The 2011 Premier League season was the second division of British speedway. Glasgow Tigers won the league after winning both matches of a double-header on 9 October.
Preseason New entries The Leicester Lions were hoping to gain entry to the 2010 season. However, the track was not ready in time for them to compete. They therefore decided to return in 2011. With the stadium getting approval, the Lions were then confirmed as entrants for the 2011 season.
On 15 November 2011, Plymouth Devils boss Mike Bowden confirmed that the Devils hope to join the 2011 Premier League after spending 5 years in the National League. On 19 November, it was confirmed that the Stoke Potters were to withdraw from the 2011 Premier League season due to financial climate and making substantial losses over the last three season. However, it was confirmed that they would race in the 2011 National League. It was also decided at the Yearly AGM meeting that the Birmingham Brummies and the Ipswich Witches would exchange league memberships, meaning the Brummies would move up to the Elite League and the Witches would move down to the Premier League. On 27 November, the BSPA announced that the Coventry Bees and the Peterborough Panthers failed to declare their intention to race in the forthcoming Elite League season and are therefore seeking a league to compete in. Because of this, the Kings Lynn Stars elected to compete in the 2011 Elite League and therefore withdrew from the Premier League. Later that day, the Plymouth Devils announced that they were set to be accepted into the 2011 Premier League season
Season format At the annual AGM meeting, it was decided that the Premier League would be expanded to 19 home and 19 away fixtures throughout the season. The 14 teams will initially race each other in Round 1 with a total of 26 meetings (13 home and 13 away). In Round 2 the league then split into two groups of seven teams, with everyone then racing each other in their group for a further 12 meetings (6 home and 6 away). The format and cut-off point for the split is made as each team reaches 10 home and 10 away matches. Group 1 will be teams placed 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, 12th and 14th - Group 2 is 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th and 13th. Those additional 12 matches are then added onto the points gained from the 26 meetings in Round 1. The league table above at the end of the season will then show a total of 38 meetings (19 home and 19 away). The team that finishes top after these 38 meetings is declared Premier League Champions.
The Premier League KOC has been retained for the 2011 season. A new competition, the Premier Shield has been introduced for the 2011 season. It is understood that it will work along the same lines as the Elite Shield, and contested by the previous seasons league winners and KOC champions. The 2011 Premier Shield will be contested between the Edinburgh Monarchs and the Newcastle Diamonds.
The Premier Trophy and the Young Shield do not continue into the 2011 season. It has yet to be confirmed if anything will replace these competitions.
Fixtures & results Phase 1
Phase 1 of the 2011 Premier League consists of each team racing each other, both at their home track and the oppositions away track. This would consist of 26 meetings for each team.
Home\Away BER EDI GLA IPS LEI ND NW PLY RED RH SS SHE SOM WOR Berwick Bandits53-3944-4662-2846-4449-4348-4259-3448-4440-3854-3651-4248-4440-34 Edinburgh Monarchs49-4442-4853-4044-4553-3951-4264-2856-3755-3760-3249-4153-4148-41 Glasgow Tigers50-3958-3253-3760-3250-4353-3762-3161-3254-3650-4354-4056-3960-33 Ipswich Witches53-4251-4142-4858-3547-4449-4159-3549-4349-4769-2453-3842-5163-27 Leicester Lions45-4544-4928-6242-4252-4345-4544-4541-5256-3540-5245-4840-5045-45 Newcastle Diamonds48-4152-4341-4954-3950-4041-4952-4042-4750-4349-4549-4448-4554-39 Newport Wasps57-3842-4957-3742-5052-4048-4268-2255-3837-5343-4948-4443-5043-50 Plymouth Devils36-5750-4339-4543-4748-3647-4140-5347-4339-5151-3844-4545-4541-49 Redcar Bears46-4354-4144-4645-4553-3759-3450-4062-3045-4548-4548-4349-4146-44 Rye House Rockets54-3948-4247-4645-3454-3943-4441-4954-4153-3647-4346-4454-3951-41 Scunthorpe Scorpions56-3946-4454-3653-3953-4047-4252-4156-3752-4156-3846-4349-4144-46 Sheffield Tigers51-4156-4052-4456-3661-3352-3956-3562-3057-3764-2955-3943-4757-36 Somerset Rebels59-3157-3862-3159-3453-4153-4348-4448-4245-4546-4462-3240-5347-43 Workington Comets57-3655-3953-4251-3959-3151-4257-3848-2350-4060-3459-3755-3753-41
Last updated: August 2, 2011. Source: BSPA
Colours: Green = home win; Red = away win; White = draw
Home team listed in the left-hand column
Phase 2
Home\Away BER IPS ND PLY RH SHE WOR Berwick Bandits40-5054-40 52-2043-4147-41 52-41 Ipswich Witches58-36 50-43 58-3555-3750-4056-37 Newcastle Diamonds47-4346-4756-3945-4451-3944-46 Plymouth Devils49-4148-4250-4546-4446-4447-42 Rye House Rockets49-4340-50 51-3856-3547-4454-39 Sheffield Tigers52-3852-3763-2958-3869-2146-44 Workington Comets47-4645-4553-4060-3555-3642-48
Home\Away EDI GLA LEI NW RED SS SOM Edinburgh Monarchs39-5451-4244-4561-3364-2546-46 Glasgow Tigers55-3953-4260-3362-3066-2762-28 Leicester Lions53-4043-4936-5746-4443-4749-41 Newport Wasps51-4252-4157-3454-4056-3956-37 Redcar Bears54-3948-4250-4542-5154-3948-46 Scunthorpe Scorpions50-4157-3843-5046-4465-2549-41 Somerset Rebels48-4151-4251-4343-4751-4250-43
Final League table Pos Club M Home Away F A Pts3W 2W D L 4W 3W D 1L L1 Glasgow Tigers38190003602819251568892 Sheffield Tigers38171011308718801604743 Ipswich Witches381520232311017931670744 Workington Comets38161112215917871667725 Newport Wasps38112065213817941697686 Somerset Rebels381241231231017861712677 Scunthorpe Scorpions381340212031317091786608 Rye House Rockets381060320161016871750589 Berwick Bandits388902101512171217105310 Redcar Bears388722111313169017925211 Edinburgh Monarchs3813114110215176417375112 Newcastle Diamonds389505010612169317944613 Plymouth Devils384717010117149619293114 Leicester Lions38414101102151586188627
Home: 3W = Home win by 7 points or more; 2W = Home win by between 1 and 6 points Away: 4W = Away win by 7 points or more; 3W = Away win by between 1 and 6 points; 1L = Away loss by 6 points or less M = Meetings; D = Draws; L = Losses; F = Race points for; A = Race points against; +/- = Race points difference; Pts = Total Points
Last updated: June 22, 2011
Source: BSPA
Premier League Knockout Cup
Premier Shield
First leg
1 Kevin Wölbert 0, 1', 0, 0 1+1 2 Matthew Wethers (c) 1, 2, 3, 3, 2 11 3 Andrew Tully F, 0, 1, 3 4 4 Craig Cook 3, 2, 3, 2, F 10 5 Kalle Katajisto 3, 2, 3, 2 10 6 Ashley Morris 2', 0, 0, 1' 3+2 7 Jay Herne 3, 1, 0, 1 5Manager: John Campbell
1 Rene Bach 2', 3, 1', 1 7+2 2 Derek Sneddon (c) 3, 1, 2, 2 8 3 Luboš Tomíček Jr. 1', 1, 1', 2 5+2 4 Stuart Robson 2, 3, 2, 3, 3 13 5 Mark Lemon 2, 3, 2, 3, 1 11 6 Kyle Newman 1, 0, 1', F 2+17 Richie Worrall 0, 0, 0, F 0Manager: George English
Second leg
1 Rene Bach 3, 3, 3, 1, 1' 11+1 2 Derek Sneddon (c) 1, 1, 3, 1 6 3 Luboš Tomíček Jr. 0, 0, 0, 2 2 4 Stuart Robson 3, 3, 3, 3, 2 14 5 Mark Lemon 3, 3, 3, 0 9 6 Kyle Newman 2, 0, 1, 1 47 Richie Worrall 0, 2', 0, 0 2+1Manager: George English
1 Kevin Wölbert 0, 2, 2, 3, 0 7 2 Matthew Wethers (c) 2, 1', 2, 0 5+1 3 Andrew Tully 1', 1', 2, 6^ 10+2 4 Craig Cook 2, 2, 0, 2 6 5 Kalle Katajisto 0, 2, 2, 2', 3 9+1 6 Ashley Morris 1, 0, 1', 1 3+1 7 Robert Branford (G) 3, 1, 1', 0 5+1Manager: John Campbell
Riders' Championship Sam Masters won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 25 September at Owlerton Stadium.
Pos. Rider Pts Total SF Final1 Sam Masters 2 2 3 3 3 13-32 Ricky Ashworth 3 3 3 fx 3 12-23 Kauko Nieminen 3 2 3 3 fx 11214 Ben Barker 3 3 0 3 2 11305 Sebastian Aldén 3 3 2 2 r 1016 Jason Doyle 1 3 3 1 2 1007 Rusty Harrison 1 2 2 1 398 Shane Parker 2 2 2 2 089 Kevin Doolan 0 1 1 3 3810 Kevin Wölbert 2 0 2 1 27 11 Mark Lemon 1 1 0 2 15 12 Aaron Summers 0 0 1 2 1413 Joe Screen t 1 1 r 24 14 Ben Wilson 2 1 0 0 1415 Jordan Frampton f 0 1 0 0 1 16 Tom Woolley (res) 1117 Luke Chessell (res) 0 0018 Charlie Gjedde 0 00 f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes
Pairs The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Oaktree Arena on 24 June. The event was won by Glasgow Tigers.
Group APosTeamPtsRiders1Glasgow 22Screen 14, Grieves 82Workington 19 Wright 12, Harrison 73Newcastle 17 Robson 14, Sneddon 34Leicester 16 Sweetman 9, Darkin 75Rye House16 Frampton 10, Neath 6
Group BPosTeamPtsRiders1Redcar 22 Summers 13, Lyons 92Sheffield 20 Parker 12, Ashworth 83Somerset 17 Gathercole 10, Masters 74Ipswich 17 Poole 9, Doolan 85Edinburgh 14 Cook 9, Tully 5
Semi finals Glasgow bt Sheffield 5–4 Workington bt Redcar 5–4
Final Glasgow bt Workington 7–2
Fours Ipswich Witches won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, held on 23 October 2011, at Beaumont Park Stadium. The semi finals had been held on 7 August but the final was postponed due to rain.
Group APosTeamPtsRiders1 Leicester 21Nieminen 6, Karlsson 6, Graversen 5, Bondarenko 42 Somerset 11McGowan 4, Masters 3, Gathercole 2, Holder 23 Glasgow 10 Morris 4, Screen 2, Pjiper 2, Grieves 1, Rajkowski 14 Edinburgh 6 Wolbert 4, Tully 2, Cook 0, Katajisto 0
Group BPosTeamPtsRiders1 Ipswich15 Bjerre 5, Doolan 5, Risager 3, Hart 22 Workington 14 Lawson 13, Wright 4, Harrison 3, Topinka 23 Redcar10 Juul 3, Lyons 3, Kus 3, Summers 1, Havelock 04 Sheffield 9Parker 5, Sanchez 2, Auty 1, Ashworth 1
FinalPosTeamPtsRiders1 Ipswich 44Trésarrieu 12 Bjerre 12, Doolan 10, Risager 9, Poole 12 Leicester 33Nieminen 14, Karlsson 13, Graversen 6, Bondarenko 0, Garrity 03 Workington 30 Lawson 13, Harrison 8, Ingalls 7, Nielsen 2, Kerr 04 Somerset 21 Gathercole 10, Wright 5, Savies 3, Perry 2, Holder 1
Final leading averages Rider Team Average Charlie Gjedde Newport 10.25 Ben BarkerPlymouth 10.01 Stuart Robson Newcastle 9.56 Joe Screen Glasgow 9.54 Shane Parker Sheffield 9.43 Chris Neath Rey House 9.13 Magnus Karlsson Leicester 8.93 Mark Lemon Newcastle 8.88 Kevin Wölbert Edinburgh 8.82 Josh Grajczonek Glasgow 8.74
Riders & final averages Berwick
Sebastian Aldén 8.41 Kozza Smith 8.40 Josef Franc 8.19 Lee Complin 7.61 Linus Eklöf 7.47 Charlie Gjedde 7.06 Ludvig Lindgren 6.29 Hynek Stichauer 5.93 Jade Mudgway 4.74 Alex Edberg 4.00 Mitchell Davey 3.71 Tamas Sike 2.60
Edinburgh
Kevin Wölbert 8.82 Andrew Tully 8.14 Craig Cook 8.09 Matthew Wethers 8.00 Kalle Katajisto 6.11 Kyle Howarth 5.07 Byron Bekker 3.10 Lee Dicken 2.70 Ashley Morris 2.24 Tim Webster 2.15
Glasgow
Joe Screen 9.54 Josh Grajczonek 8.74 James Grieves 8.12 Nick Morris 8.06 Theo Pijper 6.84 Christian Henry 6.26 Michał Rajkowski 6.10 Richard Sweetman 5.95 David Bellego 5.93
Ipswich
Lasse Bjerre 8.27 Kevin Doolan 8.06 Taylor Poole 7.66 Mathieu Trésarrieu 7.33 Morten Risager 7.01 Chris Schramm 6.97 Chris Mills 6.68 Jerran Hart 4.98
Leicester
Magnus Karlsson 8.93 Kauko Nieminen 7.86 Richard Hall 7.50 Sergei Darkin 6.92 Richard Sweetman 6.83 Henning Bager 6.32 Ilya Bondarenko 5.45 Jan Graversen 5.32 Viktor Bergström 4.71 Charles Wright 4.64 Jason Garrity 4.43 John Oliver 4.26 Jamie Courtney 2.64
Newcastle
Stuart Robson 9.56 Mark Lemon 8.88 René Bach 7.35 Claes Nedermark 6.55 Derek Sneddon 6.53 Kyle Newman 5.49 Richie Worrall 4.50 Luboš Tomíček Jr. 4.00 Jason King 2.88 Joe Haines 2.81
Newport
Charlie Gjedde 10.25 Jason Doyle 8.73 Leigh Lanham 8.42 Kyle Legault 7.02 Kim Nilsson 6.75 Anders Mellgren 6.69 Robin Aspegren 6.61 Justin Sedgmen 6.32 Todd Kurtz 6.05 Mark Jones 4.22
Plymouth
Ben Barker 10.01 Ricky Wells 7.05 Jesper Kristiansen 6.24 Mark Simmonds 5.58 Jason Bunyan 5.33 Hynek Štichauer 4.70 Kyle Hughes 4.58 James Cockle 4.50 Guglielmo Franchetti 4.04 Lee Smart 3.52
Redcar
Jason Lyons 8.61 Aaron Summers 7.96 Matěj Kůs 7.52 Gary Havelock 7.08 Adam Roynon 6.08 Peter Juul 4.50 Luboš Tomíček Jr. 4.18 Robert Branford 3.30
Rye House
Chris Neath 9.13 Jason Doyle 8.39 Jordan Frampton 8.04