# 2015 Premier League speedway season

The 2015 Premier League season was the second division of British speedway.

## Summary

took place between March and October 2015. The Edinburgh Monarchs were the defending champions after winning the championship in 2014. The 13 teams that competed remained unchanged from the teams who competed in 2014. There had been concerns about whether or not the Peterborough Panthers would be able to compete but their future was secured after being able to raise the money necessary to continue racing.
In an all-Scottish final, the Edinburgh Monarchs became the first team to win consecutive Premier League titles, by beating the Glasgow Tigers in the Grand Final. The Tigers held a 7-point lead after the first leg at Ashfield, but the Monarchs won 14 of the 15 heats in the second leg at Armadale – winning 58–32 on the night – to win the tie overall 99–80. It was one of three titles won by the Monarchs in 2015; in the Premier League Cup, the Monarchs beat the Tigers once again 100–79, while the quartet of Craig Cook, Sam Masters, Erik Riss and Justin Sedgmen won the Premier League Fours.
Aside from Edinburgh's successes, the Somerset Rebels defeated the Monarchs to win the Knockout Cup, Daniel King and Rohan Tungate won the Premier League Pairs for the Ipswich Witches, and Danish rider Ulrich Østergaard won the Premier League Riders' Championship for the Peterborough Panthers.

## Final league table

| Pos. | Club | M | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | F | A | +/− | Pts |
| Pos. | Club | M | W | D | L | 4W | 3W | D | 1L | L | F | A | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Edinburgh Monarchs (Q) | 24 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1229 | 955 | +274 | 61 |
| 2 | Somerset Rebels (Q) | 24 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1188 | 998 | +190 | 55 |
| 3 | Glasgow Tigers (Q) | 24 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1122 | 999 | +123 | 54 |
| 4 | Peterborough Panthers (Q) | 24 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1104 | 1039 | +65 | 51 |
| 5 | Sheffield Tigers (Q) | 24 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1112 | 1062 | +50 | 49 |
| 6 | Plymouth Devils (Q) | 24 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1123 | 1074 | +49 | 43 |
| 7 | Ipswich Witches | 24 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1163 | 1023 | +140 | 42 |
| 8 | Workington Comets | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1086 | 1116 | −30 | 38 |
| 9 | Newcastle Diamonds | 24 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1067 | 1129 | −62 | 27 |
| 10 | Berwick Bandits | 24 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1011 | 1173 | −162 | 24 |
| 11 | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 24 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 999 | 1185 | −186 | 24 |
| 12 | Rye House Rockets | 24 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 998 | 1166 | −168 | 21 |
| 13 | Redcar Bears | 24 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 946 | 1229 | −283 | 19 |

## Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | BER | ED | GLA | IPS | NEW | PET | PLY | RED | RYE | SCU | SHE | SOM | WOR |
| Berwick Bandits | | 38–54 | 57–35 | 42–48 | 55–37 | 41–49 | 45–45 | 52–38 | 64–29 | 46–44 | 41–42 | 37–56 | 50–43 |
| Edinburgh Monarchs | 61–32 | | 42–48 | 53–37 | 52–40 | 44–45 | 64–28 | 65–28 | 59–34 | 53–39 | 60–31 | 55–35 | 56–36 |
| Glasgow Tigers | 58–34 | 39–51 | | 47–45 | 52–41 | 31–29 | 52–41 | 62–28 | 42–20 | 57–33 | 53–40 | 42–47 | 53–36 |
| Ipswich Witches | 60–30 | 45–45 | 43–47 | | 43–49 | 61–29 | 56–35 | 65–25 | 58–35 | 59–33 | 44–49 | 45–45 | 58–35 |
| Newcastle Diamonds | 53–37 | 42–48 | 46–43 | 48–43 | | 44–46 | 56–36 | 61–31 | 52–40 | 60–33 | 41–48 | 42–48 | 53–39 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 51–39 | 41–49 | 48–45 | 44–46 | 51–41 | | 43–47 | 51–41 | 55–37 | 54–36 | 53–37 | 39–53 | 56–36 |
| Plymouth Devils | 57–35 | 48–42 | 42–47 | 54–39 | 65–27 | 40–52 | | 52–41 | 54–38 | 62–30 | 46–44 | 57–36 | 50–40 |
| Redcar Bears | 39–51 | 47–43 | 42–51 | 44–46 | 50–43 | 32–49 | 50–42 | | 47–43 | 49–41 | 43–47 | 48–45 | 45–45 |
| Rye House Rockets | 52–40 | 40–52 | 39–51 | 44–46 | 55–38 | 41–52 | 38–53 | 58–32 | | 45–45 | 37–50 | 50–42 | 51–42 |
| Scunthorpe Scorpions | 49–44 | 40–50 | 42–47 | 43–47 | 54–38 | 47–43 | 53–40 | 51–39 | 36–54 | | 49–41 | 33–57 | 54–38 |
| Sheffield Tigers | 56–36 | 51–39 | 48–42 | 50–43 | 59–33 | 45–45 | 56–37 | 50–40 | 55–37 | 53–40 | | 43–47 | 55–37 |
| Somerset Rebels | 58–32 | 42–51 | 58–32 | 48–42 | 51–39 | 57–35 | 38–52 | 55–38 | 51–39 | 52–38 | 63–29 | | 59–34 |
| Workington Comets | 59–33 | 49–41 | 47–46 | 49–44 | 50–43 | 49–44 | 52–40 | 61–29 | 50–42 | 57–36 | 56–33 | 46–45 | |

## Play-offs

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| | | | | | 2 | Somerset Rebels | 48 | 41 | 89 | | | | | |
| 3 | Glasgow Tigers | 44 | 56 | 100 | 3 | Glasgow Tigers | 42 | 49 | 91 | | | | | |
| 6 | Plymouth Devils | 46 | 34 | 80 | | | | | | 3 | Glasgow Tigers | 48 | 32 | 80 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 41 | 58 | 99 |
| | | | | | 1 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 44 | 58 | 102 | | | | | |
| 4 | Peterborough Panthers | 46 | 51 | 97 | 4 | Peterborough Panthers | 46 | 32 | 78 | | | | | |
| 5 | Sheffield Tigers | 44 | 38 | 82 | | | | | | | | | | |
Quarter-finals
| 17 September 2015 | Report | Sheffield Tigers | 44–46 | Peterborough Panthers | Owlerton Stadium Referee(s): Darren Hartley |
| 27 September 2015 | Report | Peterborough Panthers | 51–38 | Sheffield Tigers | East of England Showground Referee(s): Dale Entwistle |
| 2 October 2015 | Report | Plymouth Devils | 46–44 | Glasgow Tigers | St Boniface Arena Referee(s): Stuart Wilson |
| 4 October 2015 | Report | Glasgow Tigers | 56–34 | Plymouth Devils | Ashfield Stadium Referee(s): Phil Griffin |
Semi-finals
| 4 October 2015 | Report | Peterborough Panthers | 46–44 | Edinburgh Monarchs | East of England Showground Referee(s): Peter Clarke |
| 9 October 2015 | Report | Edinburgh Monarchs | 58–32 | Peterborough Panthers | Armadale Stadium Referee(s): Willie Dishington |
| 9 October 2015 | Report | Somerset Rebels | 48–42 | Glasgow Tigers | Oaktree Arena Referee(s): David Watters |
| 11 October 2015 | Report | Glasgow Tigers | 49–41 | Somerset Rebels | Ashfield Stadium Referee(s): Michael Breckon |

### Grand final

First leg
| 16 October 2015 | Report | Glasgow Tigers Richard Lawson 13 James Sarjeant 12 Nick Morris 9 Victor Palovaara 7 Hynek Štichauer 4 Aaron Summers 3 Kauko Nieminen R/R | 48–41 | Edinburgh Monarchs Craig Cook 11 Kevin Wölbert 10 Justin Sedgman 7 Erik Riss 5 Sam Masters 5 Max Clegg 3 Robert Braniford 0 | Ashfield Stadium Referee(s): Chris Gay |
Second leg
| 17 October 2015 | Report | Edinburgh Monarchs Kevin Wölbert 13 Sam Masters 12 Craig Cook 9 Justin Sedgman 9 Max Clegg 8 Erik Riss 6 Liam Carr 1 | 58–32 | Glasgow Tigers Richard Lawson 10 Nick Morris 9 James Sarjeant 5 Hynek Štichauer 5 Victor Palovaara 2 Theo Pijper 1 Aaron Summers R/R | Armadale Stadium Referee(s): Dave Robinson |

## Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2015 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 48th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Somerset Rebels were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 28/06 | Newcastle | 63-26 | Scunthorpe |
| 05/06 | Scunthorpe | 53-37 | Newcastle |
| 18/06 | Plymouth | 47-41 | Peterborough |
| 25/05 | Peterborough | 46-44 | Plymouth |
| 22/05 | Edinburgh | 59-31 | Sheffield |
| 21/05 | Sheffield | 46-44 | Edinburgh |
| 17/05 | Rye House | 60-30 | Workington |
| 16/05 | Workington | 51-39 | Rye House |
| 21/05 | Ipswich | 46-44 | Berwick |
| 09/05 | Berwick | 47-43 | Ipswich |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 30/08 | Newcastle | 56-33 | Glasgow |
| 30/08 | Glasgow | 48-42 | Newcastle |
| 01/08 | Edinburgh | 61-29 | Redcar |
| 23/07 | Redcar | 37-35 | Edinburgh |
| 25/07 | Berwick | 40-50 | Rye House |
| 12/07 | Rye House | 42-48 | Berwick |
| 11/07 | Plymouth | 40-50 | Somerset |
| 10/07 | Somerset | 53-37 | Plymouth |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 12/09 | Rye House | 43-47 | Somerset |
| 11/09 | Somerset | 60-30 | Rye House |
| 13/09 | Newcastle | 53-37 | Edinburgh |
| 04/09 | Edinburgh | 56-34 | Newcastle |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Edinburgh were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92–88.

## Riders' Championship

Ulrich Østergaard won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 6 September at Owlerton Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Ulrich Østergaard | 3 3 2 1 3 | 12 | - | 3 |
| 2 | Ricky Wells | 3 2 1 3 0 | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Craig Cook | 1 2 3 3 3 | 12 | - | 1 |
| 4 | Josh Grajczonek | 2 2 3 3 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Jonas B. Andersen | 2 0 3 2 2 | 9 | 1 |
| 6 | Edward Kennett | 3 2 1 2 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 7 | Sam Masters | 2 3 2 ef 1 | 8 |
| 8 | Brady Kurtz | 3 3 0 2 fx | 8 |
| 9 | Jason Garrity | 1 1 3 2 1 | 8 |
| 10 | Nick Morris | 1 1 0 3 2 | 7 |
| 11 | Steve Worrall | 0 1 1 1 3 | 6 |
| 12 | Rohan Tungate | 2 0 2 0 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Richard Lawson | 0 0 2 1 1 | 4 |
| 14 | Alex Davies | r 1 1 0 2 | 4 |
| 15 | Kyle Newman | 1 0 ef 1 2 | 4 |
| 16 | Thomas Jørgensen | 0 3 0 | 3 |
| 17 | Layne Cupitt (res) | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Rob Shuttleworth (res) | 0 | 0 |
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

## Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Oaktree Arena on 3 July. The event was won by Ipswich Witches.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Ipswich | 24 | King 15, Tungate 9 |
| 2 | Peterborough | 23 | Ostergaard 13, Palm Toft 10 |
| 3 | Edinburgh | 16 | Masters 14, Wolbert 2 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 14 | Kerr 9, Worrall S 5 |
| 5 | Rye House | 13 | Kennett 7 Jakobsen 6 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Somerset | 22 | Kurtz 14, Grajczonek 8 |
| 2 | Redcar | 18 | Bjerre 11, Robson 7 |
| 3 | Berwick | 18 | Doolan 10, Jorgensen 6 |
| 4 | Glasgow | 18 | Morris 15, Lawson 3 |
| 5 | Workington | 16 | Howarth 13, Wells 3 |
Semi finals
* Ipswich bt Redcar 7–2
* Somerset bt Peterborough 7–2
Final
* Ipswich bt Somerset 7–2

## Fours

Edinburgh Monarchs won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, held on 1 October 2015, at the Media Prime Arena. The original final was postponed following injury delays after the semi finals had been completed at the East of England Arena, on 2 August.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Ipswich | 18 | King 6, Manzares 4, Heeps 3, Covatti 3, Nielsen 2 |
| 2 | Edinburgh | 13 | Cook 6, Wolbert 3, Sedgmen 3, Riss 1 |
| 3 | Workington | 11 | Wells 5, Hansen 3, Bach 2, Howarth 1 |
| 4 | Peterborough | 6 | Palm Toft 2, Blackbird 2, Ostergaard 1, Grondal 1, Konopka 0 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Newcastle | 17 | Worrall 5, Kerr 5, Rosen 4, Lindgren 3 |
| 2 | Somerset | 13 | Kurtz 6, Worrall 3, Grajczonek 2, Lanham 2 |
| 3 | Rye House | 12 | Kennett 6, Jakobsen 4, Nielsen 2, Mellgren 0 |
| 4 | Glasgow | 6 | Lawson 4, Palovaara 1, Sarjeant 1, Summers 0 |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Edinburgh | 30 | Cook 12, Sedgmen 8, Masters 7, Riss 3 |
| 2 | Somerset | 27 | Kurtz 10, Grajczonek 7, Worrall 6, Wright 4 |
| 3 | Ipswich | 24 | King 10, Tungate 6, Covatti 5, Manzares 2, Heeps 1 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 15 | Aarnio 6, Rosen 4, Worrall 3, Lindgren 2 |

## Final leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Simon Stead | Sheffield | 10.41 |
| Craig Cook | Edinburgh | 10.35 |
| Danny King | Ipswich | 9.54 |
| Richard Lawson | Glasgow | 9.12 |
| Sam Masters | Edinburgh | 8.98 |
| Brady Kurtz | Somerset | 8.73 |
| Oliver Allen | Peterborough | 8.51 |
| Josh Grajczonek | Somerset | 8.50 |
| Jason Garrity | Sheffield | 8.46 |
| Robert Lambert | Peterborough/Rye House | 8.38 |

## Riders & final averages

Berwick Bandits
* Claus Vissing 8.54
* Thomas Jørgensen 7.94
* Ben Barker 7.71
* Kevin Doolan 7.57
* Anders Mellgren 5.92
* Richard Hall 4.94
* Mathias Thörnblom 4.84
* Alex Edberg 4.78
* Matic Voldrih 2.50
* Coty García 3.02
* Hynek Štichauer 2.43
* Luke Crang 2.00
Edinburgh Monarchs
* Craig Cook 10.35
* Sam Masters 8.98
* Kevin Wölbert 8.18
* Justin Sedgmen 7.84
* Erik Riss 5.22
* Max Clegg 3.48
* Robert Branford 3.40
Glasgow Tigers
* Richard Lawson 9.12
* Aaron Summers 8.37
* Nick Morris 7.91
* Kauko Nieminen 7.00
* David Howe 6.72
* Kozza Smith 5.87
* Victor Palovaara 5.28
* Dimitri Bergé 4.69
* Hynek Štichauer 4.22
* James Sarjeant 5.00
Ipswich Witches
* Danny King 9.54
* Rohan Tungate 7.74
* Nicolás Covatti 7.55
* Cameron Heeps 5.87
* Gino Manzares 5.43
* Stefan Nielsen 4.74
* Ashley Morris 4.53
* Ritchie Hawkins 3.35
Newcastle Diamonds
* Steve Worrall 8.08
* Ludvig Lindgren 7.05
* Lewis Kerr 7.03
* Tero Aarnio 5.28
* Anton Rosén 5.14
* Christian Henry 4.97
* Simon Nielsen 4.38
* Lewis Rose 3.84
Peterborough Panthers
* Oliver Allen 8.51
* Robert Lambert 8.38
* Ulrich Østergaard 7.87
* Ben Barker 7.56
* Anders Thomsen 6.62
* Lewis Blackbird 6.16
* Michael Palm Toft 5.96
* Simon Lambert 5.19
* Emil Grøndal 5.12
* Oliver Greenwood 2.61
* Rafał Konopka 2.58
Plymouth Devils
* Ryan Fisher 7.52
* Jack Holder 7.10
* Morten Risager 6.86
* Kyle Newman 6.84
* Todd Kurtz 6.79
* Linus Eklöf 5.50
* James Wright 4.87
* Zdeněk Simota 5.38
* Ashley Morris 4.00
* Roland Benko 2.74
* Sam Chapman 0.31
Redcar Bears
* Lasse Bjerre 8.30
* Matěj Kůs 7.13
* Hugh Skidmore 6.84
* Stuart Robson 6.50
* Jonas Andersen 5.60
* Adam Roynon 4.39
* Dimitri Bergé 4.14
* Jan Graversen 3.83
* Rafał Konopka 2.71
* Ben Morley 2.68
Rye House Rockets
* Edward Kennett 9.57
* Robert Lambert 8.34
* Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 6.91
* Anders Mellgren 6.16
* Steve Boxall 6.15
* Kasper Lykke 5.74
* Robin Aspegren 4.98
* Luke Bowen 4.26
* Danny Maassen 2.22
* Dan Greenwood 1.66
Scunthorpe Scorpions
* Josh Auty 8.00
* David Howe 7.41
* Ryan Douglas 6.68
* Theo Pijper 6.53
* Alex Davies 6.26
* Leigh Lanham 5.78
* Carl Wilkinson 5.33
* Ben Wilson 4.82
* Nike Lunna 4.50
* Andreas Lyager 4.00
* Zdeněk Holub 3.20
* Ellis Perks 2.08
Sheffield Tigers
* Simon Stead 10.41
* Jason Garrity 8.46
* Ty Proctor 6.68
* Andre Compton 6.61
* David Bellego 5.98
* Nicolai Klindt 5.89
* Josh Bates 5.58
* Ashley Birks 5.57
* Robin Aspegren 4.82
* Arthur Sissis 3.71
* Michele Paco Castagna 3.33
Somerset Rebels
* Brady Kurtz 8.73
* Josh Grajczonek 8.50
* Charles Wright 6.89
* Richie Worrall 6.84
* Paul Starke 6.00
* Rasmus Jensen 5.92
* Leigh Lanham 5.81
* Oliver Greenwood 2.06
* Benji Compton 1.24
Workington Comets
* Ricky Wells 8.86
* René Bach 7.42
* Kyle Howarth 6.98
* Kenneth Hansen 6.84
* Rusty Harrison 5.48
* Matthew Wethers 4.96
* Nicki Barrett 3.01
* Matt Williamson 1.97
* Nathan Greaves 1.29