BRITISH SPEEDWAY FEBRUARY 28, 2026

(SPEEDWAY 1)

WITCHES’ NEW OWNER

IPSWICH will go into the new ROWE Motor Oil Premiership season under new ownership after Mayfield, parent company of the FIM Speedway World Championships, completed its takeover of the club.

The Silverstone-based company have purchased the defending champions from Chris Louis, who won league titles with the Witches as a rider in 1998 and again as a promoter in 2025.

The new Ipswich backroom is made up of Mayfield founder Richard Coleman alongside co-promoter and general manager Andrew Chisholm, with former Witches rider and European Grasstrack champion Paul Hurry installed as team manager.

Coleman said: “We believe deeply in the sport of speedway. We care enormously about the future of the sport in the UK, and we are genuinely excited to become custodians of Ipswich.

“This club is far more than a business. Founded in 1951 and winners of five top-flight league titles, Ipswich is an institution with a proud history and a passionate community behind it. We feel the weight of that responsibility and are honoured to play a part in its next chapter.

“We arrived very late in the process for the 2026 season – at a time when other clubs had already assembled their teams, which made building a competitive squad particularly challenging.
“Despite that, we believe we have put together a line-up capable of competing, and our immediate priority now is to stabilise the club and put in place the foundations for long-term success. We look forward to sharing the full one-to-seven on Monday.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

NEW Berwick heat-leader Victor Palovaara believes he will quickly adapt to Shielfield Park as a home track this season.
The Swede returned to British Speedway after a six-year absence in 2025 and enjoyed a successful campaign with Edinburgh, before making the switch to the Bandits in the Cab Direct Championship.

Palovaara said: “I’ve have had the odd good race there in the past. “It is a tough place to prepare for when you only visit once a year, but it’s always easier when it’s your home track.

“I know the rest of the team apart from Reid (Battye), and I already get the feeling that I have joined a good group of guys and we will all be working together. “It looks a solid team, one that will raise a lot of eyebrows home and away.”

(SPEEDWAY 3)

DANISH star Jonas Jeppesen is relishing his move to Workington after a successful appearance at the GT Tyres Arena last autumn.

Jeppesen scored a paid maximum against his new side when racing in Berwick colours, but he has now switched to join the Comets and is optimistic over their prospects for the Cab Direct Championship campaign.

He said: “It feels pretty good. It seems like a very nice place with good people around it and the team is looking pretty strong, and I think there’s some boys that we could have a good laugh with during this season – so I’m just excited to get going.

“It’s a really cool track with lots of racing lines and plenty of room for good racing. The day I scored the paid maximum the conditions were a bit different because of the weather, but it’s definitely a track I enjoy. I’m looking forward to coming back and learning even more about it.

“I think we can go as far as we want if we stand together and do our job. We need to be strong home and away, score points consistently, and support each other. For me, the goal is to help the Comets reach the play-offs — and if we get there, anything can happen.”