New Ipswich Tru7 Group Witches team manager Paul Hurry told rising star Jason Edwards “you are better than you realise” before he raced to a match-winning nine points against arch-rivals King’s Lynn on Thursday.
Witches opened their 2026 season by triumphing 50-40 over the Stars in the Premiership Knockout Cup (Southern Section) at Foxhall on Thursday, with returning 2019 Ipswich star Richard Lawson leading the way on 10 paid 11, while skipper Danny King starred on nine paid 11 points.
But it was Billericay-born racer Edwards who stole the show with three vital victories, including one over former Speedway GP star Jan Kvech, on his way to nine from five races, and it could have been more for Edwards as he battled over point-scoring positions in his other two races.
Hurry is impressed with the Essex star, who was part of Witches’ 2025 Premiership title-winning side, and always believed there was more to come from Witches’ No.7.
He said: “I had a chat with him beforehand. I have watched a couple of the meetings he has done already this season, and I told him, ‘You are better than you realise.’
“He was getting in positions a week or so ago, where he made the start, and he was sort of a bit tentative. I told him, ‘You are more than capable of beating these top riders.’ He showed that.”
The meeting marked the first event promoted by new Witches owners Mayfield, led by promoters Richard Coleman and Andrew Chisholm. Hurry also made his debut as a team manager on the day he celebrated his 51st birthday.
He admitted: “I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s all new for me, and all new for Richard and Andrew. It was a good night.
“The track wasn’t ideal because a few dark clouds came over beforehand. They held off on the watering a bit.
“Hopefully next time we are here, the track might suit the boys a little bit more and they’ll all be dialled in. But the night was great. I enjoyed it. It’s a bit of a learning curve for me, and I am just looking forward to the rest of the season.”
The meeting also saw Polish newcomer Tobiasz Musielak impress on eight points, with Tom Brennan scoring six paid eight on his debut at No.1.
Swedish star Philip Hellstrom-Bangs notched five paid seven on his first-ever British league appearance, while Ipswich legend Scott Nicholls registered three paid four on a night hampered by mechanical problems.
Next up for the Witches is the return leg against the Stars at their Adrian Flux Arena on Monday. Hurry is expecting very different conditions, but he’s backing his Witches stars to adapt.
He said: “Monday at King’s Lynn is going to be a lot grippier than we had it on Thursday, so we’ll see how the riders perform with grip.
“If you look at them, quite a few are former junior grasstrack riders. They can deal with any conditions really. Jason is a brilliant motorcyclist on speedway, grasstrack, motocross and trials. Danny grew up on grasstrack, so he is used to grip. Richard is a really good motocross rider and Tobiasz doesn’t mind the dirt. You get a lot of it in Poland. Philip likes a grippy track, and you can’t get more experienced than Scott Nicholls.”
King’s Lynn team manager Rob Lyon saw his side fall 18-6 down after four races, but was pleased to see the Stars fight their way back into the meeting ahead of Monday’s return leg.
He said: “The first four heats were a bit of a shellshock, but the boys made a lot of changes and got into the meeting, and we contained Ipswich from that point on really.
“We were a little unlucky with Jan having his engine problem in heat 13, which would have reduced it even further to six points – but 10 is not insurmountable, and we’re good enough to get the aggregate point on Monday.
“Obviously it’s a big learning curve for the younger boys, and in Cooper’s (Rushen) case, it was his first taste of Premiership action, but there were some good points overall and it’s work in progress.
“Ipswich deserved to win, they were the more solid outfit, which is what they’re built as, and we had too many last places. But we move on – and given the start, I was relatively pleased with the way the boys performed.”
RIDER SCORES
IPSWICH TRU7 GROUP WITCHES 50: 1 Tom Brennan 6+2, 2 Danny King 9+2, 3 Tobiasz Musielak 8, 4 Scott Nicholls 3+1, 5 Richard Lawson 10+1, 6 Philip Hellstrom-Bangs 5+2, 7 Jason Edwards 9.
KING’S LYNN PSH ENVIRONMENTAL STARS 40: 1 Max Fricke 16, 2 Ben Cook 4+2, 3 Chris Harris 9+2, 4 Paco Castagna 3, 5 Jan Kvech 6, 6 Cooper Rushen 1, 7 Jody Scott 1.