FOXHALL has tended to be a decent hunting ground for the Buildbase Bees in recent years and, under current circumstances, a point from this meeting was an acceptable outcome.
Ipswich have improved greatly around their home circuit compared to the early weeks of the season, but they were never allowed to dominate this meeting as Bees refused to fall away despite trailing for the majority of proceedings.
That said, an away win always looked a rather unlikely prospect especially with Tobias Kroner in stunning form for the Witches - but there were plenty of good showings on the Coventry team too, even if they are still striving for ultimate consistency.
The point was secured by Chris Harris's second place in Heat 15, splitting Jarek Hampel and Kroner, but it had been set up by a sensational effort by Edward Kennett in Heat 14 to pull off two overtakes in one race in a meeting where few other riders managed to even threaten just one.
In fact, the conditions would have been tailor-made for the fast-gating of Olly Allen, whose rider replacement rides collected only four points whereas Allen himself would surely have been good for double that on a track where he usually goes well.
Bees dropped a 4-2 in the first race although Ricky Wells charged hard to try to make a passing move on Leigh Lanham - but they took an early lead thanks to a surprise 5-1 in Heat 2, with good riding from both reserves.
Late call-up Klaus Jakobsen had no Foxhall experience whatsoever to call upon, but that didn't affect him as he gated smartly, team-mate Filip Sitera held the line on the first two bends, and from then on the Bees duo were never seriously threatened.
However, the Witches hit straight back with maximum points of their own in Heat 3 with Kennett unable to make an impact from gate 4, and that margin was maintained in Heat 4 despite another promising start from Sitera, who was quickly dropped to the back before the third bend by Carl Wilkinson and Piotr Swiderski - as up-front, Rory Schlein dominated from start to finish.
Heat 5 brought a second 5-1 from the combination of Kroner and Daniel King, although this was somewhat unfortunate for the Bees as Wells had made a good start and held second place, only for Harris to crash into the fence on turn four as he attempted to come through from the back. The re-run was Kroner and King from the gate as the Witches went six points up.
Schlein rode well to hold Hampel at bay in Heat 6, and this was followed by another unexpected Bees 5-1 in Heat 7, once again involving Sitera who neatly clamped Swiderski off turn two and then held his position behind Kennett to reduce the Ipswich lead to two points.
Wells fell midway through Heat 8 but quickly cleared the track, which was important as Sitera had again made a good start to lead comfortably from Lanham and Wilkinson, but the Witches did extend their lead in Heat 9 as Kroner won the clash of the unbeaten riders, Schlein having to settle for second place ahead of King.
A determined effort by Kennett saw him take the win over Hampel in a shared Heat 10, but Ipswich were gradually easing themselves clear, and they moved back into a six point lead in Heat 11 although Swiderski had to defend resolutely from start to finish to hold a fired-up Harris at bay.
Another four-lap chase was to no avail in Heat 12 as Kroner got himself ahead of Kennett at the start, but Jakobsen's third place over Wilkinson kept Bees very much in the meeting. And they secured a much-needed result from Heat 13 as Harris got things together from the start to defeat Hampel, with Schlein repelling Swiderski's advances en route to third place.
But Heat 14 was the race which was worth waiting for, and initially it seemed set to be the one which would virtually confirm maximum points from the Witches as Dawid Stachyra made his first good start of the meeting and was joined by King as Kennett missed out.
However, the Bees rider chased hard and initially passed King on the second lap, only to be re-passed as he went wide. But Kennett switched back once again and took second place on lap three, before getting his head down and going after Stachyra - who he took via the narrowest of gaps around the outside on the run to the line.
That led to a decision as to who would take Heat 15, with Bees needing a 5-1 for a draw or to avoid a 5-1 to gain a point, and discussions between all three riders resulted in agreement that Harris and Schlein represented the best chance of making starts against Ipswich's best two gaters on the night.
As it turned out, the opportunity of a 5-1 was never really on from the moment Hampel hit the first turn ahead, but likewise the 5-1 reverse was never truly a threat even though Kroner managed to edge out Schlein around the third and fourth bends. Harris held second place to confirm a point from the meeting, which was the least Bees deserved for their efforts.