Ipswich Witches 58 Berwick Bandits 34

Ipswich Witches’ big hitters put on a masterclass as the hosts demolished Berwick Bandits 58-34 at Foxhall on Thursday night.

Danny King completed a four-ride maximum while Nico Covatti (12), Ben Barker (10+1) and Morten Risager (10+3) all contributed double figures as the Witches cruised to victory, in a meeting they controlled from start to finish.

Covatti and Risager both entered heat 15 unbeaten against an opponent, but couldn’t quite complete the job as the visitors stole a meaningless maximum.

The main Berwick resistance came from Thomas Jorgensen’s 13+1 and 10 from former Witch Kevin Doolan, but it simply wasn’t enough as the remaining four riders managed just 11 between them.

While James Sarjeant was the only disappointment for the hosts, as he scored just a single point before withdrawing from the meeting due to a nasty spill in heat six, there was a healthy contribution from reserve as Joe Jacobs scored 9+2 and Connor Mountain 4+2.

Jacobs was particularly impressive as, despite not winning a race, he played his part in two 5-1s and hinted he may just be the solution to the Witches’ season-long struggles at the bottom of the order.

He got an earlier than expected start to the meeting, too, as he was drafted into heat one after Sarjeant was excluded for two tapes infringements, and secured third place as King beat Doolan with ease.

Scorers

Ipswich: King 12, Sarjeant 1+1, Covatti 12, Risager 10+3, Barker 10+1, Jacobs 9+2, Mountain 4+2.

Berwick: Doolan 10, r/r for Alden, Pijper 3+1, Wethers 4, Jorgensen 13+1, Gappmaier 4+1, Carr 0.

1 King, Doolan, Jacobs, Pijper , 56.2 4-2

2 Gappmaier, Jacobs, Mountain, Carr FX 60.1 7-5

3 Covatti, Risager, Wethers, Pijper 57.9 12-6

4 Barker, Jorgensen, Mountain, Carr 58.6 16-8

5 Covatti, Risager, Doolan, Wethers, 57.1 21-9

6 King, Jorgensen (tac), Gappmaier, Sarjeant 56.6 24-14

7 Barker, Jacobs, Pijper, Wethers 59.3 29-15

8 Doolan, Jacobs, Sarjeant, Carr 58.9 32-18

9 Covatti, Risager, Jorgensen, Gappmaier 58.0 37-19

10 King, Wethers, Pijper, Mountain 57.4 40-22

11 Jorgensen, Barker, Doolan, Mountain 58.3 42-26

12 Covatti, Mountain, Pijper, Gappmaier 59.0 47-27

13 King, Barker, Jorgensen, Doolan 57.5 52-28

14 Risager, Jacobs, Wethers, Carr 58.6 47-29

15 Doolan, Jorgensen, Risager, Covatti r 59.1 58-34

*tac ride points count double

Ipswich 3 pts. Berwick 0 pts.