The Sheffield 'Tru Plant' Tigers are a motorcycle speedway team based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. They currently race in the British

SGB Premiership The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Premiership is the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It was in ...

, and their home meetings take place 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 pl ...

. The Tigers traditionally hold their race nights on Thursdays between March and October. The Tigers are sponsored by Tru Plant, promoted by Damien Bates, Peter Mole and Julie Reading.

History

Owlerton Owlerton () is a suburb of the city of Sheffield, it lies northwest of the city centre near the confluence of the River Don and River Loxley. Owlerton was formerly a small rural village with its origins in the Early Middle Ages; it became pa ...

was a purpose built speedway track built in 1929. The team were inaugural members of the English Dirt Track League and Northern league the following season. In 1930 they rode as the Sheffield Blades. It operated for most of the pre-war years and re-opened for a short spell in 1945. The team operated in the Northern League of 1946 and in the National League Division Two between 1947 and 1950. The team won their first trophy in 1947, after winning the British Speedway Cup (Div 2). It closed part way through 1951 and staged open meetings in 1952. The track re-opened in 1960 and has operated most seasons since then. The team has been known as The Tigers apart from part of 1950 when they were known as The Tars and 1930 when they were the Blades. Sheffield won the Premier League (speedway's second division) twice during the 1999 Premier League speedway season and the 2002 Premier League speedway season. They also won the Knockout Cup in 2002 to complete the double. The club's junior side the Sheffield Prowlers also won silverware winning the Conference League in 2000 and 2001. The

SGB Championship 2017 The Speedway Great Britain Championship 2017 was the second division of British speedway. It was the first time that it was known as the SGB Championship after changing its name from the Premier League. The season ran between March and October 2 ...

season was the 21st consecutive season that the Sheffield Tigers competed in division 2. The Tigers finished in 1st place having beaten

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first r ...

in the two leg Play Off final 99–81. In 2019, the club won their fourth historical league title winning the

after finishing top of the regular season table and winning the playoffs. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) the 2020 season did not take place. The club topped the

SGB Premiership 2022 The 2022 SGB Premiership was the 87th season of the top tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Premiership. Sheffield Tigers topped the regular season table and met Belle Vue Aces in the play off final but Belle Vue ran out the winn ...

table but lost in the play off final to

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wi ...

, which foiled the chance for the club to win their first ever top tier league title. However, they did gain compensation by winning the League Cup. The Tigers all-time leading point scorer is Sean Wilson with 4246 points and the record appearance maker is Reg Wilson with 470 appearances. Their official track record holder is former captain and No.1

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) ...

with a time of 59.1 seconds.

Club honours

*British Championship League

SGB Championship The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It ...

Winners 2017 *British Championship Pairs

Winners 2017 (Kyle Howarth & Lasse Bjerre), 2018 (Kyle Howarth and Charles Wright) *British Speedway Cup (Division 2) - 1947 *British League Knockout Cup winners - 1974 *

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is ...

winners - 1999 ( Wilson, Smith, Compton, Stead), 2000 ( Wilson, Stead, Kessler, Lee) *Premier League Play off winners - 1999, 2002 *Premier League winners - 1999, 2002 *Conference League Champions - 2000, 2001 * Premier Trophy winners - 2001 *Premier League Riders Championship winners -

Sam Ermolenko Guy Allen 'Sudden Sam' Ermolenko (born November 23, 1960 Maywood, California) is a former speedway rider. In 1993 he won the Speedway World Championship in Pocking, Germany.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway ...

(1996), Sean Wilson (1999, 2003, 2005),

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 ...

(2004),

(2009), Simon Stead (2014, 2016). *Premier League Pairs winners -

Josh Auty Joshua Liam Auty (born 8 September 1990) in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, is a British speedway rider. Career Auty was part of the Scunthorpe Scorpions team that won the Conference League Four-Team Championship, held on 18 May 2007 at Plymouth ...

2010

Notable former riders

Full seasons summary

Season summary (juniors)

Previous seasons

References

{{SGB Premiership Speedway Premier League teams SGB Championship teams

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...