2008 Premier League speedway season

The 2008 Premier League speedway season was the second division of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom and the 14th season since its creation in 1995. The league was governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).

2008 Premier League speedway season
Season2008 Season
Premier LeagueEdinburgh Monarchs
PL Play-OffsEdinburgh Monarchs
Premier League KOCSomerset Rebels
Premier TrophyEdinburgh Monarchs
Young ShieldWorkington Comets
Premier League PairsWorkington Comets
Premier League FoursWorkington Comets
PLRC Tai Woffinden
Division/s above2008 Elite League
Division/s below2008 Conference

Summary

The League consisted of 16 teams for the 2008 season with the addition of the 2007 Conference League champions the Scunthorpe Scorpions. New rules introduced for 2008 include three points for an away win compared to two points in 2007, and the removal of bonus points, in which a team was awarded an additional point for an aggregate win over a home and away match against another team. The team finishing at the top of the league table at the end of the season after accumulating the most points were declared the Premier League champions. The four highest placed teams were entered into promotion play-offs, whereby the Premier League play-off winner faced the Elite League relegation play-off final losers over two legs.[1] Teams finishing in fifth to twelfth at the time of the fixture cut-off date compete in the Young Shield.

The Edinburgh Monarchs were crowned the Premier League champions after ending the season as the highest placed team. The Somerset Rebels finished second, King's Lynn Stars third and the Rye House Rockets fourth. All four teams took part in the promotion play-off with Edinburgh and King's Lynn reaching the final. Edinburgh won 93–90 on aggregate and faced Elite League team Wolverhampton Wolves, but lost the two-legged promotion/relegation final 106–76.[2]

Final league table
Key:
Premier League Play-Offs
PosClubMHomeAwayFA+/-Pts
WDLWDL
1 Edinburgh Monarchs 30 15 0 0 7 2 6 1562 1161 53
2 Somerset Rebels 30 15 0 0 6 0 9 1517 1223 48
3 Kings Lynn Stars 30 14 1 0 4 4 7 1624 1111 45
4 Rye House Rockets 30 15 0 0 4 0 11 1500 1232 42
5 Workington Comets 30 12 2 1 5 0 10 1435.5 1300.5 41
6 Berwick Bandits 30 13 2 0 3 0 12 1428 1316 37
7 Redcar Bears 30 12 0 3 4 1 10 1369 1374 37
8 Sheffield Tigers 30 12 1 2 3 1 11 1381 1345 35
9 Reading Racers 30 12 1 2 3 0 12 1350 1405 34
10 Scunthorpe Scorpions 30 12 0 3 3 0 12 1309 1434 33
11 Isle of Wight Islanders 30 14 0 1 1 0 14 1359 1390 31
12 Birmingham Brummies 30 9 0 6 4 0 11 1317.5 1401.5 30
13 Stoke Potters 30 9 1 5 2 0 13 1307 1441 25
14 Newcastle Diamonds 30 8 0 7 2 0 13 1220 1501 22
15 Glasgow Tigers 30 8 0 7 1 0 14 1297 1469 19
16 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 30 0 0 15 0 0 15 932 1804 0

Leading averages
Rider Team Average
Daniel NermarkWorkington10.53
Kevin DoolanKings Lynn10.47
Ulrich ØstergaardReading10.29
Jason DoyleSomerset10.28
Tai WoffindenRye House10.15
Adrian RymelBerwick10.07
Tomáš TopinkaKings Lynn9.98
Jason LyonsBirmingham9.97
Kauko NieminenWorkington9.50
Shane ParkerGlasgow9.38

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2008 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 41st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Somerset Rebels were the winners of the competition.[3]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
11/04Scunthorpe44-48Sheffield
10/04Sheffield55-36Scunthorpe

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
23/04Birmingham43-47Glasgow
20/04Glasgow40-52Birmingham
24/04Redcar53-40Mildenhall
27/04Mildenhall40-50Redcar
13/05Isle of Wight54-38Sheffield
24/04Sheffield52-38Isle of Wight
25/04Edinburgh54-38Berwick
26/04Berwick42-51Edinburgh
25/04Somerset64-28Newcastle
27/04Newcastle39-39Somerset
26/04Rye House60-30Newport
07/05Kings Lynn55-38Reading
28/04Reading59-34King's Lynn
27/04Stoke42-50Workington
26/05Workington54-36Stoke

ns match not staged Rye House into next round

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
25/06Birmingham42-51Rye House
31/05Rye House62-30Birmingham
17/06Isle of Wight51-43Workington
07/06Workington53-38Isle of Wight
30/05Edinburgh55-38Redcar
29/05Redcar39-53Edinburgh
30/05Somerset53-39Reading
29/06Reading51-44Somerset

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
27/09Workington53-39Edinburgh
26/09Edinburgh49-41Workington
25/08Rye House50-43Somerset
22/08Somerset53-38Rye House

Final
Date Team One Score Team Two
11/10Workington43-46Somerset
17/10Somerset52-41Workington

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References
  1. "British Speedway 2008". British Speedway Promoters' Association. 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
  2. "Wolves seal EL place". Sky Sports. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
  3. "2008 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.