LEICESTER will welcome back No.1 Ryan Douglas as a World Champion when they host Ipswich in a vital ROWE Motor Oil Premiership fixture on Bank Holiday Monday (7.30pm).
Douglas played a key role for Australia in their Speedway World Cup triumph in Warsaw on Saturday, scoring ten points from five rides as they finished eight points clear of Denmark with defending champions Poland third.
It continued a stunning rise for the Watling JCB Lions’ top rider, who has enjoyed another terrific season in the UK and has firmly established himself as one of the league’s big guns.
Douglas said: “It’s a great feeling. This is unbelievable. I just treated it like any other meeting. I have probably raced most of these riders in some sort of league.
“When you look around the stadium and see a crowd like that, racing in a place like this is on another level. But at the same time, it is just four blokes at the tapes, and I have just as good a chance as anyone.”
Monday sees Douglas return to league business with the Lions on the brink of confirming their place in the play-offs – and they could do it with a win over the Witches.
Fifth-placed King’s Lynn have a maximum available points total of 25 with the Lions currently on 23, meaning a win and the aggregate point against Ipswich would be enough. The aggregate margin is ten points after Ipswich’s 50-40 win in the reverse fixture.
Former Witches rider Jordan Jenkins steps in to guest at No.6 for the Lions in place of Kyle Howarth, whilst Ipswich are without the injured Scott Nicholls and have called up Nicolai Klindt to guest.
The Witches have only won one away match this season but they track a solid septet and in Polish racer Tobiasz Musielak they have one of the best visitors to the Hydroscand Arena this season.
Leicester manager Stewart Dickson said: “We were missing riders at Ipswich so to go down there by ten points was an okay result, although it was a little disappointing as we had been in front early on.
“But I’ve always said the most important thing is that we keep winning at home, and it would be nice to complete an unbeaten record this season although we still have three tough matches to come.
“The riders are dialled in and comfortable around Leicester, as we saw against Sheffield last time we raced at home.
“We still have some work to do to make sure we’re in the play-offs, and we’d like to get that wrapped up as soon possible and then finish as high as we can.”
Lions fans unable to make the Hydroscand Arena on Monday should note the meeting will be live streamed on Lions TV, which is available from: https://www.leicesterlionstv.com/ .
Additionally, the club will be staging their annual collection for the Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund on Monday, and will be joined by Carl Stonehewer who is preparing to undertake the Skinflint Rally next month in support of the fund.
LEICESTER: Ryan Douglas, Drew Kemp, Sam Masters, Dan Thompson, Nick Morris, Jordan Jenkins, Joe Thompson.
IPSWICH: Richard Lawson, Nicolai Klindt, Danny King, Tom Brennan, Tobiasz Musielak, Kevin Juhl Pedersen, Jason Edwards.
