Ipswich Witches 59 Workington Comets 33
Ipswich Witches kept up their awesome Foxhall form with a dominating display against Workington Comets this evening.
Ritchie Hawkins’ side were in a ruthless mood from the off as new British Champion Craig Cook and his Cumbrian team-mates headed back north well beaten.
The Witches moved back into second in the Championship table, closing in on leaders Edinburgh who lost at Redcar.
Ipswich were rampant throughout this meeting and if they could just turn this home form into something more consistent on their travels then their season could have the happiest of endings.
All the Witches, bar Nathan Greaves won a heat, but he was involved in two 5-1 maximums – it was that emphatic.
Kyle Newman recorded a paid maximum, which should boost his moral, and all the home side came to the party on a night of exciting action on a superbly prepared Foxhall circuit.
The Foxhall fans loved it and so they should have, with heat 15 being one of the highlights of the season so far.
It left Hawkins delighted with his side: “I think it was a case of us being very good, not them very bad and you did see how good this circuit can be.
“I’m delighted for Kyle Newman. We have always known what he can do and he showed it tonight.
“But this was a great team performance and what a race heat 15 was - for any fan.
“Everyone stood in the pits saying ‘what a race’ and I’m sure the fans loved it.”
The Witches head to Glasgow on Saturday night in a huge Championship clash. But if they ride as they have at tonight, then there is no reason they cannot spring a surprise.
Danny King and Newman made ruthless starts in heat one as Cook was left at the back. Cook got close to Newman on the run-in to the line, but the Witches grabbed a superb opening heat 5-1.
It was a bizarre heat two as James Sarjeant hit the tapes and went off 15m. In the re-run Sarjeant clearly jumped the start again, but was allowed to complete the four laps, passing both Witches riders, before being excluded at the end of the race! It was another Witches maximum and it looked like being three on the bounce until Justin Sedgmen was pipped on the line by Comets’ Ty Proctor, with Cameron Heeps way ahead. But the time we got to heat five Cook was out for Workington on a tractical ride with the home side 12 ahead.
Cook’s night hadn’t started well and he missed the two-minutes to get to the tapes and had to start off 15m. Both Witches were away and although Cook rounded Sedgmen, Heeps held the British Champion at bay as the tactical ride was nullified.
It got worse for the Cumbrians as King led heat six and Newman stalked and passed Sarjeant.
The racing was of a high standard and the Foxhall fans were lapping it up as the Comets continued to struggle, with Mason Campton touching the tapes in heat eight as the Witches skidded to another maximum.
Thomas Jorgensen was the next Comet to touch the tapes as Sedgmen won his first race of the night as the Witches closed in on victory. Workington got their first race win in heat 11 after Schlein’s engine packed up.
The final heat was indeed a joy as Schlein and Cook passed and re-passed with Newman streaking ahead at the front to complete a paid maximum.
It was no more than Newman deserved, while Schlein showed all his guile and skill to beat Cook, passing him twice in the race!
It was a delightful way to end a perfect night for the Witches.
Scorers
Ipswich: D King 8+1, K Newman 13+2, C Heeps 9, J Sedgmen 8, R Schlein 11+1, C Mountain 5, N Greaves 5+2
Workington: C Cook 11, M Campton 2+1, T Proctor 7+1, M Williamson 4, T Jorgensen 2, J Sarjeant 5+1, R Shuttleworth 2.
Heat details
1 King, Newman, Cook, Campton 56.5 5-1
2 Mountain, Greaves, Shuttleworth, Sarjeant (15m/ex) 60.4 10-2
3 Heeps, Proctor, Sedgmen, Williamson 58.3 14-4
4 Schlein, Jorgensen, Greaves, Shuttleworth 57.1 18-6
5 Heeps, Cook* (15m), Sedgmen, Campton 57.5 22-10
6 King, Newman, Sarjeant, Jorgensen 56.3 27-11
7 Schlein, Williamson, Proctor, Mountain 57.4 30-14
8 Newman, Greaves, Shuttleworth, Campton (15m) 58.0 35-15
9 Sedgmen, Sarjeant, Heeps, Jorgensen (15m) 57.9 39-17
10 Newman, King, Proctor, Williamson 57.9 44-18
11 Cook, Campton, Mountain, Schlein (e/f) 57.1 45-23
12 Proctor, Heeps, Sarjeant, Greaves 57.5 47-27
13 Schlein, Cook, Sarjeant, King (15m) 50-30
14 Sedgmen, Williamson, Mountain, Shuttleworth 57.9 54-32
15 Newman, Schlein, Cook, Proctor 58.0 59-33
*tac ride points count double
Ipswich 3 pts. Workington 0 pts.
Championship
P Pts
Edinburgh 18 38
Ipswich 17 35
Glasgow 13 33
Sheffield 16 30
Redcar 16 27
Workington 11 21
Newcastle 14 19
Peterborough 13 15
Scunthorpe 17 14
Berwick 17 10
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