Ipswich Witches 51 Scunthorpe Scorpions 38
Ipswich Witches moved into the play-off places with a solid rather than spectacular 51-38 victory over Scunthorpe Scorpions at Foxhall Stadium tonight.
It was a quick-fire double for the Suffolk side, who thrashed the Scorpions on their own track six days ago.
But this was much closer, although the Witches didn’t help themselves in the early stages with a succession of errors.
However, win they did, and at this time of the season that’s all that matters. Now they have the small task of Glasgow away next week, a meeting which could decide the Witches’ play-off hopes.
It was reserve Coty Garcia (18pts) who stole the show for the Suffolk side winning four of the first seven races, while others around him made mistakes.
Slowly the Witches got it all together, running out comfortable winners in a meeting that took more than two hours to complete.
Scunthorpe skipper Steve Worrall won a shared opening race and heat two brought the crowd to their feet. While Garcia led for Ipswich, all eyes were on 16-year-old Drew Kemp as he closed in on former Witch Gino Manzares.
Lap by lap Kemp got closer before roaring round Manzares on bend four.
Nico Covatti and Mark Riss got in a pickle coming out of turn two, with Covatti falling.
He was up but excluded at the start of heat three and in the re-run Scopions levelled things up with a 5-1 of their own.
Kemp hit the tapes in the next and Garcia replaced him.
Manzares was the next to hit the tapes and he was the next to go, before the tapes mulfunctioned a third time! At the fourth time of asking Garcia and Witches guest Ty Proctor shot to the front. Worrall won the next and Ipswich looked on for a maximum in heat six, but Cameron Heeps fell on the last bend. Garcia was gating like a demon and he won heat seven in style as Proctor passed Mason Campton.
Heeps won heat eight and Worrall was a tactical rider in the next – a race he won well.
Covatti passed Campton in heat 10 and Stefan Nielsen took a heavy fall in heat 11 after his bike shed a chain.
Worrall won the re-run, while Kemp was unlucky when his chain came off as he looked to be heading for a 5-1 with Covatti in heat 12. When Proctor won heat 13, the points were the Witches and the Foxhall faithful went home happy.
Scorers
Ipswich: R/R, C Heeps 10+1, N Covatti 7+1, M Riss 5+2, T Proctor 8+3, C Garcia 18, D Kemp 3+1
Scunthorpe: S Worrall 18, S Nielsen 2, J Garrity 10+1, M Campton 5+1, R/R, D Phillips 0, G Manzares 3
Heat details
1 Worrall, Heeps, Proctor, Nielsen 56.7 3-3
2 Garcia, Kemp, Manzares, Phillips 57.8 8-4
3 Garrity, Campton, Riss, Covatti (f/x) 58.4 9-9
4 Garcia, Proctor, Worrall, Phillips, Kemp (ex/t), Manzares (ex/t) 57.1 14-10
5 Worrall, Covatti, Riss, Nielsen 57.3 17-13
6 Garcia, Manzares, Garrity (15m), Heeps (f) 57.4 20-16
7 Garcia, Garrity, Proctor, Campton 57.5 24-18
8 Heeps, Nielsen, Kemp, Manzares 58.2 28-20
9 Worrall*, Riss, Covatti, Phillips 57.5 31-23
10 Heeps, Garrity, Covatti, Campton 57.8 35-25
11 Worrall, Garcia, Covatti, Nielsen (f/x) 58.1 38-28
12 Covatti, Garrity, Kemp (e/f), Manzares (e/f) 58.0 41-30
13 Proctor, Worrall, Heeps, Campton 58.0 45-32
14 Campton, Garcia, Riss, Phillips 57.7 48-35
15 Worrall, Garcia, Heeps, Phillips, Garrity (ex/t) 58.7 51-38
*tac ride.
Ipswich 3 pts. Scunthorpe 0 pts.
Championship
P Pts
Peterborough 17 38
Lakeside 15 32
Ipswich 17 30
Berwick 17 30
Edinburgh 15 28
Workington 13 27
Glasgow 15 27
Newcastle 15 24
Scunthorpe 18 21
Redcar 18 20
Sheffield 18 15
TOP FOUR INTO PLAY-OFFS
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