1998 Premier League speedway season

Last updated

1998 Premier League speedway season
League Premier League
Champions Peterborough Panthers
Knockout Cup Reading Racers
Young Shield Isle of Wight Islanders
Individual Glenn Cunningham
Pairs Peterborough Panthers
Fours Peterborough Panthers
Highest average Nicki Pedersen
Division/s above 1998 Elite League
Division/s below 1998 Conference League

The 1998 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).

Contents

Season summary

The League consisted of 13 teams for the 1998 season with the following the closure of the Long Eaton Invaders and the decision of the Oxford Cheetahs to compete in the Elite League. The addition of the Peterborough Panthers who dropped down from the Elite League limited the reduction in numbers.

The League was run on a standard format with no play-offs and was won by Peterborough. [1]

Fixtures & results

Home \ Away AE BER ED EX GLA HV IOW ND NW PET RR SHE STO
Arena Essex Hammers 50–4046–4444–4646–4347–4345–4545–4543–4750–4040–4956–3455–34
Berwick Bandits 46–4347–4339–5144–4643–4637–5345–4552–3848–4241–4944–4648–42
Edinburgh Monarchs 49–4139–5153–3556–3456–3354–3649–4161–2943–4745–4447–4350–40
Exeter Falcons 49–4066–2462–2855–3553–3751–3962–2860–3050–4049–4161–2957–33
Glasgow Tigers 62–2848–4146–4456–3452–3848–4248–4147–4337–4648–4256–3451–38
Hull Vikings 53–3756–3453–3756–3449–4154–3649–4147–4349–4145–4352–3755–35
Isle of Wight Islanders 59–3055–3552–3755–3549–4143–4757–3237–5345–4552–3847–4350–39
Newcastle Diamonds 53–3742–4747–4355–3546–4445–4451–3945–4547–4240–5039–4849–40
Newport Wasps 43–4661–2850–4045–4553–3754–3649–3538–5145–4552–3856–3348–41
Peterborough Panthers 58–3260–3056–3462–2847–4351–3955–3558–3268–2254–3650–3961–29
Reading Racers 47–2553–3752–3859–3152–3839–3349–4147–4353–3749–4154–3555–35
Sheffield Tigers 62–2850–4052–3856–3457–3356–3440–5055–3551–3841–4946–4454–36
Stoke Potters 48.5–41.549–4140–5039–5139–5139–5047–4342–4842–4842–4843–4743–47
Source: [2]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final table

PosMWDLFAPtsBonTot
1 Peterborough Panthers 2416261206945341246
2 Reading Racers 2416081130989321042
3 Exeter Falcons 2414191134102331738
4 Hull Vikings 2415091098103730636
5 Sheffield Tigers 24130111088106426733
6 Isle of Wight Islanders 24112111095105524832
7 Glasgow Tigers 24130111085106526632
8 Newport Wasps 24113101067108125732
9 Edinburgh Monarchs 24110131078107722729
10 Newcastle Diamonds 24103111041110923326
11 Arena Essex Hammers 248214995113918220
12 Berwick Bandits 247117982117315217
13 Stoke Potters 2430219561198617

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 1998 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 31st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Reading Racers were the winners of the competition. [3] [4] [5]

Northern Group

PosTeamPlayedWDLPts
1 Berwick Bandits 1171315
2 Sheffield Tigers 1271415
3 Glasgow Tigers 1271415
4 Edinburgh Monarchs 1151511
5 Newcastle Diamonds 93248
6 Hull Vikings 124088
7 Stoke Potters 83066

Southern Group

PosTeamPlayedWDLPts
1 Peterborough Panthers 1070314
2 Reading Racers 1051411
3 Arena Essex Hammers 1050510
4 Exeter Falcons 1042410
5 Isle of Wight Islanders 103349
6 Newport Wasps 102084

Semi-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
20/07Reading56-34Sheffield
16/07Sheffield45-45Reading
14/08Peterborough56-34Berwick
22/08Berwick42-48Peterborough

Final

First leg

Peterborough Panthers
Philippe Bergé 10
Simon Stead 9
David Howe 8
Glenn Cunningham 5
Nigel Sadler 5
Brett Woodifield 4
Oliver Allen 3
44 – 46 Reading Racers
Lee Richardson 14
Petri Kokko 12
Paul Clews 7
Dave Mullett 5
Jusin Elkins 5
Phil Morris 2
Krister Marsh 1
[6]

Second leg

Reading Racers
Lee Richardson 18
Dave Mullett 10
Petri Kokko 10
Krister Marsh 8
Paul Clews 7
Jusin Elkins 4
Phil Morris R/R
57 – 33 Peterborough Panthers
Leigh Lanham (guest) 11
Brett Woodifield 9
Philippe Bergé 5
Nigel Sadler 5
Ross Brady 3
Oliver Allen 0
David Howe 0
[6]

Reading were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 103–77.

Riders' Championship

Glenn Cunningham won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 13 September at Owlerton Stadium. [7]

Pos.RiderPtsTotalSFFinal
1 Flag of England.svg Glenn Cunningham 2 2 3 3 313-3
2 Flag of England.svg Carl Stonehewer 3 3 2 1 31222
3 Flag of England.svg Peter Carr 3 3 2 3 314-1
4 Flag of Denmark.svg Nicki Pedersen 2 2 3 2 21230
5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Craig Watson 1 3 2 2 2111
6 Flag of England.svg Leigh Lanham 0 3 0 3 3100
7 Flag of England.svg Paul Bentley 1 0 3 2 29
8 Flag of England.svg Paul Pickering 1 1 2 3 08
9 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Frank Smart 2 1 1 1 27
10 Flag of England.svg Scott Smith 0 2 3 0 17
11 Flag of England.svg Lee Richardson 3 2 1 0 r6
12 Flag of England.svg David Walsh 0 0 1 2 16
13 Flag of England.svg Paul Thorp 3 r3
14 Flag of England.svg Martin Dixon 2 0 1 03
15 Flag of England.svg Steve Masters 1 1 0 t 13
16 Flag of England.svg Derrol Keats 0 0 1 1 13
17 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mick Powell 0 11

Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Hayley Stadium on 26 July. The event was won by Peterborough Panthers. [8] [9]

Semi finals

Final

Fours

Peterborough Panthers won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 30 August 1998, at the East of England Arena. [10]

Final
PosTeamPtsRiders
1Peterborough24Cunningham 8, Berge 6 Woodifield 5 Sadler 5
2Hull19Thorp 7, Grahame 5, Bentley 4, Dicken 3,
3Edinburgh19Carr P 8, McKinna 6, Little 4, Andersson 1
4Reading10Richardson 4, Kokko 4, Clews 2, Elkins 0, Mullett 0

Leading averages

RiderTeamAverage
Flag of Denmark.svg Nicki Pedersen Newcastle9.97
Flag of England.svg Carl Stonehewer Sheffield9.93
Flag of England.svg Lee Richardson Reading9.60
Flag of England.svg Paul Thorp Hull9.56
Flag of England.svg Glenn Cunningham Peterborough9.55
Flag of England.svg Dave Mullett Reading9.48
Flag of Finland.svg Petri Kokko Reading9.36
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mick Powell Glasgow9.32
Flag of Denmark.svg Jan Andersen Peterborough9.29
Flag of England.svg Peter Carr Edinburgh9.26

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Berwick

Edinburgh

Exeter

Glasgow

Hull

Isle of Wight

Newcastle

Newport

Peterborough

Reading

Sheffield

Stoke

See also

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References

  1. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  2. "1998 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  3. "1998 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  4. "Racers on verge of cup triumph" . Reading Evening Post. 21 September 1998. Retrieved 1 October 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Super Racers are the KO Cup Winners" . Reading Evening Post. 22 September 1998. Retrieved 1 October 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. 1 2 "1998 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  7. "Stonehewer second best" . Nottingham Evening Post. 14 September 1998. Retrieved 24 June 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "1998 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  9. "Speedway" . Birmingham Daily Post. 27 July 1998. Retrieved 27 May 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Last heat fury" . Hull Daily Mail. 31 August 1998. Retrieved 24 June 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.