Ipswich Witches v King’s Lynn Stars

EMIL Sayfutdinov shattered the Foxhall track record as Ipswich made it five wins on the spin by overcoming King’s Lynn 51-39.

The flying Sayfutdinov clocked 55.0 in Heat 1, taking 0.4s off the previous mark set by Niels-Kristian Iversen.

But the Witches suffered a blow shortly after when Rising Star Dan Thompson was ruled out with a dislocated shoulder, reducing them to five riders on the night.

Sayfutdinov (13+1) and Jason Doyle (10) both saw their maximum hopes ended by Stars skipper Nicolai Klindt, who racked up 15 from seven rides, whilst Erik Riss continued his improvement for the Witches with 9+2 and Danyon Hume reached 10+1 from a full quota of outings.

Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “I am delighted with the effort shown by the five remaining riders and the seven mechanics that worked their socks off to keep the boys on track.

“It was an amazing effort in the pits by all twelve of them and I couldn’t have asked for more, I am delighted with them.

“The loss of Dan in Heat 2 was a massive blow to us with us already using rider replacement. It has been confirmed on x-ray that he has dislocated his shoulder. We will know more about the damage in the coming days.

“To pick up an injury when you are hitting the best form of your life is really disappointing for him. Hopefully it isn’t too severe, he is young, and I know he will work hard to make sure he recovers as quickly as he can. He will come back stronger.”