# 2016 Premier League speedway season

The 2016 Premier League season was the second division of British speedway. The title was won by Somerset Rebels who defeated Sheffield Tigers in the Grand Final.

## Final league table

| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | 4w | 3w | D | 1L | L | For | Against | Points |
| 1 | Somerset Rebels | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1192 | 998 | 60 |
| 2 | Glasgow Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1212 | 962 | 57 |
| 3 | Newcastle Diamonds | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1171 | 989 | 53 |
| 4 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 24 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1088 | 1043 | 47 |
| 5 | Ipswich Witches | 24 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1136 | 1057 | 40 |
| 6 | Sheffield Tigers | 24 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1080 | 1104 | 40 |
| 7 | Workington Comets | 24 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1058 | 1126 | 38 |
| 8 | Peterborough Panthers | 24 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1056 | 1131 | 38 |
| 9 | Rye House Rockets | 24 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1042 | 1114 | 31 |
| 10 | Berwick Bandits | 24 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1042 | 1097 | 29 |
| 11 | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 24 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1017 | 1160 | 26 |
| 12 | Plymouth Devils | 24 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 992 | 1126 | 25 |
| 13 | Redcar Bears | 24 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 997 | 1176 | 21 |
Scoring
* Home draw = 1 point
* Home win by any number of points = 3
* Away loss by 6 points or less = 1
* Away draw = 2
* Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3
* Away win by 7 points or more = 4

## Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | BER | ED | GLA | IPS | NEW | PET | PLY | RED | RYE | SCU | SHE | SOM | WOR |
| Berwick Bandits | | 50–40 | 31–58 | 60–33 | 42–50 | 40–50 | 40–32 | 46–44 | 56–37 | 60–33 | 41–49 | 45–45 | 59–31 |
| Edinburgh Monarchs | 50–44 | | 38–55 | 52–39 | 46–44 | 59–33 | 39–30 | 62–28 | 45–44 | 49–40 | 56–36 | 50–43 | 49–41 |
| Glasgow Tigers | 53–38 | 51–39 | | 50–39 | 49–40 | 62–30 | 57–35 | 51–39 | 54–36 | 71–19 | 62–30 | 44–46 | 59–31 |
| Ipswich Witches | 58–34 | 48–45 | 44–46 | | 52–41 | 57–36 | 61–29 | 61–32 | 48–45 | 56–34 | 59–34 | 42–48 | 69–23 |
| Newcastle Diamonds | 51–39 | 33–27 | 49–44 | 55–37 | | 59–34 | 55–37 | 58–35 | 57–36 | 61–31 | 54–36 | 57–36 | 57–33 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 50–40 | 39–52 | 50–40 | 56–36 | 38–54 | | 55–34 | 45–45 | 46–43 | 44–46 | 50–40 | 37–53 | 45–48 |
| Plymouth Devils | 47–43 | 52–41 | 39–51 | 42–48 | 43–47 | 52–40 | | 48–42 | 48–45 | 48–42 | 52–41 | 43–47 | 56–37 |
| Redcar Bears | 47–31 | 45–48 | 48–44 | 37–53 | 44–45 | 40–53 | 47–43 | | 41–49 | 48–41 | 45–45 | 46–47 | 50–43 |
| Rye House Rockets | 45–45 | 47–42 | 44–46 | 53–39 | 48–42 | 42–48 | 35–25 | 55–37 | | 48–45 | 51–41 | 45–47 | 45–45 |
| Scunthorpe Scorpions | 39–52 | 44–45 | 51–39 | 53–37 | 54–38 | 40–53 | 50–43 | 54–39 | 51–39 | | 43–49 | 43–47 | 54–30 |
| Sheffield Tigers | 49–36 | 47–43 | 54–38 | 45–45 | 49–40 | 45–48 | 51–42 | 51–41 | 56–37 | 54–35 | | 50–40 | 53–38 |
| Somerset Rebels | 56–34 | 57–35 | 53–37 | 61–31 | 47–43 | 57–33 | 57–35 | 47–43 | 55–38 | 52–41 | 53–38 | | 55–38 |
| Workington Comets | 50–40 | 57–36 | 39–51 | 46–44 | 52–41 | 47–43 | 55–37 | 56–34 | 55–35 | 58–34 | 55–37 | 50–43 | |

## Play-offs

Quarter-finals
| Team one | Team two | First Leg | Second Leg | Aggregate |
| Ipswich | Edinburgh | 58-32 | 37-53 | 95–85 |
| Sheffield | Newcastle | 48-42 | 44-46 | 92–88 |
Semi-finals
| Team one | Team two | First Leg | Second Leg | Aggregate |
| Somerset | Ipswich | 53-37 | 49-41 | 102–78 |
| Sheffield | Glasgow | 49-41 | 42-48 | 91–87 |

## Play Off final

First leg
Second leg
Somerset were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 100–80.

## Knockout Cup

The 2016 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 49th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. It was the last time it would be known as the Premier League Knockout Cup because the following season it would be the SGB Championship Knockout Cup.
Glasgow Tigers were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 02/05 | Scunthorpe | 50-40 | Newcastle |
| 06/05 | Somerset | 52-38 | Workington |
| 12/05 | Ipswich | 46-44 | Rye House |
| 13/05 | Edinburgh | 54-36 | Plymouth |
| 14/05 | Plymouth | 47-42 | Edinburgh |
| 14/05 | Rye House | 53-37 | Ipswich |
| 14/05 | Workington | 44-46 | Somerset |
| 22/05 | Glasgow | 60-29 | Redcar |
| 26/05 | Redcar | 40-50 | Glasgow |
| 11/07 | Newcastle | 57-32 | Scunthorpe |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 03/07 | Peterborough | 38-52 | Somerset |
| 28/06 | Somerset | 62-28 | Peterborough |
| 17/07 | Newcastle | 62-28 | Sheffield |
| 21/07 | Sheffield | 45-45 | Newcastle |
| 31/07 | Glasgow | 54-30 | Edinburgh |
| 06/08 | Berwick | 53-37 | Rye House |
| 29/08 | Rye House | 54-36 | Berwick |
| 26/08 | Edinburgh | 48-41 | Glasgow |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 09/10 | Newcastle | 47-43 | Rye House |
| 07/10 | Rye House | 47-43 | Newcastle |
| 08/10 | Glasgow | 50-39 | Somerset |
| 23/09 | Somerset | 34-38 | Glasgow |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Glasgow were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 104–76.

## Riders' Championship

Simon Stead won the Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held on 11 September at Owlerton Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Simon Stead | 3 3 2 3 2 | 13 | - | 3 |
| 2 | Sam Masters | 3 2 3 0 3 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | David Bellego | 2 3 1 3 3 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | Richard Lawson | 3 2 3 3 2 | 13 | - | 0 |
| 5 | Danny King | 2 3 2 2 2 | 11 | 1 |
| 6 | Jack Holder | 3 F 3 2 2 | 10 | 0 |
| 7 | Kyle Howarth | 1 3 1 2 1 | 8 |
| 8 | Josh Grajczonek | 2 1 1 1 3 | 8 |
| 9 | Kevin Doolan | 0 1 0 2 3 | 6 |
| 10 | Steve Worrall | 2 0 2 0 1 | 5 |
| 11 | Craig Cook | 0 1 2 1 1 | 5 |
| 12 | Josh Auty | 1 2 0 1 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Ricky Wells | 1 0 3 1 0 | 5 |
| 14 | Aaron Summers | 0 1 0 3 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Ulrich Østergaard | 0 2 1 0 0 | 3 |
| 16 | Claus Vissing | 1 0 0 0 R | 1 |
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

## Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Oaktree Arena on 8 July. The event was won by Somerset Rebels.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Somerset | 26 | Grajczonek 14, Tungate 12 |
| 2 | Glasgow | 18 | Lawson 9, Summers 9 |
| 3 | Workington | 17 | Vissing 9, Wells 8 |
| 4 | Peterborough | 15 | Ostergaard 10, Jakobsen 5 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 14 | Kus 10, Rose 4 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Edinburgh | 23 | Fisher 14, Masters 9 |
| 2 | Sheffield | 21 | Stead 11, Howarth 10 |
| 3 | Plymouth | 20 | Kurtz 12, Holder 8 |
| 4 | Ipswich | 15 | Covatti 13, Risager 2 |
| 5 | Rye House | 11 | Robson 11, Heeps 0 |
Semi finals
* Edinburgh bt Glasgow 5–4
* Somerset bt Sheffield 7–2
Final
* Somerset bt Edinburgh 7–2

## Fours

Plymouth Devils won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, held on 23 and 24 July 2016, at the East of England Arena.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Workington | 23 | Hansen 8, Wells 6, Jensen 5, Vissing 4 |
| 2 | Glasgow | 23 | Worrall 7, Bach 6, Lawson 5, Summers 5 |
| 3 | Somerset | 12 | Grajczonek 6, Allen 4, Tungate 3, Starke 1, Wilson-Dean 0 |
| 4 | Scunthorpe | 12 | Palm Toft 6, Douglas 4, Wilkinson 1, Auty 1 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Plymouth | 23 | Holder 8, Kurtz B 8, Newman 6, Kurtz T 1 |
| 2 | Sheffield | 18 | Howarth 8, Berge 4, Stead 3, Bates 3 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 17 | Worrall 7, Lambert 5, Rose 3, Phillips 2 |
| 4 | Redcar | 14 | Bjerre 9, Andersen 3, Bellego 2, Skidmore 0 |
Group C :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Berwick | 21 | Jorgensen 8, Doolan 5, Pjiper 5, Wethers 3 |
| 2 | Edinburgh | 20 | Masters 9, Fisher 5, Riss 3, Wolbert 3 |
| 3 | Rye House | 17 | Robson 8, Lanham 5, Heeps 3, Kennett 1 |
| 4 | Ipswich | 14 | King 5, Covatti 5, Barker 2, Risager 2 |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Plymouth | 30 | Holder 11, Kurtz B 7, Kurtz T 7, Newman 5 |
| 2 | Workington | 29 | Hansen 10, Wells 7, Vissing 7, Jensen 5 |
| 3 | Peterborough | 25 | Cook 11, Jakobsen 7, Ostergaard 4, Perry 2, Grondal 1 |
| 4 | Berwick | 12 | Doolan 4, Wethers 4, Jorgensen 3, Pjiper 1 |

## Final Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Craig Cook | Peterborough | 9.83 |
| Danny King | Ipswich | 9.57 |
| Edward Kennett | Rye House | 9.27 |
| Rohan Tungate | Somerset | 9.03 |
| Sam Masters | Edinburgh | 8.97 |
| Robert Lambert | Newcastle | 8.92 |
| Josh Grajczonek | Somerset | 8.90 |
| Aaron Summers | Glasgow | 8.57 |
| Jason Garrity | Sheffield | 8.55 |
| Richie Worrall | Glasgow | 8.49 |

## Teams

Berwick Bandits
* Thomas Jørgensen 7.45
* Sebastian Aldén 7.18
* Kevin Doolan 6.99
* Theo Pijper 6.16
* Matthew Wethers 5.65
* Anders Mellgren 5.09
* Liam Carr 4.81
* Tom Perry 3.76
* Dany Gappmaier 3.75
* Romano Hummel 2.86
* Henning Bager 2.67
* Dawid Stachyra 1.74
Edinburgh Monarchs
* Sam Masters 8.97
* Kevin Wölbert 8.00
* Ryan Fisher 7.49
* Erik Riss 6.85
* Max Clegg 4.34
* Dan Bewley 4.00
* Mark Riss 3.27
* Jye Etheridge 1.00
Glasgow Tigers
* Aaron Summers 8.57
* Richie Worrall 8.49
* Richard Lawson 8.22
* René Bach 7.53
* Ben Barker 7.48
* Nike Lunna 4.90
* Coty Garcia 4.23
* Danny Ayres 3.70
Ipswich Witches
* Danny King 9.57
* Ben Barker 7.91
* Nico Covatti 7.49
* Morten Risager 7.13
* Lewis Kerr 6.48
* James Sarjeant 5.80
* Joe Jacobs 5.36
* Danyon Hume 3.48
* Michele Paco Castagna 2.78
* Oliver Greenwood 2.12
* Darryl Ritchings 1.88
Newcastle Diamonds
* Robert Lambert 8.92
* Steve Worrall 8.47
* Matěj Kůs 7.74
* Ludvig Lindgren 7.69
* Lewis Rose 6.12
* Tero Aarnio 6.24
* Victor Palovaara 5.80
* Ashley Morris 4.98
* Danny Phillips 1.73
Peterborough Panthers
* Lasse Bjerre 10.40 (2 matches only)
* Craig Cook 9.83
* Anders Thomsen 8.29
* Ulrich Østergaard 7.14
* Nicklas Porsing 6.58
* Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 6.50
* Simon Lambert 5.25
* Michael Palm Toft 5.18
* Ashley Morris 4.67
* Emil Grøndal 4.39
* Tom Perry 3.95
* Richard Hall 3.53
* Zdeněk Holub 2.99
* Danny Halsey 0.36 (3 matches only)
Plymouth Devils
* Brady Kurtz 7.65
* Jack Holder 7.16
* Kyle Newman 6.31
* Charlie Gjedde 6.12
* Todd Kurtz 5.76
* Stefan Nielsen 5.53
* Zdeněk Simota 5.09
* Steve Boxall 4.40
* Ellis Perks 2.38
Redcar Bears
* David Bellego 7.63
* Hugh Skidmore 6.84
* Lasse Bjerre 6.64
* Jonas B. Andersen 6.30
* Tobias Busch 4.66
* Simon Nielsen 4.19
* Lee Payne 2.68
* Jye Etheridge 2.06
* Jacob Bukhave 1.60
Rye House Rockets
* Edward Kennett 9.27
* Stuart Robson 7.09
* Kasper Lykke 5.16
* Cameron Heeps 5.07
* Robert Branford 4.60
* Leigh Lanham 4.34
* Ben Morley 3.85
* Peter Karger 1.62
Scunthorpe Scorpions
* Ryan Douglas 7.18
* Josh Auty 7.01
* Michael Palm Toft 6.98
* Carl Wilkinson 6.12
* Lewis Kerr 5.98
* Nicolai Klindt 5.42
* Alex Davies 5.41
* Ashley Morris 4.76
* Fritz Wallner 3.83
* Andreas Lyager 3.38
* Zdeněk Holub 3.09
* Josh Bailey 2.05
Sheffield Tigers
* Jason Garrity 8.55
* Simon Stead 8.39
* Kyle Howarth 7.18
* Dimitri Bergé 6.91
* Josh Bates 5.02
* Arthur Sissis 3.79
* Richard Hall 3.29
* Nathan Greaves 2.32
Somerset Rebels
* Rohan Tungate 9.03
* Josh Grajczonek 8.90
* Paul Starke 6.62
* Charles Wright 6.59
* Jake Allen 5.96
* Bradley Wilson-Dean 5.02
* Zach Wajtknecht 2.63
Workington Comets
* Ricky Wells 7.92
* Claus Vissing 6.80
* Kenneth Hansen 6.74
* Rasmus Jensen 6.14
* Adam Roynon 5.12
* Mason Campton 4.67
* Matt Williamson 3.67