SGB Premiership 2018

The SGB Premiership 2018 was the 84th season of the top division of Great British Speedway in 2018. The season ran between March and October 2018 and had eight teams participating. The line-up of teams remained the same as in 2017. The Swindon Robins were the defending champions after winning the title in 2017. BT Sport continued its TV coverage of the SGB Premiership in 2018. Poole Pirates defeated King's Lynn Stars in the Play off final. It was Poole's tenth tier one title, which brought them level in second place with the Wembley Lions in the historical records.[1][7]

SGB Premiership 2018
LeagueSGB Premiership
ChampionsPoole Pirates[1]
Knockout CupSomerset Rebels[2]
Charity ShieldSwindon Robins[3]
IndividualJason Doyle[4]
Highest averageJason Doyle[5]
Biggest home winBelle Vue Aces 62 Leicester Lions 28 [6]
Biggest away winLeicester Lions 37 Poole Pirates 53[6]
Division/s belowSGB Championship
National League

Regulation changes

At the Speedway AGM in November 2017, a number of changes were made to the rules and regulations for 2018. The biggest change was the introduction of fixed race nights: from now on, all Premiership meetings would be held on either a Monday or Wednesday, with Swindon Robins receiving special dispensation to continue to host home meetings on a Thursday. It was hoped that this would result in more of the world's top riders returning to UK racing. However, Premiership teams were only allowed to sign one rider per team with a Premiership average of over 8 points per match, and this rule prevented some of the world's best riders returning to Premiership teams in 2018.[8] The change to race nights also eliminated the possibility of doubling up riders (riding in both of the top two divisions in British Speedway) by being scheduled to ride for two clubs on the same night.

At the BSPA (British Speedway Promoters Association) annual conference, a decision was made to discontinue the end-of-season play-off for promotion and relegation between the bottom team of the SGB Premiership and the SGB Championship play-off winners.[9]

Squads
Locations of the 2018 Premiership teams

Belle Vue Aces

Also Rode

King's Lynn Stars

Also Rode

Leicester Lions

Also Rode

Poole Pirates

Also Rode

Rye House Rockets

The Rockets had their membership of the 2018 SGB Premiership annulled by the Speedway Control Bureau on July 4th.[10]

The following riders represented Rye House in 2018:

Somerset Rebels

Also Rode

Swindon Robins

Also Rode

Wolverhampton Wolves

Also Rode

Results

Teams faced each other four times: twice home and away. The first of the home and away meetings were called the 'A' fixtures, and the second were the 'B' fixtures.

'A' Fixtures
Home \ Away BV KL LEI PP RYE SOM SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 43–47 62–28 47–43 59–31 47–43 50–40 56–34
King's Lynn Stars 53–37 56–34 46–44 58–32 44–46 51–39 60–30
Leicester Lions 47–43 38–52 43–47 53–37 55–35 44–46 47–43
Poole Pirates 50–40 58–32 58–32 47–43 47–43 38–52 45–45
Rye House Rockets 44–46 49–41 48–42 48–42 48–42
Somerset Rebels 47–43 45–45 47–43 48–42 50–40 49–41
Swindon Robins 41–49 48–42 51–39 50–39 48–42 58–32 51–39
Wolverhampton Wolves 49–41 49–41 47–43 54–36 60–30 52–38 52–38
Source: [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

'B' Fixtures
Home \ Away BV KL LEI PP RYE SOM SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 44–46 57–33 48–42 48–42 55–35 52–38
King's Lynn Stars 49–41 60–30 58–32 49–41 49–41 55–35
Leicester Lions 58–32 40–50 37–53 46–44 48–42 46–44
Poole Pirates 54–35 61–29 43–23 48–42 54–36 55–35
Rye House Rockets
Somerset Rebels 42–48 61–29 46–32 51–39 54–36 59–31
Swindon Robins 34–56 52–38 55–35 47–42 41–49 50–40
Wolverhampton Wolves 46–44 43–47 56–34 46–44 41–49 53–37
Source: [11]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

SGB Premiership Final League Table

Pos. Club M Home Away F A Pts +/−
W D L 4W 3W D 1L L
1 King's Lynn Stars 24 11 0 1 2 3 1 1 5 1128 1032 53 +96
2 Somerset Rebels 24 10 1 1 2 1 0 5 4 1103 1045 47 +58
3 Poole Pirates 24 10 1 1 1 1 0 6 4 1114 1019 44 +95
4 Belle Vue Aces 24 10 0 2 2 1 0 3 6 1118 1041 44 +77
5 Swindon Robins 24 9 0 3 1 1 0 1 9 1060 1098 35 -38
6 Wolverhampton Wolves 24 10 0 2 0 0 1 2 9 1043 1117 34 -74
7 Leicester Lions 24 7 0 5 0 0 0 2 10 955 1169 23 -214

[19]

4 July Rye House Rockets had their membership of the 2018 SGB Premiership annulled by the Speedway Control Bureau. The league table has been updated to represent this news.[10]

Play-offs

Draw
  Semi Finals Grand Final
                         
Belle Vue Aces 41 36 77  
King's Lynn Stars 49 54 113  
    King's Lynn Stars 37 51 88
  Poole Pirates 53 39 92
Somerset Rebels 46 43 89
Poole Pirates 44 47 91  

Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in red

Semi-finals
24 September [20] Belle Vue Aces 41–49 King's Lynn Stars National Speedway Stadium
Referee(s):
Willie Dishington

1 October [21] King's Lynn Stars 54–36 Belle Vue Aces Adrian Flux Arena
Referee(s):
Mick Bates

17 September [22] Somerset Rebels 46–44 Poole Pirates Oak Tree Arena
Referee(s):
Mick Bates

1 October [23] Poole Pirates 47–43 Somerset Rebels Poole Stadium
Referee(s):
Christina Turnbull

Grand final
8 October [24] Poole Pirates
Klindt 11
Worrall 10
Harris 8
Woryna 7
Grajczonek 6
Jakobsen 6
Morris 5		 53–37 King's Lynn Stars
R Lambert 12
Ellis 6
Jørgensen 6
Palm Toft 6
Riss 3
Proctor 2
S Lambert 2		 Poole Stadium
Referee(s):
Craig Ackroyd

10 October [1] King's Lynn Stars
Riss 13
R Lambert 12
Proctor 10
Jørgensen 6
S Lambert 4
Ellis 3
Howarth 3		 51–39 Poole Pirates
Grajczonek 8
Morris 7
Klindt 6
Worrall 6
Harris 5
Jakobsen 5
Woryna 2		 Adrian Flux Arena
Referee(s):
Graham Flint

Home team scores are in bold

SGB Premiership Team KO Cup

The 2018 Knockout Cup was the 76th edition and (second under its new name) of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams.

Draw
  Quarter Finals Semi Finals Final
                                         
1 Swindon Robins 59 39 98  
8 Rye House Rockets 31 51 82  
    Swindon Robins 48 39 87  
    King's Lynn Stars 42 51 93  
4 Leicester Lions 48 31 79
5 King's Lynn Stars 42 59 101  
    King's Lynn Stars 37 45 82
    Somerset Rebels 53 45 98
3 Somerset Rebels 52 47 99  
6 Poole Pirates 38 43 81  
    Somerset Rebels 52 40 92
    Belle Vue Aces 38 50 88  
2 Belle Vue Aces 57 46 103
7 Wolverhampton Wolves 33 44 77  

Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in red

Quarter-finals
21 May [25] Swindon Robins 59–31 Rye House Rockets Abbey Stadium
Referee(s):
Paul Carrington

23 May [26] Rye House Rockets 51–39 Swindon Robins Rye House Stadium
Referee(s):
Dave Robinson

7 May [27] Leicester Lions 48–42 King's Lynn Stars Beaumont Park Sports Complex
Referee(s):
Ronnie Allan

16 May [28] King's Lynn Stars 51–39 Leicester Lions Adrian Flux Arena
Referee(s):
Craig Ackroyd

2 May [29] Somerset Rebels 52–38 Poole Pirates Oak Tree Arena
Referee(s):
David Watters

27 June [30] Poole Pirates 43–47 Somerset Rebels Poole Stadium
Referee(s):
Willie Dishington

7 May [31] Belle Vue Aces 57–33 Wolverhampton Wolves National Speedway Stadium
Referee(s):
Peter Clarke

18 June [32] Wolverhampton Wolves 44–46 Belle Vue Aces Monmore Green
Referee(s):
Graham Reeve

Semi-finals
10 September [33] Swindon Robins 48–42 King's Lynn Stars Abbey Stadium
Referee(s):
Dave Watters

17 September [34] King's Lynn Stars 51–39 Swindon Robins Adrian Flux Arena
Referee(s):
Chris Durno

12 September [35] Somerset Rebels 52–38 Belle Vue Aces Oak Tree Arena
Referee(s):
Ronnie Allan

19 September [36] Belle Vue Aces 50–40 Somerset Rebels National Speedway Stadium
Referee(s):
Craig Ackroyd

Grand final
17 October [37] Somerset Rebels
Covatti 12
Doyle 11
Wright 11
Allen 8
Harris 6
Lawson 5		 53–37 King's Lynn Stars
Iversen 10
Jørgensen 7
Riss 6
R Lambert 4
Proctor 4
S Lambert 4
Aarnio 2		 Oak Tree Arena
Referee(s):
Ronnie Allan

18 October [2] King's Lynn Stars
R Lambert 12
Riss 10
Iversen 7
Jørgensen 6
Proctor 6
S Lambert 2
Aarnio 2		 45–45 Somerset Rebels
Covatti 12
Doyle 9
Lawson 9
Harris 8
Starke 6
Garcia 1		 Adrian Flux Arena
Referee(s):
Tony Steele

SGB Premiership Charity Shield
19 March [38] Belle Vue Aces 48–42 Swindon Robins National Speedway Stadium
Referee(s):
Stuart Wilson

22 March [3] Swindon Robins 52–38 Belle Vue Aces Abbey Stadium
Referee(s):
Christina Turnball

Final leading averages
Rider Team Average
Jason DoyleSomerset9.80
Robert LambertKing's Lynn9.13
Max FrickeBelle Vue8.20
Sam MastersWolverhampton8.11
Rory SchleinWolverhampton7.92
Chris HarrisPoole7.78
Craig CookBelle Vue7.73
Troy BatchelorSwindon7.69
Rohan TungateBelle Vue7.61
Hans AndersenLeicester7.56

[39]

See also

References
  1. "Ford Joy At Eighth Title". 11 October 2018.
  2. "Rebels Win KO Cup". 19 October 2018.
  3. "Shield Success For Robins". 23 March 2018.
  4. "Doyle Crowned Premiership Riders Champion". 9 May 2018.
  5. "Final 2018 SGB Premiership Averages" (PDF). 22 November 2018.
  6. "Prates Grab Big Away Win". 31 July 2018.
  7. "FORD CONFIRMS CLUB FOR SALE". Poole Speedway. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  8. "MAJOR MOVES ANNOUNCED". Speedway GB. Speedway GB. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  9. "British Speedway Announce Major Moves". ACU. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  10. "Statement: Rye House Rockets". 4 July 2018.
  11. "March Results".
  12. "April Results".
  13. "May Results".
  14. "June Results".
  15. "July Results".
  16. "August Results".
  17. "September Results".
  18. "October Results".
  19. "2018 SGB Premiership League Table".
  20. "Eight Point Lead For Stars". 25 September 2018.
  21. "Stars See Off Aces". 2 October 2018.
  22. "Slender Lead For Rebels". 18 September 2018.
  23. "Harris The Hero For Pirates". 2 October 2018.
  24. "Advantage Pirates?". 9 October 2018.
  25. "Robins In Cup Control". 22 May 2018.
  26. "Robins Into Semis". 24 May 2018.
  27. "Lions' Held To Six". 8 May 2018.
  28. "Stars Safely Through". 17 May 2018.
  29. "Advantage Rebels In Cup". 3 May 2018.
  30. "Rebels Race Into Semis". 28 June 2018.
  31. "Aces Turn Up The Heat". 8 May 2018.
  32. "Aces into Last Four". 19 June 2018.
  33. "Robins Lead By Six". 11 September 2018.
  34. "Late Darma As Stars Go through". 18 September 2018.
  35. "Good Lead For Rebels". 13 September 2018.
  36. "Rebels Reach Cup Final". 20 September 2018.
  37. "Sweet Sixteen For Rebels?". 18 October 2018.
  38. "Aces Lead By Six". 20 March 2018.
  39. "Final 2018 SGB Premiership Averages" (PDF). 22 November 2018.
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