SGB Premiership 2017

The Speedway Great Britain Premiership 2017 was the 83rd season of the top division of British speedway. It was the first time that it was known as the SGB Premiership after changing its name from the Elite League.[3]

SGB Premiership 2017
LeagueSGB Premiership
ChampionsSwindon Robins
Knockout CupBelle Vue Aces
Elite ShieldPoole Pirates
IndividualFredrik Lindgren
PairsKing's Lynn Stars
Highest averageJason Doyle
Biggest home winRye House Rockets 65 King's Lynn Stars 26 [1]
Biggest away winPoole Pirates 30 Rye House Rockets 60 [2]
Division/s belowSGB Championship
National League

Summary

The season ran between March and October 2017 and 8 teams participated (Coventry withdrew from the league before the season started, after they had originally entered the league). The lineup of teams for 2017 was different from the lineup of the 2016 Elite League. The Lakeside Hammers and Coventry Bees dropped out of the league and were replaced by the Rye House Rockets and the Somerset Rebels.[4][5][6]

The Swindon Robins were the champions defeating the Wolverhampton Wolves in the Grand Final.[7][8]

Broadcasting rights

British TV broadcasting rights changed hands before the start of the 2017 SGB Premiership season, when Sky withdrew from their negotiated contract with the BSPA. BT then obtained the broadcasting rights for the 2017 season to be shown on their BT Sport channels.[3]

Regulation changes

At the annual Speedway AGM, which was held early in November 2016, it was agreed that speedway in Great Britain would be given what was described as "the biggest revamp of the sport in modern history". This involved numerous alterations to both the regulations and the branding of the sport. The former top level of British speedway, the Elite League, was replaced by the Speedway Great Britain Premiership. Among the most notable changes to the regulations is the reintroduction of promotion and relegation between the top two leagues: the team that finishes in last place in the Premiership will race against the winners of the new second tier of British speedway (the SGB Championship) in order to decide who will compete in the Premiership in 2018.[9]

Locations of the 2017 Premiership teams

League

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

'A' results
Home \ Away BV KL LEI PP RYE SOM SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 48–43 48–42 46–46 52–38 44–46 48–42 54–38
King's Lynn Stars 40–50 48–42 40–52 49–41 53–37 52–41 34–58
Leicester Lions 41–49 54–38 34–56 44–46 48–42 48–42 36–57
Poole Pirates 43–47 44–49 52–40 50–33 54–36 45–47 46–44
Rye House Rockets 44–46 50–42 54–36 49–44 52–38 37–53 51–41
Somerset Rebels 50–40 44–46 61–30 47–43 54–38 44–46 44–49
Swindon Robins 44–46 45–48 52–40 45–45 50–42 57–35 46–45
Wolverhampton Wolves 48–42 59–30 45–44 44–48 55–37 62–28 49–43
Source: [10]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

'B' results
Home \ Away BV KL LEI PP RYE SOM SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 54–39 42–48 59–31 58–33 49–41 35–49 53–40
King's Lynn Stars 45–48 50–40 43–50 44–46 43–47 40–50 21–41
Leicester Lions 40–50 62–28 45–45 46–44 57–33 45–46 41–49
Poole Pirates 53–40 59–33 56–34 30–60 44–45 36–56 48–45
Rye House Rockets 48–44 65–26 55–38 56–35 60–30 46–29 48–42
Somerset Rebels 55–35 41–49 42–42 45–48 48–42 37–53 45–44
Swindon Robins 48–42 48–41 50–41 56–34 57–33 54–35 52–40
Wolverhampton Wolves 49–41 48–24 54–39 50–43 50–41 56–34 52–38
Source: [10]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final League Table

Up to and including Wednesday 13 September

Pos. Club M Home Away F A +/− Pts
W D L 4W 3W D 1L L
1 Swindon Robins 28 11 1 2 5 3 0 3 3 1339 1181 +158 66
2 Wolverhampton Wolves 28 13 0 1 4 1 0 5 4 1354 1151 +197 63
3 Belle Vue Aces 28 10 1 3 3 4 0 3 4 1310 1224 +86 58
4 Poole Pirates 28 8 0 6 3 2 3 2 4 1286 1268 +18 50
5 Rye House Rockets 28 12 0 2 1 2 0 1 9 1289 1237 +52 48
6 Somerset Rebels 28 7 1 6 0 3 0 1 10 1184 1338 -154 32
7 King's Lynn Stars 28 5 0 9 1 3 0 1 9 1138 1364 -226 29
8 Leicester Lions 28 6 1 7 0 1 1 3 9 1197 1334 -137 27

[11]

Play-Offs

Draw

  Semi Finals Grand Final
                         
Poole Pirates 44 38 82  
Swindon Robins 46 51 97  
    Swindon Robins 43 47 90
  Wolverhampton Wolves 47 42 89
Wolverhampton Wolves 51 39 90
Belle Vue Aces 38 51 89  

Home team scores are in Dark Black

Semi-Finals

11 September [12] Poole Pirates 44–46 Swindon Robins Poole Stadium
Referee(s):
Mick Bates

25 September [13] Swindon Robins 51–38 Poole Pirates Abbey Stadium, Blunsdon
Referee(s):
Graham Flint

25 September [14] Wolverhampton Wolves 51–38 Belle Vue Aces Monmore Green
Referee(s):
Willie Dishington

29 September [15] Belle Vue Aces 51–39 Wolverhampton Wolves National Speedway Stadium
Referee(s):
Phil Griffin

Grand Final

2 October [16] Swindon Robins
Doyle 11
Morris 9
Bellego 7
Musielak 6
Wilson-Dean 4
Carr 4
Ellis 2		 43–47 Wolverhampton Wolves
Masters 12
Schlein 11
Harris 9
Howarth 7
Riss 5
Greaves 3		 Abbey Stadium, Blunsdon
Referee(s):
Christina Turnbull

4 October [17] Wolverhampton Wolves
Masters 12
Schlein 10
Howarth 8
Greaves 7
Harris 4
Riss 1		 42–47 Swindon Robins
Doyle 13
Morris 11
Musielak 8
Ellis 6
Wilson-Dean 5
Bellego 4
Carr 0		 Monmore Green
Referee(s):
Chris Durno

Leading Averages[18]
Rider Team Average
Jason DoyleSwindon10.26
Fredrik LindgrenWolverhampton9.95
Nick MorrisSwindon9.42
Jacob ThorssellWolverhampton9.33
Kenneth BjerreBelle Vue8.98
Craig CookBelle Vue8.68
Krzysztof KasprzakRye House8.64
Rory SchleinWolverhampton8.61
Chris HarrisRye House8.47
Brady KurtzPoole8.47

Promotion and Relegation Play-Off
9 October [19] Sheffield Tigers 32–58 Leicester Lions Owlerton Stadium
Referee(s):
Craig Ackroyd

16 October [20] Leicester Lions 49–41 Sheffield Tigers Beaumont Park Stadium
Referee(s):
Mick Bates

Knockout Cup

The 2017 Knockout Cup was the 75th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. The competition returned after a four-year absence under a new name, it had previously been known as the Elite League Knockout Cup. Belle Vue Aces were the winners of the competition for a 14th time and extended their all time record.

Draw

  Quarter Finals Semi Finals Final
                                         
1 Somerset Rebels 49 42 91  
8 Leicester Lions 41 48 89  
    Wolverhampton Wolves 59 37 96  
    Somerset Rebels 31 53 84  
4 King's Lynn Stars 36 42 78
5 Wolverhampton Wolves 54 48 102  
    Wolverhampton Wolves 50 38 88
    Belle Vue Aces 40 52 92
3 Rye House Rockets 41 39 80  
6 Swindon Robins 49 51 100  
    Swindon Robins 50 38 88
    Belle Vue Aces 39 52 91  
2 Poole Pirates 46 33 79
7 Belle Vue Aces 44 57 111  

Home team scores are in bold


Final
10 October [21] Wolverhampton Wolves
Nick Morris (10)
Ricky Wells (13)
Scott Nicholls (8)
Rider Replacement
Sam Masters (7)
Mark Riss (7)
Nathan Greaves (5)		 50–40 Belle Vue Aces
Kenneth Bjerre (11)
Steve Worrall (6)
Rider Replacement
Rohan Tungate (5)
Craig Cook (10)
Dan Bewley (6)
Jack Smith (2)		 Monmore Green
Referee(s):
Ronnie Allan

16 October [22] Belle Vue Aces
Kenneth Bjerre (15)
Steve Worrall (7)
Rider Replacement
Rohan Tungate (14)
Craig Harris (6)
Dan Bewley (8)
Jack Smith (2)		 52–38 Wolverhampton Wolves
Scott Nicholls (4)
Richard Lawson (10)
Richie Worrall (5)
Rider Replacement
Sam Masters (10)
Mark Riss (6)
Nathan Greaves (3)		 National Speedway Stadium
Referee(s):
Graham Flint

Elite Shield
27 March [23] Wolverhampton Wolves 50–40 Poole Pirates Monmore Green
Referee(s):
Margaret Vardy

29 March [24] Poole Pirates 58–32 Wolverhampton Wolves Poole Stadium
Referee(s):
Ronnie Allan

Pairs Championship

A pairs championship was held for the top tier of speedway the first time since the Elite League Pairs Championship. last held in 2011. Despite its comeback for 2017 it was not held again afterwards.[25]

Result

Semi Finals

Team One Team Two Score Result
WolverhamptonRye House7-2Thorsell, Lindgren, Harris, Nicholls
King's LynnSwindon5-4Doyle, Lambert, Holder, Morris

Final

Team One Team Two Score Result
King's LynnWolverhampton7-2Lambert, Holder, Thorsell, Lindgren

Squads[27]

Belle Vue Aces

Also Rode

King's Lynn Stars

Also Rode

Leicester Lions

Also Rode

Poole Pirates

Also Rode

Rye House Rockets

Also Rode

Somerset Rebels

Also Rode

Swindon Robins

Also Rode

Wolverhampton Wolves

Also Rode

See also

References
  1. "Rockets Are Firing". 30 August 2017.
  2. "Rockets Blast Stuns Pirates". 10 August 2017.
  3. "British Speedway moves to BT Sport for 2017 season". Sport on the Box.
  4. "2017 SGB CHAMPIONSHIP DECLARATIONS". Speedway GB.
  5. "Recap: Coventry Bees axed from 2017 SGB Premiership: Updates and reaction". Coventry Telegraphy. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  6. "SGB Premiership 2017 Roll of Honour".
  7. "2017 Champions". Swindon Robins.
  8. "SPEEDWAY: Swindon Robins crowned champs after brilliant late rally at Wolverhampton". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.
  9. "BRITISH SPEEDWAY GETS MAJOR REVAMP". Speedway GB. Speedway GB. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  10. All British Speedway Result Details Are Retrieved From Official Speedway GB Website:
  11. 2017 SGB Premiership League Table Retrieved From Official Speedway GB Website
  12. "Advantage Swindon - By Two!". 12 September 2017.
  13. "Robins Reach The Final". 26 September 2017.
  14. "Advantage Wolves?". 26 September 2017.
  15. "Wolves Book Grand Final Spot". 30 September 2017.
  16. "Robins Won't Give Up". 3 October 2017.
  17. "Robins Clinch The Crown". 5 October 2017.
  18. "Greensheet Averages". Speedway GB.
  19. "Lions Roar At Owlerton". 10 October 2017.
  20. "Lions Survive". 17 October 2017.
  21. "Wolves Lead By Ten". 11 October 2017.
  22. "Aces Are Cup Kings". 17 October 2017.
  23. "Advantage Wolves?". 28 March 2017.
  24. "Pirates' Shield Success". 30 March 2017.
  25. "Stars Win Pairs Championship". 31 March 2017.
  26. "Premier ship pairs" (PDF). Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  27. http://www.speedwaygbarchive.co.uk/files/downloads/p17_issue_final.pdf
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