Frustration for Ipswich Speedway promoter Louis
Ipswich ‘Tru Plant’ Witches promoter Chris Louis says that efforts to stage a 2020 season have ended in frustration after it was confirmed that there will be no league season this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The start of the new campaign has been on hold since March with various restrictions in place to prevent the spread of the virus. However, with the restrictions being eased in recent weeks, there was hope of staging some league racing before the end of the year, but Louis admitted the fight had ended in frustration.
“There has been so much hard work going on behind the scenes to evaluate an ever-changing situation and it has ended with us not being able to operate the Premiership or Championship which is a shame,” said Louis. “It wasn’t through any lack of effort from the BSPA but unfortunately that is how it has panned out. The situation was always a bit unclear; it was fluid and it was changing on almost an hourly basis, certainly a daily and weekly basis. It has ended in frustration, but we had to do the right thing by the supporters and by our media partners, Eurosport.”
The promoter explained that it wasn’t just one issue that had prevented the season starting despite getting close to a shortened fixture list.
“It was more than one issue, there were issues with rider availability with the proposed season being so short. There were individual stadium issues because every stadium is not only a different local authority, but each stadium is different, has different owners, has different sports in them and it is not a ‘one size fits all’ situation. It was always very complicated and at times we felt we were very close to getting both the Premiership and Championship up and running this season, but it is not to be.”
With so much excitement surrounding the 2020 Witches side, the former skipper is hoping that fans will be able to see the same seven riders in action in 2021.
Supporters who purchased 2020 season tickets can either retain their season ticket for the 2021 season or receive a full refund. Those looking for a refund should send their bank details to enquiries@ipswichwitches.co.