Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins says he was 'fairly content' with his team's performamce in Monday night's 49-41 loss at Wolverhampton in the ports Insure Premiership.

Wolves raced into a six-point lead after just two races and were keeping the away side at arm’s length until a maximum to Ipswich in heat nine put them just two points behind.

There were just four points between the two sides going into the last three races, but the hosts finished strongly to secure victory.

Jason Doyle top scored for the Witches with 14+1. Wolves now take an eight-point lead to Foxhall on June 1 with the aggregate bonus point up for grabs.

“I thought it was a decent performance seeing as it is early doors in the season," said Hawkins.

"I come away disappointed that we didn’t get a little bit closer in a sense, but I was fairly content with our performance as a team.

"It was the first time here for Keynan (Rew) and it has been a long time since Emil (Sayfutdinov) has been here. They have picked up a lot of experience which will help us later in the season.

“It is probably one of the few tracks left in the country where you have a big home advantage because it is tighter than other tracks. I thought Keynan took to it well, better than his score suggests, and Emil after his first ride was extremely good again.

"I felt they did well and Ben (Barker), bar heat one, rode well in his first meeting back for us and overall I didn’t think it was a bad performance for this stage of the season.

“This is probably the first time this year where I have thought about the aggregate bonus point. Certainly, going into heat 15, that was a vital 1-5 that made the bonus point realistic for us.

"Wolverhampton will be happy to come to Ipswich with an eight-point lead, but it is one that is achievable for us to pull back as well. That is another exciting factor to add into the mix next week.”

The Witches are back in action on Thursday night when they host the Leicester Lions at Foxhall Stadium.

WOLVERHAMPTON 49: Sam Masters © 12, Steve Worrall 7+2, Craig Cook (g) 4, Ryan Douglas 7, Rory Schlein 10+1, Zach Cook 5+1, Leon Flint (RS) 4+2. Team Manager: Peter Adams

IPSWICH 41: Jason Doyle 14+1, Ben Barker 4, Danny King © 8, Keynan Rew 3+2, Emil Sayfutdinov 9+2, Danyon Hume 3, Joe Thompson (RS) 0. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins