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2003 Premier League speedway season

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2003 Premier League speedway season
LeaguePremier League
ChampionsEdinburgh Monarchs
Knockout CupIsle of Wight Islanders
IndividualSean Wilson
PairsWorkington Comets
FoursSwindon Robins
Highest averageFrede Schött
Division/s above2003 Elite League
Division/s below2003 Conference League

The 2003 Premier League speedway season was the second division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).[1]

The 2003 Berwick Bandits team

Season summary

[edit]

The League consisted of 18 teams for the 2003 season with the addition of the King's Lynn Stars who dropped down from the Elite League.

The League was run on a standard format with no play-offs and was won by Edinburgh Monarchs.[2][3]

Fixtures & results

[edit]
Home \ Away AE BER ED EX GLA HV IOW KL ND NW RR RYE SHE SOM STO SWI TT WOR
Arena Essex Hammers 46–44 45–48 63–27 49–23 53–36 49–42 55–35 52–38 65–24 56–34 53–37 53–36 56–34 60–30 51–42 54–36 52–38
Berwick Bandits 53–37 49–41 51–17 55–35 53–37 52–39 46–44 63–27 48–41 53–37 67–23 37–53 58–32 58–32 47–43 48–42 51–39
Edinburgh Monarchs 40–32 60–30 63–27 56–34 57–33 53–36 52–38 48–42 49–40 60–30 55–34 62–28 55–35 55–35 48–42 49–44 48–42
Exeter Falcons 46–44 44–46 55–35 44–46 58–32 48–42 59–31 53–37 48–42 57–33 62–27 44–46 55–35 44–46 49–41 53–37 59–30
Glasgow Tigers 48–42 47–42 37–55 60–30 51–39 47–43 43–35 61–28 52–38 59–31 47–43 47–42 55–35 50–40 46–44 46–44 34–38
Hull Vikings 50–40 40–50 42–48 50–39 45–45 44–46 50–40 42–48 41–48 56–34 49–41 47–43 44–46 49–41 48–42 40–50 44–46
Isle of Wight Islanders 44–47 47–43 48–42 54–35 54–36 59–30 52–40 51–39 45–44 50–40 61–29 49–42 54–36 54–35 50–40 53–40 55–35
King's Lynn Stars 48–42 60–30 52–37 65–25 59–31 58–32 58–32 49–41 57–32 49–41 48–42 46–44 59–31 52–37 44–46 54–38 58–32
Newcastle Diamonds 52–38 48–42 43–47 57–33 53–37 53–37 54–36 43–47 57–33 46–44 50–40 48–41 52–38 43–29 53–37 52–38 44–46
Newport Wasps 47–42 44–46 50–40 61–29 45–44 48–42 43–47 52–38 50–40 49–41 51–39 50–40 50–39 48–41 40–50 48–42 49–41
Reading Racers 46–44 41–49 40–50 49–41 45–45 50–40 44–46 44–44 40–49 40–50 48–42 47–42 54–36 47–43 42–48 42–48 47–43
Rye House Rockets 48–42 62–27 43–47 55–35 49–39 47–43 50–40 49–41 49–41 45–45 48–42 44–46 57–33 35–54 44.5–45.5 52–38 50–40
Sheffield Tigers 49–41 55–36 58–32 51–39 52–38 58–32 47–42 57–33 61–29 57–33 58–32 56–34 64–26 55–35 54–36 55–34 49–40
Somerset Rebels 42–48 45–45 44–46 48–42 46–44 52–38 37–53 38–52 47–43 44–46 46–45 50–40 37–53 58–32 42–48 46–44 46–46
Stoke Potters 44–48 53–37 44–46 55–35 44–46 60–32 43–47 46–44 43–47 46–44 44–46 57–32 42–48 55–35 46–44 42–49 45–45
Swindon Robins 49–41 57–26 51–39 48–36 49–41 56–34 43–47 52–37 50–42 45–45 51–39 49–41 50–40 60–30 55–35 48–42 52–37
Trelawny Tigers 55–35 53–37 44–46 62–28 59–31 53–37 48–42 44–46 47–46 47–43 51–39 60.5–29.5 57–33 52–38 55–34 48–42 52–38
Workington Comets 56–34 46–44 46–44 50–39 56–34 50–40 50–43 53–37 49–40 59–31 56–34 54–36 45–44 60–30 54–35 47–43 44–46
Source: [4]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final table

[edit]
Pos M W D L F A Pts Bon Tot
1 Edinburgh Monarchs 34 26 0 8 1653 1393 52 14 66
2 Sheffield Tigers 34 22 0 12 1655 1397 44 13 57
3 Isle of Wight Islanders 34 22 0 12 1603 1463 44 12 56
4 Swindon Robins 34 20 1 13 1598.5 1451.5 41 12 53
5 Berwick Bandits 34 20 1 13 1563 1465 41 12 53
6 King's Lynn Stars 34 19 1 14 1598 1448 39 13 52
7 Arena Essex Hammers 34 19 0 15 1609 1421 38 12 50
8 Trelawny Tigers 34 19 0 15 1599.5 1470.5 38 12 50
9 Workington Comets 34 19 2 13 1551 1489 40 9 49
10 Newport Wasps 34 17 2 15 1504 1546 36 8 44
11 Newcastle Diamonds 34 17 0 17 1525 1518 34 9 43
12 Glasgow Tigers 34 17 2 15 1479 1529 36 7 43
13 Exeter Falcons 34 13 0 21 1435 1592 26 5 31
14 Rye House Rockets 34 12 1 21 1441 1612 25 5 30
15 Stoke Potters 34 10 1 23 1443 1597 21 3 24
16 Reading Racers 34 9 2 23 1404 1653 20 2 22
17 Somerset Rebels 34 9 2 23 1357 1705 20 2 22
18 Hull Vikings 34 8 1 25 1395 1663 17 2 19

Premier League Knockout Cup

[edit]

The 2003 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 36th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Isle of Wight Islanders were the winners of the competition.[5]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
11/04 Somerset 43-49 Newport
06/04 Newport 61-35 Somerset
09/04 King's Lynn 52-43 Workington
22/03 Workington 46-43 King's Lynn

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
05/05 Reading 51-45 Trelawny
13/05 Trelawny 65-30 Reading
13/05 Isle of Wight 54-38 Swindon
15/05 Swindon 49-51 Isle of Wight
12/05 Exeter 50-43 Newport
11/05 Newport 47-43 Exeter
10/05 Berwick 52-36 Glasgow
11/05 Glasgow 42-42 Berwick
15/05 Sheffield 56-43 Hull
14/05 Hull 48-41 Sheffield
28/05 King's Lynn 62-34 Edinburgh
16/05 Edinburgh 59-37 King's Lynn
18/04 Arena Essex 44-46 Rye House
19/04 Rye House 44-46 Arena Essex
11/05 Newcastle 50-40 Stoke
10/05 Stoke 51-44 Newcastle
23/05
replay
Arena Essex 55-40 Rye House
26/05
replay
Rye House 44-46 Arena Essex

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
24/06 Isle of Wight 61 34 Exeter
23/06 Exeter 53 42 Isle of Wight
24/06 Trelawny 61 34 Berwick
21/06 Berwick 55 42 Trelawny
26/06 Sheffield 50 48 King's Lynn
02/07 King's Lynn 48 49 Sheffield
27/06 Arena Essex 55 41 Newcastle
22/06 Newcastle 49 41 Arena Essex

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
26/08 Isle of Wight 63-27 Trelawny
12/08 Trelawny 53-37 Isle of Wight
04/09 Sheffield 51-39 Arena Essex
29/08 Arena Essex 50-40 Sheffield

Final

[edit]
Date Team one Score Team two
07/10 49-44 Sheffield
16/10 Sheffield 47-46 Isle of Wight

Final

[edit]

First leg

Isle of Wight Islanders
Adam Shields 12
49 – 44Sheffield Tigers
Brent Werner 12
[6]

Second leg

Sheffield Tigers
James Birkinshaw 11
Andrew Moore 9
Richard Hall 8
Ricky Ashworth 8
Sean Wilson 7
Brent Werner 4
Ross Brady R/R
47 – 46Isle of Wight Islanders
Adam Shields 17
Paul Pickering (guest) 12
Danny Bird 6
Sebastian Trésarrieu 5
Glen Phillips 4
Stephane Trésarrieu 2
Gary Phelps 0
[6][7]

Isle of Wight were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 95–91.

Riders' Championship

[edit]

Sean Wilson won the Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held on 28 September at Owlerton Stadium.[8]

Pos. Rider Pts Total SF Final
1 England Sean Wilson 3 2 3 3 1 12 3 3
2 Australia Adam Shields 3 3 3 2 3 14 - 2
3 England Carl Stonehewer 3 3 3 3 3 15 - 1
4 Australia Craig Watson 2 3 2 2 2 11 2 0
5 England Garry Stead 2 0 2 3 2 9 1
6 England Chris Harris ex 2 3 1 3 9 0
7 Australia Shane Parker 3 0 0 3 2 8
8 Denmark Kenneth Bjerre 1 3 0 2 1 7
9 Denmark Frede Schött 2 2 1 1 1 7
10 Finland Joonas Kylmäkorpi 1 1 1 0 3 6
11 Czech Republic Michal Makovský 1 2 2 0 1 6
12 England Paul Fry ex 1 1 1 2 5
13 England Andrew Appleton 1 1 2 1 0 5
14 Australia Mark Lemon 2 1 0 ex 0 3
15 Denmark Jan Staechmann 0 ex 1 2 0 3
16 Scotland James Grieves 0 0 0 0 0 0
  • f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

Pairs

[edit]

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Derwent Park on 19 July. The event was won by Workington (Carl Stonehewer and Simon Stead) who beat Newport (Frank Smart and Niels Kristian Iversen) in the final.[9]

Fours

[edit]

Swindon Robins won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 27 July 2003, at the Abbey Stadium.[10][11]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1 Swindon 25 Gjedde 9, Allen, Fry, Neath
2 Trelawny 22 Harris 8, Zagar 8
3 Newport 21 Smart 6, Iversen 6, Watson, Atkin
4 Glasgow 4 Stancl2, Doolan 2

Leading averages

[edit]
Rider Team Average
Denmark Frede Schött Edinburgh 10.11
Australia Adam Shields Isle of Wight 9.99
Denmark Kenneth Bjerre Newcastle 9.80
Finland Joonas Kylmäkorpi Arena Essex 9.69
England Carl Stonehewer Workington 9.68
England Leigh Lanham Arena Essex 9.67
Denmark Charlie Gjedde Swindon 9.60
Australia Shane Parker Kings Lynn 9.59
England Sean Wilson Sheffield 9.48
England Simon Stead Workington 9.47

Riders & final averages

[edit]

Arena Essex

Berwick

Edinburgh

Exeter

Glasgow

Hull

Isle of Wight

King's Lynn

Newcastle

Newport

Reading

Rye House

Sheffield

Somerset

Stoke

Swindon

Trelawny

Workington

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2003 tables". Speedway GB.
  2. ^ "Final tables". Speedway archive.
  3. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT)". Official British Speedway website. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  4. ^ "2003 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  5. ^ "2003 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  6. ^ a b "2003 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Sheffield Match reports". Sheffield Speedway. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Wilson walks off with PLRC". Crash.net. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  9. ^ "2003 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  10. ^ "2003 season fixtures and results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Speedway: Diamonds hit by Little problem ahead of clash". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 7 July 2023.