Still you continue to send in your favourite Ipswich Witches teams to MIKE BACON. Here are a few more, we hope you enjoy reading them. What would you favourite 1-7 be?
Here we go then.
A few more of your favourite Witches teams.
We start with STEVE LAWS.
Hi Mike.
Your favourite Witches team feature got me thinking so here's mine.
Having been introduced to speedway in 1989 my team reflects the era from '89 to my last regular season of 2010.
Although I still attend adhoc my favourite era was '89 through to '07. I always enjoyed a good fight from the back so my team are the entertainment one to seven.
1. CHRIS LOUIS: The out and out number one and really just Mr Ipswich. So many memories of electric starting but also so many switch backs to the inside off the second bend.
2. SCOTT NICHOLLS: A true racer and a local lad who always put in 110% and like so many before had a true connection with the supporters. Like the others in this team you knew if he missed the gate you would be in for something special
3. MARK LORAM: My first season was 1989 and what an impression the guy in red leathers made! His never say dye attitude was probably the reason I became hooked on this wonderful sport.
4. ALAN MOGRIDGE (c): The only guy who could possibly captain this team. He's at the back, but will he pass the opposition or hurtle through the wooden safety fence? That was 'Captain Crash'!
5. TOMASZ GOLLOB: From his first Foxhall visit the 16 Lapper in 1997 up until his last race for the Witches in 2000 this guy was true box office. Could make the starts but was superb from the back. His style makes him a true one-off.
6 BEN HOWE: Ahh, the Ben Howe line around Foxhall back wheel on the fence (well almost). Never reached the heights his talent deserved although I think we all hoped he would miss the start!
7 MITCH SHIRRA: Maybe not true racer by the time he donned the Witch. That makes him a odd choice I suppose. However those two seasons spent at Foxhall saw him became cult hero. Bike strapped to the back of his car doing most of the pit work himself coupled with his fiery side made him a true favourite.
RESERVES: Tony Rickardsson, David Norris and Piotr Swiderski.
Next up: CARL FITCH.
I have been attending speedway at Foxhall since the late 1980s as a child.
I have been reading these articles with some interest especially regarding the older riders such as John Louis, Dennis Sigalos, John Cook and Tony (Shrimp) Davey. I do wish I could have seen them ride around Foxhall. However, I had tried to pick my 1-7 based on averages, my modern era knowledge and a couple of sentimental picks too.
1 CHRIS LOUIS: What can you say about Chris that hasn't been said already? Absolutely electric from the gate and I watched him score countless maximums at Foxhall. He beat some of the world's best at the Heath and was so unlucky not to win a GP when his bike broke down on the final bend (think it was Vojens?). He was a safe rider, didn't take unnecessary risks.
2 SHANE PARKER: What a character. I will never forget him jumping on tractors to grade the track when he was convinced the track staff hadn't done a proper job!. I also recall him riding pretty much naked around Foxhall after a meeting...You could do not do that these days! Hope he is recovering from a recent health scare at home in Oz.
3 TOMASZ GOLLOB: Pure entertainment. I sometimes wish I could have put the gating gloves of Chris Louis onto Gollob's hands, but let's be honest it wouldn't be as much fun to watch. Gollob passing riders was worth the admission money on its own sometimes. He wasn't without his faults especially in the early days. Let's remember Craig Boyce's 'friendly' conversation with a young Tomasz at Hackney in a GP.
4. JAREK HAMPEL: A world class rider who I believe learnt his craft through his apprenticeship at Ipswich. Hampel always had the speed, especially coming from the big tracks of Poland, but in Ipswich he learnt how to ride more technical tracks.
5 TONY RICKARDSSON: For me, the best speedway rider in the modern era to wear the Witches race jacket. He was an ultra-professional from start to finish. Tony was ahead of his time in terms of professionalism. His speedway machinery and kit was always immaculate. I can hardly remember him retiring from a race for mechanical reasons. He also was exceptionally fit and really set the benchmark in terms of speedway nutrition.
6 SCOTT NICHOLLS: The local lad from Copleston High School. Working his way up through the youth squad Scott has been a permanent fixture in British speedway for many seasons. Even today, at 41, Scott can show the young guns the quickest way around the Heath.
7 TONI SVAB: This might surprise many people, it's a sentimental pick. But for me Toni played a pivotal role in an awesome treble winning side of 1998. He and Savalas Clouting are sometimes forgotten in this terrific side at reserve in a six-man squad. Ipswich stuck with Toni following a very rocky start to his Ipswich career having arrived from Czech, but he repaid the faith progressing year after year. On a personal level, Toni came to our house for food before meetings, had my father as a mechanic and would often hide me as a kid in the back of the van at away meetings! Some amazing childhood memories.
Also, from NEIL MCEWAN: 1 Billy Sanders (c), 2 Richard Knight, 3 John Louis, 4 Jeremy Doncaster, 5 Tony Davey, 6 Cameron Heeps, 7 Lawrie Bloomfield (who sadly passed away recently).
Reserves: Tomasz Gollob, Colin Cook, Nigel Flatman, Danny King and Lawrence Hare.
Finally for now, from ROBERT MUNROE: 1 Billy Sanders, 2 Tony Davey, 3 Mike Lanham, 4 Dennis Sigalos, 5 Tommy Johansson, 6 John Cook, 7 Armando Castagna. Reserves: Mark Loram, Georg Hack and Craig Boyce.
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