Ipswich Witches head to Redcar on Sunday in the Championship Fours

When and where

Championship Fours

South Tees Motorsports Park: Sunday 1st July, 2pm

The teams

1 Lakeside: Nick Morris, Richard Lawson, Adam Ellis, Kyle Newman. Reserve: Zach Wajtknecht

2 Newcastle: Stuart Robson, Ashley Morris, Tero Aarnio, Matej Kus. Reserve: Matthew Wethers

3 Ipswich: Rory Schlein, Cameron Heeps, Nico Covatti, Danyon Hume. No reserve

4 Scunthorpe: Jason Garrity, Josh Auty, Jake Allen, Gino Manzares. Reserve: Danny Phillips

5 Sheffield: Kyle Howarth, Todd Kurtz, Charles Wright, Lasse Bjerre. Reserve: James Shanes

6 Redcar: Ben Barker, Thomas Jorgensen, Jonas B Andersen, Mikkel B Andersen. Reserve: Jordan Stewart

7 Edinburgh: Ricky Wells or Joel Andersson, Erik Riss, Mark Riss, Max Ruml. Reserve: Josh Pickering

8 Berwick: Aaron Summers, Nicolaj Busk Jakobsen, David Howe, Kevin Doolan. Reserve: Jye Etheridge

9 Glasgow: Chris Harris, Richie Worrall, Claus Vissing, Lewis Kerr. Reserve: Paul Starke

10 Workington: Ty Proctor, Dan Bewley, Rasmus Jensen, Mason Campton. Reserve: Kyle Bickley

11 Peterborough: Scott Nicholls, Ulrich Ostergaard, Michael Palm Toft, Bradley Wilson-Dean. Reserve: Ellis Perks.

Referee: G. Flint

The story

The ‘Tru Plant’ Witches foursome of Rory Schlein, Cameron Heeps, Nico Covatti and Danyon Hume head to Redcar on Sunday for the Championship Fours.

It’s a strong line-up for the Suffolk club although Danny King misses out due to injury and the Witches will have no reserve.

It’s a new venue for the Fours as it moves away from Peterborough to Redcar in 2018 after the Panthers won last year’s event at the East of England Arena and Events Centre.

The Witches won the event back in 2011 at Leicester as Kevin Doolan, Taylor Poole, Mat Tresarrieu, Lasse Bjerre and Morten Risager lifted the trophy and the current crop will be looking to add to the Witches’ trophy cabinet.

Team to watch

The Lakeside Hammers have made a strong start to the 2018 Championship campaign and the foursome of Lawson, Morris, Ellis and Newman is one of the strongest on paper. The Hammers have already beaten Redcar this season away from home in convincing fashion with all four riders scoring well that night and must be one of the teams to beat on Sunday.

The outsiders

The Peterborough Panthers have surprised many with their start to the Championship campaign as they sit on top of the table and last year’s Fours winners will be keen to retain their title. Fresh from a win at Redcar last week, Palm Toft, Wilson- Dean and Nicholls will be confident heading into Sunday’s event.

What happened last year?

The ‘Tru7.com’ Witches reached the final of the Championship Fours at Peterborough but could not make an impact at the last hurdle, finishing fourth as the hosts took victory.

Ipswich eased through to the final after a dominant semi-final performance saw them top the second semi-final by five points. After such a promising start to the afternoon the Witches could not replicate their earlier form in the final and finished a distant fourth.