IT’S the same every year.

But nothing can prepare you for the spectacle of eight riders hurtling into the first bend of a speedway track.

For decades however, Ipswich Speedway has staged the 16-Lap classic, a unique race unrivalled anywhere in the world.

A set of qualifying races, followed by a consolation six-lap final and then the main event. The final is a wonderful sight and this year Witches director Chris Louis is predicting a close meeting, with added excitement.

“For a start, the new wider track will allow for more jockeying for position in the early laps, and in addition we have put together a field which looks to be very evenly matched,” Louis said.

“It is pretty well impossible to even predict which riders will make it through to the final. Never mind who is going to win it.”

The Classic is a race that has provided some wonderful racing.

Last year it was home star Robert Miskowiak who delighted his fans with victory over Australians Troy Batchelor and Adam Shields in a final that saw Rory Schlein suffere a broken collar bone.

Shields meanwhile has been a regular visitor for the Classic and will be one of the favourites tonight.

Home fans will have plenty of riders to cheer on, because although No.1 Scott Nicholls isn’t racing, captain Danny King will be, as well as Miskowiak, Linus Sundstrom and Chris Slabon.

It’s hardly a star-studded field, but the Classic is a meeting where you an get away with that, the emphasis being on durability, fitness and of course the uniqueness of the occasion.

The Witches just have two more home meetings left after tonight, a USA Touring team next Thursday, with the relegation play-off between the Witches and either Newcastle, Birmingham or Sheffield, later in the month ending the 2010 season.

Tonight’s field.

Danny King (Ipswich), Robert Miskowiak (Ipswich), Linus Sundstrom (Ipswich/Rye House), Marcin Rempala (Berwick), Adam Shields (Lakeside), Richie Hawkins (Ipswich/Somerset), Chris Schramm (Eastbourne/Wk’ton), Ben Barker (Coventry), Ty Proctor (Wolverhampton), Travis Mc.Gowan (Glasgow), Chris Slabon (Ipswich),

TOP Elite League stars from every club will do battle for the prestigious Elite Riders’ Championship at Peterborough on October 16 .

The event, which is the last in the hugely successful Super 7even series this season, features six Grand Prix stars and a host of other riders who are more than capable of mixing it with the best in the world.

British Speedway officials have also confirmed they extended an invitation to newly crowned World Champion Tomasz Gollob, the former Ipswich man, but he has reluctantly declined because of other commitments.

LINE-UP: Freddie Lindgren (Wolverhampton), Hans Andersen (Belle Vue), Scott Nicholls (Ipswich), Simon Stead (Swindon), Bjarne Pedersen (Poole), Lee Richardson (Lakeside), Niels Kristian Iversen (Peterborough), Matej Zagar (Eastbourne), Leigh Adams (Swindon), Tai Woffinden (Wolverhampton), Krzysztof Kasprzak (Coventry), Chris Holder (Poole), Danny King (Ipswich), Peter Karlsson (Belle Vue), Kenneth Bjerre (Peterborough), Chris Harris (Coventry).