| Competition | SGB Premiership |
|---|---|
| Domesticcup 1 | Champions |
| Domesticcup1 winners | Swindon Robins |
| Domesticcup 2 | Knockout Cup |
| Domesticcup2 winners | Belle Vue Aces |
| Domesticcup 3 | Elite Shield |
| Domesticcup3 winners | Poole Pirates |
| Domesticcup 4 | Individual |
| Domesticcup4 winners | Fredrik Lindgren |
| Domesticcup 5 | Pairs |
| Domesticcup5 winners | King's Lynn Stars |
| Highest average | Jason Doyle |
| Leagues below | SGB Championship National League |
| Prevseason | 2016 |
| Nextseason | 2018 |
The 2017 SGB Premiership was the 83rd season of the top division of British Speedway. It was the first time that it was known as the SGB Premiership after changing its name from the Elite League.[1]
Summary
The season ran between March and October 2017 and 8 teams participated (Coventry withdrew from the league before the season started, after they had originally entered the league). The lineup of teams for 2017 was different from the lineup of the 2016 Elite League. The Lakeside Hammers and Coventry Bees dropped out of the league and were replaced by the Rye House Rockets and the Somerset Rebels.[2][3][4]
At the annual Speedway AGM, which was held early in November 2016, it was agreed that speedway in Great Britain would be given what was described as "the biggest revamp of the sport in modern history". This involved numerous alterations to both the regulations and the branding of the sport. The former top level of British speedway, the Elite League, was replaced by the Speedway Great Britain Premiership. Among the most notable changes to the regulations is the reintroduction of promotion and relegation between the top two leagues: the team that finishes in last place in the Premiership will race against the winners of the new second tier of British speedway (the SGB Championship) in order to decide who will compete in the Premiership in 2018.[5]
The Swindon Robins were the champions defeating the Wolverhampton Wolves in the Grand Final.[6][7] Swindon won in extraordinary circumstances, having lost the first leg against Wolves at home 47–43, they won the away leg 47–42, with Wolves promoter Peter Adams gracious in defeat, stating that speedway was the winner.[8]
British TV broadcasting rights changed hands before the start of the 2017 SGB Premiership season, when Sky withdrew from their negotiated contract with the BSPA. BT then obtained the broadcasting rights for the 2017 season to be shown on their BT Sport channels.[1]
League
Teams face each other four times: twice home and twice away. The first of the home and away meetings are called the 'A' fixtures, and the second are the 'B' fixtures.
Regular season
Final League Table
| Pos. | Club | M | Home | Away | F | A | Pts | +/− | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | D | L | 4W | 3W | D | 1L | L | |||||||
| 1 | Swindon Robins | 28 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1339 | 1181 | +158 | 66 |
| 2 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 28 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1354 | 1151 | +197 | 63 |
| 3 | Belle Vue Aces | 28 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1310 | 1224 | +86 | 58 |
| 4 | Poole Pirates | 28 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1286 | 1268 | +18 | 50 |
| 5 | Rye House Rockets | 28 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1289 | 1237 | +52 | 48 |
| 6 | Somerset Rebels | 28 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1184 | 1338 | -154 | 32 |
| 7 | King's Lynn Stars | 28 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1138 | 1364 | -226 | 29 |
| 8 | Leicester Lions | 28 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 1197 | 1334 | -137 | 27 |
A Fixtures
B Fixtures
Play-offs
Draw
Home team scores are in Dark Black
Semi-Finals
Grand Final
Promotion and relegation play-off
Knockout Cup
The 2017 Knockout Cup was the 75th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. The competition returned after a four-year absence under a new name, it had previously been known as the Elite League Knockout Cup. Belle Vue Aces were the winners of the competition for a 14th time and extended their all-time record.
Draw <section begin=Bracket/>
<section end=Bracket/> Home team scores are in bold
Final
Elite Shield
Riders' Championship
Freddie Lindgren won the Riders' Championship for the third time. The final was held at National Speedway Stadium on 16 September.[10][11]
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freddie Lindgren | 2,1,3,3,2 | 11 | x | 3 |
| 2 | Max Fricke | 3,3,exc,1,2 | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Craig Cook | 3,2,2,3,3 | 13 | x | 1 |
| 4 | Jacob Thorssell | 3,0,3,0,2 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Hans Andersen | 3,3,2,2,0 | 10 | 1 | |
| 6 | Josh Grajczonek | 1,2,3,2,1 | 9 | 0 | |
| 7 | Scott Nicholls | 2,3,1,1,1 | 8 | ||
| 8 | Nick Morris | 1,2,2,0,3 | 8 | ||
| 9 | Chris Harris | 0,1,1,3,3 | 8 | ||
| 10 | Josh Auty | ret,2,3,2,1 | 8 | ||
| 11 | Brady Kurtz | 2,3,0,2,ret | 7 | ||
| 12 | Jason Doyle | 1,0,ret,3,3 | 7 | ||
| 13 | Richard Lawson | 1,0,2,1,1 | 5 | ||
| 14 | Kim Nilsson | ret,1,1,1,2 | 5 | ||
| 15 | Danny King | 0,1,1,0,0 | 2 | ||
| 16 | Thomas Jørgensen | 2,0,0,0,exc | 2 | ||
| 17 | Rob Shuttleworth (res) | 0 | 0 |
- f=fell, exc=excluded, ret=retired ef=engine failure t-touched tapes
Pairs Championship
A pairs championship was held for the top tier of speedway the first time since the Elite League Pairs Championship. last held in 2011. Despite its comeback for 2017 it was not held again afterwards.[12]
Result
| Group A[13] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Club | Riders | Pts | ||
| 1st | Wolverhampton | Fredrik Lingdren & Jacob Thorsell | 17 | ||
| 2nd | Swindon | Jason Doyle & Nick Morris | 14 | ||
| 3rd | Somerset | Patrick Hougaard & Rohan Tungate | 12 | ||
| 4th | Belle Vue | Craig Cook & Max Fricke | 11 | ||
| Group B[13] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Club | Riders | Pts | ||
| 1st | King's Lynn | Chris Holder & Robert Lambert | 21 | ||
| 2nd | Rye House | Scott Nicholls & Chris Harris | 15 | ||
| 3rd | Leicester | Danny King & Kim Nilsson | 11 | ||
| 4th | Poole | Brady Kurtz & Jack Holder | 7 | ||
Semi Finals
| Team One | Team Two | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolverhampton | Rye House | 7-2 | Thorsell, Lindgren, Harris, Nicholls |
| King's Lynn | Swindon | 5-4 | Doyle, Lambert, Holder, Morris |
Final
| Team One | Team Two | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| King's Lynn | Wolverhampton | 7-2 | Lambert, Holder, Thorsell, Lindgren |
Final leading averages
| Rider | Team | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Doyle | Swindon | 10.26 |
| Fredrik Lindgren | Wolverhampton | 9.95 |
| Nick Morris | Swindon | 9.42 |
| Jacob Thorssell | Wolverhampton | 9.33 |
| Kenneth Bjerre | Belle Vue | 8.98 |
| Craig Cook | Belle Vue | 8.68 |
| Krzysztof Kasprzak | Rye House | 8.64 |
| Rory Schlein | Wolverhampton | 8.61 |
| Chris Harris | Rye House | 8.47 |
| Brady Kurtz | Poole | 8.47 |
Riders and final averages
Belle Vue Aces
- (8.98)
- (8.68)
- (8.10)
- (7.63)
- (7.31)
- (6.48)
- (5.52)
- (2.24)
King's Lynn Stars
- (8.00)
- (8.00)
- (7.87)
- (6.73)
- (6.38)
- (6.19)
- (5.73)
- (5.45)
- (5.33)
- (4.91)
- (4.29)
- (2.74)
- (1.33)
Leicester Lions
- (7.60)
- (7.19)
- (6.53)
- (6.52)
- (6.27)
- (6.00) (1 match only)
- (5.78)
- (5.54)
- (5.00)
- (5.00) (2 matches only)
- (4.40)
Poole Pirates
- (8.47)
- (8.42)
- (7.80)
- (7.07)
- (6.92)
- (6.85)
- (6.60)
- (6.48)
- (6.43)
- (5.83)
- (5.23) (3 matches only)
- (4.71)
- (3.96)
Rye House Rockets
- (8.64)
- (8.47)
- (7.94)
- (7.31)
- (7.09)
- (6.93)
- (6.83)
- (5.23)
- (3.92)
- (3.29)
- (2.86) (2 matches only)
Somerset Rebels
- (7.53)
- (7.21)
- (6.79)
- (6.67)
- (6.16)
- (5.93)
- (5.61)
- (5.33)
- (4.59)
- (4.27)
Swindon Robins
- (10.26)
- (9.42)
- (8.32)
- (7.90)
- (6.27)
- (5.05)
- (5.86)
- (4.40) (2 matches only)
- (3.62)
Wolverhampton Wolves
- (9.95)
- (9.33)
- (8.61)
- (8.12)
- (7.78)
- (6.00)
- (3.75)
- (3.04)
- (2.25)
- (1.45)
See also
- The second division of British speedway SGB Championship 2017
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References
- ^ "British Speedway moves to BT Sport for 2017 season". Sport on the Box. 7 March 2017.
- ^ "2017 SGB CHAMPIONSHIP DECLARATIONS". Speedway GB.
- ^ "Recap: Coventry Bees axed from 2017 SGB Premiership: Updates and reaction". Coventry Telegraphy. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "SGB Premiership 2017 Roll of Honour"
- ^ "BRITISH SPEEDWAY GETS MAJOR REVAMP". Speedway GB. Speedway GB. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ "2017 Champions". Swindon Robins.
- ^ "SPEEDWAY: Swindon Robins crowned champs after brilliant late rally at Wolverhampton". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.
- ^ "Wolves 42 Swindon 47: Speedway final heartache for hosts - report and pictures". Express and Star. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
- ^ 2017 SGB Premiership League Table Retrieved From Official Speedway GB Website
- ^ "Elite League Riders' Championship". WWOS Backup. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "SGB Premiership Riders' Individual Championship". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "Stars Win Pairs Championship". 31 March 2017.
- ^ "Premier ship pairs". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 7 October 2021.