# 2012 Premier League speedway season

The 2012 Premier League season was the second tier/division of British speedway.

## Summary

The season took place between March and October 2012. The Glasgow Tigers were the defending champions after winning in 2011.
Scunthorpe Scorpions won the league after beating Somerset Rebels in the play-offs by one point in the Grand Final.

## Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | BER | ED | GLA | IPS | LEI | NEW | PLY | RED | RYE | SCU | SHE | SOM | WOR |
| Berwick Bandits | | 40–50 | 49–41 | 55–39 | 43–49 | 46–43 | 56–39 | 65–28 | 50–39 | 56–37 | 46–47 | 35–60 | 46–43 |
| Edinburgh Monarchs | 56–36 | | 57–35 | 48–42 | 55–38 | 64–29 | 55–41 | 52–29 | 57–36 | 39–54 | 56–37 | 56–37 | 52–41 |
| Glasgow Tigers | 50–39 | 52–40 | | 42–33 | 44–46 | 45–45 | 49–41 | 49–41 | 51–36 | 55–38 | 54–39 | 45–45 | 45–45 |
| Ipswich Witches | 59–31 | 48–41 | 64–29 | | 48–42 | 47–43 | 53–40 | 46–44 | 44–46 | 42–52 | 54–40 | 51–39 | 39–51 |
| Leicester Lions | 49–45 | 45–44 | 53–39 | 47–43 | | 46–44 | 53–43 | 50–43 | 51–39 | 49–43 | 51–39 | 50–43 | 54–42 |
| Newcastle Diamonds | 55–39 | 53–39 | 62–31 | 48–42 | 62–31 | | 64–30 | 54–39 | 62–30 | 53–37 | 54–38 | 51–42 | 50–40 |
| Plymouth Devils | 53–35 | 57–36 | 49–41 | 47–43 | 51–39 | 44–46 | | 42–48 | 52–41 | 47–43 | 55–38 | 43–47 | 45–45 |
| Redcar Bears | 63–26 | 54–41 | 49–40 | 43–47 | 59–35 | 48–42 | 59–36 | | 45–45 | 46–46 | 48–42 | 43–47 | 44–49 |
| Rye House Rockets | 59–34 | 58–35 | 58–33 | 43–50 | 43–47 | 43–50 | 52–41 | 41–49 | | 49–40 | 56–40 | 34–38 | 47–43 |
| Scunthorpe Scorpions | 48–42 | 55–37 | 54–37 | 61–31 | 51–42 | 48–42 | 54–39 | 55–38 | 58–34 | | 51–42 | 50–40 | 49–40 |
| Sheffield Tigers | 42–51 | 43–47 | 47–48 | 50–42 | 58–37 | 54–38 | 50–43 | 47–43 | 51–39 | 43–47 | | 48–45 | 51–42 |
| Somerset Rebels | 53–41 | 48–42 | 58–34 | 50–40 | 51–39 | 48–45 | 52–41 | 57–36 | 52–43 | 48–42 | 63–28 | | 59–31 |
| Workington Comets | 54–39 | 58–34 | 44–42 | 48–41 | 56–36 | 48–44 | 65–29 | 53–39 | 56–40 | 52–38 | 51–38 | 45–44 | |

## Final league table

| Pos | Team | P | 3w | 2w | D | L | 4w | 3w | D | 1L | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Newcastle Diamonds | 24 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1179 | 1019 | 51 |
| 2 | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 24 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1151 | 1043 | 50 |
| 3 | Somerset Rebels | 24 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1170 | 1027 | 48 |
| 4 | Workington Comets | 24 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1142 | 1045 | 46 |
| 5 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 24 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1133 | 1066 | 41 |
| 6 | Leicester Lions | 24 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1079 | 1128 | 41 |
| 7 | Ipswich Witches | 24 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1088 | 1080 | 35 |
| 8 | Glasgow Tigers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1031 | 1132 | 31 |
| 9 | Redcar Bears | 24 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1078 | 1107 | 30 |
| 10 | Berwick Bandits | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1045 | 1156 | 28 |
| 11 | Rye House Rockets | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1065 | 1133 | 27 |
| 12 | Sheffield Tigers | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1052 | 1161 | 26 |
| 13 | Plymouth Devils | 24 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1048 | 1164 | 23 |

## Play Offs

Group 1
| Pos | Team | P | 3w | 2w | D | L | 4w | 3w | D | 1L | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Scunthorpe Scorpions | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 202 | 160 | 7 |
| 2 | Workington Comets | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 124 | 145 | 5 |
| 3 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 126 | 147 | 3 |
Group 2
| Pos | Team | P | 3w | 2w | D | L | 4w | 3w | D | 1L | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Somerset Rebels | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 193 | 172 | 8 |
| 2 | Newcastle Diamonds | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 179 | 186 | 5 |
| 3 | Leicester Lions | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 176 | 190 | 5 |
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

## Play Off final

First leg
Second leg
Scunthorpe were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 92–91.

## Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2012 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 45th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Newcastle Diamonds were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 25/05 | Edinburgh | 59-31 | Rye House |
| 27/05 | Glasgow | 54-36 | Plymouth |
| 24/05 | Ipswich | 48-42 | Somerset |
| 28/05 | Newcastle | 58-32 | Redcar |
| 18/05 | Plymouth | 52-38 | Glasgow |
| 24/05 | Redcar | 49-41 | Newcastle |
| 26/05 | Rye House | 49-41 | Edinburgh |
| 18/05 | Scunthorpe | 44-46 | Workington |
| 01/06 | Somerset | 47-43 | Ipswich |
| 19/05 | Workington | 48-42 | Scunthorpe |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 19/08 | Leicester | 54-42 | Workington |
| 22/07 | Workington | 54-36 | Leicester |
| 06/07 | Edinburgh | 52-38 | Glasgow |
| 01/07 | Newcastle | 62-28 | Sheffield |
| 01/07 | Glasgow | 44-46 | Edinburgh |
| 30/06 | Berwick | 34-56 | Ipswich |
| 28/06 | Sheffield | 58-32 | Newcastle |
| 28/06 | Ipswich | 48-42 | Berwick |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 20/10 | Workington | 51-39 | Newcastle |
| 14/10 | Newcastle | 54-36 | Workington |
| 12/10 | Edinburgh | 52-37 | Ipswich |
| 04/10 | Ipswich | 55-35 | Edinburgh |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Newcastle were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 106–74.

## Riders' Championship

Craig Cook won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 14 October at Owlerton Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Craig Cook | 3 3 2 2 2 | 12 | - | 3 |
| 2 | Anders Mellgren | 3 1 1 3 1 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Jason Doyle | 1 2 3 2 3 | 11 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | René Bach | 2 3 2 1 3 | 11 | - | 0 |
| 5 | Leigh Lanham | 2 3 1 2 3 | 11 | 1 |
| 6 | Josh Auty | 2 1 2 3 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 7 | Nick Morris | 0 0 3 3 2 | 8 |
| 8 | Richard Lawson | 3 2 0 1 2 | 8 |
| 9 | Stuart Robson | 3 1 3 0 ef | 7 |
| 10 | Sebastian Aldén | 0 0 3 3 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Richard Hall | 2 3 0 ef 2 | 7 |
| 12 | Kauko Nieminen | 1 2 1 2 0 | 6 |
| 13 | Ulrich Østergaard | r 2 0 1 1 | 4 |
| 14 | Ryan Fisher | 1 0 2 1 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Theo Pijper | 1 0 1 0 1 | 3 |
| 16 | James Grieves | 0 1 0 0 0 | 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 24 August. The event was won by Workington Comets.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Workington | 23 | Roynon 14, Bach 9 |
| 2 | Leicester | 22 | Nieminen 13, Bjerre 9 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 18 | Lindgren 13, Lemon 5 |
| 4 | Plymouth | 14 | Fisher 10, Gathercole 4 |
| 5 | Redcar | 13 | Summers 11, Johnson (G) 2 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Scunthorpe | 25 | Auty 13, Jorgensen 12 |
| 2 | Somerset | 20 | Doyle 13, Wright 7 |
| 3 | Edinburgh | 19 | Tully 13, Pijper 6 |
| 4 | Glasgow | 14 | Grajczonek 9, Screen 5 |
| 5 | Sheffield | 12 | Wells 10, Hall 2 |
Semi finals
* Sheffield bt Edinburgh 5–4
* Workington bt Somerset 6–3
Final
* Workington bt Scunthorpe 7–2

## Fours

Berwick Bandits won the Premier League Four-Team Championship for the second time. The final was held on 15 July 2012, at the East of England Arena.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Berwick | 16 | Ashworth 5, Alden 4, Complin 4, Bellego 3 |
| 2 | Plymouth | 14 | Barker 6, Gathercole 5, Fisher 2, Kurtz 1 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 12 | Henry 6, Robson 3, Lindgren 2, Nedermark 1 |
| 4 | Redcar | 6 | Summers 4, Kus 2, Ostergaard 0, Sedgmen 0, Wilkinson 0 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Workington | 15 | Bach 5, Roynon 5, Lawson 4, Ingalls 1, Howarth 0 |
| 2 | Leicester | 12 | Nieminen 6, Karlsson 6, Graversen 4, Bjerre 4 |
| 3 | Somerset | 12 | Vissing 4, Doyle 4, Wright 2, Masters 2 |
| 4 | Glasgow | 9 | Screen 5, Campton 2, Grajczonek 1, Grieves 1 |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Berwick | 23 | Alden 9, Ashworth 8, Bellego 5, Complin 1 |
| 2 | Leicester | 20 | Nieminen 6, Karlsson 6, Graversen 4, Bjerre 4 |
| 3 | Workington | 16 | Lawson 6, Bach 5, Roynon 4, Ingalls 1, Howarth 0 |
| 4 | Plymouth | 13 | Barker 7, Gathercole 3, Fisher 3, Kurtz 0, Holder 0 |

## Final Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Jason Doyle | Somerset | 10.15 |
| Ben Barker | Plymouth | 10.05 |
| Craig Cook | Edinburgh | 9.99 |
| Joe Screen | Glasgow | 9.48 |
| Charlie Gjedde | Rye House | 9.22 |
| Ricky Ashworth | Berwick | 9.20 |
| Josh Auty | Scunthorpe | 8.79 |
| Ryan Fisher | Plymouth | 8.75 |
| Adam Roynon | Edinburgh | 8.83 |
| Richard Lawson | Workington | 8.69 |

## Riders & final averages

Berwick
* Ricky Ashworth 9.20
* Sebastian Aldén 8.12
* Lee Complin 7.73
* Robin Aspegren 7.59
* Micky Dyer 6.72
* David Bellego 5.95
* Alex Edberg 5.77
* Nicki Barrett 5.53
* Luboš Tomíček Jr. 5.23
* Jason King 3.70
* Klaus Jakobsen 3.19
Edinburgh
* Craig Cook 9.99
* Theo Pijper 8.28
* Andrew Tully7.40
* Matthew Wethers 7.04
* Derek Sneddon 6.37
* József Tabaka 5.95
* Charles Wright 4.36
* Micky Dyer 4.12
* Marcel Helfer 3.86
* James Sarjeant 1.60
Glasgow
* Joe Screen 9.48
* Josh Grajczonek 7.78
* James Grieves 7.61
* Henning Bager 6.20
* Mason Campton 5.52
* Charles Wright 5.13
* Robert Ksiezak 4.52
* Filip Šitera 4.52
* Jade Mudgway 3.58
* Chris Mills 3.50
* James McBain 2.62
* Jayden O'Malley 2.19
Ipswich
* Dakota North 7.80
* Kevin Doolan 7.71
* Leigh Lanham 7.67
* Rohan Tungate 7.22
* Morten Risager 7.19
* Mathieu Trésarrieu 6.70
* Cameron Heeps 5.92
* Taylor Poole 4.90
* Stefan Nielsen 4.32
Leicester
* Kauko Nieminen 8.60
* Lasse Bjerre 7.85
* Magnus Karlsson 7.21
* Linus Eklöf 6.83
* Simon Nielsen 5.83
* Jan Graversen 5.52
* Jari Makinen 4.99
* Simon Lambert 4.86
* Lewis Blackbird 2.19
Newcastle
* Richie Worrall 8.62
* Stuart Robson 8.25
* Mark Lemon 7.84
* Ludvig Lindgren 7.62
* Christian Henry 7.48
* Claes Nedermark 7.33
* Steve Worrall 5.41
* Paul Starke 3.00
Plymouth
* Ben Barker 10.05
* Ryan Fisher 8.75
* Cory Gathercole 6.88
* Todd Kurtz 5.61
* Nicki Glanz 4.49
* Robert Ksiezak 4.31
* James Holder 3.97
* Guglielmo Franchetti 3.70
* Jake Anderson 3.57
* Ben Reade 2.08
Redcar
* Kevin Doolan 8.41
* Aaron Summers 8.08
* Ulrich Østergaard 8.05
* Matěj Kůs 7.57
* Justin Sedgmen 6.06
* Carl Wilkinson 5.78
* Max Dilger 5.41
* Mark Jones 4.00
* Jade Mudgway 3.39
Rye House
* Charlie Gjedde 8.44
* Jordan Frampton 7.38
* Anders Mellgren 7.08
* Luke Bowen 6.92
* Jason Bunyan 6.39
* Jason Garrity 5.94
* Kasper Lykke 5.60
* Ritchie Hawkins 5.48
* Simon Lambert 4.93
* Ben Morley 4.11
Scunthorpe
* Josh Auty 8.79
* Nick Morris 8.51
* Thomas Jørgensen 7.42
* David Howe 6.81
* Ashley Birks 6.73
* Michael Palm Toft 6.32
* Tero Aarnio 6.12
* Gary Irving 5.48
* Jerran Hart 3.86
Sheffield
* Richard Hall 7.49
* Josef Franc 7.38
* Ricky Wells 7.20
* Emiliano Sanchez 6.81
* Hugh Skidmore 6.60
* Jo Haines 6.13
* Chris Schramm 4.59
Somerset
* Jason Doyle 10.15
* Jesper Monberg 8.49
* Sam Masters 8.15
* Claus Vissing 7.61
* James Wright 6.83
* Kyle Newman 6.35
* Alex Davies 6.15
* Tom Perry 4.27
Workington
* Adam Roynon 8.83
* Richard Lawson 8.69
* Rene Bach 8.67
* Rusty Harrison 7.19
* Kyle Howarth 6.85
* Kenny Ingalls 6.32
* Tero Aarnio 6.02
* Gary Irving 5.52
* Ashley Morris 3.91