The 2008 Premier League speedway season was the second division of

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

racing in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the 14th season since its creation in 1995. The league was governed by the

Speedway Control Bureau The Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), known as the Speedway Control Board between 1948 and 2002, governs the sport of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom on behalf of the Auto Cycle Union (ACU). The directors are appointed by the ACU and Br ...

(SCB), in conjunction with the

British Speedway Promoters' Association The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Wimbledon controller Ronn ...

(BSPA).

Summary

The League consisted of 16 teams for the 2008 season with the addition of the 2007 Conference League champions the

Scunthorpe Scorpions The Scunthorpe Scorpions are a motorcycle speedway team in the British SGB Championship. They have raced at various times since 1971, at three different venues. History Origins and 1970s Speedway in Scunthorpe began on 3 May 1971 at the ...

. New rules introduced for 2008 include three points for an away win compared to two points in 2007, and the removal of bonus points, in which a team was awarded an additional point for an aggregate win over a home and away match against another team. The team finishing at the top of the league table at the end of the season after accumulating the most points were declared the Premier League champions. The four highest placed teams were entered into promotion play-offs, whereby the Premier League play-off winner faced the Elite League relegation play-off final losers over two legs. Teams finishing in fifth to twelfth at the time of the fixture cut-off date compete in the Young Shield.

Newport Wasps Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based at Somerton Park and then the Hayley Stadium in Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales, from 1964 to 2012. The Wasps logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City ...

withdrew from the league following the death of their promoter Tim Stone. The

Edinburgh Monarchs The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish speedway team based in Armadale. They compete in the SGB Championship, racing on Friday nights during the speedway season. The club is run by a board of directors, chaired by Alex Harkess and also runs a ...

were crowned the Premier League champions after ending the season as the highest placed team. The

Somerset Rebels The Somerset Rebels were a British motorcycle speedway, speedway team based in Highbridge, Somerset, Highbridge, Somerset. Founded in 2000, the club competed in the British SGB Championship until 2019. Their home track was located at the Oak Tr ...

finished second,

King's Lynn Stars King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" was adopted from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 199 ...

third and the

Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a motorcycle speedway, speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Origins & 1930s Rye House began life in 1934, host ...

fourth. All four teams took part in the promotion play-off with Edinburgh and King's Lynn reaching the final. Edinburgh won 93–90 on aggregate and faced Elite League team

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They were champions of the United Kingdom five times and raced at Monmore Green Stadium from 1928 to 2023. History 1928–1930 Speedway (known ...

, but lost the two-legged promotion/relegation final 106–76.

Fixtures & results

Final league table

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2008 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 41st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams.

were the winners of the competition. First round Second round ns match not staged Rye House into next round Quarter-finals Semi-finals

Final

First leg Second leg Somerset were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 98–84.

Riders' Championship

Tai Woffinden Tai Woffinden (born 10 August 1990) is a British speedway rider. He is a three-time World Champion (2013, 2015 and 2018). Early life Woffinden was born in Scunthorpe, the son of former speedway rider Rob Woffinden. Although born in the Unite ...

won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 21 September at

Owlerton Stadium Owlerton Stadium, also known as Sheffield Stadium, is a purpose-built speedway stadium built in 1929, which hosts greyhound racing five-times a week. The track is in Owlerton near Hillsborough in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Greyhound ...

. * f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

Pairs

The

Premier League Pairs Championship The SGB Championship Pairs formerly the Premier League Pairs Championship (from 1997 to 2016) is a motorcycle speedway contest for the second tier teams in the United Kingdom to determine the Pairs champions. The teams consist of the top two ri ...

was held at Oaktree Arena on 27 June. The event was won by Workington Comets. Semi finals *Workington bt Sheffield 7–2 *Somerset bt Reading 5–4 Final *Workington bt Somerset 6–3

Fours

Workington Comets won the

Premier League Four-Team Championship The SGB Championship Fours formerly the Premier League Four-Team Championship is a contest between teams competing in the second tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. Teams are grouped into fours, with one rider from each team in each race. The ...

for the fourth time, it was held on 26 July 2006, at

Derwent Park Derwent Park is a Rugby League Stadium and former motorcycle speedway in Workington, England situated beside the Cumbrian River Derwent. It is used mostly for rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Workington Town who play in Leagu ...

Final leading averages

Riders & final averages

Berwick *

Adrian Rymel Adrian Rymel (born 30 October 1975 in Štramberk, Czechoslovakia) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from the Czech Republic. He earned 8 international caps for the Czech Republic national speedway team. Career Rymel started his British sp ...

10.07 *

Michal Makovský Michal Makovský (born 6 April 1976) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from the Czech Republic. He earned 3 international caps for the Czech Republic national speedway team. Career He started in the 2000 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Repub ...

8.27 * Paul Clews 6.92 *Norbert Magosi 6.47 *

Tero Aarnio Tero Kalevi Aarnio (born 17 April 1984) is a motorcycle speedway rider from Finland. Career Aarnio was a member of Finland team at 2007 Speedway World Cup. This led to his signing for Berwick Bandits for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He then joi ...

6.36 * Scott Smith 5.87 *

Guglielmo Franchetti Guglielmo Franchetti or Gino Franchetti (born 5 October 1985) is an Italian former motorcycle speedway rider. Career Franchetti was a member of Italy national speedway team, earning 5 international caps and was twice Italian National Champion ...

4.91 *Tony Atkin 4.67 *Adam McKinna 3.03 Birmingham *

Jason Lyons Jason Rodney Lyons (born 15 June 1970 in Mildura, Victoria) is a former Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. Jason is the son of former rider Rod Lyons. Career history Lyons started his United Kingdom career in 1990, with the ...

9.97 * Adam Roynon 8.65 * Tomasz Piszcz 7.88 * Craig Watson 7.68 *

Kyle Legault Kyle Patrick Legault (born May 30, 1985 in St. Catharines, Ontario) is a Canadian former motorcycle speedway rider. Career Legault is a three-time Canadian individual speedway champion; winning in 2003, 2004 and 2006. He began his British speedw ...

7.37 * James Birkinshaw 5.56 * Lee Smart 5.21 *Jack Roberts 4.38 *Ben Taylor 3.79 *

James Cockle Sir James Cockle FRS FRAS FCPS (14 January 1819 – 27 January 1895) was an English lawyer and mathematician. Cockle was born on 14 January 1819. He was the second son of James Cockle, a surgeon, of Great Oakley, Essex. Educated at Chart ...

3.67 *Jack Hargreaves 3.59 *Jay Herne 2.94 Edinburgh *

Ryan Fisher Ryan Scott Fisher (born 7 September 1983 in Riverside, California) is an American former international motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 8 caps for the United States national speedway team. Career Fisher won the US Junior Championship thr ...

8.80 * Matthew Wethers 8.28 * William Lawson 8.00 * Thomas H. Jonasson 7.78 * Andrew Tully 7.73 * Derek Sneddon 7.11 * Aaron Summers 6.15 Glasgow * Shane Parker 9.38 *

Robert Ksiezak Robert Ksiezak (born 15 January 1987 in Adelaide, South Australia) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. Career Ksiezak started his British career with the Edinburgh Monarchs in 2005. He lost his team place halfway through the 2 ...

6.97 *Trent Leverington 6.80 *

Josh Grajczonek Joshua Lee Grajczonek (born 5 February 1990) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He is a record eight times winner of the Queensland championship. Career Born in Townsville, Queensland, Grajczonek's big break in British Speedwa ...

6.22 *Ross Brady 5.79 *Lee Dicken 5.55 *Anders Andersen 4.58 *Mitchell Davey 2.94 Isle of Wight *

Jason Bunyan Jason Michael Bunyan (born 9 March 1979 in Milton Keynes) is a former England under-21 international motorcycle speedway rider from England. He is a ten times champion of New Zealand. Racing career He won the New Zealand Championship from 200 ...

8.07 *

Krzysztof Stojanowski Krzysztof Stojanowski (born 5 January 1979, in Sulechów, Poland) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. Career Stojanowski rode in the Team Speedway Polish Championship for Zielona Góra, Krosno, Ostrów, Gdańsk, Opole, Łódź a ...

7.35 *Cory Gathercole 7.32 * Paul Fry 7.10 * Glen Phillips 7.00 *James Holder 6.10 *

Richard Sweetman Richard Thomas Sweetman (born 28 July 1990 in Maitland, New South Wales) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. Career Born in Maitland, the birthplace of motorcycle speedway (1926), Sweetman won the New South Wales Under-21 indi ...

5.82 * Andrew Bargh 3.96 King's Lynn *

Kevin Doolan Kevin Doolan (born 30 November 1980) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. Biography Born in Shepparton, Victoria, Doolan first raced in Australia, finishing third in the 1996 Australian Under-16 Championship. He began his Briti ...

10.47 *

Tomáš Topinka Tomáš Topinka (born 5 June 1974) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from the Czech Republic. He earned 16 international caps for the Czech Republic national speedway team. Career He participated in Speedway World Cups for Czech Republic ...

9.98 * Shaun Tacey 7.28 * Russell Harrison 7.12 * Simon Lambert 6.61 *John Oliver 6.35 *

Kozza Smith Kozza Smith (born Korey Williams on 20 March 1988 in Cessnock, New South Wales) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. Career history Smith began racing at the age of 14 in Australian junior speedway and in 2006, he won the Q ...

6.23 Mildenhall *

Kaj Laukkanen Kai Pekka Laukkanen (born 8 April 1975) is a Finnish former motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 15 caps for the Finland national speedway team. Career Laukkanen won the final running of the Intercontinental Final in 2001. He rode in 2004 Spee ...

8.17 *

Robbie Kessler Robert Kessler (born 5 April 1973 in Neuwied, West Germany) is a former motorcycle speedway rider, from Germany. He earned 5 international caps for the German national speedway team. Career Kessler represented Germany at the Speedway World Te ...

7.44 *

Theo Pijper Theo Pijper (born 11 February 1980) is a Dutch motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 2 caps for the Netherlands national speedway team. Career Born in Dokkum, Netherlands, Pijper first rode a motorbike at the age of five. He was a successful long ...

4.98 *

Michał Rajkowski Michał Rajkowski (born 17 December 1984) is a Polish former motorcycle speedway rider. Career In 2007, Rajkowski signed for the Newport Wasps and then in 2008, he rode in the highest tier of British speedway for the Belle Vue Aces. The follow ...

4.66 *Sebastian Truminski 4.57 * Jan Graversen 4.51 *Marek Mroz 4.35 *Mark Baseby 3.46 *Henning Loof 3.05 *Casper Wortmann 3.05 *Luke Priest 2.67 *Jari Makinen 2.31 *Matthew Wright 2.29 Newcastle *

Josef Franc Josef Franc (born 18 January 1979) is a Czech former international motorcycle racer who competed in Grasstrack, Longtrack and motorcycle speedway. He earned 8 international caps for the Czech Republic national speedway team Career In 2001, Fr ...

7.89 *Jason King 7.82 *

Kenni Larsen Kenni Arendt Larsen (born 14 June 1988), known as both Kenni Arendt and Kenni Larsen, is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. Career Born in Odense, Denmark, Larsen began his British speedway career in 2008 with Newcastle Diamonds, ...

7.79 *Christian Henry 7.28 *

George Štancl Jiří Štancl Junior, also known as George Štancl (born 19 August 1975), is a Czech former international speedway rider. Career Štancl began his British leagues career with Sheffield Tigers in the 1994 British League Division Two season. In ...

7.20 *Ben Powell 5.43 * Richard Juul 4.31 *Sean Stoddart 4.18 *Jamie Robertson 3.79 *

Jerran Hart Jerran Hart (born 19 January 1991) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Speedway career Hart began his British career riding for Newport Wasps in 2008. He rode in the top tier of British Speedway, riding for the Ipswich Witches d ...

3.59 Newport (withdrew from league) * Craig Watson 6.60 *Tony Atkin 6.44 *Sebastian Truminski 6.27 *Nick Simmons 5.91 * Paul Clews 5.49 *Marek Mroz 4.63 *

2.40 Reading *

Ulrich Østergaard Ulrich Reinhold Østergaard (born 19 April 1981 in Odense, Denmark) is a Danish former motorcycle speedway rider. Career Østergaard initially came to the United Kingdom for a trial with the Trelawny Tigers in 2002 and impressed the management ...

10.29 *

Mark Lemon Mark Lemon (30 November 1809, in London – 23 May 1870, in Crawley) was the founding editor of both ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' and ''The Field (magazine), The Field''. He was also a writer of Play (theatre), plays and verses. Biography ...

8.04 * Tom P. Madsen 6.66 * Chris Mills 5.76 *

Tomáš Suchánek Tomáš Suchánek (born 7 April 1984) is a Czech former motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 3 international caps for the Czech Republic national speedway team. Career Suchánek was born on 7 April 1984 in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia. He first ...

5.34 *Jamie Smith 5.07 *Nicki Glanz 4.59 *Danny Warwick 4.56 Redcar *

Gary Havelock Robert Gary Havelock (born 4 November 1968) is a British former speedway rider who was World Champion in 1992. Career Havelock's father was speedway rider Brian Havelock. Gary Havelock first competed in grasstrack racing, winning the British ...

9.27 *

James Grieves James Robert Grieves (born 28 September 1974), is a former professional motorcycle speedway rider from Scotland. Career Born in Paisley, Scotland in 1974, Grieves took up speedway at the age of fifteen when he attended one of Olle Nygren's tra ...

9.10 *

Ty Proctor Tyron Brian Proctor (born 27 February 1987)2019 Rider Index
, speedwaygb.co. Retrieved 20 August 2019

8.24 * Chris Kerr 7.54 * Josh Auty 5.45 *Daniel Giffard 4.16 * Benji Compton 4.00 *Arlo Bugeja 3.63 *Joni Keskinen 1.28 Rye House *

10.15 *

Stefan Ekberg Stefan Ekberg (born 21 January 1972 in Motala, Sweden) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. Career Ekberg is a full Swedish international, making his debut in 1994. He rode in the British leagues, starting with Oxfo ...

8.11 * Chris Neath 8.10 *Tommy Allen 7.79 *

Robert Mear Robert John Mear (born 12 January 1989) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned two international caps for the Great Britain national speedway team. Speedway career Mear started his speedway career in England riding for t ...

7.15 *Luke Bowen 6.20 *Danny Betson 5.03 *Daniel Halsey 3.78 Scunthorpe * Magnus Karlsson 7.90 * Richard Hall 7.17 * Andrew Moore 7.16 * Carl Wilkinson 6.93 *

Viktor Bergström Viktor Bergström (born 14 November 1986 in Kolmården) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. Career He raced in Britain in the Premier League for Leicester Lions and Scunthorpe Scorpions. In 2007, Bergström rode in the Elitserie ...

6.58 *

Emiliano Sanchez Emiliano Diebo Sanchez also known as Poty Sanchez (born 9 December 1977 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine former motorcycle speedway rider, with Italian ancestry. He is three times National Argentinian champion and twice National Italian champ ...

6.42 * Ben Powell 5.49 *

Byron Bekker Byron Anthony Bekker (born 2 July 1987, in Johannesburg) is a South African former motorcycle speedway rider, who rode in the British Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the high ...

4.62 * Benji Compton 3.52 Sheffield *

Andre Compton Andre Neil Compton (born 15 May 1977 in Dewsbury, England) is a former speedway rider from England. He is the older brother of Benji Compton. Career summary In 1999, he was part of the Sheffield four that won the Premier League Four-Team Cha ...

9.09 * Ricky Ashworth 8.25 * Joel Parsons 7.29 * Ben Wilson 7.26 * Paul Cooper 6.38 * Lee Smethills 5.92 * Sam Martin 2.56 * Kyle Hughes 2.30 Somerset *

Jason Doyle Jason Kevin Doyle (born 6 October 1985) is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. He became World Champion in 2017 after winning the 2017 Speedway Grand Prix. Doyle is a member of the Australia national speedway team and represented his coun ...

10.28 *

Emil Kramer Emil Karl Leif Kramer (14 November 1979 – 9 December 2009) was a motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. Career Kramer came to prominence in 2000 when he reached the final of the 2000 Speedway Under-21 World Championship, where he secured a sev ...

8.14 *Simon Walker 8.05 * Jordan Frampton 7.31 *

Stephan Katt Stephan Katt (born 15 September 1979) is a German former speedway rider. He competed in grasstrack, longtrack and motorcycle speedway. He earned one international cap for the German national speedway team. Career Katt was a member of Germany ...

6.66 *

Brent Werner Jeffrey Brent Werner (born April 15, 1974) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from the United States. He earned 15 caps for the United States national speedway team. Career Werner was a member of United States team at Speedway World Cups. ...

6.34 *

Matthias Kröger Matthias Kröger (born 24 May 1969) is a former speedway, long track and grasstrack rider from Germany. He earned 6 international caps for the German national speedway team. Career He rode in 2002 Speedway World Cup and is a five times World ...

6.29 Stoke *

Ben Barker Ben Barker may refer to: * Ben Barker (racing driver) (born 1991), British racing driver * Ben Barker (speedway rider) (born 1988), British speedway rider * Ben Barka Mehdi Ben Barka (; 1920 – disappeared 29 October 1965) was a Moroccan nation ...

8.23 * Lee Complin 7.95 * Andrew Moore 6.87 *

6.39 *Mark Burrows 5.64 * Jesper Kristiansen 5.63 *

Klaus Jakobsen Klaus Jakobsen (born 30 January 1989) is a speedway rider from Denmark. Speedway career Jakobsen began his British career riding for Stoke Potters in 2008. He continued to ride for Stoke during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Jakobsen then rode in ...

5.48 * Barrie Evans 5.04 *Krister Jacobsen 4.64 Workington * Daniel Nermark 10.53 *

Kauko Nieminen Kauko Tapio Nieminen (born 29 August 1979, in Seinäjoki) is a Finnish former speedway rider who earned 18 caps for the Finland national speedway team. Career summary Nieminen started his United Kingdom career with the Workington Comets in ...

.9.50 *

Carl Stonehewer Carl Bryan Stonehewer (born 16 May 1972) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned seven international caps for the England national speedway team and five caps for the Great Britain team. Career Stonehewer's principal club ...

7.93 * Joe Haines 6.22 * Charles Wright 5.12 *

Tomi Reima Tomi may refer to: * Constanța, a city in Romania, also known as Tomis or Tomi * Tomi, Okayama, a village in Japan * Tōmi, Nagano, a city in Japan * Tomi (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * ''Tomi'' (film), a 1936 ...

5.03 *John Branney 4.79 * Scott Smith 3.28

References

{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons Speedway Premier League

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

Speedway Premier League