The IPSWICH Witches overcame the absence of former World Champion Jason Doyle to defeat Belle Vue 51-39 in a strong opening-night performance at Foxhall.<\/p>\n
Doyle was missing due to personal reasons but the Witches still got off to a winning start in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership, pulling clear after the scores had been level after the first six races.<\/p>\n
Emil Sayfutdinov (12+1) and captain Danny King (11+2) both scored paid-13 whilst Adam Ellis enjoyed a successful debut with 7+1 after finishing last in Heat 1.<\/p>\n
The Aces\u2019 scoring was dominated by skipper Brady Kurtz, who won four races to finish on 13, whilst Dan Bewley collected nine including a stunning win from the back over Sayfutdinov and Ellis, and new signing Connor Mountain impressed at reserve with seven.<\/p>\n
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: \u201cI\u2019m really happy, it was certainly a tricky night and a potential banana skin against a very good Belle Vue team. We coped with them well and improved during the meeting, every single rider. It was everything I could have asked for from an opening night.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone scored and everyone contributed, nobody struggled throughout the meeting consistently. Losing Doyley is a massive blow to our team, but Scott (Nicholls) came in and did a really good job and I\u2019m really happy he could guest. His contribution took the pressure off the other boys.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was great to see a good crowd in for opening night giving us good backing and I\u2019m sure they were all entertained again, and we have got a long season ahead, but it was a positive start.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Mountain said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to get too carried away, but I think that\u2019s the best I\u2019ve ever scored around Ipswich, and I\u2019m very proud of that!<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not only our first away match, but our first match as a team and it\u2019s always a tough one to break the ice, especially when you\u2019re away from home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we can be pleased with this result. Obviously we wanted to win but at the same time, we\u2019re only down by 12 on aggregate and that puts us in a great position for the return leg.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n