2008 Premier League speedway season

Last updated

2008 Premier League speedway season
League Premier League
Champions Edinburgh Monarchs
Knockout Cup Somerset Rebels
Premier Trophy Edinburgh Monarchs
Young Shield Workington Comets
Individual Tai Woffinden
Pairs Workington Comets
Fours Workington Comets
Highest average Daniel Nermark
Division/s above 2008 Elite League
Division/s below 2008 Conference

The 2008 Premier League speedway season was the second division of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom and the 14th season since its creation in 1995. The league was governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).

Contents

Summary

The League consisted of 16 teams for the 2008 season with the addition of the 2007 Conference League champions the Scunthorpe Scorpions. New rules introduced for 2008 include three points for an away win compared to two points in 2007, and the removal of bonus points, in which a team was awarded an additional point for an aggregate win over a home and away match against another team. The team finishing at the top of the league table at the end of the season after accumulating the most points were declared the Premier League champions. The four highest placed teams were entered into promotion play-offs, whereby the Premier League play-off winner faced the Elite League relegation play-off final losers over two legs. [1] Teams finishing in fifth to twelfth at the time of the fixture cut-off date compete in the Young Shield. Newport Wasps withdrew from the league following the death of their promoter Tim Stone. [2]

The Edinburgh Monarchs were crowned the Premier League champions after ending the season as the highest placed team. [3] The Somerset Rebels finished second, King's Lynn Stars third and the Rye House Rockets fourth. All four teams took part in the promotion play-off with Edinburgh and King's Lynn reaching the final. Edinburgh won 93–90 on aggregate and faced Elite League team Wolverhampton Wolves, but lost the two-legged promotion/relegation final 106–76. [4]

Fixtures & results

Home \ Away BER BIR ED GLA IOW KL MT NEW RR RED RYE SCU SHE SOM STO WOR
Berwick Bandits 58–3445–4554–3946–4445–4572–1862–3161–3246–4460–3348–4252–4158–3552–4148–41
Birmingham Brummies 42–4840–5152–4052–3838–5461–3246–4440–4946–4542–4853–3746–4448–4446–4747.5–42.5
Edinburgh Monarchs 59–3352–2954–3967–2354–3969–2164–2949–4355–3747–4668–2256–3366–2454–3959–30
Glasgow Tigers 50–4340–5345–4751–4246–4755–3744–4660–3242–4852–4146–4444–4651–3956–3641–49
Isle of Wight Islanders 53–4051–4160–3251–4249–4165–2868–2258–3453–4051–4260–3254–3941–4956–3749–44
King's Lynn Stars 61–2966–2445–4561–3268–2372–1865–2759–3166–2762–3163–2859–3568–2567–2561–32
Mildenhall Fen Tigers 29–6136–5530–6035–5641–5223–6739–5342–5135–5827–6540–5327–6537–5534–5631–53
Newcastle Diamonds 47–4244–4640–4953–4248–4250–4268–2245–4442–4833–4146–4748–4147–4848–4242–48
Reading Racers 47–4648–4241–4851–4346–4445–4560–3360–3257–3547–4649–4460–3339–5354–4154–39
Redcar Bears 51–4146–4449–4155–3852–4143–4753–4059–3342–4850–4350–4054–3939–5451–4047–43
Rye House Rockets 57–3353–4048–4265–2766–2449–4166–2359–3454–3965–2654–3861–3265–2555–3752–40
Scunthorpe Scorpions 52–4149–4439–5354–3953–4046–4348–4256–3653–4052–4140–5343–4751–3946–4447–43
Sheffield Tigers 48–4240–4455–3663–2959–3348–4065–2755–3851–4245–4554–3652–3850–4052–3840–50
Somerset Rebels 58–3448–4548–4463–2967–2253–4072–1865–2562–3148–4266–2763–2960–3068–2257–36
Stoke Potters 55–3756–3636–5749–4353–4045–4554–3954–3851–4041–4854–3543–4758–3443–4536–59
Workington Comets 42–5151–4153–3959–3658–3245–4564–2861–3154–3649–4446–4454–3945–4546–4459–34
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final league table

Key:
Promotion Play-Offs
PosClubMHomeAwayFAPts
WDLWDL
1 Edinburgh Monarchs 3015007261562116153
2 Somerset Rebels 3015006091517122348
3 Kings Lynn Stars 3014104471624111145
4 Rye House Rockets 30150040111500123242
5 Workington Comets 30122150101435.51300.541
6 Berwick Bandits 30132030121428131637
7 Redcar Bears 30120341101369137437
8 Sheffield Tigers 30121231111381134535
9 Reading Racers 30121230121350140534
10 Scunthorpe Scorpions 30120330121309143433
11 Isle of Wight Islanders 30140110141359139031
12 Birmingham Brummies 3090640111317.51401.530
13 Stoke Potters 3091520131307144125
14 Newcastle Diamonds 3080720131220150122
15 Glasgow Tigers 3080710141297146919
16 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 300015001593218040

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2008 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 41st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Somerset Rebels were the winners of the competition. [6]

First round

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
11/04Scunthorpe44-48Sheffield
10/04Sheffield55-36Scunthorpe

Second round

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
23/04Birmingham43-47Glasgow
20/04Glasgow40-52Birmingham
24/04Redcar53-40Mildenhall
27/04Mildenhall40-50Redcar
13/05Isle of Wight54-38Sheffield
24/04Sheffield52-38Isle of Wight
25/04Edinburgh54-38Berwick
26/04Berwick42-51Edinburgh
25/04Somerset64-28Newcastle
27/04Newcastle39-39Somerset
26/04Rye House60-30Newport
07/05Kings Lynn55-38Reading
28/04Reading59-34King's Lynn
27/04Stoke42-50Workington
26/05Workington54-36Stoke

ns match not staged Rye House into next round Quarter-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
25/06Birmingham42-51Rye House
31/05Rye House62-30Birmingham
17/06Isle of Wight51-43Workington
07/06Workington53-38Isle of Wight
30/05Edinburgh55-38Redcar
29/05Redcar39-53Edinburgh
30/05Somerset53-39Reading
29/06Reading51-44Somerset

Semi-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
27/09Workington53-39Edinburgh
26/09Edinburgh49-41Workington
25/08Rye House50-43Somerset
22/08Somerset53-38Rye House

Final

First leg

Workington Comets
Jason Lyons (guest) 17
Joe Haines 9
Carl Stonehewer 8
John Branney 5
Charles Wright 3
Tony Reima 1
Kauko Nieminen R/R
43 – 46 Somerset Rebels
Emil Kramer 10
Jason Doyle 10
Stephan Katt 9
Jordan Frampton 9
Matthias Kröger 6
Brent Werner 2
Simon Walker R/R
[7] [8]

Second leg

Somerset Rebels
Jason Doyle 14
Emil Kramer 11
Brent Werner 10
Matthias Kröger 9
Jordan Frampton 7
Stephan Katt 1
Simon Walker R/R
52 – 41 Workington Comets
Jason Lyons (guest) 17
Joe Haines 8
Tony Reima 8
Charles Wright 4
Carl Stonehewer 3
John Branney 1
Kauko Nieminen R/R
[7] [9]

Somerset were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 98–84.

Riders' Championship

Tai Woffinden won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 21 September at Owlerton Stadium. [10]

Pos.RiderPtsTotalSFFinal
1 Flag of England.svg Tai Woffinden 2 1 3 3 312-3
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jason Doyle 1 3 2 2 31122
3 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Adrian Rymel 2 2 3 3 212-1
4 Flag of Finland.svg Kauko Nieminen 3 3 3 2 fex1130
5 Flag of England.svg Ben Barker 3 3 2 0 3111
6 Flag of England.svg Jason Bunyan 3 3 2 2 2120
7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Shane Parker 1 2 3 3 110
8 Flag of Denmark.svg Ulrich Østergaard 2 0 2 1 27
9 Flag of England.svg Jason King 1 1 1 2 16
10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Doolan 0 2 1 3 06
11 Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Karlsson 2 1 0 1 15
12 Flag of England.svg Andre Compton 3 1 fex 1 ef5
13 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jason Lyons tex 2 0 1 25
14 Flag of England.svg Gary Havelock 1 ef 1 0 13
15 Flag of Scotland.svg William Lawson 0 0 0 ef 33
16 Flag of England.svg Scott Richardson (res)1 1 02
17 Flag of England.svg Ben Taylor (res)0 00
18 Flag of Germany.svg Henning Loof ef ns ns ns ns0

Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Oaktree Arena on 27 June. The event was won by Workington Comets. [11] [12]

Semi finals

Final

Fours

Workington Comets won the Premier League Four-Team Championship for the fourth time, it was held on 26 July 2006, at Derwent Park. [13]

Final
PosTeamPtsRiders
1Workington20+3Nieminen 6+3, Stonehewer 6, Wright C 5, Haines 3
2King's Lynn20+2Topinka 9+2, Dolan 7, Tacey 2, Lambert 2
3Somerset19Doyle 7, Katt 5, Frampton 4, Werner 3
4Scunthorpe13Wilkinson 5, Hall 5, Bergstrom 3, Karlsson 0

Final leading averages

RiderTeamAverage
Flag of Sweden.svg Daniel Nermark Workington10.53
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Doolan Kings Lynn10.47
Flag of Denmark.svg Ulrich Østergaard Reading10.29
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jason Doyle Somerset10.28
Flag of England.svg Tai Woffinden Rye House10.15
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Adrian Rymel Berwick10.07
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Topinka Kings Lynn9.98
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jason Lyons Birmingham9.97
Flag of Finland.svg Kauko Nieminen Workington9.50
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Shane Parker Glasgow9.38

Riders & final averages

Berwick

Birmingham

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Isle of Wight

King's Lynn

Mildenhall

Newcastle

Newport (withdrew from league)

Reading

Redcar

Rye House

Scunthorpe

Sheffield

Somerset

Stoke

Workington

See also

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References

  1. "British Speedway 2008". British Speedway Promoters' Association. 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  2. "The rise se and fall of Newport's speedway team which used to draw crowds of thousands". Wales Online. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  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. "Wolves seal EL place". Sky Sports. 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  5. "2008 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  6. "2008 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  7. 1 2 "2008 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  8. "2008 KO cup final 1st leg". Speedway Updates. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  9. "2008 KO cup final 2nd leg". Speedway Updates. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  10. "Tai Woffinden: Wolves hope to re-sign World speedway champion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  11. "2008 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  12. "PREMIER LEAGUE PAIRS RESULT". Birmingham Speedway. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  13. "2008 season fixtures and results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 8 July 2023.