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
The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Premiership (sponsored by Sports Insure) is the top division of speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida.
*Edmonton Internation ...
.
There was an increase of one team after the
Leicester Lions
Leicester Lions are a speedway team which originally operated from 1968 until 1983Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. and again from 2011. The team race at the Beaumont Park Stadium (or Hydroscand Arena for sponsorsh ...
opted to move up from the
SGB Championship
The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). ...
.
Defending champions
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 14 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wit ...
topped the table, but were knocked out in the playoff semi-finals. Last year's runners-up
Sheffield Tigers
The Sheffield Tigers (sponsored by Tru Plant) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. They were founded in 1929 an ...
went on to win the title, beating
Ipswich Witches
The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30 ...
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'.
Sheffield Tigers
The Sheffield Tigers (sponsored by Tru Plant) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. They were founded in 1929 an ...
won the title for the first time in their history. They beat
Ipswich Witches
The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30 ...
in the final, overcoming an 18-point first leg deficit to win 92–88 on aggregate.
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 14 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wit ...
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
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 14 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wit ...
won the
Pairs Championship.
The 2023 season also marked the final seasons for
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 ...
and
Peterborough Panthers
The Peterborough Panthers were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Peterborough, England from 1970 to 2023. They were three times List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest lev ...
after the closure of their tracks.
League
Regular season
League table
A fixtures
B fixtures
*Asterisk indicates super heat winner
Play offs
Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in
red
Grand final
First leg
Second leg
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
The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30 ...
, who beat
Sheffield Tigers
The Sheffield Tigers (sponsored by Tru Plant) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. They were founded in 1929 an ...
97–83 in the final.
Bracket
Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in
red
Final
First leg
Second leg
Pairs Championship
The 2023
Premiership Pairs Championship took place at
Pidcock Motorcycles Arena in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
on Thursday 29 June 2023. Belle Vue won the event defeating Peterborough in the final.
Qualifying heats
Semi-final
Final
Leading averages
*averages include league, play offs & knockout cup, min 6 matches
Squads & final averages
Belle Vue Aces
* (C) 8.94
* 8.31
* 8.16
* 7.81
* 7.05
* 6.27
* (Rising Star) 4.22
* (Rising Star) 2.21
Ipswich Witches
*/
Emil Sayfutdinov
Emil Damirovich Sayfutdinov (; born 26 October 1989) is a motorcycle speedway rider from Russia. He is a member of the Russia national speedway team. He is a three times World team champion, twice World Junior champion and a two-time winner o ...
10.64
* 9.98
* (C) 8.03
* (Rising Star) 5.33
* 4.98
* 4.79
* 4.08
* 3.83
* (Rising Star) 1.87
King's Lynn Stars
* 9.71
* (C) 6.96
* 6.21
* 5.52
* 5.46
* 5.40
* 5.33
* (Rising Star) 5.00
* 3.29
* 2.59
Leicester Lions
* (C) 8.82
* 7.12
* 7.11
* 6.89
* 6.63
* 6.62
* (Rising Star) 5.35
* 5.04
* 3.33
* 3.08
Peterborough Panthers
* (C) 7.44
*/
Vadim Tarasenko 7.44
*/
Artem Laguta
Artem Grigoryevich Laguta (; born 13 November 1990) is a Russian motorcycle speedway rider and member of the Russian national team. He is the 2021 World Champion.
Career details
Laguta became the Russian champion in 2010 and 2011.
In Aug ...
7.33
* 7.03
* 6.74
* 6.64
* 6.00
* (Rising Star) 5.19
* 5.13
* 0.00 (1 match only)
Sheffield Tigers
* 9.65
* 9.24
* 9.12
* 7.75
* 7.68
* (C) 6.86
* 6.24
* 4.95
* (Rising Star) 4.46
* (Rising Star) 4.05
* 2.00
Wolverhampton Wolves
* (C) 8.09
* 7.86
* 7.60
* 7.01
* 6.26
* 5.77
* (Rising Star) 4.79
See also
*
SGB Championship 2023
The 2023 SGB Championship season (sponsored by Cab Direct) was the 76th season of the second tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom, British Speedway and the 6th known as the SGB Championship. The British Speedway Network (BSN) streamed 35 match ...
*
SGB National Development League 2023
*
British Speedway League Champions
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:SGB Premiership
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
2023 in British speedway