BRITISH SPEEDWAY OCTOBER 7, 2025

(SPEEDWAY 1)
 
IPSWICH HOLD THE ADVANTAGE

IPSWICH seized the initiative in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final with a 47-43 win at Leicester to put themselves in the driving seat at the halfway stage.
The Witches overcame the loss of Adam Ellis in a Heat 3 crash to control long stages of the first leg, despite going four points down when conceding a 5-1 in that incident.

They responded with two maximums of their own to take the lead, and whilst the Lions clawed things back to level at 27-27, the visitors then secured four 4-2s in the next five races as they threatened to build a significant margin of victory.
A dramatic Heat 15 saw the previously unbeaten Emil Sayfutdinov disqualified for bringing down home man Ryan Douglas, who then combined with Max Fricke for a 5-1 over Jason Doyle to bring the margin back to four points.

Sayfutdinov scored 11+1 for the Witches with Tom Brennan (9) contributing two vital race wins, whilst reserves Dan Thompson and Jason Edwards crucially collected 14 (paid 17) between them with Ellis ruled out.
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “It was a brilliant performance from the team tonight, I am so proud of them.

“We battled so hard all night, it was a big hit losing Adam so early on but all six men stepped it up.
“It was tough play-off speedway, and we didn’t get much of the rub of the green with decisions, but everyone kept their heads and contributed. It is nice to get a lead and get our noses in front, but everything is up for grabs on Thursday.
“Emil started us off brilliantly in Heat 1 and it was a superb performance from him. Danny’s (King) win in Heat 5 was really needed and he got that 5-1 with Emil just when we lost Adam, which was really important. Jason was superb, and Dan was amazing again at Leicester.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson admitted his side had been beaten by the better team on the night as they lost out by four points in the first leg of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final.
The Lions saw their eleven-match winning run at home ended as the Witches again showed a liking for the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park with a 47-43 win in front of the largest crowd seen at the East Midlands venue in years.

Skipper Max Fricke top-scored with 12 points, and after losing to Emil Sayfutdinov in a classic Heat 13, his Heat 15 5-1 with Ryan Douglas (11+1) did give them some hope heading to Foxhall on Thursday.
Dickson said: “It’s four points, and it could have been a lot worse – it could have been 12 if they’d got a 5-1 in Heat 15.
“I’ll not sugarcoat it, we’ve lost the home leg and that’s something I wanted to avoid. But they are a good team, and now we need to go there on Thursday and almost do the impossible.

“We’ve won there before, and Sheffield won there a couple of weeks ago, but it’s going to be a big task, and if I was in their position I’d be a lot happier than the position we’re in.
“We wish Adam Ellis all the best. It looked a nasty crash and I hope he’s okay, he’s a nice lad, and I did say pre-Final that I didn’t want to see anyone get injured. But it shows you how good they are that they covered well for him with their reserves, it shows their strength in depth.”

(FIXTURES)

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 8:
MAXICAB CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP FINAL 1st leg: Poole v Redcar 7.30
WSRA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Steelers (43) v Leicester (47) (at Sheffield) 7.30

THURSDAY OCTOBER 9:
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Ipswich v Leicester 7.30

FRIDAY OCTOBER 10:
MAXICAB CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP FINAL 2nd leg Redcar v Poole 7.30