There's no speedway action at Foxhall stadium tonight (Thursday) as Friday sees the return of the traditional Good Friday double header against fierce local rivals the Kings Lynn Knights.

With the Craven Shield action getting under way at Foxhall in the afternoon (2.30pm) and then switching to Saddlebow Road in the evening it will be a busy day for the two clubs.

No doubt a few scores are likely to be settled, both on and off the track, after the January defection which saw both co-promoter Mike Western and World Champion Tony Rickardsson switch allegiance to the Norfolk club.

It was the Witches decision to drop Rickardsson as they battled to rebuild their side to within the lowered points limit, and co promoter John Louis thought he had done a deal with Peterborough that was to have seen the Swede spend a year away from Foxhall on loan.

What followed was a series of events which rocked the speedway world in East Anglia and has resulted in a bitter war between the two clubs, with Western and Rickardsson forming a partnership with others across the border.

The net result is that Kings Lynn are set to pay the Witches a figure thought to be around £24,000 in a complicated deal which will see the Swede become a full time Lynn asset.

On a family day, there will be no admission charge at Foxhall for children under 15 who are accompanied by a paying adult and a number of additional attractions are planned, including sweet's for the children and face painting courtesy of the Ipswich Speedway Supporters Club.

Both sides are expected to be at full strength although Chris Louis has been in the wars again, breaking a toe on his right foot in an accident on Tuesday.

After their disappointing defeat at Wolverhampton on Monday, Witches fans will be looking for a quick return to form from their team, who previously had two comfortable home wins behind them.

In contrast Lynn have as yet to win a fixture after losing home and away challenge matches against Peterborough and a Craven Shield fixture at Eastbourne.

With Ipswich having another Craven Shield fixture on Saturday when they ride at Eastbourne the management will be hoping their riders are not too battle scarred after tomorrow.

The Sussex circuit has been reshaped during the winter and it will be another tough task for the Witches with the Eagles looking to avenge four home defeats by the all conquering Suffolk side last season.

IPSWICH: Chris Louis, Savalas Clouting, Toni Svab, Ben Howe, Tomasz Gollob, Jason Bunyan, Brett Woodifield.

KINGS LYNN: Tony Richardsson, Robbie Kessler, Bob Brhel, Tomas Topinka, Stefan Andersson, Martin Dixon, Darren Grayling.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.