2002 Premier League speedway season

2002 Premier League speedway season
LeaguePremier League
ChampionsSheffield Tigers
Knockout CupSheffield Tigers
Young ShieldSheffield Tigers
IndividualAdam Shields
PairsIsle of Wight Islanders
FoursBerwick Bandits
Highest averageSean Wilson
Division/s above2002 Elite League
Division/s below2002 Conference League

The 2002 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]

Season summary

The League consisted of 17 teams for the 2002 season with the addition of two teams, the Rye House Rockets and the Somerset Rebels from the Conference League.

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

On 14 April, Lawrence Hare was paralysed after crashing while riding for Exeter Falcons.[4][5]

Fixtures & results

Home \ Away AE BER ED EX GLA HV IOW ND NW RR RYE SHE SOM STO SWI TT WOR
Arena Essex Hammers 52–38 54–36 46–44 48–36 46–44 47–45 43–47 56–34 54–36 46–44 44–4 53–37 44–46 45–45 51–38 53–37
Berwick Bandits 45–45 50–40 54–36 63–27 56–34 48–42 54–36 55–35 51–39 55–35 43–47 54–36 50–40 57–33 67–23 54–36
Edinburgh Monarchs 51–39 61–29 53–37 45–42 44–46 52–38 42–47 52–38 46–44 45–45 51–39 51–39 55–35 48–42 52–38 48–42
Exeter Falcons 57–33 46–44 57–33 62–28 42–47 48–42 64–25 56–34 47–42 62–28 46–44 58–31 43–47 54–36 59–33 60–30
Glasgow Tigers 52–38 52–39 46–44 50–40 44–46 43–47 49–42 44–46 46–44 52–38 38–51 49–41 39–49 45–44 43–47 43–47
Hull Vikings 47–43 42–48 44–46 51–39 46–44 47–41 40–50 50–39 49–41 49–41 46–44 49–41 54–36 50–40 60–30 58–32
Isle of Wight Islanders 60–29 57–34 59–31 55–35 55–35 44–43 47–43 58–32 57–33 55–34 46–44 49–40 49–41 53–37 50–40 56–34
Newcastle Diamonds 46–44 44–44 53–37 54–36 55–35 62–28 46–41 48–41 53–37 45–33 51–39 61–29 60–30 55–35 46–44 50–40
Newport Wasps 54–36 43–46 45–45 52–38 48–42 45–35 39–51 43–47 49–41 54–36 45–45 53–37 49–41 49–41 56–34 48–41
Reading Racers 54–36 48–42 45–44 53–37 54–36 47–43 43–46 51–39 45–44 52–38 47–43 57–33 47–43 47–43 51–37 50–40
Rye House Rockets 51–39 41–49 51–39 56–34 49–41 44–46 48–42 49–41 46–44 47–43 47–43 52–38 44–46 41–51 53–37 49–41
Sheffield Tigers 48–42 54–36 57–33 66–24 59–31 52–39 54–36 58–32 57–33 67–23 58–32 65–25 55–35 48–43 66–24 58–32
Somerset Rebels 49–41 45–45 45–45 47–43 51–39 42–48 39–51 48–42 55–35 44–46 46–44 44–46 51–39 43–49 48–42 50–40
Stoke Potters 52–38 47–43 56–34 54–36 45–44 58–32 45–45 48–42 53–38 53–36 56–34 50–40 48–42 43–47 44–46 50–39
Swindon Robins 49–41 47–43 54–36 51–39 52–38 47–43 53–36 44–46 43–47 50–40 55–35 54–36 47–43 49–41 59–31 49–40
Trelawny Tigers 44–46 49–41 49–41 47–43 49–41 44–45 47–43 42–49 51–39 44–46 49–41 49–41 48–42 47–43 45–45 51–42
Workington Comets 45–45 48–43 45–45 49–41 49–41 47–43 44–46 49–44 47–43 45–47 45–45 47–43 47–43 51–39 50–40 47–43
Source: [6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final table

Pos M W D L F A Pts Bon Tot
1 Sheffield Tigers 32 20 1 11 1612 1267 41 15 56
2 Newcastle Diamonds 32 21 1 10 1501 1364 43 13 56
3 Isle of Wight Islanders 32 21 1 10 1541 1329 43 15 55
4 Berwick Bandits 32 17 3 12 1520 1360 37 12 49
5 Hull Vikings 32 19 0 13 1444 1419 38 11 49
6 Swindon Robins 32 17 2 13 1473 1408 36 10 46
7 Stoke Potters 32 17 1 14 1453 1423 35 8 43
8 Reading Racers 32 17 0 15 1427 1448 34 7 41
9 Edinburgh Monarchs 32 14 4 14 1425 1450 35 8 40
10 Exeter Falcons 32 14 0 18 1463 1415 28 10 38
11 Arena Essex Hammers 32 13 3 15 1417 1456 29 6 35
12 Newport Wasps 32 13 2 17 1394 1472 28 6 34
13 Rye House Rockets 32 13 2 17 1373 1496 28 5 33
14 Trelawny Tigers 32 13 1 18 1343 1539 27 4 31
15 Workington Comets 32 12 3 17 1368 1518 27 3 30
16 Somerset Rebels 32 9 2 21 1344 1536 20 4 24
17 Glasgow Tigers 32 9 0 23 1335 1533 18 2 20

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2002 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 35th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Sheffield Tigers were the winners of the competition.[7]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
20/04 Rye House 53-37 Somerset
10/05 Somerset 45-45 Rye House

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
27/05 Reading 47-43 Arena Essex
31/05 Arena Essex 48-42 Reading
30/05 Sheffield 55-36 Isle of Wight
28/05 Isle of Wight 46-44 Sheffield
02/06 Glasgow 48-42 Workington
01/06 Workington 41-49 Glasgow
27/05 Newcastle 53-37 Trelawny
28/05 Trelawny 46-43 Newcastle
01/06 Stoke 49-41 Exeter
27/05 Exeter 46-44 Stoke
24/04 Hull 54-36 Berwick
20/04 Berwick 52-38 Hull
01/06 Rye House 46-44 Swindon
30/05 Swindon 45-45 Rye House
02/06 Newport 49-41 Edinburgh
31/05 Edinburgh 49-41 Newport
20/07
replay		 Newport 54-36 Edinburgh
05/07
replay		 Edinburgh 49-41 Newport

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
29/08 Sheffield 61-39 Glasgow
12/08 Glasgow 44-46 Sheffield
29/07 Newcastle 57-33 Stoke
31/08 Stoke 49-41 Newcastle
31/07 Hull 45-45 Rye House
28/07 Rye House 44-46 Hull
28/07 Newport 48-41 Arena Essex
02/08 Arena Essex 45-45 Newport

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
03/10 Sheffield 63-27 Newcastle
30/09 Newcastle 53-37 Sheffield
18/09 Hull 51-39 Newport
29/09 Newport 50-40 Hull

Final

First leg

Hull Vikings
Lee Smethills 12
Robbie Kessler 10
Garry Stead 9
Paul Thorp 7
Jamie Smith 6
Emil Kramer 3
Craig Branney 2		49 – 41Sheffield Tigers
Lee Complin 11
Simon Stead 9
Sean Wilson 7
Scott Smith 6
Ricky Ashworth 4
Andrew Moore 3
Jamie Birkinshaw 1
[8][9]

Second leg

Sheffield Tigers
Sean Wilson 13
Simon Stead 12
Lee Complin 7
Ricky Ashworth 7
Scott Smith 6
Andrew Moore 6
Jamie Birkinshaw 5		56 – 34Hull Vikings
Robbie Kessler 12
Lee Smethills 10
Garry Stead 6
Paul Thorp 5
Craig Branney 1
Jamie Smith 0
Emil Kramer 0
[8][9]

Sheffield were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 97–83.

Riders' Championship

Adam Shields won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 8 September at Belle Vue Stadium.[10]

Pos. Rider Pts Total SF Final
1 Australia Adam Shields 3 3 ex 2 3 11 - 3
2 Australia Craig Watson 3 2 3 3 1 12 - 2
3 Wales Phil Morris 3 2 2 2 2 11 2 1
4 United States Brent Werner 0 1 3 3 2 9 3 0
5 England Andre Compton 2 3 3 0 3 11 1
6 Sweden Peter Ingvar Karlsson 2 ex 2 1 3 8 0
7 England Garry Stead 1 2 2 1 2 8
8 Czech Republic Marián Jirout 2 3 0 1 1 7
9 Denmark Jan Staechmann 3 1 1 1 1 7
10 Czech Republic George Štancl 2 1 ex 2 2 7
11 England Paul Bentley 0 0 0 3 3 6
12 Denmark Charlie Gjedde 0 2 3 ex 0 5
13 England Michael Coles 0 0 1 3 1 5
14 Denmark Frede Schött 1 3 1 0 0 5
15 England Leigh Lanham 1 0 2 2 ex 5
16 England Simon Stead 1 1 1 0 0 3
17 England Steve Masters (res) 0 0
  • f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Derwent Park on 19 July. The event was won by the Isle of Wight Islanders.[11][12]

Semi finals

  • Isle of Wight bt Edinburgh
  • Newport bt Hull

Final

  • Isle of Wight bt Newport

Fours

Berwick Bandits won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 21 July 2002, at the Brandon Stadium.[13][14]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1 Berwick 22 Bentley 8, Rymel 6, Makovsky 5. Kristensen 3
2 Arena Essex 21 White 8, Tatum 6, Tacey 4, Lanham 3
3 Newport 16 Smart 5, Smith S 4, Dicken 4, Watson 3
4 Hull 13 Kessler 6, Thorp 3, Smith J 2, Smethills 2, Stead G 0

Final leading averages

Rider Team Average
England Sean Wilson Sheffield 10.17
England Carl Stonehewer Workington 10.08
Australia Adam Shields Isle of Wight 9.85
England Ray Morton Isle of Wight 9.53
England Paul Fry Swindon 9.46
Czech Republic Marián Jirout Somerset 9.31
England Paul Bentley Berwick 9.24
England Leigh Lanham Arena Essex 9.19
England Peter Carr Edinburgh 9.17
England Chris Harris Trewlany 9.13

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Berwick

Edinburgh

Exeter

  • Seemond Stephens 8.46
  • Michael Coles 8.34
  • Mark Simmonds 7.78
  • Roger Lobb 7.52
  • Lawrence Hare 6.92
  • Krister Marsh 6.58
  • Bobby Eldridge 5.52
  • Jason Prynne 3.81
  • Matt Cambridge 3.34
  • Corey Blackman 2.53

Glasgow

Hull

Isle of Wight

Newcastle

Newport

Reading

Rye House

Sheffield

Somerset

Stoke

Swindon

Trelawny

Workington

See also

References

  1. ^ "2002 tables". Speedway GB.
  2. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Final tables". Speedway archive.
  4. ^ "Boycott call after rider's death". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Ipswich: Former Ipswich Witches star Lol Hare on hope to walk thanks to spinal surgery breakthrough". East Anglian Times. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  6. ^ "2003 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  7. ^ "2002 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  8. ^ a b "2002 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Hull 2002 results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  10. ^ "HISTORYCZNE ZESTAWIENIE WYNIKÓW 1960-2010". Speedway History. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  11. ^ "2002 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  12. ^ "2002 Premier League Pairs at Workington". YouTube. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  13. ^ "2002 season fixtures and results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  14. ^ "2002 Premier League Four-Team Championship". You Tube. Retrieved 7 July 2023.