The 2023 SGB Championship season (sponsored by Cab Direct) was the 76th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 6th known as the SGB Championship. The British Speedway Network (BSN) streamed 35 matches live for the second year running.
Summary Nine clubs competed in the Championship in 2023, with Edinburgh Monarchs remaining in the league despite problems surrounding their home venue. The only change to the league was Leicester Lions, who left for the higher league of the SGB Premiership 2023.
The league format was the same as in 2022, with each team racing against each other twice (home and away), meaning a total of 16 fixtures each during the season. The points system was revamped and simplified, with teams scoring two points for a win (home or away), with a bonus point scored for an aggregate win. A 'Super Heat' was also introduced in the event of a tied meeting, with the winners scoring two league points and the losers gaining one point.
The top six teams qualified for the playoffs, however they were split into two groups of three, with the winners of each qualifying for the Grand Final. Finally, the points limit for team construction was reduced from 42 to 40 points.
Glasgow Tigers won the title for the first time 2011, while Scunthorpe Scorpions claimed the knockout cup. Poole Pirates had been looking to secure an unprecedented third consecutive double of league and cup, however they lost in both finals. However, Poole did win the BSN Series, an early season competition.
League
Regular season League table
Club Home Away 1 Poole Pirates 16 8 0 0 6 0 2 818 622 7 35 +196 2 Oxford Cheetahs 16 8 0 0 5 0 3 791 647 8 34 +144 3 Glasgow Tigers (C) 16 8 0 0 5 0 3 772 614 5 31 +148 4 Scunthorpe Scorpions 16 6 1 1 2 0 6 758 657 6 23 +101 5 Redcar Bears 16 6 1 1 3 0 5 719 702 4 23 +17 6 Edinburgh Monarchs 16 3 0 5 3 0 5 662 758 3 15 -96 7 Birmingham Brummies 16 2 0 6 2 0 6 629 791 2 10 -162 8 Berwick Bandits 16 3 0 5 0 0 8 641 797 1 7 -156 9 Plymouth Gladiators 16 2 0 6 0 0 8 621 813 0 4 -192
Fixtures & results
Play Offs Six of the nine teams qualified for the play offs, including sixth placed Edinburgh who lost 10 of their 16 matches.
Group A
Fixtures
Table
Club Home Away 1 Poole Pirates (Q) 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 204 156 2 10 +48 2 Scunthorpe Scorpions 4 1 0 1 1 1 0 198 162 1 6 +36 3 Edinburgh Monarchs 4 0 0 2 0 0 2 138 222 0 0 -84
Group B
Fixtures
Table
Club Home Away 1 Glasgow Tigers (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 198 162 2 8 +36 2 Oxford Cheetahs 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 188 172 1 7 +16 3 Redcar Bears 4 0 0 2 0 0 2 154 206 0 0 -52
Grand final
First leg
Second leg
Knockout Cup The 2023 SGB Championship Knockout Cup was the 55th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams and the 6th edition under the SGB Championship Knockout Cup name.
Home team scores are in bold Overall aggregate scores are in red
Final First Leg
Second Leg
BSN Series Scottish Group
Fixtures
Table
Club Home Away 1 Glasgow Tigers (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 202 157 2 8 +45 2 Berwick Bandits 4 1 0 1 1 0 1 170 189 1 5 -19 3 Edinburgh Monarchs 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 167 193 0 2 -26
Northern Group
Fixtures
Table
Club Home Away 1 Scunthorpe Scorpions (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 195 165 2 8 +30 2 Redcar Bears (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 190 170 1 7 +20 3 Birmingham Brummies 4 0 0 2 0 0 2 155 205 0 0 -50
Southern Group
Fixtures
Table
Club Home Away 1 Poole Pirates (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 206 152 2 8 +54 2 Oxford Cheetahs 4 1 0 1 1 0 1 182 177 1 5 +5 3 Plymouth Gladiators 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 150 209 0 2 -59
Knockout stages
Home team scores are in bold Overall aggregate scores are in red
Grand Final First leg
Second leg
Pairs Championship The 2023 edition of the SGB Championship Pairs took place on Friday 1 September, at Oxford Stadium, Oxford. It was won by Glasgow Tigers, who beat defending champions Redcar Bears in the final.
Qualifying heats Pos Team Pts Riders 1 Redcar Bears 25 Charles Wright 14, Danny King 11 2 Oxford Cheetahs 25 Lewis Kerr 15, Sam Masters 10 3 Glasgow Tigers 23 Chris Harris 12, Benjamin Basso 11 4 Poole Pirates 17 Ben Cook 11, Richard Lawson 6 5 Scunthorpe Scorpions 17 Ryan Douglas 13, Simon Lambert 4 6 Berwick Bandits 15 Jye Etheridge 8, Leon Flint 7 7 Edinburgh Monarchs 14 Josh Pickering 12, Luke Killeen 2 8 Birmingham Brummies 14 Justin Sedgmen 12, Troy Batchelor 2 9 Plymouth Gladiators 12 Kyle Howarth 8, Max Perry 4
Semi-finals Team One Team Two Score Result Redcar Poole 7-2 Wright 4, King 3, Lawson 2, Cook 0
Team One Team Two Score Result Glasgow Oxford 5-4 Masters 4, Harris 3, Basso 2, Kerr 0
Final Team One Team Two Score Result Glasgow Redcar 6-3 Basso 4, Wright 3, Harris 2, King 0
Riders' Championship The 2023 edition of the SGB Championship Riders Championship was held on 27 August, at the Ecco Arena in Redcar. The event was won by Charles Wright on his home track.
Pos. Rider Pts Total SF Final1 Charles Wright (Redcar) 1 2 2 3 3 11232 Chris Harris (Glasgow) 2 1 3 3 312x23 Ben Cook (Poole) 3 2 3 3 2 12x14 Danny King (Redcar) 3 3 2 2 2 12305 Lewis Kerr (Oxford) 3 1 3 2 11016 Richard Lawson (Poole)2 0 1 3 39 07 Ryan Douglas (Scunthorpe)2 2 2 fx 288 Richie Worrall (Plymouth) 1 3 3 1 0 89 Rory Schlein (Berwick) 2 3 1 1 0 710 Leon Flint (Berwick)0 3 2 2 0 711 Justin Sedgmen (Birmingham)3 0 0 1 2612 Jake Allen (Scunthorpe)1 1 1 0 2513 Paco Castagna (Edinburgh)0 1 0 2 1414 Troy Batchelor (Birmingham)0 2 0 1 1415 Kye Thomson (Edinburgh)1 0 1 0 1316 Craig Cook (Edinburgh)r tm - - - 017 Luke Harrison (res) 0 0 018 Sam McGurk (res) 0 00 f=fell, r=retired, ex=excluded tm=two minute warning excluded
Leading averages Rider Team Average 1 Ryan Douglas Scunthorpe 10.09 2 Sam Masters Oxford 9.80 3 Charles Wright Redcar 9.66 4 Scott Nicholls Oxford 9.54 5 Chris Harris Glasgow 9.47 6 Benjamin Basso Glasgow 9.45 7 Richard Lawson Poole 9.37 8 Craig Cook Edinburgh 9.08 9 Danny King Redcar 8.58 10 Josh Pickering Edinburgh 8.55 averages include league, play offs, knockout cup & bsn series, min 6 matches
Squads & final averages
Berwick Bandits 8.23 (C) 7.05 6.41 6.23 5.74 5.38 4.85 4.51 3.64 2.46 1.33
Birmingham Brummies (C) 7.74 7.53 7.35 5.43 4.40 3.05 3.02 3.00 2.86
Edinburgh Monarchs 9.08 (C) 8.55 6.57 6.11 4.71 4.50 3.39 3.06 1.00
Glasgow Tigers 9.47 9.45 / Vadim Tarasenko 8.51 (C) 7.91 7.45 6.37 4.56 3.18
Oxford Cheetahs 9.80 (C) 9.54 8.54 6.69 5.71 4.70 4.00 3.27 2.36
Plymouth Gladiators 7.84 7.77 (C) 7.61 5.84 5.79 3.06 2.49 2.07
Poole Pirates 9.37 (C) 8.38 8.29 8.03 6.67 6.63 5.01 4.86
Redcar Bears (C) 9.66 8.58 6.76 6.08 5.76 5.65 3.44
Scunthorpe Scorpions 10.09 7.94 7.85 (C) 7.04 6.69 6.64 3.13
See also List of United Kingdom speedway league champions Knockout Cup (speedway)
References