# 2004 Premier League speedway season

The 2004 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 15 teams for the 2004 season after the Swindon Robins and Arena Essex Hammers elected to compete in the Elite League and the closure of the Trelawny Tigers.
The League was run on a standard format with no play-offs and was won by Hull Vikings.

## Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | BER | ED | EX | GLA | HV | IOW | KL | ND | NW | RR | RYE | SHE | SOM | STO | WOR |
| Berwick Bandits | | 57–38 | 55–41 | 45–44 | 42–42 | 48–45 | 65–29 | 59–35 | 54–40 | 48–45 | 53–42 | 57–37 | 53–42 | 48–49 | 49–44 |
| Edinburgh Monarchs | 60–36 | | 49–41 | 57–37 | 43–47 | 62–32 | 55–38 | 65–27 | 55–41 | 47–42 | 44–46 | 54–39 | 55–39 | 64–20 | 53–43 |
| Exeter Falcons | 49–41 | 61–33 | | 54–39 | 50–45 | 54–40 | 55–38 | 64–32 | 65–27 | 48.5–47.5 | 75–18 | 59–36 | 62–31 | 43–50 | 56–39 |
| Glasgow Tigers | 57–37 | 50–45 | 61–34 | | 43–47 | 58–34 | 56–38 | 59–35 | 54–40 | 51–45 | 48–47 | 51–42 | 54–42 | 54–39 | 44–46 |
| Hull Vikings | 54–40 | 49–46 | 65–27 | 62–31 | | 48–46 | 62–33 | 60–31 | 61–35 | 46–44 | 62–32 | 54–40 | 55–38 | 50–46 | 46–44 |
| Isle of Wight Islanders | 56–37 | 65–31 | 63–31 | 53–42 | 44–49 | | 66–29 | 53–38 | 63–29 | 55–40 | 63–32 | 57–35 | 62–31 | 50–44 | 45–45 |
| King's Lynn Stars | 61–35 | 63–32 | 64–29 | 41–28 | 50–42 | 57–39 | | 66–26 | 62–33 | 49–47 | 57–38 | 56–36 | 61–33 | 67–27 | 52–42 |
| Newcastle Diamonds | 43–51 | 49–43 | 49–45 | 49–47 | 34–60 | 46–49 | 57–39 | | 49–32 | 47–48 | 45–48 | 52–44 | 47–43 | 50–43 | 43–51 |
| Newport Wasps | 51–44 | 50–43 | 46–44 | 53–39 | 38–58 | 45–45 | 50–44 | 46–44 | | 50–43 | 42–47 | 43–46 | 45–45 | 41–54 | 44–46 |
| Reading Racers | 59–32 | 55–39 | 58–36 | 53–44 | 51–39 | 48–42 | 56–39 | 57–38 | 48–42 | | 49–43 | 50–45 | 52–38 | 61–33 | 56–37 |
| Rye House Rockets | 48–42 | 50–40 | 45–44 | 51–41 | 44–51 | 52–41 | 58–35 | 56–36 | 51–39 | 49–44 | | 52–42 | 49–41 | 50–45 | 56–39 |
| Sheffield Tigers | 55–38 | 65–27 | 57–38 | 55–41 | 52–38 | 55–39 | 56–38 | 67–26 | 65–26 | 51–46 | 69–25 | | 54–42 | 44–33 | 44–46 |
| Somerset Rebels | 51–41 | 61–33 | 55–39 | 46–44 | 44–53 | 45–45 | 49–41 | 51–43 | 59–34 | 42–52 | 52–40 | 51–39 | | 50–43 | 54–41 |
| Stoke Potters | 55–39 | 51–39 | 57–36 | 52–40 | 42–52 | 56–38 | 55–38 | 58–37 | 57–37 | 41–49 | 56–40 | 62–30 | 62–32 | | 56–37 |
| Workington Comets | 60–33 | 65–30 | 66–26 | 68–25 | 53–43 | 49–41 | 54–36 | 69–25 | 65–28 | 57–39 | 58–34 | 51–44 | 58–35 | 52–42 | |

## Final table

| Pos | | M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Bon | Tot |
| 1 | Hull Vikings | 28 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 1445 | 1166 | 46 | 12 | 58 |
| 2 | Workington Comets | 28 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 1425 | 1179 | 37 | 12 | 49 |
| 3 | Reading Racers | 28 | 17 | 0 | 11 | 1389.5 | 1228.5 | 34 | 12 | 46 |
| 4 | Stoke Potters | 28 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 1328 | 1268 | 30 | 9 | 39 |
| 5 | Isle of Wight Islanders | 28 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 1370 | 1240 | 28 | 10 | 38 |
| 6 | Rye House Rockets | 28 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 1243 | 1353 | 32 | 5 | 37 |
| 7 | King's Lynn Stars | 28 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 1321 | 1281 | 28 | 7 | 35 |
| 8 | Sheffield Tigers | 28 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 1344 | 1252 | 28 | 6 | 34 |
| 9 | Berwick Bandits | 28 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 1282 | 1337 | 26 | 7 | 33 |
| 10 | Exeter Falcons | 28 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 1306.5 | 1306.5 | 26 | 6 | 32 |
| 11 | Glasgow Tigers | 28 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 1282 | 1310 | 24 | 8 | 32 |
| 12 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 28 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 1282 | 1319 | 24 | 5 | 29 |
| 13 | Somerset Rebels | 28 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 1246 | 1361 | 25 | 4 | 29 |
| 14 | Newport Wasps | 28 | 7 | 2 | 19 | 1127 | 1450 | 16 | 1 | 17 |
| 15 | Newcastle Diamonds | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 1133 | 1473 | 16 | 1 | 17 |

## Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2004 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 37th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Hull Vikings were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 12/05 | Hull | 59-36 | Berwick |
| 24/07 | Berwick | 42-42 | Hull |
| 31/05 | Exeter | 53-19 | Newport |
| 22/07 | Newport | 46-50 | Exeter |
| 11/05 | Isle of Wight | 63-29 | King's Lynn |
| 12/05 | King's Lynn | 56-39 | Isle of Wight |
| 15/05 | Rye House | 55-39 | Newcastle |
| 16/05 | Newcastle | 41-49 | Rye House |
| 15/05 | Workington | 57-35 | Edinburgh |
| 14/05 | Edinburgh | 50-43 | Workington |
| 14/05 | Somerset | 48-42 | Stoke |
| 15/05 | Stoke | 44-46 | Somerset |
| 10/05 | Reading | 52-43 | Glasgow |
| 09/05 | Glasgow | 47-43 | Reading |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 18/08 | Hull | 53-39 | Reading |
| 23/08 | Reading | 51-42 | Hull |
| 26/07 | Exeter | 62-29 | Sheffield |
| 22/07 | Sheffield | 57-37 | Exeter |
| 06/07 | Isle of Wight | 59-36 | Rye House |
| 31/07 | Rye House | 52-42 | Isle of Wight |
| 26/06 | Workington | 54-40 | Somerset |
| 25/06 | Somerset | 48-44 | Workington |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 06/10 | Hull | 62-35 | Exeter |
| 20/09 | Exeter | 57-34 | Hull |
| 02/09 | Isle of Wight | 56-38 | Workington |
| 18/09 | Workington | 43.5-46.5 | Isle of Wight |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Hull were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 99–91.

## Riders' Championship

Andre Compton won the Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held on 19 September at Owlerton Stadium. Compton was awarded the title following a last bend crash in the final with Simon Stead, the latter was attributed as the cause of the crash.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Andre Compton | 2 3 3 2 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Mark Lemon | 2 2 2 2 3 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Simon Stead | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 | - | 1 |
| 4 | Craig Boyce | 2 1 3 3 2 | 11 | - | ef |
| 5 | Craig Watson | 3 3 2 ex 2 | 11 | 1 |
| 6 | Danny Bird | 2 ex 3 1 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 7 | Carl Stonehewer | 3 2 1 3 ex | 9 |
| 8 | Tomáš Topinka | 1 3 1 0 3 | 8 |
| 9 | Adrian Rymel | 0 2 2 3 0 | 7 |
| 10 | Jan Staechmann | 1 2 2 1 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Rory Schlein | 3 1 - - - | 4 |
| 12 | Shane Parker | 1 1 1 ex 1 | 4 |
| 13 | Glenn Cunningham | ex 1 0 ex 2 | 3 |
| 14 | Jason Lyons | ex ef 0 2 1 | 3 |
| 15 | Chris Neath | ex ex 0 2 1 | 3 |
| 16 | Luke Priest (res) | 2 1 | 3 |
| 17 | Paul Cooper (res) | 1 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Ross Brady | ex ex - - - | 0 |
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

## Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Smallmead Stadium on 20 June. The event was won by Reading (Danny Bird & Phil Morris) who beat Stoke (Paul Pickering & Alan Mogridge) in the final.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Rye House | | Neath, Robson |
| 2 | Glasgow | | Parker, Stancl |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Reading | | Bird, Morris |
| 2 | Stoke | | Pickering, Mogridge |
Other teams
* Berwick: Kristensen, Franc
* Exeter: Lemon, Stephens
* Isle of Wight: Boyce, Bunyan
* Sheffield: Ashworth, Compton
* Somerset: Fry, Cunningham
* Workington: Stonehewer, Collins
Semi finals
* Reading bt Glasgow 6–3
* Stoke bt Rye House 5–4
Final
* Reading bt Stoke 7–2

## Fours

Workington Comets won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 21 August 2004, at Derwent Park.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Workington | 17 | Stonehewer, Stead, Nieminen, Collins |
| 2 | Stoke | 13 | Pickering, Staechmann, Mogridge, Kessler |
| 3 | Reading | 12 | Zagar, Bird, Morris, Appleton |
| 4 | Berwick | 6 | Pietraszko, Rymel, Kristensen, Franc |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Glasgow | 15 | Parker, Stancl, Bentley, Grieves |
| 2 | Rye House | 14 | Werner, Neath, Watt, Robson |
| 3 | Hull | 12 | Karlsson, Brady, Stead, Kramer |
| 4 | Edinburgh | 7 | Schott, Carr, Schlein, Pijper |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Workington | 29 | Stonehewer, Stead, Nieminen, Collins |
| 2 | Stoke | 20 | Pickering, Staechmann, Mogridge, Kessler |
| 3 | Glasgow | 12 | Parker, Stancl, Bentley, Grieves |
| 4 | Rye House | 11 | Werner, Neath, Watt, Robson |

## Final leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Jason Lyons | Newcastle | 10.13 |
| Matej Žagar | Reading | 10.02 |
| Simon Stead | Workington | 10.01 |
| Carl Stonehewer | Workington | 9.84 |
| Sean Wilson | Sheffield | 9.69 |
| Danny Bird | Reading | 9.67 |
| Craig Watson | Newport | 9.66 |
| Shane Parker | Glasgow | 9.58 |
| Frede Schött | Edinburgh | 9.53 |
| Craig Boyce | Isle of Wight | 9.47 |

## Riders & final averages

Berwick
* Adrian Rymel 7.62
* Michal Makovský 7.23
* Lee Smethills 7.19
* Claus Kristensen 6.80
* Adam Pietraszko 6.70
* Josef Franc 6.66
* Ritchie Hawkins 6.20
* Simon Cartwright 6.01
* David Meldrum 5.80
* Blair Scott 3.71
* Tom Brown 2.47
Edinburgh
* Frede Schott 9.53
* Rory Schlein 8.94
* Peter Carr 8.07
* Theo Pijper 6.48
* Matthew Wethers 5.26
* Cameron Woodward 4.64
* Sean Stoddart 1.22
Exeter
* Mark Lemon 9.39
* Graeme Gordon 7.74
* Roger Lobb 7.55
* Mark Simmonds 7.47
* Seemond Stephens 7.41
* Michael Coles 7.14
* Nick Simmons 3.61
Glasgow
* Shane Parker 9.58
* George Štancl 8.56
* James Grieves 8.11
* Paul Bentley 7.98
* Graham Jones 6.31
* Eric Carrillo 5.93
* David McAllan 4.09
* Corey Blackman 2.57
* James Cockle 2.08
* Barry Campbell 1.94
Hull
* Magnus Karlsson 8.50
* Garry Stead 7.92
* Paul Thorp 7.90
* Ross Brady 7.68
* Emil Kramer 7.60
* Emiliano Sanchez 7.45
* Joel Parsons 4.79
* Danny Norton 1.71
Isle of Wight
* Craig Boyce 9.47
* Jason Bunyan 7.67
* Sebastien Trésarrieu 7.53
* Ray Morton 6.82
* Krister Marsh 6.71
* Ulrich Østergaard 6.68
* Glen Phillips 6.24
* Chris Johnson 3.23
King's Lynn
* Tomáš Topinka 8.74
* Kevin Doolan 7.70
* Shaun Tacey 7.23
* Tom P. Madsen 6.86
* Adam Allott 6.75
* Paul Lee 6.53
* James Brundle 4.97
* Trevor Harding 4.00
* Darren Mallett 3.26
Newcastle
* Jason Lyons 10.13
* Richard Juul 6.16
* Kristian Lund 6.06
* Kevin Little 5.98
* Lee Dicken 5.39
* Lee Smethills 5.22
* Jamie Robertson 4.77
* William Lawson 4.03
* Scott Smith 3.81
* Luboš Tomíček Jr. 3.56
Newport
* Craig Watson 9.66
* Mads Korneliussen 6.95
* Kristian Lund 6.10
* Pavel Ondrašík 5.50
* Tony Atkin 5.32
* Carl Wilkinson 4.82
* Luke Priest 2.43
* Karl Mason 2.33
* Barrie Evans 2.26
Reading
* Matej Žagar 10.02
* Danny Bird 9.67
* Phil Morris 8.18
* Andrew Appleton 8.10
* Chris Schramm 5.01
* Chris Mills 4.51
* Steve Braidford 2.46
* Jamie Westacott 1.83
Rye House
* Davey Watt 8.43
* Brent Werner 8.18
* Chris Neath 7.71
* Scott Robson 7.02
* Steve Masters 6.46
* Tommy Allen 4.61
* Steve Boxall 4.07
* Luke Bowen 1.57
Sheffield
* Sean Wilson 9.69
* Andre Compton 8.92
* Ricky Ashworth 8.29
* Andrew Moore 7.39
* Richard Hall 5.48
* James Birkinshaw 5.28
* Ben Wilson 5.15
Somerset
* Glenn Cunningham 8.02
* John Jorgensen 7.96
* Paul Fry 7.48
* Neil Collins 6.72
* Jamie Smith 6.02
* Matt Read 5.23
* Steve Bishop 4.79
* Simon Walker 3.15
Stoke
* Jan Staechmann 9.04
* Paul Pickering 8.48
* Alan Mogridge 8.28
* Robbie Kessler 6.78
* Paul Clews 5.47
* Trent Leverington 5.06
* Rob Grant Jr. 3.89
* Daniel Giffard 2.51
Workington
* Simon Stead 10.01
* Carl Stonehewer 9.84
* Kauko Nieminen 6.92
* Rusty Harrison 6.66
* Brett Woodifield 6.15
* Aidan Collins 5.73
* James Wright 5.48