chris Louis led the way with eleven points and a bonus but he was very disappointed at the end and said “I could not see Swindon coming here tonight and winning. We led by ten points yet lost by seven. We seem to have lost a lead in just about every meeting of late. We need to make changes and get things sorted out”. Jarek Hampel provided good support with ten points.
Leigh Adams scored seventeen points for Swindon but the contributions of Mads Korneliussen with 10+1 and Joel Parsons with 7+3 were possibly what made the difference for the Robins.
The Witches now face two tough away matches at Swindon and Peterborough before returning to Foxhall in ten days time to face the favourites for the Elite League this season, the Eastbourne Eagles.

Ipswich Witches:
Robert Miskowiak 7+1, Piotr Swiderski 2+1, Chris Louis 11+1, Steve Johnston 4+1, Jarek Hampel 10, Chris Schramm 2, Tobias Kroner 7+1.

Swindon Robins:
Leigh Adams 17, James Wright 5+1, Troy Batchelor 6+2, Mads Korneliussen 10+1, Travis McGowan 5, Joel Parsons 7+3, Sebastian Alden 0.

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11th April 2008
Much changed Robins visit Foxhall on Monday
Ipswich Witches v
Swindon Robins 14th April 2008
On Monday 14th April the Evening Star Ipswich Witches will entertain the Swindon Robins in their opening home fixture of the 2008 Sky Sports Elite League season. The match (sponsored by Gemini Travel) will be screened live on Sky Sports and will therefore provide an excellent opportunity for the Witches team to respond to exiting both the Knock-Out Cup and the Craven Shield in the last ten days. With the rest of the nation’s speedway fans looking on, the Witches will also want to bounce back from defeat last Friday at Coventry in their first league match of the season.
Swindon will return to Foxhall with memories of their victory in an exciting last heat decider last September. That result helped put them on the path to their runners up finishing spot in 2007. This season the Robins have been forced to make drastic changes to their side following the introduction of new team building averages. They may have retained their talismanic captain, Leigh Adams, the currently World Number 2 behind Nicki Pedersen, but five members of the side that won 44-46 at Foxhall last September have departed, including Lee Richardson, who partnered Adams in that exciting final heat.
Gone are Lee Richardson, Tomasz Chrzanowski, Charlie Gjedde, Seb Ulamek and Andrew Moore. Mads Korneliussen has been retained, and has begun the 2008 campaign in fine form riding at number 4 in the team. The 25 year old Dane began his British career back in 2003 with Newport, and his impressive Premier League form earned him a doubling up spot in the Swindon side in 2005. He gained a permanent spot at reserve in 2006.After another productive campaign last year he has begun this season with an average of 5.18 and a place in the main body of the side. Korneliussen is regarded as a fans’ favourite amongst Swindon supporters, but they will hope that he can score better than the 2+1 he managed on his only visit last season.
Leigh Adams remains captain and number 1. The Australian star was beaten only twice in ten Foxhall races for Swindon in 2007 and his last visit saw him cruise to a 15 point maximum. Partnering him at number 2 is James Wright. The young Brit from Stockport had been a firm favourite with Workington since 2004, and rode in the Elite League for Belle Vue last season. He finished the 2007 Premier League season with an average of 9.75 and was voted the Workington supporters’ rider of the season. He arrives at Swindon with a starting average of 4.73.
Travis McGowan has moved into the side as a heat leader from Reading. The Racers were unable to hold on to the Australian international after they withdrew from the Elite League at the end of last season. McGowan is another rider from Mildura in Australia, which is also the hometown of Leigh Adams and many other great Australian riders. He lines up at number 5 with an average of 5.34. Troy Batchelor is another new face who moved from Poole in the winter and has taken a heat leader role at number 3 in the team. He rode alongside Leigh Adams for the Polish Extraleague winners Leszeno last season, and caught the eye of the Swindon captain with his performances. Batchelor managed scores of 3+1 and 6 for Poole at Foxhall last season, and also finished as runner up in the 16 lap classic.
Sebastian Alden lines up at number 7 and has returned to the side after missing 2007. He rode for Swindon in 2005 and 2006 and starts with an average of 3.84. Australian Cory Gathercole is normally at number 6, but he has a prior arrangement to ride for the Isle of Wight at Reading in a Premier Trophy fixture. His replacement is currently uncertain due to injuries suffered by various other riders.
Ipswich also have injury doubts over the fitness of Chris Schramm. Team manager Pete Simmons has confirmed that Schramm will undertake a fitness test over the weekend to determine whether he will be fit to take his place in the side. Should he be unable to line up against Swindon on Monday, the Witches management have lined up Jason King as a guest replacement. Whether it is King or Schramm at reserve, the Witches will want to defy the critics in front of the Sky Sports cameras, and to do that they will need their supporters to get behind them at Foxhall Stadium on Monday evening.

Ipswich Evening Star Witches
1 Robert Miskowiak 6.69
2 Piotr Swiderski 5.19
3 Chris Louis © 7.10
4 Steve Johnston 5.41
5 Jarek Hampel 6.27
6 Chris Schramm or Jason King 3.00
7 Tobi Kroner 4.89
T/M Pete Simmons

Swindon Pebley Beach Robins
1 Leigh Adams © 10.30
2 James Wright 4.73
3 Troy Batchelor 5.74
4 Mads Koneliussen 5.18
5 Travis McGowan 5.34
6 TBA
7 Seb Alden 3.84
T/M Alun Rossiter
Meeting referee: CHRIS GAY

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7th April 2008
Witches dumped out of Knockout Cup at Monmore

Wolverhampton Wolves 54
Ipswich Witches 38
The Ipswich Witches completed a miserable five days after losing to the Wolverhampton Wolves 54-38 in the first round second leg of the Knockout Cup this evening at Monmore Green. The aggregate score finished 96-88 in favour of the team from the Black Country. This, after being eliminated from the Craven Shield last Thursday and losing the opening Elite League match of the season at Coventry on Friday.
Ipswich were again without Chris Schraam who is due to miss the next few weeks due to a foot injury. His place was taken at number 7 by Shaun Tacey. Wolverhampton welcomed back their Danish rider Kenneth Hansen at number 4 after he missed the meeting at Foxhall following cuts and tyre burns sustained earlier in the week.
Ipswich made a good start with Piotr Swiderski again leading the way and with Robert Miskowiak third the Witches took an early lead. Tobi Kroner then won the reserves’ race but Shaun Tacey fell early on so the heat was drawn. In heat 3 Chris Louis led but was passed by Neils Kristian Iversen. With Steve Johnston third another heat was shared. The Wolves powered ahead in the next race when David Howe and Christian Hefenbrock left Jarek Hampel behind. This meant that the home team were two points ahead after four heats.
The following two heats were shared with firstly Neils Kristian Iversen taking the chequered flag from Piotr Swiderski and Robert Miskowiak and then Jarek Hampel defeating Freddie Lindgren and Ales Dryml. Heat 7 saw the Wolves reduce the aggregate deficit to just two points with a 5-1 from Nicolai Klindt and David Howe but in the next heat Piotr Swiderski came from behind to pass Christian Hefenbrock with Ales Dryml third.
The Witches were going to be hard pressed now to stop the charging Wolves from pegging back their slim advantage and the aggregate scores were tied up in heat 9. Tobi Kroner suffered mechanical problems at the start and had to return to the pits but could not meet the two minute time allowance so Shaun Tacey came in. Neils Kristian Iversen then swept around Jarek Hampel to win the race with Kenneth Hansen third. Rain had fallen for most of the meeting and the track was difficult for the teams but it was the home pairing of Freddie Lindgren and Ales Dryml who recorded a 5-1 in heat 10 to put the Wolves ahead for the first time in the tie. With the Witches now twelve points behind on the night team manager Pete Simmons awarded a tactical ride to Piotr Swiderski but the Pole could not match David Howe. With Robert Miskowiak third the Witches did at least reduce the deficit by two points. Hopes of a comeback were virtually extinguished however in heat 12 with another 5-1 to the Wolves courtesy of Neils Kristian Iversen and Christian Hefenbrock. So with three heats left the Wolves led by six points over the two legs.
Robert Miskowiak won heat 13 but Jarek Hampel failed to score after being passed by both home riders. The Wolves confirmed their place in the next round with a 4-2 in heat 14 when Nicolai Klindt beat Steve Johnston who just held off Kenneth Hansen after a good battle. In the final race Piotr Swiderski completed a good night’s work with another win but with Jarek Hampel agasin at the back the Witches finished beaten by 16 points on the night and by eight over the two legs.
For the Witches Piotr Swiderski led the way with fifteen points including two additional points by virtue of a tactical ride whilst Robert Miskowiak was next best with 6+2.
Neils Kristian notched 14 for the Wolves supported by David Howe with 11+2.
Team Manager Pete Simmons was naturally disappointed by the defeat but commented “we did not bring enough of a lead with us tonight to defend and the Wolverhampton team were very fired up. Piotr (Swiderski) was excellent again but we did not have enough support to hold on. We have a week off now and I need to lift the team in time for next Monday’s vital Elite League match at home to Swindon”.

Wolverhampton Wolves:
Freddie Lindgren 8+1, Ales Dryml 4+3, Neils Kristian Iversen 14, Kenneth Hansen 2, David Howe 11+2, Nicolai Klindt 8, Christian Hefenbrock 7+3.

Ipswich Witches:
Robert Miskowiak 6+2, Piotr Swiderski 15, Chris Louis 4, Steve Johnston 4+1, Jarek Hampel 6, Tobias Kroner 3, Shaun Tacey 0.

 

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3rd April 2008
Cup tie still in balance after first leg
Ipswich Witches 50 Wolverhampton Wolves 42
The Evening Star Ipswich Witches defeated the Wolverhampton Wolves 50-42 in the first round first leg of the Knockout Cup this evening at Foxhall Stadium. With the second leg of the tie to come at Monmore Green next Monday evening the outcome is still finely balanced to see which team will progress to the next round.
Ipswich tracked their normal team following last week’s emphatic victory over Peterborough. Wolverhampton had to make a change to their side after Kenneth Hansen was injured in their victory over Poole at Monmore Green on Monday evening and they were operating the rider replacement system in his absence. The Wolves also had their number 8 Chris Neath on parade.
Piotr Swiderski continued his outstanding form by winning the opening heat. He had to do so by coming from behind to dive underneath Ales Dryml on the second bend of the second lap. Freddie Lindgren was third for a shared heat. Tobi Kroner and Chris Schramm again defeated their opposition counterparts in the reserves race for a 5-1 heat win to put the Witches in front. In the next race Neils Kristian Iversen led from start to finish from Chris Louis with Steve Johnston third for another drawn heat. Jarek Hampel then left David Howe trailing and with Tobi Kroner third the Witches stretched their lead to six points after four heats.
In heat 5 Freddie Lindgren made a good start but with Chris Louis and Steve Johnston filling the minor placings the race was shared. This was followed by Robert Miskowiak and Piotr Swiderski racing away from David Howe. The next heat saw Niels Kristian Iversen excluded after falling in the first turn. The rerun saw Jarek Hampel defeat Chris Neath with Chris Schraam ending up in the fence on the last lap. The Witches reserve then pushed his bike home for the extra point before commenting “the bike is rather heavy to push plus wearing a steel shoe makes it difficult to get any purchase on the track when you are running”. Wolverhampton then gained another shared heat when Ales Dryml made a quick start to defeat Piotr Swiderski and Tobi Kroner. The Witches therefore led 30-18 after eight races.
Nicolai Klindt, on his Foxhall debut, then surprised Witches’ captain John Louis by passing him on the home straight at the end of the first lap and held on comfortably to win. With Steve Johnston third this resulted in another shared heat. Neils Kristian Iversen was awarded a tactical ride in the tenth race but Robert Miskowiak kept the Dane behind him and with Piotr Swiderski third the heat was drawn 4-4. In heat 11 Jarek Hampel raced away from the tapes first but Chris Schraam again ended up in the fence on the third bend and was excluded. In the rerun Hampel repeated the feat and another race was drawn. Heat 12 saw Tobi Kroner hold off Neils Kristian Iversen for an excellent victory and with Chris Louis third the Witches led by fourteen points with three races to go.
Jarek Hampel made it four wins out of four in heat 13 but Robert Miskowiak could make no impression on Freddie Lindgren and David Howe. In the penultimate race Nicolai Klindt again turned on the style to beat Steve Johnston and with Ales Dryml third the home side’s lead was reduced to twelve points. The final heat of the evening saw Neils Kristian Iversen and Freddie Lindgren out gate Jarek Hampel and Chris Louis to leave the Witches victorious by eight points and the tie finely balanced.
For the Witches Jarek Hampel led the way with thirteen points supported by Tobi Kroner with nine.
Neils Kristian notched 12 for the Wolves supported by Freddie Lindgren with 10+2.
Team Manager Pete Simmons had hoped for a larger victory when he said “the team rode well but did not give me quite as much as I had hoped for”.
Before the return leg at Monmore Green the visitors travel to Coventry on Friday evening to open their Elite League programme with a stern test against the reigning champions.
In the Craven Shield this evening Peterborough and Lakeside fought out a 45-45 draw which ends the Witches participation in that competition for this season.

Ipswich Witches:
Robert Miskowiak 6, Piotr Swiderski 7+2, Chris Louis 6+1, Steve Johnston 6+2, Jarek Hampel 13, Chris Schramm 3+1, Tobias Kroner 9.

Wolverhampton Wolves:
Freddie Lindgren 10+2, Ales Dryml 7+1, Neils Kristian Iversen 12, Kenneth Hansen R/R, David Howe 4+1, Nicolai Klindt 7, Christian Hefenbrock 0, Chris Neath (Number 8) 2.

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1st April 2008
Knockout Cup action at Foxhall on Thursday
Ipswich Witches v Wolverhampton Wolves 3rd April 2008
After completing their Craven Shield fixtures the Evening Star Ipswich Witches now turn their attention to the Knockout Cup on Thursday evening when they take on the Wolverhampton Wolves in the first leg of the first round at Foxhall Stadium with a 7.30pm start. The second leg will take place at Monmore Green next Monday, 7th April 2008.
The Witches line-up will be unchanged from that which gained a comprehensive thirty point victory last Thursday over the Peterborough Panthers.
Wolverhampton will be bringing their full strength side to Foxhall led by Freddie Lindgren who has taken over the captaincy of the side from Peter Karlsson this season. The twenty two year old Lindgren was twice the Swedish Under 21 Champion and has ridden for Wolverhampton since 2003, his only Elite League club. His performances around Foxhall are usually of a high standard and speculation had linked him with possibly joining the Witches in past seasons. He will be a formidable opponent for the home side. His partner on Thursday evening will be the Czech rider Ales Dryml who has made a remarkable comeback following a terrible accident in 2006 which saw fighting for his life for some time. During his British career he has ridden for Belle Vue, Poole, Peterborough and then last season for the ill-fated Oxford Cheetahs who unfortunately closed mid-season.
At number 3 is the Dane Neils Kristian Iversen who qualified for this season’s Grand Prix series by winning the Grand Prix Qualification Final at Vojens in his home country last September. He switched to the Monmore Green circuit during the winter having spent the previous two years with the Peterborough Panthers. His partner will be his fellow countryman Kenneth Hansen. The twenty year old began last season with the Workington Comets in the Premier League but switched to the Midlands during the summer. He was one of the first riders to be signed up by the Wolverhampton management for this season and he will be making his Foxhall debut on Thursday.
Wolverhampton’s third heat leader will be twenty six year old David Howe who was born in Leicester. Apart from a season at Oxford in 2006 he has ridden for the Wolves since 2002 and has been a regular visitor to Foxhall where last season he racked up a score of fourteen points in the League fixture between the two clubs in April.
At reserve are Nicolai Klindt and Christian Hefenbrock. The young Dane, Klindt, who was European Under 19 Champion last season is riding in his first season in Britain and makes his Foxhall debut. Christian Hefenbrock is a twenty two year old German who last season pipped the Witches rider Tobi Kroner for the Wild Card position in the German Grand Prix at Gelsenkirchen. Hefenbrock justified his selection however when he came out and won the first heat of that meeting much to the delight of the German spectators present.
The Wolves have made a solid start to the season by winning both their home meetings in the Craven Shield against Coventry and Belle Vue but being beaten away. With one match still outstanding Coventry look the favourites to qualify from that particular group. Monday evening saw the commencement of the Elite League season with Poole visiting Monmore Green and being soundly beaten 54-36 where Freddie Lindgren scored a paid fifteen point maximum. Unfortunately for the Wolves Kenneth Hansen crashed heavily in the penultimate race and suffered a cut and tyre burns which have caused him to return to Denmark for treatment and rest.
Team manager Peter Simmons was in a confident frame of mind when commenting “Last week we witnessed a truly awesome home performance from the Witches to demolish the Peterborough Panthers, a team that we came very close to upsetting at the East of England Show Ground a few days earlier. Everyone did as I asked and when we are firing on all cylinders we showed the great potential we have this season. With the second leg of the Knockout Cup match at Wolverhampton on Monday, we will be trying to take a healthy lead to Monmore Green to defend as we hopefully progress through to the next round.”

Ipswich Witches
1 Robert Miskowiak 6.69
2 Piotr Swiderski 5.19
3 Chris Louis © 7.10
4 Steve Johnston 5.41
5 Jarek Hampel 6.27
6 Chris Schramm 3.00
7 Tobi Kroner 4.89
T/M Pete Simmons

Wolverhampton Parry’s
International Wolves
1 Freddie Lindgren © 7.75
2 Ales Dryml 5.00
3 Niels-Kristian Iversen 7.38
4 Kenneth Hansen 4.00
5 David Howe 6.45
6 Nicolai Klindt 4.00
7 Christian Hefenbrock 3.93
T/M Peter Adams
Meeting referee: MICK BATES

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27th March 2008
Witches too good for Panthers at Foxhall
Ipswich Witches 61 Peterborough Panthers 31
The Ipswich Witches defeated the Peterborough Panthers 61-31 in the Craven Shield this evening at Foxhall Stadium.
Ipswich tracked their normal team with Robert Miskowiak taking his place after feeling unwell recently. Peterborough were unchanged from the team which defeated the Witches 47-43 at the East of England Showground on Easter Monday which meant a return to Foxhall for former Witches Hans Andersen and Daniel King.
Piotr Swiderski continued his outstanding form by defeating Hans Andersen in the opening heat and after clashing elbows with the Dane on the way to the first turn Robert Miskowiak finished third to give the Witches an early heat advantage. Tobi Kroner and Chris Schramm again defeated their opposition counterparts as they did at Peterborough in the reserves race for a 5-1 heat win. In heat 3 Chris Louis led from start to finish from Kenneth Bjerre with Steve Johnston third for another 4-2 to the home side. Jarek Hampel and Tobi Kroner then left former Witch Daniel King trailing to give Ipswich a twelve point lead after four heats.
In heat 5 Chris Louis made a good start and then cleverly held off Hans Andersen and with Steve Johnston third the home side extended their lead further. This was followed by Robert Miskowiak and Piotr Swiderski racing away from Daniel King. The next heat saw Peterborough gain their first shared heat when Kenneth Bjerre and Morten Risager filled the minor placings behind Jarek Hampel after Chris Schraam was shut out on the first turn. Heat 8 saw Piotr Swiderski and Tobi Kroner score another 5-1 and the Witches now led 35-13.
Daniel King showed he still knew the quick way around Foxhall when he became the first Panthers’ heat winner in a shared heat 9 but then Piotr Swiderski and Robert Miskowiak scored another 5-1 win over Kenneth Bjerre. Hans Andersen was given a tactical ride in heat 11 but Jarek Hampel got away from the tapes first to hold off the Dane. With Chris Schraam third the heat was drawn 4-4. Heat 12 saw Chris Louis and Tobi Kroner team ride for a 5-1 heat win over Kenneth Bjerre. This saw Tobi Kroner complete a four ride paid maximum and the Witches led 52-22.
Hans Andersen claimed his first win of the evening in heat 13 from Jarek Hampel and Robert Miskowiak. Morten Risager did likewise in the penultimate race when beating Chris Schraam and Steve Johnston. The final heat of the evening had to be rerun after both Jarek Hampel and Daniel King came to grief on the first turn. All four riders were allowed to restart and Hans Andersen led from start to finish to beat Piotr Swiderski and Jarek Hampel to leave the Witches victorious by thirty points.
For the Witches Piotr Swiderski top scored with thirteen points and a bonus. Jarek Hampel put his engine problems of earlier in the week behind him by scoring 12+1 and Tobi Kroner produced a paid maximum of 10+2.
Hans Andersen notched 14 for the Panthers but received little support with Kenneth Bjerre being next best with 6.
The race times were considerably faster than the previous two meetings and Ipswich captain Chris Louis commented “after all the rain we have had recently the track rode really well which is down to the great work put in by Bob Ellis our Track Curator.”
The Witches must now wait upon the outcome of the two matches between Lakeside and Peterborough before learning if they qualify for the next stage of the competition.

Ipswich Witches:
Robert Miskowiak 7+2, Piotr Swiderski 13+1, Chris Louis 10+1, Steve Johnston 4+2, Jarek Hampel 12+1, Chris Schramm 5+1, Tobias Kroner 10+2.

Peterborough Panthers:
Hans Andersen 14, Sam Simota 1, Kenneth Bjerre 6, Morten Risager 4+1, Daniel King 5, Henrik Moller 0, Claus Vissing 1.

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25th March 2008
Important Craven Shield match on Thursday
Ipswich Witches v Peterborough Panthers 27th March 2008
Speedway returns to Foxhall Stadium on a Thursday evening this week for the first time this season following two matches held on a Friday. The Evening Star Ipswich Witches will take on the Peterborough Panthers in a Craven Shield fixture with a 7.30pm start. The two teams met at the East of England Showground on Easter Monday evening with the Panthers coming out victorious by four points.
Ipswich are in the same group in the competition as Peterborough and also the Lakeside Hammers to whom the Witches lost at home on Good Friday afternoon but then defeated away at the Arena Essex Raceway in the evening. With away wins scoring three points and home wins only two qualification from the group could come down to race points difference so the Witches will not only want to win on Thursday but also by as large a margin as they can achieve.