2003 Premier League speedway season explained

Competition:Premier League
Domesticcup1:Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:Edinburgh Monarchs
Domesticcup2:Knockout Cup
Domesticcup3:Individual
Domesticcup3 Winners:Sean Wilson
Domesticcup4:Pairs
Domesticcup4 Winners:Workington Comets
Domesticcup5:Fours
Domesticcup5 Winners:Swindon Robins
Highest Average:Frede Schött
League Above:2003 Elite League
Leagues Below:2003 Conference League
Prevseason:2002
Nextseason:2004

The 2003 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 18 teams for the 2003 season with the addition of the King's Lynn Stars who dropped down from the Elite League.

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

Final table

PosMWDLFAPtsBonTot
1Edinburgh Monarchs34260816531393521466
2Sheffield Tigers342201216551397441357
3Isle of Wight Islanders342201216031463441256
4Swindon Robins34201131598.51451.5411253
5Berwick Bandits342011315631465411253
6King's Lynn Stars341911415981448391352
7Arena Essex Hammers341901516091421381250
8Trelawny Tigers34190151599.51470.5381250
9Workington Comets34192131551148940949
10Newport Wasps34172151504154636844
11Newcastle Diamonds34170171525151834943
12Glasgow Tigers34172151479152936743
13Exeter Falcons34130211435159226531
14Rye House Rockets34121211441161225530
15Stoke Potters34101231443159721324
16Reading Racers3492231404165320222
17Somerset Rebels3492231357170520222
18Hull Vikings3481251395166317219

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2003 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 36th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Isle of Wight Islanders were the winners of the competition.[4]

First round

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
11/04Somerset43-49 Newport
06/04Newport 61-35 Somerset
09/04King's Lynn52-43 Workington
22/03Workington46-43 King's Lynn
Second round
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
05/05Reading51-45 Trelawny
13/05Trelawny65-30 Reading
13/05Isle of Wight54-38 Swindon
15/05Swindon49-51 Isle of Wight
12/05Exeter50-43 Newport
11/05Newport47-43 Exeter
10/05Berwick52-36 Glasgow
11/05Glasgow 42-42 Berwick
15/05Sheffield56-43 Hull
14/05Hull48-41 Sheffield
28/05King's Lynn62-34 Edinburgh
16/05Edinburgh59-37 King's Lynn
18/04Arena Essex44-46 Rye House
19/04Rye House44-46 Arena Essex
11/05Newcastle50-40 Stoke
10/05Stoke51-44 Newcastle
23/05
replay		Arena Essex55-40 Rye House
26/05
replay		Rye House44-46 Arena Essex
Quarter-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
24/06Isle of Wight 61 34 Exeter
23/06Exeter53 42 Isle of Wight
24/06Trelawny61 34 Berwick
21/06Berwick 55 42 Trelawny
26/06Sheffield50 48 King's Lynn
02/07King's Lynn48 49 Sheffield
27/06Arena Essex55 41 Newcastle
22/06Newcastle49 41 Arena Essex
Semi-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
26/08Isle of Wight63-27 Trelawny
12/08Trelawny 53-37Isle of Wight
04/09Sheffield 51-39 Arena Essex
29/08Arena Essex 50-40Sheffield

Final

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
07/1049-44 Sheffield
16/10Sheffield47-46 Isle of Wight

Final

First legSecond legIsle of Wight were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 95–91.

Riders' Championship

Sean Wilson won the Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held on 28 September at Owlerton Stadium.[5]

width=25pxPos. width=180pxRider width=100pxPts width=50pxTotal width=50pxSF width=50pxFinal
1 3 2 3 3 1 1233
2 3 3 3 2 3 14 -2
3 3 3 3 3 3 15-1
4 2 3 2 2 211 20
5 2 0 2 3 2 9 1
6 ex 2 3 1 3 9 0
7 3 0 0 3 28
8 1 3 0 2 1 7
92 2 1 1 17
10 1 1 1 0 3 6
11 1 2 2 0 16
12 ex 1 1 1 2 5
13 1 1 2 1 05
14 2 1 0 ex 0 3
15 0 ex 1 2 0 3
16 0 0 0 0 0 0

Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Derwent Park on 19 July. The event was won by Workington (Carl Stonehewer and Simon Stead) who beat Newport (Frank Smart and Niels Kristian Iversen) in the final.[6]

Fours

Swindon Robins won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 27 July 2003, at the Abbey Stadium.[7] [8]

Group A
width=20Poswidth=90Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=350Riders
1 Swindon 15
2 Glasgow 12
3 Edinburgh10
4 isle of Wight10
Group B
width=20Poswidth=90Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=350Riders
1 Newport 15
2 Trelawny 13
3 King's Lynn11
4 Arena Essex 9
Final
width=20Poswidth=90Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=350Riders
1 Swindon 25Gjedde 9, Allen, Fry, Neath
2 Trelawny 22Harris 8, Zagar 8
3 Newport 21Smart 6, Iversen 6, Watson, Atkin
4 Glasgow 4Stancl2, Doolan 2

Leading averages

width=200Riderwidth=200Teamwidth=40Average
Frede SchöttEdinburgh10.11
Adam ShieldsIsle of Wight9.99
Kenneth BjerreNewcastle9.80
Joonas KylmäkorpiArena Essex9.69
Carl StonehewerWorkington9.68
Leigh LanhamArena Essex9.67
Charlie GjeddeSwindon9.60
Shane ParkerKings Lynn9.59
Sean WilsonSheffield9.48
Simon SteadWorkington9.47

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Berwick

Edinburgh

Exeter

Glasgow

Hull

Isle of Wight

King's Lynn

Newcastle

Newport

Reading

Rye House

Sheffield

Somerset

Stoke

Swindon

Trelawny

Workington

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2003 tables. Speedway GB.
  2. Web site: Final tables. Speedway archive.
  3. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT). Official British Speedway website. 11 September 2021. 1 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210901122208/https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/history/leaguetables1991-present. dead.
  4. Web site: 2003 Premier League Knockout Cup. Speedway archive.
  5. Web site: Wilson walks off with PLRC . Crash.net . 26 June 2023.
  6. Web site: 2003 fixtures . Speedway Researcher . 29 May 2023.
  7. Web site: 2003 season fixtures and results . Speedway Researcher . 7 July 2023.
  8. Web site: Speedway: Diamonds hit by Little problem ahead of clash . Chronicle Live . 7 July 2023.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "2003 Premier League speedway season".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.