PREVIEW: Spires look to upset high-flying Witches at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium

BETGOODWIN Oxford Spires are looking to post their second successive victory when they host second-placed Ipswich Witches in a mouth-watering ROWE Motor Oil Premiership clash at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium on Monday evening (July 7) at 7.30pm.

Witches have put together an exciting line-up, led by 2017 World Champion Jason Doyle, Russian rocket Emil Sayfutdinov – one of the best riders in the world – and Tom Brennan, who won the Ben Fund Bonanza individual meeting at Cowley at the start of the season.

The advent of the July Green Sheet averages sees the return of Spires’ skipper Maciej Janowski to the No 1 spot. With the Pole’s partnership with Rohan Tungate proving so fruitful in the previous meeting for Spires – a 62-28 demolition of Birmingham at Sandy Lane – Tungate has been moved to No 2, so that the pairing is maintained.

Witches’ Rising Star Jordan Jenkins – who also rides for the SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs powered by County Plumbing Supplies in the Cab Direct Championship – is ruled out by ligament damage to his knee, after an accident at Belle Vue. Ipswich have declared Vinnie Foord in the team as his replacement. Foord was the ‘villain’ at the end of last season, after a clash with Luke Killeen in the Championship Grand Final at Poole. 

Spires’ manager Peter Schroeck says: “It was a tremendous result for the BetGoodwin Oxford Spires against Birmingham last time out – it was fabulous to have a night when all the boys clicked together.

“I know some people will say ‘it was only Birmingham’. But Brummies have put together some decent results as the season has progressed, including a 49-41 home victory over King’s Lynn in the last week. Brummies even won away at Leicester.

“To me, we won by such a large margin, because every one of our riders rode to their potential on the same night. We had a good vibe, we performed as a team, the riders enjoyed themselves and we want to carry it on.

“We want to enjoy a positive second half to the season and that starts by making sure we continue winning our home matches at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium, including against Ipswich. Witches have had a strong start to the season and are riding high in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership table. But they’ve experienced a few problems recently and they certainly can be beaten.

“All we can do with Spires is concentrate on all our own results. We can’t worry about what other clubs are doing. We need to build up our own momentum, make sure we entertain our home fans and whatever will be, will be.”

Tickets are already on sale on the Oxford Speedway website at https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

Admission is available at the early bird price of £23 for all adults, which increases to £25 on Race Day. All under-16s go free. A reminder that Oxford Speedway is online ticket sales only – tickets remain on sale on the website until the start-time of the meeting. Spectators are also reminded that they will need to pay £2 if they are planning to park in the Unipart car park.

There are two meetings at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium next week. Oxford Cheetahs host the Berwick Bandits in the Cab Direct Championship on Wednesday (July 9) at 7.30pm and tickets for this meeting are also on sale on the Oxford Speedway website.

Cheetahs’ Mitch McDiarmid enjoyed a fabulous opening round in the SGP2 (World Under-21 Championship) in Malilla, Sweden on Friday. The 17-year-old Australian scored nine points in the qualifying heats, finishing fifth, before a third place in his Last Chance Qualifier. He scored 10 Grand Prix Points and is seventh in the overall standings on 10 points.

UPDATE: Please note that Craig Cook has not yet fully recovered from Covid, while Erik Riss will be missing after a reoccurence of his health issues from 2023. Kyle Howarth will guest for Cook, while Richard Lawson will come in for Riss.

Teams:

BetGoodwin Oxford Spires: Maciej Janowski (C), Rohan Tungate, Kyle Howarth (G), Charles Wright, Richard Lawson (G), Peter Kildemand, Luke Killeen (RS).

Ipswich Tru7 Group Witches: Jason Doyle, Danny King (C), Adam Ellis, Tom Brennan, Emil Sayfutdinov, Dan Thompson, Vinnie Foord (RS).

PHOTO by Les Aubrey