THERE have been many great speedway meetings at Foxhall Stadium over the years but this one is right up there as one of the best.The Witches take a six-point lead into next month's second-leg clash against Coventry at Brandon but it hardly tells the story of a night of scintillating racing, dramatic twists and turns and a horrific crash.

By Mike Bacon

THERE have been many great speedway meetings at Foxhall Stadium over the years but this one is right up there as one of the best.

The Witches take a six-point lead into next month's second-leg clash against Coventry at Brandon but it hardly tells the story of a night of scintillating racing, dramatic twists and turns and a horrific crash.

That crash involved Ipswich teenager Danny King, who was sent hurtling into the Foxhall air fence at frightening speed in heat seven. The young Witch had already won his first ride and was challenging Rory Schlein for second place when he just did too much, hit into Schlein and was sent at full speed cartwheeling over onto the Foxhall stock car track.

It was an awful incident and an absolute miracle that by the end of the meeting King was up and about with nothing more than bad bruising when it could have been so much worse.

The scores at the time were level in this topsy-turvy first-leg clash but King's injury should have given the impetus to the Bees - but it was the Witches who showed their character and by heat nine they had moved six points ahead.

Coventry brought the scores level after heat 12 and when Billy Janniro shed a chain when in third place in heat 14 the Witches went two points ahead with one heat to go.

Already there had been enough cracking speedway to satisfy even the most ardent fan but the brilliant Chris Louis and Mark Loram both passed Scott Nicholls in thrilling style in the final race to give Ipswich an advantage they worked very hard for.

Louis was magnificent.

He brought the house down in heat five as he stalked and then rounded Nicholls in one of the best races of the season seen so far at Foxhall and the action continued throughout with Louis again involved in heat nine as he, Robert Miskowiak and Chris Harris went over the line side by side with the Ipswich pairing getting the nod.

Coventry were well served by Nicholls and Schlein and the all-action Harris but it was Ipswich who have gained the upper hand in this clash and if the second leg is half as good as this it will be well worth viewing.