DAN THOMPSON could be the key man in the battle of early ROWE Motor Oil Premiership pacesetters Leicester and Ipswich tonight.
The 20-year-old’s fine start to the season is reflected by his promotion into the Witches’ top five for the visit to a Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park track where he honed his skills.
Thompson, along with twin Joe who lines up for the Lions, has represented Leicester at all levels of domestic speedway even though his current fine form is in the colours of Ipswich and Plymouth in the Championship.
With the visitors operating rider-replacement, Thompson faces a busy night as all bar Emil Sayfutdinov is able to take the rides of skipper Danny King, missing after fracturing his hand in two places riding for Redcar last weekend.
In King’s absence Jason Doyle will captain the side and partner Thompson while Adam Ellis takes over the number five role and Jordan Jenkins drops to reserve for the month in a reshuffled Witches pack.
Witches boss Richie Hawkins is confident that Thompson will take promotion in his stride.
He said: “It’s great reward for him and shows the progress he has been making. If he carries on the way he is riding it won’t be too big a job either.”
Leicester boss Stewart Dickson reverts to his familiar riding order with Richard Lawson at two and Luke Becker partnering Sam Masters in the middle order after switching the pairings in recent outings.
They go into the clash on the back of a quick-fire double over Birmingham and a comfortable home victory against Belle Vue.
In contrast the Witches are looking to bounce back from their hammering at the hands of the Aces on a night when they were without both King and Jason Doyle, stranded in Poland by a late flight cancellation.
Sam Masters scored a paid maximum last time out for the Lions against Birmingham and the victory over Belle Vue came on the back of a 15-point haul from Max Fricke and Dickson will be looking to his Australians to set the tone again tonight.
Ipswich have already won at Leicester in 2024, a six-point season opening Knockout Cup clash on 1 April, and the teams shared the spoils last season.
Leicester: Max Fricke, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.
Ipswich: Emil Sayfutdinov, Danny King R/R, Jason Doyle, Dan Thompson, Adam Ellis, Keynan Rew, Jordan Jenkins.
Words by George Dodds.
Images by Taylor Lanning.