# 2003 Premier League speedway season

The 2003 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 18 teams for the 2003 season with the addition of the King's Lynn Stars who dropped down from the Elite League.
The League was run on a standard format with no play-offs and was won by Edinburgh Monarchs.

## Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | AE | BER | ED | EX | GLA | HV | IOW | KL | ND | NW | RR | RYE | SHE | SOM | STO | SWI | TT | WOR |
| Arena Essex Hammers | | 46–44 | 45–48 | 63–27 | 49–23 | 53–36 | 49–42 | 55–35 | 52–38 | 65–24 | 56–34 | 53–37 | 53–36 | 56–34 | 60–30 | 51–42 | 54–36 | 52–38 |
| Berwick Bandits | 53–37 | | 49–41 | 51–17 | 55–35 | 53–37 | 52–39 | 46–44 | 63–27 | 48–41 | 53–37 | 67–23 | 37–53 | 58–32 | 58–32 | 47–43 | 48–42 | 51–39 |
| Edinburgh Monarchs | 40–32 | 60–30 | | 63–27 | 56–34 | 57–33 | 53–36 | 52–38 | 48–42 | 49–40 | 60–30 | 55–34 | 62–28 | 55–35 | 55–35 | 48–42 | 49–44 | 48–42 |
| Exeter Falcons | 46–44 | 44–46 | 55–35 | | 44–46 | 58–32 | 48–42 | 59–31 | 53–37 | 48–42 | 57–33 | 62–27 | 44–46 | 55–35 | 44–46 | 49–41 | 53–37 | 59–30 |
| Glasgow Tigers | 48–42 | 47–42 | 37–55 | 60–30 | | 51–39 | 47–43 | 43–35 | 61–28 | 52–38 | 59–31 | 47–43 | 47–42 | 55–35 | 50–40 | 46–44 | 46–44 | 34–38 |
| Hull Vikings | 50–40 | 40–50 | 42–48 | 50–39 | 45–45 | | 44–46 | 50–40 | 42–48 | 41–48 | 56–34 | 49–41 | 47–43 | 44–46 | 49–41 | 48–42 | 40–50 | 44–46 |
| Isle of Wight Islanders | 44–47 | 47–43 | 48–42 | 54–35 | 54–36 | 59–30 | | 52–40 | 51–39 | 45–44 | 50–40 | 61–29 | 49–42 | 54–36 | 54–35 | 50–40 | 53–40 | 55–35 |
| King's Lynn Stars | 48–42 | 60–30 | 52–37 | 65–25 | 59–31 | 58–32 | 58–32 | | 49–41 | 57–32 | 49–41 | 48–42 | 46–44 | 59–31 | 52–37 | 44–46 | 54–38 | 58–32 |
| Newcastle Diamonds | 52–38 | 48–42 | 43–47 | 57–33 | 53–37 | 53–37 | 54–36 | 43–47 | | 57–33 | 46–44 | 50–40 | 48–41 | 52–38 | 43–29 | 53–37 | 52–38 | 44–46 |
| Newport Wasps | 47–42 | 44–46 | 50–40 | 61–29 | 45–44 | 48–42 | 43–47 | 52–38 | 50–40 | | 49–41 | 51–39 | 50–40 | 50–39 | 48–41 | 40–50 | 48–42 | 49–41 |
| Reading Racers | 46–44 | 41–49 | 40–50 | 49–41 | 45–45 | 50–40 | 44–46 | 44–44 | 40–49 | 40–50 | | 48–42 | 47–42 | 54–36 | 47–43 | 42–48 | 42–48 | 47–43 |
| Rye House Rockets | 48–42 | 62–27 | 43–47 | 55–35 | 49–39 | 47–43 | 50–40 | 49–41 | 49–41 | 45–45 | 48–42 | | 44–46 | 57–33 | 35–54 | 44.5–45.5 | 52–38 | 50–40 |
| Sheffield Tigers | 49–41 | 55–36 | 58–32 | 51–39 | 52–38 | 58–32 | 47–42 | 57–33 | 61–29 | 57–33 | 58–32 | 56–34 | | 64–26 | 55–35 | 54–36 | 55–34 | 49–40 |
| Somerset Rebels | 42–48 | 45–45 | 44–46 | 48–42 | 46–44 | 52–38 | 37–53 | 38–52 | 47–43 | 44–46 | 46–45 | 50–40 | 37–53 | | 58–32 | 42–48 | 46–44 | 46–46 |
| Stoke Potters | 44–48 | 53–37 | 44–46 | 55–35 | 44–46 | 60–32 | 43–47 | 46–44 | 43–47 | 46–44 | 44–46 | 57–32 | 42–48 | 55–35 | | 46–44 | 42–49 | 45–45 |
| Swindon Robins | 49–41 | 57–26 | 51–39 | 48–36 | 49–41 | 56–34 | 43–47 | 52–37 | 50–42 | 45–45 | 51–39 | 49–41 | 50–40 | 60–30 | 55–35 | | 48–42 | 52–37 |
| Trelawny Tigers | 55–35 | 53–37 | 44–46 | 62–28 | 59–31 | 53–37 | 48–42 | 44–46 | 47–46 | 47–43 | 51–39 | 60.5–29.5 | 57–33 | 52–38 | 55–34 | 48–42 | | 52–38 |
| Workington Comets | 56–34 | 46–44 | 46–44 | 50–39 | 56–34 | 50–40 | 50–43 | 53–37 | 49–40 | 59–31 | 56–34 | 54–36 | 45–44 | 60–30 | 54–35 | 47–43 | 44–46 | |

## Final table

| Pos | | M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Bon | Tot |
| 1 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 34 | 26 | 0 | 8 | 1653 | 1393 | 52 | 14 | 66 |
| 2 | Sheffield Tigers | 34 | 22 | 0 | 12 | 1655 | 1397 | 44 | 13 | 57 |
| 3 | Isle of Wight Islanders | 34 | 22 | 0 | 12 | 1603 | 1463 | 44 | 12 | 56 |
| 4 | Swindon Robins | 34 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 1598.5 | 1451.5 | 41 | 12 | 53 |
| 5 | Berwick Bandits | 34 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 1563 | 1465 | 41 | 12 | 53 |
| 6 | King's Lynn Stars | 34 | 19 | 1 | 14 | 1598 | 1448 | 39 | 13 | 52 |
| 7 | Arena Essex Hammers | 34 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 1609 | 1421 | 38 | 12 | 50 |
| 8 | Trelawny Tigers | 34 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 1599.5 | 1470.5 | 38 | 12 | 50 |
| 9 | Workington Comets | 34 | 19 | 2 | 13 | 1551 | 1489 | 40 | 9 | 49 |
| 10 | Newport Wasps | 34 | 17 | 2 | 15 | 1504 | 1546 | 36 | 8 | 44 |
| 11 | Newcastle Diamonds | 34 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 1525 | 1518 | 34 | 9 | 43 |
| 12 | Glasgow Tigers | 34 | 17 | 2 | 15 | 1479 | 1529 | 36 | 7 | 43 |
| 13 | Exeter Falcons | 34 | 13 | 0 | 21 | 1435 | 1592 | 26 | 5 | 31 |
| 14 | Rye House Rockets | 34 | 12 | 1 | 21 | 1441 | 1612 | 25 | 5 | 30 |
| 15 | Stoke Potters | 34 | 10 | 1 | 23 | 1443 | 1597 | 21 | 3 | 24 |
| 16 | Reading Racers | 34 | 9 | 2 | 23 | 1404 | 1653 | 20 | 2 | 22 |
| 17 | Somerset Rebels | 34 | 9 | 2 | 23 | 1357 | 1705 | 20 | 2 | 22 |
| 18 | Hull Vikings | 34 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 1395 | 1663 | 17 | 2 | 19 |

## Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2003 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 36th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Isle of Wight Islanders were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 11/04 | Somerset | 43-49 | Newport |
| 06/04 | Newport | 61-35 | Somerset |
| 09/04 | King's Lynn | 52-43 | Workington |
| 22/03 | Workington | 46-43 | King's Lynn |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 05/05 | Reading | 51-45 | Trelawny |
| 13/05 | Trelawny | 65-30 | Reading |
| 13/05 | Isle of Wight | 54-38 | Swindon |
| 15/05 | Swindon | 49-51 | Isle of Wight |
| 12/05 | Exeter | 50-43 | Newport |
| 11/05 | Newport | 47-43 | Exeter |
| 10/05 | Berwick | 52-36 | Glasgow |
| 11/05 | Glasgow | 42-42 | Berwick |
| 15/05 | Sheffield | 56-43 | Hull |
| 14/05 | Hull | 48-41 | Sheffield |
| 28/05 | King's Lynn | 62-34 | Edinburgh |
| 16/05 | Edinburgh | 59-37 | King's Lynn |
| 18/04 | Arena Essex | 44-46 | Rye House |
| 19/04 | Rye House | 44-46 | Arena Essex |
| 11/05 | Newcastle | 50-40 | Stoke |
| 10/05 | Stoke | 51-44 | Newcastle |
| 23/05 replay | Arena Essex | 55-40 | Rye House |
| 26/05 replay | Rye House | 44-46 | Arena Essex |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 24/06 | Isle of Wight | 61 34 | Exeter |
| 23/06 | Exeter | 53 42 | Isle of Wight |
| 24/06 | Trelawny | 61 34 | Berwick |
| 21/06 | Berwick | 55 42 | Trelawny |
| 26/06 | Sheffield | 50 48 | King's Lynn |
| 02/07 | King's Lynn | 48 49 | Sheffield |
| 27/06 | Arena Essex | 55 41 | Newcastle |
| 22/06 | Newcastle | 49 41 | Arena Essex |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 26/08 | Isle of Wight | 63-27 | Trelawny |
| 12/08 | Trelawny | 53-37 | Isle of Wight |
| 04/09 | Sheffield | 51-39 | Arena Essex |
| 29/08 | Arena Essex | 50-40 | Sheffield |

### Final

| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 07/10 | | 49-44 | Sheffield |
| 16/10 | Sheffield | 47-46 | Isle of Wight |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Isle of Wight were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 95–91.

## Riders' Championship

Sean Wilson won the Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held on 28 September at Owlerton Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Sean Wilson | 3 2 3 3 1 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Adam Shields | 3 3 3 2 3 | 14 | - | 2 |
| 3 | Carl Stonehewer | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 | - | 1 |
| 4 | Craig Watson | 2 3 2 2 2 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Garry Stead | 2 0 2 3 2 | 9 | 1 |
| 6 | Chris Harris | ex 2 3 1 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 7 | Shane Parker | 3 0 0 3 2 | 8 |
| 8 | Kenneth Bjerre | 1 3 0 2 1 | 7 |
| 9 | Frede Schött | 2 2 1 1 1 | 7 |
| 10 | Joonas Kylmäkorpi | 1 1 1 0 3 | 6 |
| 11 | Michal Makovský | 1 2 2 0 1 | 6 |
| 12 | Paul Fry | ex 1 1 1 2 | 5 |
| 13 | Andrew Appleton | 1 1 2 1 0 | 5 |
| 14 | Mark Lemon | 2 1 0 ex 0 | 3 |
| 15 | Jan Staechmann | 0 ex 1 2 0 | 3 |
| 16 | James Grieves | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 |
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

## Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Derwent Park on 19 July. The event was won by Workington (Carl Stonehewer and Simon Stead) who beat Newport (Frank Smart and Niels Kristian Iversen) in the final.

## Fours

Swindon Robins won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 27 July 2003, at the Abbey Stadium.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts |
| 1 | Swindon | 15 |
| 2 | Glasgow | 12 |
| 3 | Edinburgh | 10 |
| 4 | isle of Wight | 10 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts |
| 1 | Newport | 15 |
| 2 | Trelawny | 13 |
| 3 | King's Lynn | 11 |
| 4 | Arena Essex | 9 |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Swindon | 25 | Gjedde 9, Allen, Fry, Neath |
| 2 | Trelawny | 22 | Harris 8, Zagar 8 |
| 3 | Newport | 21 | Smart 6, Iversen 6, Watson, Atkin |
| 4 | Glasgow | 4 | Stancl2, Doolan 2 |

## Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Frede Schött | Edinburgh | 10.11 |
| Adam Shields | Isle of Wight | 9.99 |
| Kenneth Bjerre | Newcastle | 9.80 |
| Joonas Kylmäkorpi | Arena Essex | 9.69 |
| Carl Stonehewer | Workington | 9.68 |
| Leigh Lanham | Arena Essex | 9.67 |
| Charlie Gjedde | Swindon | 9.60 |
| Shane Parker | Kings Lynn | 9.59 |
| Sean Wilson | Sheffield | 9.48 |
| Simon Stead | Workington | 9.47 |

## Riders & final averages

Arena Essex
* Joonas Kylmäkorpi 9.69
* Leigh Lanham 9.67
* Kelvin Tatum 8.39
* David Ruud 7.76
* Henning Bager 6.96
* Joel Parsons 6.00
* Lee Herne 5.94
* Jason King 4.74
* Danny King 3.82
* Andy Galvin 3.65
Berwick
* Michal Makovský 7.81
* Paul Bentley 7.76
* David Meldrum 7.28
* Josef Franc 7.03
* Adrian Rymel 6.88
* Claus Kristensen 6.86
* Carlos Villar 5.23
* Rob Grant Jr. 4.22
Edinburgh
* Frede Schott 10.11
* Peter Carr 9.00
* Magnus Karlsson 7.58
* Rory Schlein 7.55
* Theo Pijper 6.33
* Wayne Carter 4.77
* Matthew Wethers 3.84
* Barry Campbell 2.78
Exeter
* Michael Coles 8.48
* Seemond Stephens 8.05
* Mark Simmonds 6.92
* Lee Smethills 6.71
* Scott Smith 6.34
* Krister Marsh 5.82
* Roger Lobb 5.11
* Corey Blackman 3.76
Glasgow
* George Štancl 9.38
* James Grieves 8.72
* Kevin Doolan 6.37
* Les Collins 6.21
* Christian Henry 5.19
* David McAllan 4.56
* Trent Leverington 4.22
* Ross Brady 2.40
Hull
* Paul Thorp 7.98
* Garry Stead 7.39
* Bjorn Hansen 6.58
* Shaun Tacey 6.28
* Neil Collins 6.26
* Lee Dicken 4.66
* Simon Cartwright 4.61
* Barrie Evans 3.87
Isle of Wight
* Adam Shields 9.99
* Danny Bird 8.95
* Ray Morton 8.87
* Sebastien Trésarrieu 6.34
* Glen Phillips 4.67
* Gary Phelps 4.18
* Chris Mills 4.05
* Mathieu Trésarrieu 3.38
* Stéphane Trésarrieu 3.33
King's Lynn
* Shane Parker 9.59
* Tom P. Madsen 9.54
* Davey Watt 9.44
* Tomáš Topinka 9.40
* Trevor Harding 5.49
* Adam Allott 5.47
* James Brundle 4.61
* Darren Mallett 2.86
* Mark Thompson 2.33
Newcastle
* Bjarne Pedersen 10.17
* Kenneth Bjerre 9.80
* Stuart Robson 8.69
* Kevin Little 7.73
* Richard Juul 5.49
* Lee Dicken 5.42
* William Lawson 4.93
* Kristian Lund 4.44
* Jamie Robertson 4.27
* Craig Branney 3.87
* Steffen Mell 2.71
Newport
* Craig Watson 9.17
* Niels Kristian Iversen 9.13
* Frank Smart 8.39
* Tony Atkin 6.98
* Carl Wilkinson 4.98
* Chris Schramm 4.76
* Joel Parsons 2.84
* Karl Mason 1.56
Reading
* Janusz Kołodziej 8.95
* Andrew Appleton 7.67
* Phil Morris 7.09
* Jonas Davidsson 6.19
* Scott Smith 5.80
* Paul Clews 5.30
* Danny King 4.32
* Shane Colvin 4.25
* Joel Parsons 3.79
* Danny Norton 1.27
Rye House
* Edward Kennett 7.82
* Scott Robson 7.62
* Brent Werner 7.07
* Nigel Sadler 6.32
* Brett Woodifield 6.14
* David Mason 5.14
* Mark Courtney 5.08
Sheffield
* Sean Wilson 9.48
* Andre Compton 8.54
* Ricky Ashworth 7.57
* Andrew Moore 7.54
* Scott Smith 6.86
* Ross Brady 5.79
* James Birkinshaw 5.13
* Richard Hall 4.93
* Ben Wilson 3.81
Somerset
* Mark Lemon 8.03
* Glenn Cunningham 7.10
* Marián Jirout 6.63
* Matt Read 6.40
* Steve Bishop 6.21
* Graeme Gordon 5.89
* Stephan Katt 5.33
* Rob Finlow 3.77
* James Mann 3.03
* Simon Dyminski 2.84
* Paul Candy 0.67
Stoke
* Jan Staechmann 8.92
* Robbie Kessler 8.00
* Paul Pickering 8.00
* Scott Smith 6.72
* Alan Mogridge 6.43
* Jon Armstrong 5.79
* Rob Grant Jr. 4.84
* Joe Cook 2.69
* Nick Simmons 2.55
Swindon
* Charlie Gjedde 9.60
* Oliver Allen 8.92
* Chris Neath 7.80
* Paul Fry 7.38
* Jamie Smith 5.84
* Malcolm Holloway 4.60
* Ritchie Hawkins 4.14
* Tommy Allen 2.80
Trelawny
* Chris Harris 9.33
* Matej Žagar 9.12
* Pavel Ondrašík 8.02
* Steve Masters 7.48
* Mirko Wolter 6.45
* Emiliano Sanchez 6.33
* Richard Wolff 4.77
* Simon Phillips 4.10
* Malcolm Holloway 4.10
* Tom Brown 2.60
Workington
* Carl Stonehewer 9.68
* Simon Stead 9.47
* Rusty Harrison 7.23
* Kauko Nieminen 5.70
* Blair Scott 4.85
* Aidan Collins 4.75
* Chris Collins 3.36