2002 Premier League speedway season

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]

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

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]

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.[6]

First round
Date Team one Score Team two
20/04Rye House53-37Somerset
10/05Somerset45-45Rye House

Second round
Date Team one Score Team two
27/05Reading47-43Arena Essex
31/05Arena Essex48-42Reading
30/05Sheffield55-36Isle of Wight
28/05Isle of Wight46-44Sheffield
02/06Glasgow48-42Workington
01/06Workington41-49Glasgow
27/05Newcastle53-37Trelawny
28/05Trelawny46-43Newcastle
01/06Stoke49-41Exeter
27/05Exeter46-44Stoke
24/04Hull54-36Berwick
20/04Berwick52-38Hull
01/06Rye House46-44Swindon
30/05Swindon45-45Rye House
02/06Newport49-41Edinburgh
31/05Edinburgh49-41Newport
20/07
replay		Newport54-36Edinburgh
05/07
replay		Edinburgh49-41Newport

Quarter-finals
Date Team one Score Team two
29/08Sheffield61-39Glasgow
12/08Glasgow44-46Sheffield
29/07Newcastle57-33Stoke
31/08Stoke49-41Newcastle
31/07Hull45-45Rye House
28/07Rye House44-46Hull
28/07Newport48-41Arena Essex
02/08Arena Essex45-45Newport

Semi-finals
Date Team one Score Team two
03/10Sheffield63-27Newcastle
30/09Newcastle53-37Sheffield
18/09Hull51-39Newport
29/09Newport50-40Hull

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
[7][8]

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
[7][8]

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.[9]

Pos.RiderPtsTotalSFFinal
1Australia Adam Shields3 3 ex 2 311-3
2Australia Craig Watson3 2 3 3 112-2
3Wales Phil Morris3 2 2 2 21121
4United States Brent Werner0 1 3 3 2930
5England Andre Compton2 3 3 0 3111
6Sweden Peter Ingvar Karlsson2 ex 2 1 380
7England Garry Stead1 2 2 1 28
8Czech Republic Marián Jirout2 3 0 1 17
9Denmark Jan Staechmann3 1 1 1 17
10Czech Republic George Štancl2 1 ex 2 27
11England Paul Bentley0 0 0 3 36
12Denmark Charlie Gjedde0 2 3 ex 05
13England Michael Coles0 0 1 3 15
14Denmark Frede Schött1 3 1 0 05
15England Leigh Lanham1 0 2 2 ex5
16England Simon Stead1 1 1 0 03
17England Steve Masters (res)00
  • 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.[10][11]

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.[12][13]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1Berwick22Bentley 8, Rymel 6, Makovsky 5. Kristensen 3
2Arena Essex21White 8, Tatum 6, Tacey 4, Lanham 3
3Newport16Smart 5, Smith S 4, Dicken 4, Watson 3
4Hull13Kessler 6, Thorp 3, Smith J 2, Smethills 2, Stead G 0

Final leading averages
Rider Team Average
England Sean WilsonSheffield10.17
England Carl StonehewerWorkington10.08
Australia Adam ShieldsIsle of Wight9.85
England Ray MortonIsle of Wight9.53
England Paul FrySwindon9.46
Czech Republic Marián JiroutSomerset9.31
England Paul BentleyBerwick9.24
England Leigh LanhamArena Essex9.19
England Peter CarrEdinburgh9.17
England Chris HarrisTrewlany9.13

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. "2002 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  7. "2002 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  8. "Hull 2002 results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  9. "HISTORYCZNE ZESTAWIENIE WYNIKÓW 1960-2010". Speedway History. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  10. "2002 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  11. "2002 Premier League Pairs at Workington". YouTube. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  12. "2002 season fixtures and results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  13. "2002 Premier League Four-Team Championship". You Tube. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
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