It’s well remembered that 2004 was statistically the Bees’ worst season as they finished adrift at the bottom of the Elite League having been severely impacted by the short-lived grading system brought in to determine team line-ups.
But it was also the case that many of the matches at Brandon were close, with a number of last-heat deciders.
The Ipswich match came up around a month after Peter Oakes had come into the club to share management duties with Colin Pratt.
At that stage, Bees had won just two of their opening eleven Elite League matches, and they then lost four of the next five including a shocking 21-71 annihilation at Oxford.
Against all the odds, they then defeated Poole 46-44 at Brandon with the first new signing, Tomasz Piszcz, making his debut.
The Witches were next up and enjoying a strong season, which had already included a 49-45 win at Coventry in early April.
The visitors included three future Coventry riders in Hans Andersen, Scott Nicholls and Danny King – the latter racing at reserve in his first Elite League season.
Bees welcomed back joint-skipper Billy Janniro after a month on the sidelines, and they were looking much stronger at reserve with the acquisition of Piszcz and the fact that 16-year-old Morten Risager had scored 15+1 against the Pirates.
A highly eventful meeting ensured – we hope you enjoy taking a look back with us.
BUILDBASE BEES: Andreas Jonsson, Jason Bunyan, Billy Janniro, Chris Harris, Stuart Robson, Tomasz Piszcz, Morten Risager. IPSWICH: Hans Andersen, Danny Bird, Jesper B Jensen, Chris Louis, Scott Nicholls, Danny King, Kim Jansson.
