PREVIEW: IPSWICH v FOXES
NORTHAMPTON Foxes continue a busy week on the road with another trip to East Anglia – this time to Ipswich on Thursday (7.30pm).
The Foxes showed plenty of encouraging signs in their first meeting as a team at King’s Lynn, when they went down 50-40 but provided nine of the 15 race winners on the night.
They now head for Foxhall, the home of the 2025 Premiership champions, and although the Witches are much-changed from the team which clinched the title last autumn, they have still made a strong start to the season.
Wins at home and away to King’s Lynn mean Ipswich have taken control of the KO Cup southern group, and a Witches victory on Thursday will confirm their progression to the Final.
The home side are led at No.1 by Great Britain star Tom Brennan, who was recently named as wild card for the forthcoming Grand Prix of Manchester at Belle Vue.
They also have massive experience in their middle order with club legends Scott Nicholls and Danny King joined by Richard Lawson.
For the Foxes, they are expected to once again track a six-man line-up with rider replacement in operation for the injured Niels-Kristian Iversen.
Australian racer Troy Batchelor has had spells with the Witches in both 2009 and 2022, whilst skipper Nicolai Klindt scored heavily at Foxhall in a dramatic Cup victory for King’s Lynn last season.
Co-promoter Paul Hunsdon said: “Ipswich are a very compact side and we’re going to have to ride exceptionally well to get something there.
“But you never know – the six guys who we had at King’s Lynn on Monday are all really focused, and of course we’ve got Niels to come back in the near future too, which will only strengthen us.
“It’s so good to see the team on track. There’s been an awful lot of work put in by many people to get to where we are now, and the reality really kicked in on Monday when we took the team photos.”
IPSWICH: Tom Brennan, Danny King, Richard Lawson, Scott Nicholls, Tobiasz Musielak, Philip Hellstrom-Bangs, Jason Edwards.
NORTHAMPTON: Jaimon Lidsey, Troy Batchelor, Matej Zagar, Niels-Kristian Iversen R/R, Nicolai Klindt, Kye Thomson, Luke Harrison.