The club had originally announced Kennett on a 28-day contract, with Hellstrom-Bangs set to return once the temporary deal had ended. However, after reviewing the situation, the Witches have opted to keep the reserve berth available in the hope that Hellstrom-Bangs will soon be fit enough to resume racing.

Kennett had opportunities to take part in practice sessions at Foxhall and Lydd in recent days, but after further consideration Ipswich have decided against activating the move.

Redcar rider Jake Mulford will instead guest for the Witches in Thursday’s Rowe Motor Oil Premiership clash against Sheffield.

Witches chairman Richard Coleman explained the reasoning behind the decision:

“Had we gone ahead with Edward’s signature, it would have ruled Philip out of the team for the full 28-day period.

“Given that he has now been absent since the beginning of May, we are keen to help him resume racing as quickly as possible to ensure he is in the best possible form for the crucial summer months and has time to get accustomed to the Premiership tracks.

“We signed Philip in the belief that he could be a real trump card for us at reserve, and we still believe there is plenty more to come from him this season.

“We were also somewhat surprised that Edward did not take the opportunity to practise at Foxhall last week and missed a further opportunity at Lydd on Sunday. This prompted us to reflect on the move, and we have gone with Jake Mulford as a guest against Sheffield to cover for Philip. We thank him for stepping in.

“We wish Edward all the best as he makes his return to the sport with Oxford, and we are pleased to see him back on track with them.”

The Witches are now awaiting further updates on Hellstrom-Bangs’ condition and hope to learn soon whether the Swede is ready to make his long-awaited return to the side.

Feature Image courtesy of Ipswich Speedway

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In a meeting packed with incidents, momentum swings and on-track tensions, Leicester raced into an early lead before seeing Sheffield battle back from 12 points down to force a last heat decider.

The contest also saw Lions No.1 Ryan Douglas withdraw after a heavy crash, while a fiery Heat 9 clash between Kyle Howarth and Josh Pickering added to the intensity, with the pair involved in a heated exchange after the race. (Watch the race and aftermath in the video below)

Despite the pressure, Leicester held their nerve in the closing stages, with Dan Thompson’s second place in Heat 15 proving enough to seal both the win on the night and progression to the final.

Leicester made a flying start with successive 5-1s in the opening heats to establish control, but Sheffield gradually worked their way back into the meeting.

After falling behind by double figures, the Tigers mounted a strong comeback with a series of heat advantages, closing the gap to just four points heading into the final races and setting up a tense finish.

Leicester manager Stewart Dickson, speaking via the Leicester Speedway website, said:

“The objective was to get to the Final and we’ve done that.

“We had one or two problems, including Dougy coming off after he’d looked really good in his first race, and that did have a bit of an effect on us.

“But the team mucked in to cover for him… I thought we were the better team, although it was disappointing to be eight and then 12 points up and for them to still come back into it.

“But we’ve qualified for the Final against Ipswich and we owe them one for last season.”

Sheffield boss Simon Stead, speaking via the Sheffield Speedway website, added:

“Obviously as a group we’re disappointed to bow out, but the reaction from last Thursday was all you can ask.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult task but when the effort’s there you can’t ask for any more.

“We came up a little bit short… congratulations to Leicester and best wishes to them for the Final, but we now go again.”

Leicester now progress to the Premiership Knockout Cup Final where they will face Ipswich, while Sheffield take positives from a spirited performance despite their exit.

Leicester Lions 46 Sheffield Tigers 44

Feature Image courtesy of Mia Durkin – British Speedway

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The result sees Ipswich progress from the Southern Section and set up a final clash with defending cup holders Leicester.

Northampton made a strong start to the meeting, racing into a 15-9 lead after the opening four heats, including back-to-back 5-1s which put the visitors firmly in control early on.

Ipswich responded well, turning the meeting around with a series of heat advantages to move into the lead and eventually build a ten-point cushion during the middle stages of the contest.

The Foxes fought back strongly in the latter part of the meeting, reducing the deficit and ensuring a close finish, but Ipswich held on to secure the win by four points.

Polish rider Tobiasz Musielak led the way for the home side with 12 points, including three race wins, while skipper Danny King added nine paid ten. Philip Hellstrom-Bangs also impressed, claiming his first race win in British speedway on his way to five paid six.

For Northampton, Jaimon Lidsey topped the scoring with 13 points after a string of impressive rides, while Kye Thomson also reached double figures with 10+1.

Ipswich team manager Paul Hurry felt his side showed resilience but admitted there is still room for improvement.

“We all feel, and every one of them said, ‘There is still something we need to work on.’ Everyone went away thinking they are still chasing that goal, which is good,” he said.

“Team spirit is good, and everyone is happy. But everyone is still feeling there’s a little bit missing at the moment. We’ll see what happens and keep working on it. But onwards and upwards – we’re into a cup final! It was only our second home meeting, so to achieve that is really good.

“We can’t become too complacent. Now we move on to the league. This is when the serious business starts.”

Hurry also highlighted the early conditions as a factor in the slow start.

“The track was a little bit wetter to start with. The boys just thought the track was going to be grippier than it was. But no excuses – it’s the same for everyone. It’s our home track, and once the boys got dialled in, they made improvements.”

Northampton manager Chris Adams was encouraged by his team’s performance despite the defeat, saying on the club’s website:

“Once again there were lots of positives during the night. We’re still trying to find our form a little bit, but there are some very encouraging signs,”

“Jaimon again did a brilliant job at No.1, and I thought Kye had a fantastic night at reserve.

“But all in all Ipswich are pretty strong at home, so I have to say to come away with a four-point loss, I’m happy with that performance.”

Ipswich will now prepare for the Knockout Cup Final against Leicester, while Northampton take positives into the return fixture between the sides next week.

Ipswich Witches 47 Northampton Foxes 43

Images courtesy of Ipswich Speedway

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The initiative is the latest move from the club to strengthen its connection with the local community, following earlier efforts this year including a partnership with Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

The club is encouraging current supporters to nominate local groups such as sports teams, dance groups and scout organisations, with the aim of bringing new fans through the turnstiles and introducing them to the sport.

With strong attendances already in place, the focus is now on building for the future and creating long-term supporters by giving young people the chance to experience speedway first-hand.

The scheme is designed to make race nights more accessible while also growing the fanbase, with the hope that first-time visitors will return and become regular followers of the sport.

Anyone interested in applying for free tickets can do so by contacting the club directly via email at sheffieldtigersspeedway@gmail.com

Feature Image courtesy of Sheffield Speedway

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Belle Vue Aces

Brady Kurtz
Dan Bewley
Zach Cook
Norick Blodorn
Peter Kildemand
Tate Zischke
Will Ciarns – Rising Star

Kings Lynn Stars

Max Fricke
Jan Kvech
Chris Harris
Ben Cook
Paco Castagna
Cooper Rushen
Jody Scott – Rising Star

Ipswich Witches

Tom Brennan
Danny King
Tobiasz Musielak
Scott Nicholls
Richard Lawson
Philip Hellstrom-Bangs
Jason Edwards – Rising Star

Leicester Lions

Ryan Douglas
Sam Masters
Dan Thompson
Nick Morris
Kyle Howarth
Drew Kemp
Joe Thompson – Rising Star (replacing Dan Gilkes on a 28 day contract)

Northampton Foxes

Jaimon Lidsey
Matej Zagar
Niels-Kristian Iversen
Nicolai Klindt
Troy Batchelor
Kye Thomsen
Luke Harrison – Rising Star

Sheffield Tigers

Jack Holder
Chris Holder
Anders Rowe
Josh Pickering
Leon Flint
Jye Etheridge
Luke Kileen – Rising Star

Feature Image courtesy of Mark Lee Sing

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Racing at the Northampton Shaleway, the Foxes have been late to the party in terms of team building, with their opening meeting being only 3 weeks away, but they have assembled a strong-looking septet led by Aussie ace Jaimon Lidsey, and experienced campaigners Matej Zagar, Niels-Kristian Iversen, and Nicolai Klindt, plus Aussies, Troy Batchelor and Kye Thomsen. Luke Harrison will be the club’s rising star.

You can follow the Northampton Foxes on Facebook >>HERE<<

Feature Image courtesy of the Northampton Foxes

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Operating at the well-appointed Northampton International Shaleway near Brafield, the Foxes are to compete in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership – the top level of the sport in the UK.

Their opening home meeting is scheduled for Thursday April 30 when the Foxes host Ipswich in a Knockout Cup encounter, with the team racing two away matches prior to that at King’s Lynn (April 20) and Ipswich (April 23).

The club’s official Facebook is now available at Northampton Foxes Speedway, and supporters are urged to follow this page for first news of the rider line-up to be announced in the coming days.

Work is currently ongoing at the venue in order to complete the necessary infrastructure modifications to ensure speedway’s compatibility along with the top-line stock car racing already staged there.

Meanwhile, the club are pleased to confirm several organisational details, including the Foxes nickname which is a nod to the brief history of the sport at Brafield in the mid-50s, when the Flying-Foxes competed in the Southern Area League for two years.

The club is under the ownership of a consortium made up of representatives from the current Premiership structure, along with additional external investment.

The consortium are set to appoint two promoters to oversee the running of the club on a day-to-day basis, and subject to checks and approval from British Speedway Promoters Ltd, these promoters will be Paul Hunsdon and Tony Gaul.

Berkshire-based Hunsdon is Managing Director of IT recruitment specialists Metaskil, and has had previous speedway involvement working closely with the promotions at Reading and Birmingham.

He said: “I’m delighted to be part of the promotion team at Northampton. The stakeholders have worked tirelessly to get the project over the line in a short timeframe and I’m excited for the season ahead on and off the track.”

Gaul, meanwhile, is Managing Director of South West London and Surrey timber and builders merchants Metro Timber Ltd, and is part of the team behind the successful Try Speedway training school set-up alongside Scott Nicholls and Paul Hurry.

He said: “I’m so pleased to be involved in what is another new adventure for me in speedway, and looking forward to working alongside Paul Hunsdon as co-promoter and getting the season underway.

“There’s been so much hard work by many over the last few weeks to get this all together, and I believe that the team we have will make a decent impact on the Premiership.

“We are all fully committed to making a great success here at Northampton Speedway, and I hope that the fans turn out in their droves to support us.”

Team affairs will be handled by Chris Adams, who joins the Foxes after spending the last two seasons as part of the management team at Birmingham.

Adams learnt his trade from father Peter, the sport’s most successful team manager with nine league titles to his name. Chris took sole charge of the Brummies in 2025, their final season before the Perry Barr Stadium was closed for redevelopment.

Social media accounts have been set up as follows:

Facebook: Northampton Foxes Speedway

X (formerly Twitter): @FoxesSpeedway

Instagram: @foxesspeedway

The club’s official website can be found at https://northampton-speedway.com and will shortly be fully live, but in the meantime supporters can use the site to register to receive news and updates.

We are delighted to get the Northampton Foxes up and running, and we look forward to you joining us on this exciting journey.

The post Introducing the Northampton Foxes appeared first on Speedway Hub UK.

Words by British Speedway – Feature Image by Mark Lee Sing – Fixture Images courtesy of each club

The sides meet at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday March 30 in a Premiership KO Cup encounter, with the return taking place at Owlerton on Thursday April 2.

The Northern group also includes holders Leicester, who open their campaign at Belle Vue on Easter Monday, April 6 (midday) before hosting the Aces at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park at 7.30pm.

The Southern group gets underway on Thursday April 9 as East Anglian rivals Ipswich and King’s Lynn go head to head at Foxhall, before clashing again at the Adrian Flux Arena on Monday April 13.

Newcomers Northampton make their debut at King’s Lynn on Monday April 20, and their opening home meeting sees Ipswich provide the opposition on Thursday April 30.

Belle Vue host the opening ROWE Motor Oil Premiership league fixture when they take on defending champions Ipswich at the NSS on Monday April 20.

The match is a repeat of last season’s play-off semi-final, which saw the Aces win at home before seeing their title defence ended in the reverse fixture.

Other highlights of the early league programme include a return for ex-Leicester skipper Max Fricke as King’s Lynn visit the Hydroscand Arena on Thursday May 14, whilst the traditional Ipswich/King’s Lynn Bank Holiday encounter at Foxhall takes place on Monday May 4.

Belle Vue and Sheffield also race Bank Holiday doubles in both May and August, whilst the opening league match at Northampton is on Thursday May 21 when they face Leicester.

See the full list of 2026 British Speedway Fixtures >>HERE<<

The Clubs Fixture lists are below:

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The Witches have been acquired by Mayfield, parent company of the FIM Speedway World Championships, and the new management team, led by co-promoters Richard Coleman and Andrew Chisholm and team manager Paul Hurry, have assembled a team packed with strength in depth as they bid to build on the club’s 2025 title triumph – their first league championship success since 1998.

Fans in Suffolk welcome home one of Foxhall’s favourite sons as record seven-time British champion Scott Nicholls returns to the Witches one-to-seven for the first time since 2010 in what the 47-year-old admits may be his final season in the sport after over three decades on the bike.

Skipper Danny King, double FIM Speedway of Nations world champion Tom Brennan and Essex-based rising star Jason Edwards all return from Ipswich’s 2025 Rowe Motor Oil Premiership title-winning side.

They are joined by 2019 Ipswich star Richard Lawson and Polish racer Tobiasz Musielak, with Swedish sensation Philip Hellstrom-Bangs making his British league debut as he joins Edwards in a promising reserve duo.

Nicholls is excited to be back at the club where he rose to stardom, playing a starring role in their unforgettable 1998 Elite League treble-winning season alongside the likes of speedway legends Tony Rickardsson, Tomasz Gollob and Chris Louis.

He said: “I haven’t raced for them since 2010, and I didn’t realise it was that long ago actually. But it was the place where I grew up and watched the sport and all my heroes as a kid.

“I haven’t set anything in stone – I am not that type of person – but I have tentatively said that this will be my last season, so it all fits right really.

“After a number of guest appearances over the years, going back as a fully-fledged Witch will be good. It was where my career really started and I had my testimonial. Who knows? Maybe I will have my farewell meeting there, which would be pretty cool.

“Mayfield is taking over. Richard and Andrew seem like really nice people, and they will put their spin on the club. In some ways, it will be like going back to an old house that you lived in, but after it has been redecorated.

“I dare say there will be some new faces involved, but there will still be a lot of familiar faces there too. I know the track, I know the people, and I spent a big chunk of my life there. I lived in Ipswich up until I was in my 30s. I can’t wait to be back and see everyone again.”

Hellstrom-Bangs is excited for his British debut season as the former Swedish Under-21 champion, SON2 silver medallist and SGP2 star bids to take the next step in his promising career.

He said: “I am really looking forward to it. I have been looking for a UK club and when Ipswich called me, I was really glad.

“They made me an offer and we have been talking a lot. It seemed like a good deal, and I can’t wait to come to the UK and race. I think the Ipswich track will fit me pretty well. It’s small and tricky, but I like grippy tracks, as everybody knows. I’m a good outside rider.

“I would like to score the points for the team and be a good rider that everyone can believe in. I want to show the fans what I can do, and how good I am. I want to give them everything they are expecting and be the crazy rider that I am on the dirt line.”

New Ipswich co-promoter Coleman is pleased with a new-look Witches side, assembled amid Mayfield’s takeover talks in recent months. He said: “As I mentioned in my open letter to fans on Saturday, it’s almost impossible to replace Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov.

“But the side we have assembled for 2026 has plenty of strength in depth. We have riders who are vastly experienced as heat leaders in British speedway and a fantastic blend of youth and experience.

“Tom, Danny and Jason are all excited to be back after a fantastic season in 2025, and we are hugely grateful to them for hanging on for us, despite the uncertainty over the club’s plans for 2026 at the time. Their loyalty has given us the chance to build a side with real strength in depth.

“We are also excited to welcome our newcomers. Richard is in the form of his career and Tobiasz is a three-time Premiership winner. We are delighted to give Philip his chance to impress Britain. He displayed huge potential in SGP2 and SON2, the World Under-21 Championship events, and I’m sure his all-action style will make him a Foxhall favourite.

“It’s also a joy to welcome Scott back to Foxhall for the first time in 16 years. If this does prove to be his final season, it’s only fitting that he spends it at Ipswich. I’m sure he will be determined to go out on a high in his hometown.

“After a long winter of waiting for news about the club, we were keen to share news of the side that Andrew and Paul worked hard to assemble in the weeks and months while we concluded Mayfield’s acquisition of the club.

“This was at a time when the other four teams in the league had pretty much already built their teams. Despite that, I feel we have a well-balanced side, and I really hope fans will get behind the Witches class of 2026.”

Words and Image by Ipswich Speedway

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Mayfield can today confirm that it has purchased the Suffolk side from Ipswich legend Chris Louis, who won league titles with the Witches as a rider in 1998 and again as a promoter in 2025.

With Louis opting to sell the Witches following one of the greatest seasons in the club’s history, Mayfield looked at the opportunity to purchase the club late last year.

The acquisition comes just months after the Silverstone-based company took over as global promoter of the FIM Speedway World Championships.

Coleman is joined on the Ipswich management team by co-promoter and general manager Andrew Chisholm, who was responsible for the project when Mayfield served as an award-winning local organiser of the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff on behalf of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports in 2023 and 2024. Chisholm has won multiple championships in other motorsport disciplines working alongside Coleman.

Former Ipswich rider and European Grasstrack champion Paul Hurry – a member of the Autocycle Union (ACU) Track Racing Commission – will serve as the club’s new team manager, replacing title-winning boss Ritchie Hawkins.

As a company steeped in motorsport heritage, Mayfield is excited to step up their involvement in speedway in the UK .

Coleman said: “We believe deeply in the sport of speedway. At its core, it is a fantastic product – fast, intense and perfectly suited to modern attention spans – but it has not always been promoted or presented in the way it deserves. 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.

“For various reasons, I have not been able to speak publicly while we worked hard behind the scenes to secure the club’s future. 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.

“I want to thank the supporters for their patience during a period of uncertainty. They deserved clarity sooner, and I would have preferred to communicate earlier, but that was not possible while negotiations were ongoing. Their loyalty has not gone unnoticed, and we are determined to repay that faith by building a stable, ambitious future for Ipswich Speedway.”

The full Rowe Motor Oil Premiership fixture list and details about season tickets will be released very soon. The club’s press and practice day will take place on March 26, with more information to follow in due course.

Words and Feature Image by Ipswich Speedway

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