2002 Premier League speedway season

2002 Premier League speedway season
League	Premier League
Champions	Sheffield Tigers
Knockout Cup	Sheffield Tigers
Young Shield	Sheffield Tigers
Individual	Adam Shields
Pairs	Isle of Wight Islanders
Fours	Berwick Bandits
Highest average	Sean Wilson
Division/s above	2002 Elite League
Division/s below	2002 Conference League
	← 2001; 2003 →;

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

16 October 2002

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

Craven Park, Hull

Second leg

24 October 2002

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

Owlerton Stadium

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	Adam Shields	3 3 ex 2 3	11	-	3
2	Craig Watson	3 2 3 3 1	12	-	2
3	Phil Morris	3 2 2 2 2	11	2	1
4	Brent Werner	0 1 3 3 2	9	3	0
5	Andre Compton	2 3 3 0 3	11	1
6	Peter Ingvar Karlsson	2 ex 2 1 3	8	0
7	Garry Stead	1 2 2 1 2	8
8	Marián Jirout	2 3 0 1 1	7
9	Jan Staechmann	3 1 1 1 1	7
10	George Štancl	2 1 ex 2 2	7
11	Paul Bentley	0 0 0 3 3	6
12	Charlie Gjedde	0 2 3 ex 0	5
13	Michael Coles	0 0 1 3 1	5
14	Frede Schött	1 3 1 0 0	5
15	Leigh Lanham	1 0 2 2 ex	5
16	Simon Stead	1 1 1 0 0	3
17	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]

Group A
Pos	Team	Pts	Riders
1	Newport	23	Smart 13, Watson 10
2	Edinburgh	19	Carr P 11, Schott 8
3	Workington	17	Stonehewer 13, Karlsson 4
4	Reading	16	Mullett 9, Morris 7
5	Sheffield	15	Wilson 10, Stead 5

Group B
Pos	Team	Pts	Riders
1	Isle of Wight	24	Shields 13, Bird 11
2	Hull	20	Stead 12, Kessler 8
3	Berwick	17	Bentley 14, Kristensen 3
4	Somerset	15	Jirout 8, Cunningham 7
5	Glasgow	14	Stancl 9, Grieves 5

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]

Group A
Pos	Team	Pts	Riders
1	Hull	15	Stead G 5, Kessler 5, Thorp 3, Smith J 2
2	Newport	14	Smart 4, Smith S 4, Watson 3, Dicken 3
3	Glasgow	10	Stancl 4, Grieves 3, Powell 2, Olsson 1
4	Sheffield	9	Wilson 5, Complin 2, Stead S 1, Smith S 1

Group B
Pos	Team	Pts	Riders
1	Berwick	15	Kristensen 4, Rymel 4, Bentley 4, Makovsky 3
2	Arena Essex	12	White 4, Tacey 3, Lanham 3, Tatum 2
3	Reading	11	Henriksson 6, Morris 2, Mullett 2, Schramm 1
4	Isle of Wight	10	Bager 4, Bird 3, Shields 2, Read 1, Simmons 0

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

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Leigh Lanham 9.19
Kelvin Tatum 8.48
Shaun Tacey 7.30
Colin White 7.24
Lee Herne 4.78
Andy Galvin 3.79
Carl Baldwin 3.37
Scott Courtney 2.67

Berwick

Paul Bentley 9.24
Claus Kristensen 7.79
Michal Makovský 7.50
Adrian Rymel 6.99
Simon Cartwright 6.65
Kevin Doolan 6.29
Steffen Mell 5.06

Edinburgh

Peter Carr 9.17
Frede Schott 8.20
Daniel Andersson 7.36
Magnus Karlsson 7.00
Theo Pijper 5.85
Aidan Collins 5.72
Rory Schlein 5.52
Christian Henry 4.92
David Meldrum 4.27
Ben Shields 3.41

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

George Štancl 9.04
James Grieves 8.08
Mick Powell 7.75
Kenny Olsson 5.13
Martin Dixon 4.70
David McAllan 4.40
Grant MacDonald 3.17

Hull

Garry Stead 8.68
Robbie Kessler 8.33
Paul Thorp 8.08
Ross Brady 7.75
Jamie Smith 6.17
Emil Kramer 5.97
Lee Smethills 5.55
Craig Branney 1.91

Isle of Wight

Adam Shields 9.85
Ray Morton 9.53
Danny Bird 8.28
Henning Bager 6.25
Sebastien Trésarrieu 6.20
Matt Read 5.76
Gary Phelps 5.21
Nick Simmons 3.92
Daniel Giffard 2.10

Newcastle

Kenneth Bjerre 8.61
Andre Compton 8.33
Davey Watt 8.00
Kevin Little 6.98
Richard Juul 5.89
Derek Sneddon 5.69
Wayne Carter 4.95
Rob Grant Jr 3.74
Richard Hall 1.37

Newport

Craig Watson 8.94
Frank Smart 8.91
Scott Smith 6.85
Emil Lindqvist 6.75
Lee Dicken 6.04
Carl Wilkinson 4.31
Ashley Jones 3.13
Barrie Evans 2.74

Reading

Andrew Appleton 8.95
Phil Morris 8.68
Dave Mullett 8.56
Anders Henriksson 7.54
Jason Bunyan 6.82
Paul Clews 5.96
Chris Schramm 4.32
Glen Phillips 4.29
Gavin Hedge 2.97

Rye House

Brent Werner 8.47
Nigel Sadler 8.11
Scott Robson 7.51
Mark Courtney 6.60
David Mason 5.39
Scott Swain 5.19
Troy Pratt 4.41
Adam Pryer 3.09
Chris Courage 2.80
Daniel Giffard 1.40

Sheffield

Somerset

Marián Jirout 9.31
Glenn Cunningham 7.74
Neil Collins 6.89
Graeme Gordon 5.58
Steve Bishop 5.17
Adam Allott 4.37
David Meldrum 4.35
Malcolm Holloway 3.77
Gary Phelps 3.23
Stuart Williams 2.63
Shane McCabe 2.61

Stoke

Alan Mogridge 8.50
Jan Staechmann 8.48
Paul Pickering 7.90
Tony Atkin 6.14
Jon Armstrong 5.79
Mark Burrows 5.13
Will Beveridge 4.06
Rob Grant Jr. 4.00
Lee Hodgson 2.46

Swindon

Paul Fry 9.46
Charlie Gjedde 8.92
Oliver Allen 8.30
Chris Neath 6.47
Paul Lee 5.04
Adam Allott 5.02
Jason King 3.65
Ritchie Hawkins 3.34

Trelawny

Chris Harris 9.13
Alun Rossiter 7.27
Emiliano Sanchez 7.13
Steve Masters 6.98
Richard Wolff 6.95
Seemond Stephens 6.19
Pavel Ondrašík 5.88
Simon Phillips 4.39
Jason Prynne 2.51

Workington

Carl Stonehewer 10.08
Peter Ingvar Karlsson 8.10
Les Collins 8.08
Rusty Harrison 7.65
Kauko Nieminen 6.20
Chris Collins 2.89
James Mann 2.87
Scott James 2.67
Lee Hodgson 2.24
Tom Brown 2.10
Shane Colvin 1.82

References

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

[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.

[S2002-8] "2002 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2021.

[Hull2002-9] "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.

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v t e Speedway in the United Kingdom
Current leagues	SGB Premiership SGB Championship National Development League List of champions
Former leagues	Elite League Premier League National League (1932–1964) Provincial League (1960–1964) British League British League Division Two/National League Conference League National League Division Two National League Division Three English Dirt Track League/Northern League Southern League (1929–1931) Southern League (1952–1953) Provincial League (1936–1937) Southern Area League
Current team competitions	Knockout Cup League Pairs champions League Fours champions
Former team competitions	London Cup Midland Cup Craven and Young Shields Premiership Shield
Current individual competitions	British Speedway Championship League Riders' champions British U-21 British U-19 Scottish Open
Former individual competitions	London Riders' Midland Riders' Northern Riders' Southern Riders' Olympique Internationale
See also	Speedway British Speedway Promoters' Association Speedway Control Bureau

v t e United Kingdom Speedway Seasons
Tier One League Top division	1929 1929 1930 1930 1931 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Tier Two League Second division	1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Tier Three League Third division	1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1994 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Champions	League champions Cup winners

v t e Premier League
2016 Teams	Berwick Bandits Edinburgh Monarchs Glasgow Tigers Ipswich Witches Newcastle Diamonds Peterborough Panthers Plymouth Devils Redcar Bears Rye House Rockets Scunthorpe Scorpions Sheffield Tigers Somerset Rebels Workington Comets
Former Teams	Arena Essex Hammers Birmingham Brummies Cradley Heathens Exeter Falcons Hull Vikings Isle of Wight Islanders Kings Lynn Stars Leicester Lions Long Eaton Invaders Mildenhall Fen Tigers Newport Wasps Oxford Cheetahs Reading Racers Stoke Potters Swindon Robins Trelawny Tigers
Seasons	1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Domestic Cups	Premier League Knockout Cup Premier League Riders' Championship Premier League Pairs Championship Premier League Four-Team Championship Young Shield Premier League Cup