# SGB Championship 2024

The 2024 SGB Cab Direct Championship season was the 77th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 7th known as the SGB Championship.

## Summary

Nine clubs competed in the Championship during 2024, with Workington replacing Birmingham following their respective league changes. Edinburgh once again remained in the league despite problems surrounding their home venue.
The league format was the same as in 2023, with each team racing against each other twice (home and away), meaning a total of 16 fixtures each during the season. The Cab Direct Knockout Cup and the BSN Series also both returned for 2024, both following the same formats as in 2023.
The top four teams qualified for the playoffs. The points limit for team construction was reduced from 40 to 38 points. Glasgow defended the Championship title that they won in 2023, while Scunthorpe defended the knockout cup and Poole defended the BSN Series.
Poole Pirates won the league title for the third time in four years, defeating Oxford Cheetahs in the play off final and overturning a first leg deficit of 12 points. The second leg was subject to controversy following the exclusion and subsequent retirement of Luke Killeen, which effectively ended Oxford's title hopes. Oxford manager Peter Schroeck cited weak refereeing by Michael Breckon. However, Poole rider Tom Brennan starred in the second leg win with 13 points.
The same two teams met in the Knockout Cup final, which resulted in an anti-climax as Poole won easily and consisted of a second leg that saw Oxford field just two riders due to injuries and having to call on five guest riders (believed to be a record).

## League
### Regular season
#### League table

| Pos. | Club | M | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | F | A | B | Pts | +/− |
| Pos. | Club | M | W | SHL | L | W | SHL | L | F | A | B | Pts | +/− |
| 1 | Poole Pirates (C) | 16 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 790 | 650 | 7 | 34 | +140 |
| 2 | Oxford Cheetahs | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 784 | 654 | 8 | 30 | +130 |
| 3 | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 752 | 684 | 5 | 25 | +68 |
| 4 | Workington Comets | 16 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 709 | 731 | 4 | 22 | -22 |
| 5 | Glasgow Tigers | 16 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 703 | 734 | 4 | 20 | -31 |
| 6 | Redcar Bears | 16 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 707 | 733 | 4 | 18 | -26 |
| 7 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 16 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 688 | 749 | 2 | 12 | -61 |
| 8 | Plymouth Gladiators | 16 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 674 | 761 | 2 | 12 | -87 |
| 9 | Berwick Bandits | 16 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 663 | 575 | 1 | 11 | -112 |

#### Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | BER | EDI | GLA | OXF | PLY | POL | RED | SCU | WOR |
| Berwick | | 47–43 | 43–47 | 45–45 | 47–42 | 44–46 | 47–43 | 44–46 | 41–49 |
| Edinburgh | 51–39 | | 49–41 | 46–44 | 42–48 | 43–47 | 44–46 | 56–34 | 55–35 |
| Glasgow | 48–41 | 50–40 | | 46–44 | 58–32 | 44–46 | 48–42 | 48–41 | 47–43 |
| Oxford | 53–37 | 54–36 | 55–35 | | 51–39 | 45–45 | 53–36 | 55–34 | 57–33 |
| Plymouth | 53–37 | 54–34 | 49–40 | 43–47 | | 41–49 | 43–47 | 46–43 | 43–47 |
| Poole | 52–38 | 50–40 | 55–35 | 41–49 | 55–35 | | 47–43 | 52–38 | 61–29 |
| Redcar | 43–47 | 49–41 | 50–40 | 45–45 | 48–42 | 41–49 | | 44–46 | 50–40 |
| Scunthorpe | 62–28 | 50–39 | 55–35 | 47–43 | 62–28 | 48–42 | 53–37 | | 54–36 |
| Workington | 52–38 | 61–29 | 49–41 | 46–44 | 54–36 | 37–53 | 47–43 | 51–39 | |

### Play Offs

| Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 1 | Poole Pirates | 52 | 53 | 105 | | | | | |
| 4 | Workington Comets | 38 | 36 | 74 | | | | | |
| 4 | Workington Comets | 38 | 36 | 74 | Poole Pirates | Poole Pirates | 39 | 56 | 95 |
| | | | | | Oxford Cheetahs | Oxford Cheetahs | 51 | 34 | 85 |
| 3 | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 44 | 41 | 85 | Oxford Cheetahs | Oxford Cheetahs | 51 | 34 | 85 |
| 2 | Oxford Cheetahs | 46 | 49 | 95 | | | | | |
Home team scores are in bold Overall aggregate scores are in red

### Grand Final

First Leg
| 5 October | Oxford Cheetahs Sam Masters 12 Luke Killeen 12 Scott Nicholls 10 Dan Gilkes (guest) 8 Cameron Heeps 6 Jody Scott 2 Ashton Boughen 1 | 51–39 | Poole Pirates Zach Cook 9 Richard Lawson 8 Ben Cook 7 Vinnie Foord 5 Tom Brennan 4 Tobias Thomsen 4 Sam Hagon 2 | Oxford Stadium Referee(s): Chris Durno |
Second Leg
| 9 October | Poole Pirates Tom Brennan 13 Tobias Thomsen 10 Richard Lawson 10 Ben Cook 9 Zach Cook 8 Vinnie Foord 3 Sam Hagon 3 | 56–34 | Oxford Cheetahs Sam Masters 10 Dan Gilkes 6 Scott Nicholls 6 Cameron Heeps 6 Ashton Boughen 4 Jody Scott 2 Luke Killeen 0 | Poole Stadium Referee(s): Michael Breckon |

## Knockout Cup

The 2024 SGB Championship Knockout Cup is the 56th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams and the 7th edition under the SGB Championship Knockout Cup name.
| Round One | Round One | Round One | Round One | Round One | Quarter Finals | Quarter Finals | Quarter Finals | Quarter Finals | Quarter Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | Berwick Bandits | Berwick Bandits | 54 | 27 | 81 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Scunthorpe Scorpions | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 61 | 39 | 100 | Scunthorpe Scorpions | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 36 | 63 | 99 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Plymouth Gladiators | Plymouth Gladiators | 29 | 51 | 80 | | | | | | Scunthorpe Scorpions | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 29 | 40 | 69 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Poole Pirates | Poole Pirates | 60 | 50 | 110 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Poole Pirates | Poole Pirates | 49 | 43 | 92 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Edinburgh Monarchs | Edinburgh Monarchs | 40 | 47 | 87 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Poole Pirates | Poole Pirates | 57 | 57 | 114 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Oxford Cheetahs | Oxford Cheetahs | 33 | 33 | 66 |
| | | | | | Redcar Bears | Redcar Bears | 51 | 50 | 101 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Workington Comets | Workington Comets | 38 | 40 | 78 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Redcar Bears | Redcar Bears | 40 | 45 | 85 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Oxford Cheetahs | Oxford Cheetahs | 50 | 45 | 95 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Glasgow Tigers | Glasgow Tigers | 51 | 36 | 87 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Oxford Cheetahs | Oxford Cheetahs | 39 | 54 | 93 | | | | | | | | | | |
Home team scores are in bold Overall aggregate scores are in red

### Final

First Leg
| 17 October | Oxford Cheetahs Cameron Heeps 11 Sam Masters 8 Dan Gilkes (guest) 6 Jack Smith (guest) 5 Ashton Boughen 2 Connor Coles (guest) 1 Scott Nicholls 0 | 33–57 | Poole Pirates Richard Lawson 14 Tom Brennan 11 Tobias Thomsen 11 Zach Cook 7 Ben Cook 7 Vinnie Foord 6 Sam Hagon 1 | Oxford Stadium Referee(s): Mick Bates |
Second Leg
| 23 October | Poole Pirates Ben Cook 13 Richard Lawson 12 Tobias Thomsen 8 Tom Brennan 8 Vinnie Foord 6 Zach Cook 5 Sam Hagon 5 | 57–33 | Oxford Cheetahs Sam Masters 11 Jason Edwards (guest) 8 Dan Gilkes (guest) 4 Ben Trigger (guest) 4 Simon Lambert (guest) 3 Ashton Boughen 3 Connor Coles (guest) 0 | Poole Stadium Referee(s): Chris Gay |

## BSN Series

Scottish Group
Fixtures
| Home \ Away | BER | EDB | GLA |
| Berwick | | 47–43 | 48–42 |
| Edinburgh | 53–37 | | 50–39 |
| Glasgow | 50–40 | 45–45 | |
Table
| Pos. | Club | M | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | F | A | B | Pts | +/− |
| Pos. | Club | M | W | SHL | L | W | SHL | L | F | A | B | Pts | +/− |
| 1 | Edinburgh Monarchs (Q) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 191 | 168 | 2 | 8 | +23 |
| 2 | Glasgow Tigers | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 176 | 183 | 1 | 4 | -7 |
| 3 | Berwick Bandits | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 172 | 188 | 0 | 4 | -16 |
Northern Group
Fixtures
| Home \ Away | RED | SCU | WOR |
| Redcar | | 42–48 | 44–46 |
| Scunthorpe | 52–38 | | 49–41 |
| Workington | 49–41 | 56–34 | |
Table
| Pos. | Club | M | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | F | A | B | Pts | +/− |
| Pos. | Club | M | W | SHL | L | W | SHL | L | F | A | B | Pts | +/− |
| 1 | Workington Comets (Q) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 192 | 168 | 2 | 8 | +24 |
| 2 | Scunthorpe Scorpions (Q) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 183 | 177 | 1 | 7 | +6 |
| 3 | Redcar Bears | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 165 | 195 | 0 | 0 | -30 |
Southern Group
Fixtures
| Home \ Away | OXF | PLY | POL |
| Oxford | | 46–44 | 45–44 |
| Plymouth | 49–41 | | 43–47 |
| Poole | 61–29 | 58–32 | |
Table
| Pos. | Club | M | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | F | A | B | Pts | +/− |
| Pos. | Club | M | W | SHL | L | W | SHL | L | F | A | B | Pts | +/− |
| 1 | Poole Pirates (Q) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 210 | 149 | 2 | 8 | +61 |
| 2 | Oxford Cheetahs | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 161 | 198 | 0 | 4 | -37 |
| 3 | Plymouth Gladiators | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 168 | 192 | 1 | 3 | -24 |

### Knockout stages

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| Poole Pirates | 59 | 45 | 104 | | | | |
| Workington Comets | 31 | 45 | 76 | | | | |
| Workington Comets | 31 | 45 | 76 | Poole Pirates | 53 | 57 | 110 |
| | | | | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 37 | 33 | 70 |
| Edinburgh Monarchs | 40 | 42 | 82 | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 37 | 33 | 70 |
| Scunthorpe Scorpions | 49 | 48 | 97 | | | | |
Home team scores are in bold Overall aggregate scores are in red

### Final

First leg
| 29 September | Scunthorpe Scorpions Luke Harrison 12 Connor Mountain 8 Jake Allen 6 Nathan Ablitt 4 Kyle Howarth 4 Simon Lambert 3 Ashton Boughen (guest) 0 | 37–53 | Poole Pirates Zach Cook 15 Richard Lawson 14 Tom Brennan 10 Charles Wright (guest) 8 Sam Hagon 3 Tobias Thomsen 2 Vinnie Foord 1 | Eddie Wright Raceway Referee(s): Chris Gay |
Second leg
| 2 October | Poole Pirates Richard Lawson 14 Ben Cook 12 Zach Cook 11 Tom Brennan 10 Tobias Thomsen 6 Dam Hagon 2 Vinnie Foord 2 | 57–33 | Scunthorpe Scorpions Simon Lambert 8 Connor Mountain 7 Jake Mulford (guest) 7 Nathan Ablitt 6 Leon Flint (guest) 3 Jake Allen 2 Kyle Howarth r/r | Poole Stadium Referee(s): Simon Humphrey-Kennett |

## Pairs Championship

The 2024 edition of the SGB Championship Pairs took place on Friday 16 August, at Oxford Stadium, Oxford. The event was won by Redcar Bears.
Qualifying heats
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Glasgow Tigers | 26 | Anders Rowe 14, Chris Harris 12 |
| 2 | Oxford Cheetahs | 24 | Sam Masters 14, Scott Nicholls 10 |
| 3 | Poole Pirates | 22 | Richard Lawson 13, Ben Cook 9 |
| 4 | Redcar Bears | 20 | Charles Wright 14, Danny King 6 |
| 5 | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 17 | Michael Palm Toft 9, Kyle Howarth 8 |
| 6 | Berwick Bandits | 13 | Lewis Kerr 10, Drew Kemp 3 |
| 7 | Plymouth Gladiators | 12 | Dan Thompson 9, Ben Barker 3 |
| 8 | Workington Comets | 11 | Troy Batchelor 7, Antti Vuolas 4 |
Semi-finals
| Team One | Team Two | Score | Result |
| Redcar | Glasgow | 7-2 | Wright 4, King 3, Rowe 2, Harris 0 |
| Oxford | Poole | 7-2 | Nicholls 4, Masters 3, Lawson 2, Cook 0 |
Final
| Team One | Team Two | Score | Result |
| Redcar | Oxford | 7-2 | King 4, Wright 3, Masters 2, Nicholls X |

## Riders' Championship

The 2024 edition of the SGB Championship Riders Championship took place at the Ecco Arena in Redcar on Sunday 15 September. It was won by Josh Pickering.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Josh Pickering (Edinburgh) | 3,1,3,2,2 | 11 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Ben Cook (Poole) | 2,0,3,3,3 | 11 | - | 2 |
| 3 | Richard Lawson (Poole) | 3,2,2,3,3 | 13 | - | 1 |
| 4 | Antti Vuolas (Workington) | 0,1,2,3,3 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Drew Kemp (Berwick) | 2,2,R,1,3 | 8 | 1 |
| 6 | Danny King (Redcar) | 3,3,2,2,0 | 10 | 0 |
| 7 | Sam Masters (Oxford) | 3,3,3,0,F | 9 |
| 8 | Chris Harris (Glasgow) | 2,3,1,1,1 | 8 |
| 9 | Jason Edwards (Redcar) | 1,2,1,2,2 | 8 |
| 10 | Tom Brennan (Poole) | 2,1,0,2,2 | 7 |
| 11 | Ashton Boughen (Oxford) | 1,3,2,0,- | 6 |
| 12 | Dan Thompson (Plymouth) | 1,1,3,1,R | 6 |
| 13 | Charles Wright (Redcar) | E,2,1,R,2 | 5 |
| 14 | Leon Flint (Berwick) | 0,0,0,3,1 | 4 |
| 15 | Simon Lambert (Scunthorpe) | 1,0,R,1,1 | 3 |
| 16 | Freddie Hodder (Berwick) | -,-,0,F,1 | 1 |
| 17 | Danny Phillips (Unattached) | -,-,-,1,R | 1 |
| 18 | Michael Palm Toft (Scunthorpe) | 0,R,-,-,- | 0 |

## Leading averages

| | Rider | Team | Average |
| 1 | Richard Lawson | Poole | 9.96 |
| 2 | Josh Pickering | Edinburgh | 9.76 |
| 3 | Sam Masters | Oxford | 9.75 |
| 4 | Chris Harris | Glasgow | 9.62 |
| 5 | Tom Brennan | Poole | 9.59 |
| 6 | Ben Cook | Poole | 9.56 |
| 7 | Scott Nicholls | Oxford | 9.24 |
| 8 | Craig Cook | Workington | 9.02 |
| 9 | Charles Wright | Redcar | 9.01 |
| 10 | Troy Batchelor | Workington | 8.80 |
* averages include league, play offs, knockout cup & bsn series, min 6 matches

## Squads & final averages

Averages include 2024 Championship, Knockout Cup and BSN Series matches.
Berwick Bandits
* Rory Schlein (C) 8.12
* Lewis Kerr 7.34
* Drew Kemp 7.09
* Bastian Borke 6.41
* Jye Etheridge 5.46
* Danyon Hume 5.36
* Freddy Hodder 1.81
Edinburgh Monarchs
* Josh Pickering 9.76
* Justin Sedgmen 7.80
* Michele Paco Castagna (C) 7.55
* Kye Thomson 7.03
* Lasse Fredriksen 5.76
* Connor Coles 4.00
* Max James 2.37
Glasgow Tigers
* Chris Harris (C) 9.62
* Steve Worrall 8.07
* Anders Rowe 7.76
* Leon Flint 7.45
* James Pearson 6.29
* Matic Ivačič 4.61
* Paul Starke 4.45
* Jack Smith 4.34
* Ace Pijper 3.33
* Jason Garrad 0.50
Oxford Cheetahs
* Sam Masters 9.75
* Scott Nicholls (C) 9.24
* Cameron Heeps 7.39
* Jordan Jenkins 7.19
* Ashton Boughen 5.73
* Luke Killeen 5.02
* Henry Atkins 2.20
Plymouth Gladiators
* Dan Thompson 8.26
* Ben Barker (C) 6.69
* Nicolás Covatti 6.67
* Joe Thompson 6.44
* Kyle Newman 6.18
* Alfie Bowtell 5.46
* Jacob Hook 5.35
* Patrick Baek 3.54
Poole Pirates
* Richard Lawson 9.96
* Tom Brennan 9.59
* Ben Cook (C) 9.56
* Zach Cook 7.94
* Tobias Thomsen 5.69
* Vinnie Foord 5.14
* Sam Hagon 4.79
* Max Perry 1.73
Redcar Bears
* Charles Wright (C) 9.01
* Danny King 8.31
* Jason Edwards 7.18
* Connor Bailey 5.83
* Dan Gilkes 5.57
* Jake Mulford 5.51
* Jonas Knudsen 5.13
* Ben Trigger 3.53
Scunthorpe Scorpions
* Michael Palm Toft 8.00
* Kyle Howarth 7.87
* Jake Allen 7.81
* Simon Lambert (C) 7.10
* Connor Mountain 6.94
* Nathan Ablitt 5.56
* Luke Harrison 5.50
Workington Comets
* Craig Cook (C) 9.02
* Troy Batchelor 8.80
* Tate Zischke 7.28
* Claus Vissing 7.06
* Antti Vuolas 6.71
* Paul Starke 4.97
* Celina Liebmann 2.61
* Sam McGurk 1.78