1999 Premier League speedway season explained

Competition:Premier League
Domesticcup1:Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:Sheffield Tigers
Domesticcup2:Knockout Cup
Domesticcup2 Winners:Edinburgh Monarchs
Domesticcup3:Young Shield
Domesticcup3 Winners:Sheffield Tigers
Domesticcup4:Individual
Domesticcup4 Winners:Sean Wilson
Domesticcup5:Pairs
Domesticcup5 Winners:Workington Comets
Domesticcup6:Fours
Domesticcup6 Winners:Sheffield Tigers
Highest Average:Sean Wilson
League Above:1999 Elite League
Leagues Below:1999 Conference League
Prevseason:1998
Nextseason:2000

The 1999 Premier League speedway season was the second division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).

Season summary

The League consisted of 13 teams for the 1999 season with the addition of the Swindon Robins who dropped down from the Elite League and a new team, the Workington Comets who replaced the Hull Vikings and the Peterborough Panthers who moved up to the Elite League.

The League was run on a standard format with no play-offs and was won by Sheffield Tigers.[1]

Final table

PosMWDLFAPtsBonTot
1Sheffield Tigers2418241229930381250
2Newport Wasps2416171152102333942
3Edinburgh Monarchs24140101151102428937
4Swindon Robins24111121110106123932
5Newcastle Diamonds24111121103106623831
6Exeter Falcons24130111071108726531
7Berwick Bandits24131101024114027431
8Isle of Wight Islanders24111121085107823730
9Arena Essex Hammers24121111081108125530
10Stoke Potters24100141026113820424
11Workington Comets2481151039113217320
12Glasgow Tigers249015999116018119
13Reading Racers2451181004115411213

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 1999 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 32nd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Edinburgh Monarchs were the winners of the competition.[2]

First round

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
17/05Reading53-37Glasgow
23/05Glasgow 37-46 Reading
21/05Edinburgh53-31 Newcastle
23/05Newcastle42-27 Edinburgh
23/05Newport47-43 Stoke
22/05Stoke46-44 Newport
20/05Sheffield52-38 Isle of Wight
18/05Isle of Wight42-48 Sheffield
24/05Exeter67-23 Workington
12/06Workington48-42 Exeter
Quarter-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
12/07Reading46-44 Sheffield
15/07Sheffield55-35 Reading
16/07Edinburgh57-33 Newport
04/07Newport53-37 Edinburgh
09/07Arena Essex55-35 Swindon
29/07Swindon53-37 Arena Essex
28/06Exeter 63-37 Berwick
26/06Berwick 49-40 Exeter
Semi-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
20/08Edinburgh56-34 Sheffield
26/08Sheffield55-35 Edinburgh
20/08Arena Essex50-39 Exeter
23/08Exeter 46-44 Arena Essex

Final

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
25/09Edinburgh 54-36Arena Essex
16/10Arena Essex 49-41 Edinburgh

First legSecond legEdinburgh were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 95–85.

Riders' Championship

Sean Wilson won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 12 September at Owlerton Stadium.[3]

width=25pxPos. width=180pxRider width=100pxPts width=50pxTotal width=50pxSF width=50pxFinal
1 3 1 3 3 3 13-3
2 2 3 3 3 2 1332
3 3 2 2 0 3 1021
4 3 3 3 1 3 13-0
5 3 1 1 3 3 11 1
6 2 3 3 2 1 110
7 2 2 2 1 2 9
8 ex 3 2 2 2 9
91 ex 2 2 2 7
10 1 0 1 3 1 6
11 1 1 1 2 0 5
12 1 2 0 1 1 5
13 ex 2 0 1 1 4
14 2 0 0 0 0 2
15 0 1 1 0 0 2
16 0 0 0 0 0 0

Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Hayley Stadium on 25 July. The event was won by Workington Comets.[4] [5]

width=20Poswidth=80Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=200Riders
1Workington 38 Stonehewer 20, Werner 18
2Arena Essex 31 Lanham 18, White 13
3Newport28Smart 18, Watson 10
5Edinburgh 24Grieves 20, Little 4
uSheffield ?Wilson, Compton
uGlasgow ?Collins, Sanchez
uNewcastle ?Olsen, Eriksson

Fours

Sheffield Tigers won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 29 August 1999, at the East of England Arena.[6]

Group A
width=20Poswidth=90Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=350Riders
1 isle of Wight 17Swain 6, Berge 5, Tatum 4, Carter 2
2 Newport 13Henriksson 5, Appleton 4, Watson 3, Smart 1
3 Swindon 12Bishop 5, Collins N 3, Masters 2, Cunningham 2
4 Edinburgh 6Little 4, Grieves 1, Carr P 1, Brady 0
Group B
width=20Poswidth=90Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=350Riders
1 Sheffield 16 Compton 5, Wilson 4, Stead 4, Smith 3
2 Arena Essex 14 Lanham 6, White 4, Lobb 2, Pratt 2
3 Newcastle 11Olsen 6, Walsh 3, Eriksson 2, Swales 0
4 Glasgow 7Collins L 4, Bentley 3, Beveridge 0, Felton 0
Final
width=20Poswidth=90Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=350Riders
1 Sheffield28Smith 8, Compton 7, Stead 6, Wilson 5, Lee 2
2 Newport 24Watson 9, Smart 8, Henriksson 5, Appleton 2
3 Isle of Wight 10Lanham 3, White 3, Lobb 3, Pratt 1
4 Arena Essex 10Tatum 4, Carter 2, Berge 2, Swain 2

Final leading averages

width=200Riderwidth=200Teamwidth=40Average
Sean WilsonSheffield10.56
Carl StonehewerWorkington9.92
Paul BentleyGlasgow9.76
Jesper OlsenNewcastle9.68
Peter CarrEdinburgh9.59
Craig WatsonNewport9.59
Petri KokkoReading9.42
Michael ColesExeter9.36
Les CollinsGlasgow9.23
Leigh LanhamArena Essex9.10

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Berwick

Edinburgh

Exeter

Glasgow

Isle of Wight

Newcastle

Newport

Reading

Sheffield

Stoke

Swindon

Workington

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT). Official British Speedway website. 11 September 2021.
  2. Web site: 1999 Premier League Knockout Cup. Speedway archive.
  3. News: Wilson on top . Huddersfield Daily Examiner . 13 September 1999 . 25 June 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  4. Web site: 1999 fixtures . Speedway Researcher . 27 May 2023.
  5. News: Speedway . Reading Evening Post . 26 July 1999 . 27 May 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  6. News: Wasps speed wat to Premier Fours runners-up spot . South Wales Echo . 30 August 1999 . 24 June 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .