IPSWICH has tended to be one of the Buildbase Bees' happier hunting grounds in recent years - and this was an excellent way in which to start the new Elite League campaign.
Clearly the new scoring system will take some time to get used to as Bees went into a last-heat decider at Foxhall with the possibility of scoring two, three or four points from the meeting, but the away win in the record books was the right result.
Bees put in a solid all-round display in a meeting during which no rider from either side was able to dominate, fortunes swinging one way and then the other, especially during a crazy run of 5-1s during the early stages!
And again there were a number of encouraging signs, most notably the away-track scoring by the nominal lower-order with Jordan Frampton again showing the impressive way in which he has adapted to the top-flight.
It was also the first chance to see Ricky Wells at this level, and the youngster was very much on the pace despite giving away some distance at the starts - and his third place in Heat 2 was set to be achieved on merit even before Dawid Stachyra came to grief.
Bees went into that race having received the boost of a perfect start from Chris Harris and Ben Barker in the opener, leaving a surprisingly sluggish Jarek Hampel trailing in third place.
And the early stages of Heat 2 were somewhat frantic, with Frampton bundling his way inside Stachyra and Carl Wilkinson up the back straight, whilst Wells made his move on the outside one lap later - and as Stachyra tried to respond, the Pole went too wide and clipped the fence on the exit of turn four, falling awkwardly.
In the re-run, Frampton again got himself to the front but had to fight off a strong challenge from Wilkinson, and duly completed the four laps without an error of note.
It was a similar story in Heat 3 as Olly Allen made the start but found himself under increasing pressure from Daniel King, once the Witches skipper had overcome Edward Kennett. Allen, though, held his nerve, and Bees were into what appeared to be a commanding 13-5 lead.
However, the Witches fought back in dramatic style with no less than three straight 5-1s - first when Piotr Swiderski and Wilkinson out-trapped Rory Schlein and had the home fans delighted as they banked maximum points to halve their side's deficit.
The Heat 5 maximum was somewhat more fortunate as far as the home side were concerned, as the bulk of the race featured a strong chase from Harris on King, only for the Bees captain to lose control on the last bend and end his race in the air-fence as Tobias Kroner inherited second spot.
But in Heat 6, Hampel was electric from the start and Morten Risager made a notable move around the first two bends to move himself to the front. Hampel then sat sensibly in second place behind his team-mate, and for the second time there was no way through for Schlein.
If Bees' confidence had been dented by that treble setback, their response was impressive, first with the Allen/Kennett combination who got their first and second bends absolutely spot-on in Heat 7 to block out the threat of Swiderski and bring the scores back level.
And there was then plenty of determination on show from Barker in Heat 8 to manoeuvre himself around the outside of Wilkinson going into turn three, with Frampton comfortably holding Risager at bay to put Bees back in front.
A further 4-2 followed in Heat 9, this one of the more fortunate variety, because although Schlein's bike-switch helped him to a convincing win, the Witches would have taken a 3-3 but for Kroner's bike expiring on the third lap.
However, the point the Bees gained there was immediately lost in Heat 10 when Allen went too wide off the second bend and hit the fence, and the re-run saw Hampel race clear of Kennett with Risager taking the unchallenged third place.
Bees therefore held a two-point lead with five heats to go, and briefly Heat 11 looked like being a disaster as Harris was forced into a late switch of bikes and found himself outgated by Swiderski and Stachyra. Harris, though, bravely rounded Stachyra on the fourth bend, and next time around the Pole put himself into the air-fence as Barker moved in to challenge.
Swiderski rode a good first turn in the re-run to switch back on Harris, who had made the better start - but Heat 12 turned out to be a big one for the Bees, with the fast gating of Allen and Frampton taking them clear of Wilkinson and Kroner in the early stages, and giving their side a six-point lead to defend.
Heat 13 provided competitive action between all four riders throughout, with Hampel holding Harris at bay and Schlein just failing to get on terms with Swiderski, the 4-2 cutting the Coventry advantage back to four points.
With Frampton missing the gate in Heat 14, it was up to Kennett to protect that advantage, and he proved to be up to the job in one of the best races of the night as King shot down the inside on the back straight, only for Kennett to read the move and force his way back through as they went into the second lap.
That meant only a 5-1 to the home side in Heat 15 would prevent an away win, but Bees won the toss for gate positions and nominated Allen alongside Harris for his fast gating, and that proved to be important. Hampel hit the first bend in front but the Bees were second and third away, and although Swiderski moved inside Allen at the end of the first lap, Harris's second place never looked to be in serious danger and the Bees had the start they had been looking for.
And with the improvement that clearly remains in this young team, their positive start to the season has to suggest that an exciting year could well lie ahead.
IPSWICH 44 Jarek Hampel 1 2* 3 3 3 = 12+1 Morten Risager 0 3 0 1 = 4 Tobias Kroner 0 2* R 0 = 2+1 Daniel King 2 3 2 2 = 9 Piotr Swiderski 3 1 3 1 1 = 9 Dawid Stachyra X 0 X = 0 Carl Wilkinson 2 2* 2 1 1* = 8+2
BUILDBASE BEES 46 Chris Harris 3 F 2 2 2 = 9 Ben Barker 2* 1 3 1* = 7+2 Olly Allen 3 2* X 3 0 = 8+1 Edward Kennett 1 3 2 3 = 9 Rory Schlein 1 1 3 0 = 5 Jordan Frampton 3 0 1 2* 0 = 6+1 Ricky Wells 1 0 1 = 2
