Speedway: Ipswich secure victory over Belle Vue in first leg of semi-final tie
They go into leg two with an 18 point lead
It's a win for Ipswich Witches in the first leg of their Premiership play-off semi-final tie.
They secured a 54-36 win over reigning champions Belle Vue last night at Foxhall.
The hosts were without Jason Doyle, after his crash at the Danish Grand Prix, with Chris Harris guesting in his place.
Jack Smith was guesting for the injured Dan Thompson at number seven.
The Aces were missing Charles Wright with injury and were using rider replacement at number two.
Emil Sayfutdinov top scored with 14 points.
The Suffolk side now go have a commanding 18-point lead ahead of the second leg at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday.
Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins shared his thoughts on the win: “It was as good a performance and result as we could have hoped for.
"We had two guests come in who both performed very well and fitted straight into the team. We have built up some great momentum here at Foxhall and some home track advantage.
"Conditions were wet from all the rain we have had but we showed our determination to get stuck into the dirt and race for the cause. I’m delighted with every single one of them and it was a brilliant result...
“We are in great form and are on a roll. Confidence is high and we go into Monday’s meeting at Belle Vue with a nice lead but Belle Vue are more than capable of turning that around, they are formidable on their home track.
"They are the reigning champions and have been the best team all year and have beaten a lot of teams by more than 18 points over the last couple of seasons. Yes, we are in good position, as good as we could have hoped for, but Monday is going to be tough, and we are going to need to perform as good as we have been over the last few weeks if we want to get through.
"It is still a big ask on Monday, we are in a good position, but we are certainly not through. We have got 15 very tough heats to go, and I think they will know they are capable of beating teams by 18 points on their home track and we will need to be at our very best again on Monday to progress.”
Ipswich take a healthy 18-point lead to Manchester on Monday where they take on the Belle Vue Aces in the second leg of this play-off semi-final.