1998 Premier League speedway season

The 1998 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).

1998 Premier League speedway season
LeaguePremier League
ChampionsPeterborough Panthers
Knockout CupReading Racers
Young ShieldIsle of Wight Islanders
IndividualGlenn Cunningham
PairsPeterborough Panthers
FoursPeterborough Panthers
Highest averageNicki Pedersen
Division/s above1998 Elite League
Division/s below1998 Conference League

Season summary

The League consisted of 13 teams for the 1998 season with the following the closure of the Long Eaton Invaders and the decision of the Oxford Cheetahs to compete in the Elite League. The addition of the Peterborough Panthers who dropped down from the Elite League limited the reduction in numbers.

The League was run on a standard format with no play-offs and was won by Peterborough.[1]

Final table
Pos M W D L F A Pts Bon Tot
1 Peterborough Panthers 24 16 2 6 1206 945 34 12 46
2 Reading Racers 24 16 0 8 1130 989 32 10 42
3 Exeter Falcons 24 14 1 9 1134 1023 31 7 38
4 Hull Vikings 24 15 0 9 1098 1037 30 6 36
5 Sheffield Tigers 24 13 0 11 1088 1064 26 7 33
6 Isle of Wight Islanders 24 11 2 11 1095 1055 24 8 32
7 Glasgow Tigers 24 13 0 11 1085 1065 26 6 32
8 Newport Wasps 24 11 3 10 1067 1081 25 7 32
9 Edinburgh Monarchs 24 11 0 13 1078 1077 22 7 29
10 Newcastle Diamonds 24 10 3 11 1041 1109 23 3 26
11 Arena Essex Hammers 24 8 2 14 995 1139 18 2 20
12 Berwick Bandits 24 7 1 17 982 1173 15 2 17
13 Stoke Potters 24 3 0 21 956 1198 6 1 7

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 1998 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 31st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Reading Racers were the winners of the competition.[2][3][4]

Northern Group
Pos Team Played W D L Pts
1Berwick Bandits1171315
2Sheffield Tigers1271415
3Glasgow Tigers1271415
4Edinburgh Monarchs1151511
5Newcastle Diamonds93248
6Hull Vikings124088
7Stoke Potters83066

Southern Group
Pos Team Played W D L Pts
1Peterborough Panthers1070314
2Reading Racers1051411
3Arena Essex Hammers1050510
4Exeter Falcons1042410
5Isle of Wight Islanders103349
6Newport Wasps102084

Semi-finals
Date Team one Score Team two
20/07Reading56-34Sheffield
16/07Sheffield45-45Reading
14/08Peterborough56-34Berwick
22/08Berwick42-48Peterborough

Final

First leg

Peterborough Panthers
Philippe Bergé 10
Simon Stead 9
David Howe 8
Glenn Cunningham 5
Nigel Sadler 5
Brett Woodifield 4
Oliver Allen 3		44 – 46Reading Racers
Lee Richardson 14
Petri Kokko 12
Paul Clews 7
Dave Mullett 5
Jusin Elkins 5
Phil Morris 2
Krister Marsh 1
[5]

Second leg

Reading Racers
Lee Richardson 18
Dave Mullett 10
Petri Kokko 10
Krister Marsh 8
Paul Clews 7
Jusin Elkins 4
Phil Morris R/R		57 – 33Peterborough Panthers
Leigh Lanham (guest) 11
Brett Woodifield 9
Philippe Bergé 5
Nigel Sadler 5
Ross Brady 3
Oliver Allen 0
David Howe 0
[5]

Reading were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 103–77.

Riders' Championship

Glenn Cunningham won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 13 September at Owlerton Stadium.[6]

Pos.RiderPtsTotalSFFinal
1England Glenn Cunningham2 2 3 3 313-3
2England Carl Stonehewer3 3 2 1 31222
3England Peter Carr3 3 2 3 314-1
4Denmark Nicki Pedersen2 2 3 2 21230
5Australia Craig Watson1 3 2 2 2111
6England Leigh Lanham0 3 0 3 3100
7England Paul Bentley1 0 3 2 29
8England Paul Pickering1 1 2 3 08
9Australia Frank Smart2 1 1 1 27
10England Scott Smith0 2 3 0 17
11England Lee Richardson3 2 1 0 r6
12England David Walsh0 0 1 2 16
13England Paul Thorp3 r3
14England Martin Dixon2 0 1 03
15England Steve Masters1 1 0 t 13
16England Derrol Keats0 0 1 1 13
17Australia Mick Powell0 11
  • f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Hayley Stadium on 26 July. The event was won by Peterborough Panthers.[7][8]

Semi finals

  • Peterborough bt Reading 5-4
  • Exeter bt Newcastle 6-3

Final

  • Peterborough bt Exeter 5-4

Fours

Peterborough Panthers won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 30 August 1998, at the East of England Arena.[9]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1Peterborough24Cunningham 8, Berge 6 Woodifield 5 Sadler 5
2Hull19Thorp 7, Grahame 5, Bentley 4, Dicken 3,
3Edinburgh19Carr P 8, McKinna 6, Little 4, Andersson 1
4Reading10Richardson 4, Kokko 4, Clews 2, Elkins 0, Mullett 0

Leading averages
Rider Team Average
Denmark Nicki PedersenNewcastle9.97
England Carl StonehewerSheffield9.93
England Lee RichardsonReading9.60
England Paul ThorpHull9.56
England Glenn CunninghamPeterborough9.55
England Dave MullettReading9.48
Finland Petri KokkoReading9.36
Australia Mick PowellGlasgow9.32
Denmark Jan AndersenPeterborough9.29
England Peter CarrEdinburgh9.26

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Berwick

Edinburgh

Exeter

  • Frank Smart 9.03
  • Michael Coles 8.38
  • Peter Jeffery 7.90
  • Mark Simmonds 7.71
  • Graeme Gordon 6.54
  • Roger Lobb 4.83
  • Gary Lobb 4.31
  • Paul Oughton 4.26
  • Chris Courage 2.43

Glasgow

  • Mick Powell 9.32
  • Kaj Laukkanen 8.93
  • David Steen 7.53
  • Grant MacDonald 6.67
  • Daniel Andersson 6.17
  • Sean Courtney 5.68
  • Will Beveridge 5.56
  • Brian Turner 4.81

Hull

Isle of Wight

Newcastle

Newport

Peterborough

Reading

Sheffield

Stoke

  • Paul Pickering 9.00
  • Neil Collins 7.37
  • Mark Burrows 5.78
  • Craig Taylor 5.03
  • Stewart McDonald 4.63
  • Dean Felton 4.39
  • Rob Clarence 2.07

See also

References
  1. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  2. "1998 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  3. "Racers on verge of cup triumph". Reading Evening Post. 21 September 1998. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Super Racers are the KO Cup Winners". Reading Evening Post. 22 September 1998. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "1998 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  6. "Stonehewer second best". Nottingham Evening Post. 14 September 1998. Retrieved 24 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "1998 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  8. "Speedway". Birmingham Daily Post. 27 July 1998. Retrieved 27 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Last heat fury". Hull Daily Mail. 31 August 1998. Retrieved 24 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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