SGB Premiership 2023
LeaguePremiership
No. of competitors7
ChampionsSheffield Tigers
Knockout CupIpswich Witches
Pairs ChampionshipBelle Vue Aces
Highest averageEmil Sayfutdinov
Division/s belowSGB Championship
NDL 2023

The 2023 Sports Insure SGB Premiership was the 88th season of the top tier of British speedway and the 6th known as the SGB Premiership.[1][2]

There was an increase of one team after the Leicester Lions opted to move up from the SGB Championship.[3]

Defending champions Belle Vue Aces topped the table, but were knocked out in the playoff semi-finals. Last year's runners-up Sheffield Tigers went on to win the title, beating Ipswich Witches in the Grand Final. It was the first time Sheffield had won a top flight British speedway championship.

2023 summary

Seven clubs competed for the league championship, with Leicester Lions joining them from the division below. Each club raced against each other four times (home and away twice), meaning a total of 24 fixtures each. The 'Super Heat' scoring system was retained from the 2022 season, however extra points for away fixtures were scrapped in favour of an aggregate bonus point.

The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, with the two semi-final winners then reaching the Grand Final. The points limit remained at 39 points for six riders, with one additional 'rising star'.[4]

Sheffield Tigers won the title for the first time in their history. They beat Ipswich Witches in the final, overcoming an 18-point first leg deficit to win 92-88 on aggregate. Belle Vue Aces finished the regular season top of the table, but were eliminated at the semi-final stage by Ipswich.

Despite missing out on the league title, Ipswich won the Knockout Cup, which returned for the first time since 2019. They beat Sheffield 97-83 in the final. Belle Vue Aces won the Pairs Championship.

The 2023 season also marked the final seasons for Wolverhampton Wolves and Peterborough Panthers after the closure of their tracks.

League

Regular season

League table

Pos. Club M Home Away F A B Pts +/−
W SHL L W SHL L
1 Belle Vue Aces 24 11 0 1 6 0 6 1173 981 10 44 +192
2 Wolverhampton Wolves 24 11 1 0 3 2 7 1117 1045 7 38 +72
3 Sheffield Tigers 24 11 0 1 4 0 8 1120 1009 7 37 +111
4 Ipswich Witches 24 9 0 3 5 0 7 1097 1063 6 34 +34
5 Leicester Lions 24 8 1 3 5 1 6 1077 1081 6 34 -4
6 Peterborough Panthers 24 6 0 6 1 1 10 1008 1121 5 20 -113
7 Kings Lynn Stars 24 4 0 8 0 0 12 930 1224 1 9 -294

A fixtures

Home \ Away BEL IPS KLN LEI PET SHF WOL
Belle Vue 55–35 47–43 52–38 56–34 43–47 45–45
Ipswich 41–49 52–38 47–43 52–38 47–43 39–51
Kings Lynn 41–49 40–50 43–47 54–36 31–59 49–41
Leicester 45–45 52–38 54–36 47–42 53–37 49–41
Peterborough 35–55 42–48 53–37 43–47 53–37 34–56
Sheffield 48–42 51–39 60–30 44–46 37–23 50–40
Wolverhampton 46–44 49–41 56–34 45–45 50–40 50–40
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

B fixtures

Home \ Away BEL IPS KLN LEI PET SHF WOL
Belle Vue 49–41 57–27 61–29 55–35 52–38 57–33
Ipswich 44–46 51–39 51–39 54–36 51–39 47–43
Kings Lynn 46–44 44–46 44–46 44–46 33–57 45–45
Leicester 52–38 37–53 57–33 57–33 42–47 39–51
Peterborough 41–49 43–47 49–41 58–32 53–37 54–36
Sheffield 50–40 51–39 57–33 54–36 48–42 54–36
Wolverhampton 47–43 46–44 65–25 45–45 45–45 55–35
Source: [6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
  • Asterisk indicates super heat winner

Play offs

Semi Finals Grand Final
          
1 Belle Vue Aces 36 51 87
4 Ipswich Witches 54 39 93
Ipswich Witches 54 34 88
Sheffield Tigers 36 56 92
3 Sheffield Tigers 50 39 89
2 Wolverhampton Wolves 40 21 61

Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in red

Grand final

First leg

3 October [7] Ipswich Witches
Jason Doyle 15
Emil Sayfutdinov 13
Danny King 10
Keynan Rew 5
Danyon Hume 5
Erik Riss 5
Joe Thompson (guest) 1		 54–36 Sheffield Tigers
Robert Lambert (guest) 9
Josh Pickering 8
Richard Lawson (guest) 6
Jason Edwards 5
Kyle Howarth 3
Connor Mountain (guest) 3
Chris Holder 2		 Foxhall Stadium
Referee(s):
Jim McGregor

Second leg

5 October [8] Sheffield Tigers
Chris Holder 11
Chris Harris (guest) 9
Robert Lambert (guest) 9
Jye Etheridge (guest) 9
Josh Pickering 8
Kyle Howarth 5
Jason Edwards 5		 56–34 Ipswich Witches
Emil Sayfutdinov 11
Jason Doyle 9
Danny King 5
Erik Riss 3
Keynan Rew 3
Danyon Hume 2
Joe Thompson (guest) 1		 Owlerton Stadium
Referee(s):
Jim McGregor

Knockout Cup

The 2023 Knockout Cup was the 78th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams, but the first since 2019. It was won by the Ipswich Witches, who beat Sheffield Tigers 97-83 in the final.

Bracket

Quarter Finals Semi Finals Final
               
Wolverhampton Wolves 46 36 82
Belle Vue Aces 20 54 74
Wolverhampton Wolves 36 52 88
Sheffield Tigers 54 38 92
Sheffield Tigers 58 56 114
Kings Lynn Stars 32 34 66
Sheffield Tigers 48 35 83
Ipswich Witches 42 55 97
Ipswich Witches 48 47 95
Leicester Lions 42 43 85
Ipswich Witches 57 42 99
Peterborough Panthers 33 48 81
Bye
Peterborough Panthers

Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in red

Final

First leg

11 September [9] Sheffield Tigers
Josh Pickering 11
Kyle Howarth 10
Tobiasz Musielak 9
Chris Holder 9
Kyle Newman (guest) 4
Jason Edwards 3
Max Fricke (guest) 2		 48–42 Ipswich Witches
Danny King 10
Emil Sayfutdinov 9
Jason Doyle 8
Erik Riss 7
Keynan Rew 6
Danyon Hume 2
Joe Thompson (guest) 0		 Owlerton Stadium
Referee(s):
Craig Ackroyd

Second leg

14 September [10] Ipswich Witches
Emil Sayfutdinov 13
Jason Doyle 12
Danny King 12
Keynan Rew 9
Danyon Hume 4
Erik Riss 3
Joe Thompson (guest) 2		 55–35 Sheffield Tigers
Tobias Musielak 9
Max Fricke (guest) 8
Chris Holder 6
Jason Edwards 5
Josh Pickering 4
Kyle Howarth 2
Kyle Newman (guest) 1		 Foxhall Stadium
Referee(s):
Christina Turnbull

Pairs Championship

The 2023 Premiership Pairs Championship took place at Pidcock Motorcycles Arena in Leicester on Thursday 29 June 2023. Belle Vue won the event defeating Peterborough in the final.[11]

Qualifying heats

Pos Team Pts Riders
1 Peterborough Panthers 33 Richie Worrall 23, Ben Cook 8, Jordan Jenkins 2
2 Belle Vue Aces 32 Dan Bewley 20, Brady Kurtz 12, Jake Mulford 0
3 Sheffield Tigers 29 Jack Holder 16, Tobiasz Musielak 13, Dan Gilkes 0
4 Leicester Lions 26 Max Fricke 19, Drew Kemp 5, Justin Sedgmen 2
5 Ipswich Witches 26 Danny King 18, Erik Riss 8, Dan Thompson 0
6 Kings Lynn Stars 22 Nicolai Klindt 22, Thomas Jørgensen 0, Anders Rowe 0
7 Wolverhampton Wolves 21 Steve Worrall 16, Sam Masters 5, Leon Flint 0

Semi-final

Team One Team Two Score Result
Belle VueSheffield7-2Kurtz 4, Bewley 3, Holder 2, Musielak 0

Final

Team One Team Two Score Result
Belle VuePeterborough7-2Kurtz 4, Bewley 3, R.Worrall 2, Cook 0

Leading averages

Sayfutdinov signed for Ipswich in 2023, where he won the Knockout Cup and topped the averages
Rider Team Average
1 Russia Emil Sayfutdinov Ipswich 10.64
2 Australia Jason Doyle Ipswich 9.98
3 England Robert Lambert King's Lynn 9.71
4 Australia Jack Holder Sheffield 9.65
5 Poland Tobiasz Musielak Sheffield 9.24
6 England Tai Woffinden Sheffield 9.12
7 Australia Brady Kurtz Belle Vue 8.94
8 Australia Max Fricke Leicester 8.82
9 England Dan Bewley Belle Vue 8.31
10 Russia Artem Laguta King's Lynn/Peterborough 8.20
  • averages include league, play offs & knockout cup, min 6 matches

Squads & final averages

Belle Vue Aces

Ipswich Witches

King's Lynn Stars

Leicester Lions

Peterborough Panthers

Sheffield Tigers

Wolverhampton Wolves

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Easy Choice for Becker". British Speedway. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Premiership fixtures released". British Speedway. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Lions moving up in 2023". Leicester Speedway. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "British Speedway AGM statement". SCB. 17 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "2023 Premiership Table, Fixtures & Results - British Speedway Official Website". 2 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "2023 Premiership Table, Fixtures & Results - British Speedway Official Website". 2 September 2022.
  7. ↑ "Ipswich Witches vs Sheffield Tigers scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  8. ↑ "Sheffield Tigers vs Ipswich Witches scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  9. ↑ "Sheffield Tigers vs Ipswich Witches scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  10. ↑ "Ipswich Witches vs Sheffield Tigers scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  11. ↑ "Premiership Pairs @ Leicester". British Speedway. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
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