The 2003 Premier League speedway season was the second division of

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and governed by the

Speedway Control Board The Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), known as the Speedway Control Board between 1948 and 2002, governs the sport of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom on behalf of the Auto Cycle Union (ACU). The directors are appointed by the ACU and Br ...

(SCB), in conjunction with the

British Speedway Promoters' Association The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Each club has a promote ...

(

BSPA The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Each club has a promote ...

Season summary

The League consisted of 18 teams for the 2003 season with the addition of the

King's Lynn Stars King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when Kin ...

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 The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish Speedway team, currently based in Armadale. They compete in the SGB Championship, racing on Friday nights during the Speedway season. The club is run by a board of directors, chaired by Alex Harkess. The cl ...

Final table

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2003 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 36th edition of the

Knockout Cup A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

for tier two teams.

Isle of Wight Islanders The Isle of Wight Wightlink Warriors (formerly Islanders) are a British speedway team. They last competed in the 2019 National Development League and ride their home meetings at the Smallbrook Stadium. History Isle of Wight speedway began at ...

were the winners of the competition.

First round

Second round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

First leg Second leg Isle 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 Owlerton Stadium, also known as Sheffield Stadium, is a purpose-built speedway track built in 1929 which also hosts greyhound racing The track is in Owlerton near Hillsborough in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Greyhound racing takes pla ...

. * f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

Pairs

The

Premier League Pairs Championship The SGB Championship Pairs Championship formerly the Premier League Pairs Championship (from 1997 to 2016) is a motorcycle speedway contest for the second tier teams in the SGB Championship in the United Kingdom. The teams consist of the top two ri ...

was held at

Derwent Park Derwent Park is a Speedway and Rugby League Stadium in Workington, England situated beside the Cumbrian River Derwent. It is used mostly for rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Workington Town who play in League 1 the 3rd tier o ...

on 19 July. The event was won by Workington (

Carl Stonehewer Carl Bryan 'Stoney' Stonehewer (born 16 May 1972) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Career Landmarks Speedway Grand Prix * The first UK Premier League (speedway), Premier League rider to qualify for the Speedway Grand Prix. **Grand Prix S ...

and

Simon Stead Simon Trevor Stead (born 25 April 1982) is a British speedway team manager and former rider. Career Summary Born in Sheffield, Stead started his career at local track Sheffield Tigers before riding for Buxton Hitmen, Peterborough Panthers and ...

) who beat Newport ( Frank Smart and

Niels Kristian Iversen Niels Kristian Trochmann Iversen (, born 20 June 1982 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is an international motorcycle speedway rider. He was part of the Danish teams that won the Speedway World Cup in 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014. Early life ...

) in the final.

Fours

Swindon Robins won the

Premier League Four-Team Championship The Premier League Four-Team Championship was a contest between teams competing in the Premier League in the United Kingdom. Eight teams are grouped into fours, with one rider from each team in each race. The winners and second place of each group ...

, which was held on 27 July 2003, at the

Abbey Stadium Abbey Stadium is a association football, football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum Seating capacity, capacity of 8,127 spectators. Cambridge Regional Coll ...

Leading averages

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex *

Joonas Kylmäkorpi Joonas Nikolai Kylmäkorpi (born 14 February 1980) is a Finnish former motorcycle speedway rider and is a four times Long Track World Champion. Career Nicknamed ''the Flying Finn'', he represented Finland in the Speedway World Cup and won a bro ...

9.69 *

Leigh Lanham Leigh Stefan Lanham (born 15 August 1977 in Ipswich, Suffolk) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Son of former rider Mike Lanham, Mike, Lanham won the British Speedway Under 21 Championship, British Under 21 Championship ...

9.67 *

Kelvin Tatum Kelvin Martin Tatum MBE (born 8 February 1964, in Epsom, Surrey) is a former British international motorcycle speedway and grasstrack rider. Career Tatum attended Brighton College from 1977 to 1980. He started riding speedway bikes at Hackney' ...

8.39 *

David Ruud David Ruud (born January 21, 1980''Świat Żużla'', No 2 (75) / 2008, page 25, ) is a Swedish motorcycle speedway rider who was won 2003 Speedway World Cup with Swedish team. Career details World Championships * Individual World Champi ...

7.76 *

Henning Bager Henning Bager (born 18 February 1981) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. Biography Bager was born in Esbjerg.Jason King 4.74 * Danny King 3.82 * Andy Galvin 3.65 Berwick *

Michal Makovský Michal Makovský (born 6 April 1976) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from the Czech Republic. Career He started in the 2000 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Republic and 2001 Speedway World Cup. In the British leagues he rode for Berwick Ban ...

7.81 *

Paul Bentley Paul Richard Bentley (born 25 July 1942) is a British stage, film and television actor, perhaps best known for playing the High Septon in the television series ''Game of Thrones''. He is also a writer. Early life Bentley was born in Sheffiel ...

7.76 *David Meldrum 7.28 *

Josef Franc Josef Franc (born 18 January 1979, in Čáslav, Czech Republic) is a former international motorcycle racer who competed in Grasstrack, Longtrack and motorcycle speedway. Career He has appeared as a track reserve in the 2007 Czech Republic Spe ...

7.03 * Adrian Rymel 6.88 * Claus Kristensen 6.86 *Carlos Villar 5.23 *Rob Grant Jr. 4.22 Edinburgh * Frede Schott 10.11 * Peter Carr 9.00 * Magnus Karlsson 7.58 *

Rory Schlein Rory Robert Schlein (born 1 September 1984) is an Australian speedway rider. Career Born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Schlein, lived in the southern Adelaide suburb of Hallett Cove and won the Australian Under-16 Championship at the Northl ...

7.55 *

Theo Pijper Theo Pijper (born 11 February 1980) is a Dutch motorcycle speedway rider. Career Born in Dokkum, Netherlands, Pijper first rode a motorbike at the age of five. He was a successful long track rider before starting his speedway career. He made his ...

6.33 *Wayne Carter 4.77 * Matthew Wethers 3.84 *Barry Campbell 2.78 Exeter * Michael Coles 8.48 * Seemond Stephens 8.05 *Mark Simmonds 6.92 *

Lee Smethills Lee Kenneth Smethills (born 30 March 1982 in Bolton, Greater Manchester) is a former professional motorcycle speedway rider from England. Smethills rode for various clubs across all of the three divisions of British Speedway from 1998 until 2 ...

6.71 * Scott Smith 6.34 *Krister Marsh 5.82 *Roger Lobb 5.11 *Corey Blackman 3.76 Glasgow *

George Štancl Jiří Štancl Junior also known as George Štancl (born 19 August 1975 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic) is a former international speedway rider. Career Štancl began his British leagues career with Sheffield Tigers in the 1994 B ...

9.38 * James Grieves 8.72 *

Kevin Doolan Kevin Doolan (born 30 November 1980) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. Biography Born in Shepparton, Victoria, Doolan first raced in Australia, finishing third in the 1996 Australian Under-16 Championship. He began his Britis ...

6.37 *

Les Collins Leslie 'Les' Collins (born 24 May 1958) is a former speedway rider. He finished runner-up in the 1982 Speedway World Championship as well as winning the Intercontinental Final in 1982, the British Under-21 Championship in 1977 and the British L ...

6.21 *Christian Henry 5.19 *David McAllan 4.56 * Trent Leverington 4.22 *Ross Brady 2.40 Hull *

Paul Thorp Paul Thorp (born 9 September 1964 in Macclesfield, Cheshire,) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Thorp began his racing career with the Birmingham Brummies in 1980 and spent four seasons with the club. He was a six time ...

7.98 *

Garry Stead Garry Stead (born 5 January 1972 in Holmfirth, England) is a former international speedway rider. As a child Stead showed a real interest in speedway, being a regular supporter at the Shay watching the Halifax Dukes, and spent many years as a ...

7.39 *Bjorn Hansen 6.58 * Shaun Tacey 6.28 * Neil Collins 6.26 *Lee Dicken 4.66 *Simon Cartwright 4.61 *

Barrie Evans (John) Barrie Evans (1923-2009) was a senior Welsh Anglican priest. Evans was educated at St David's College, Lampeter, St Edmund Hall, Oxford and St Michael's College, Llandaff. He was ordained deacon in 1951 and priest in 1952. After a curacy ...

3.87 Isle of Wight *

Adam Shields Adam Shields (born 8 February 1977 in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales), is an Australian international speedway rider who has ridden for multiple teams in the British speedway. Speedway career He first rode in the UK for Premier League team the I ...

9.99 * Danny Bird 8.95 *

Ray Morton Raymond Paul Morton (born 19 June 1968) is a former international speedway rider from England. Speedway career Morton reached the final of the British Speedway Championship The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedwa ...

8.87 * Sebastien Trésarrieu 6.34 * Glen Phillips 4.67 *Gary Phelps 4.18 * Chris Mills 4.05 *

Mathieu Trésarrieu Mathieu "Mat" Trésarrieu (born 2 March 1986) is a French motorcycle speedway rider who competes in Speedway, Longtrack and Grasstrack. He is a two times World Longtrack Champion and is a three-time speedway champion of France. Biography Trés ...

3.38 *

Stéphane Trésarrieu Stéphane Trésarrieu (born 27 February 1975) is a former motorcycle racer from France, who competed in Grasstrack, Longtrack and motorcycle speedway. He is a three times speedway champion of France and eight times grasstrack champion of France ...

3.33 King's Lynn * Shane Parker 9.59 * Tom P. Madsen 9.54 *

Davey Watt David John Watt (born 6 January 1978 in Townsville, Queensland) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. He won the Queensland state championship in 2005 and was a member of the Australian team that finished second t ...

9.44 *

Tomáš Topinka Tomáš Topinka (born 5 June 1974) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from the Czech Republic. Career He participated in Speedway World Cups for Czech Republic team. He rode in the British leagues from 1993 to 2011 and was a King's Lynn Star ...

9.40 *Trevor Harding 5.49 *Adam Allott 5.47 * James Brundle 4.61 *Darren Mallett 2.86 *Mark Thompson 2.33 Newcastle *

Bjarne Pedersen Bjarne Aagaard Pedersen (born 12 July 1978 in Holstebro, Denmark)Oakes, P.(2006). ''Speedway Star Almanac''. is an international motorcycle speedway rider who has represented Denmark in the Speedway World Cup, winning it on two occasions: i ...

10.17 *

Kenneth Bjerre Kenneth Bjerre Jensen (born 24 May 1984 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is a Denmark speedway team, Danish international motorcycle speedway rider who races using the name Kenneth Bjerre. He rode in the United Kingdom, UK for Peterborough Pant ...

9.80 *

Stuart Robson Stuart Robson may refer to: * Stuart Robson (actor) * Stuart Robson (speedway rider) See also * Stewart Robson Stewart Ian Robson (born 6 November 1964) is an English former football player and TV and radio football pundit. He played for A ...

8.69 * Kevin Little 7.73 *

Richard Juul Richard Christian Juul Sorensen (born 30 October 1970) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. Career Juul started racing in the British leagues during the 1991 British League Division Two season, when riding for the Newcastle Di ...

5.49 *Lee Dicken 5.42 * William Lawson 4.93 *Kristian Lund 4.44 *Jamie Robertson 4.27 * Craig Branney 3.87 *Steffen Mell 2.71 Newport * Craig Watson 9.17 *

9.13 * Frank Smart 8.39 *Tony Atkin 6.98 * Carl Wilkinson 4.98 *

Chris Schramm Christopher Paul Schramm (born 30 May 1984) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Speedway career He rode in the top tier of British Speedway for various teams, the last of which was riding for the Belle Vue Aces during the 2012 E ...

4.76 *

Joel Parsons Joel Lewis Parsons (born 24 July 1985 in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia) is a former professional motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. Career Parsons was a member of the treble winning Hull Vikings team that won the Premier Le ...

2.84 *Karl Mason 1.56 Reading * Janusz Kołodziej 8.95 *

Andrew Appleton Andrew Appleton (born 18 June 1982) is an English motorcycle racer who competes in grasstrack, longtrack and speedway. His biggest solo honour to date was his Gold medal success in the European Grasstrack Championship in 2010 and the winning G ...

7.67 * Phil Morris 7.09 *

Jonas Davidsson Jonas Davidsson (born 7 August 1984 in Motala, Sweden) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden and he was a member of Swedish national team. Career Davidsson came to prominence after reaching three World Under 21 finals in 2003, 2004 ...

6.19 * Scott Smith 5.80 * Paul Clews 5.30 * Danny King 4.32 *Shane Colvin 4.25 *

3.79 *Danny Norton 1.27 Rye House *

Edward Kennett Edward David Kennett (born 28 August 1986 in Hastings, England) is a motorcycle speedway rider. He was the British Under-21 Champion in 2005 and has appeared in two Speedway Grand Prix as a wild card. Kennett's father Dave, was a motorcycle s ...

7.82 *

Scott Robson Scott Robson (born 15 August 1971) is a former international speedway rider from England. Speedway career Robson reached the final of the British Speedway Championship in 1995. He rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1987 to 2005, r ...

7.62 *

Brent Werner Brent Werner (born April 15, 1974) is an American motorcycle speedway rider who was a member of United States team at Speedway World Cups.

7.07 * Nigel Sadler 6.32 *

Brett Woodifield Brett Wayne Woodifield (born 15 March 1976) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. Career Woodifield started his British leagues career during the 1997 Premier League speedway season, where he rode for Skegness Braves and the Is ...

6.14 * David Mason 5.14 *

Mark Courtney Mark Vincent Courtney (born 25 March 1961) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who rode in the British League for several teams between 1978 and 2003. He earned five international caps for the England national speedway team. Bi ...

5.08 Sheffield * Sean Wilson 9.48 *

Andre Compton Andre Neil Compton (born 15 May 1977 in Dewsbury, England) is a speedway rider. He is the older brother of Benji Compton. Career summary In 2004, Compton's form led to a call up from Elite League side Poole Pirates. This was also the year i ...

8.54 *

Ricky Ashworth Richard David Ashworth (born 17 August 1982 in Salford, England) is a former professional speedway rider who has represented Great Britain. Biography Son of David Ashworth and Mandy Winnard, Ricky was raised in Salford (originally from Irlam) ...

7.57 * Andrew Moore 7.54 * Scott Smith 6.86 *Ross Brady 5.79 * James Birkinshaw 5.13 * Richard Hall 4.93 * Ben Wilson 3.81 Somerset *

Mark Lemon Mark Lemon (30 November 1809, in London – 23 May 1870, in Crawley) was the founding editor of both ''Punch'' and '' The Field''. He was also a writer of plays and verses. Biography Lemon was born in Marylebone, Westminster, Middlesex, ...

8.03 *

Glenn Cunningham Glenn Cunningham may refer to: *Glenn Cunningham (athlete) (1909–1988), American runner, Olympic Games medalist * Glenn Cunningham (Nebraska politician) (1912–2003), American politician, mayor of Omaha, and congressman for Nebraska * Glenn Cunn ...

7.10 *

Marián Jirout Marián Jirout (born 23 July 1976 in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia) is a former motorcycle speedway from the Czech Republic. Career Jirout rode in the 1999 Speedway Grand Prix. In Britain, he raced with the Peterborough Panthers for five seasons fro ...

6.63 *Matt Read 6.40 * Steve Bishop 6.21 *Graeme Gordon 5.89 *

Stephan Katt Stephan Katt (born 15 September 1979) is a German motorcycle Grasstrack, Longtrack and speedway rider who was a member of Germany national long track team. World Longtrack Championship Grand-Prix * 2000 - 1 apps (24th) 3pts * 2001 - 4 apps (1 ...

5.33 *Rob Finlow 3.77 *James Mann 3.03 *Simon Dyminski 2.84 *Paul Candy 0.67 Stoke *

Jan Staechmann Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

8.92 * Robbie Kessler 8.00 *

Paul Pickering Paul Pickering (born 9 May 1952) is a British novelist and playwright. Early life Pickering was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England, the son of Arthur Samuel Pickering and Lorna (née Grocock). On his father’s side he is related to the ...

8.00 * Scott Smith 6.72 *

Alan Mogridge Alan John Mogridge (born 6 November 1963) is a former speedway rider from England. Speedway career Mogridge reached the final of the British Speedway Championship The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competiti ...

6.43 *

Jon Armstrong Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Charlie Gjedde Charlie Rasmussen Gjedde (born 28 December 1979 in Holstebro, Denmark) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark, who won the Speedway World Cup with Denmark in 2006. Career A former Danish Under-21 Champion, Gjedde has ...

9.60 * Oliver Allen 8.92 *

Chris Neath } Christopher Maurice Neath (born 29 January 1982) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned one international cap for the Great Britain national speedway team. Career Neath began riding when competing in youth grasstrack ...

7.80 * Paul Fry 7.38 *Jamie Smith 5.84 * Malcolm Holloway 4.60 *

Ritchie Hawkins Ritchie Mark Hawkins (born 9 November 1983 in Peterborough, England), is a speedway rider in the United Kingdom, who in 2013 rode with the Ipswich Witches in the Premier League. Career In 2004, he became British Under 21 Champion and has rep ...

4.14 *Tommy Allen 2.80 Trelawny * Chris Harris 9.33 *

Matej Žagar Matej Žagar (born 3 April 1983 in Ljubljana, Slovenia) is a Slovenian motorcycle speedway rider who was won two Individual Speedway European Champion titles in 2004 and 2008. Career In 2002, he won the 2002 Individual Speedway Junior European ...

9.12 *

Pavel Ondrašík Pavel Ondrašík (born 10 December 1975 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Career He first rode in the United Kingdom for the Trelawny Tigers in the Premier League. He stayed with the Tigers until their closure in ...

8.02 * Steve Masters 7.48 *

Mirko Wolter Mirko Wolter (born 6 September 1976 in Güstrow, Germany)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is a speedway rider who first rode in the United Kingdom, riding with the Sheffield Tigers in the Premier League. After a six-year abse ...

6.45 *

Emiliano Sanchez Emiliano Diebo Sanchez also known as Poty Sanchez (born 9 December 1977 in Buenos Aires) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Aregtnina, with Italian ancestry. He is three times National Argentinian champion and twice National Italian cha ...

6.33 * Richard Wolff 4.77 *Simon Phillips 4.10 *Malcolm Holloway 4.10 *Tom Brown 2.60 Workington *

9.68 *

9.47 *

Rusty Harrison Russell Wade "Rusty" Harrison (born 11 October 1981 in Elizabeth, South Australia) is an Australian speedway rider. Career summary Harrison won the Australian Under-16 Championship in 1995 in Perth and again in 1997 at his home track in Adela ...

7.23 *

Kauko Nieminen Kauko Tapio Nieminen (born 29 August 1979, in Seinäjoki) is a Finnish former speedway rider who raced for several teams in the UK, Sweden, and Poland, and as part of the Finland national speedway team. Career summary Nieminen started his Un ...

5.70 *Blair Scott 4.85 *Aidan Collins 4.75 *Chris Collins 3.36

References

{{Speedway Premier League Speedway Premier League 2003 in speedway 2003 in British motorsport