SGB Premiership 2022


The 2022 SGB Premiership was the 87th season of the top tier of British speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Premiership. Sheffield Tigers topped the regular season table and met Belle Vue Aces in the play off final but Belle Vue ran out the winners to claim their 13th league title.

2022 summary

The same six clubs as 2021 competed for the league championship, with Swindon once again sitting out due to the development of their stadium. The Rising Star scheme introduced in 2021, has been extended for the 2022 season, allowing clubs to select an additional Rising Star rider as a 'Number 8' for the season.
A new League Cup competition was introduced, with a regional group stage determining the finalists, the event was won by Sheffield Tigers. There was no place for the traditional Knockout Cup. Also re–introduced for the new season, was the SGB Premiership Pairs competition, but over six legs. The event was won by Ipswich Witches, with the sixth leg cancelled due to fixture congestion. However, the additional fixtures created an issue due to the suspension of fixtures during the Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II and the heavy rain during October. In retrospect additional events could have been added after the completion of the league and knockout cup fixtures.
Belle Vue brought in Robert Lambert as a late season injury replacement for Max Fricke and Lambert scored a 15-point maximum in the play off final 1st leg. The signing of Lambert was pivotal as Belle Vue held on to win the play offs on aggregate score, despite Sheffield winning the second leg. Sheffield gained some compensation for the defeat when easily beating King's Lynn in the League Cup final.

Regular season

File:Robert Lambert.jpg
League Table
A Fixtures
B Fixtures
League Scoring System
  • Home loss by any number of points = 0
  • Home draw =
  • Home win by any number of points = 3
  • Away loss by 7 points or more = 0
  • Away loss by 6 points or less = 1
  • Away draw =
  • Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3
  • Away win by 7 points or more = 4
  • Super Heat win = 3
  • Super Heat loss = 1
Super Heat
  • In meetings after heat 15 when the score is level, a Super Heat will be used to determine the winner.
  • The Team Manager, at their discretion may select any two of their seven riders.
  • The Super Heat will take place with the following scoring system to determine the winner of the meeting: 1st 4 points, 2nd 3 points, 3rd 2 points, 4th 0 points.
  • If a meeting is abandoned for any reason after the staging of heat 10, the scores are level and no more heats can take place, the match will be awarded. Each team will be awarded 2 points.

Premiership play-offs

Draw

Home team scores are in bold

Overall aggregate scores are in red

Grand Final

First leg
'''Second Leg'''

League Cup

Group stages

Northern Group
Fixtures
Table
Southern Group
Fixtures
'''Table'''

Final

The two group winners, the Kings Lynn Stars and the Sheffield Tigers both qualified for the final, which was won by Sheffield over two legs.
First Leg
'''Second Leg'''

Pairs Championship

Each of the six Premiership club were supposed to have staged a round of the pairs championship at their track, with the highest placed side after the six rounds declared Premiership Pairs Champions but Ipswich were declared winners after only five rounds were held. Teams tracked two of their top four riders, plus the Rising Star as a reserve, at each meeting. The highest placed side after the qualifying heats qualified for the final, with second and third competing in the semi-final.

Standings

red indicates home team, bold indicates winners

Rounds

Round One
Qualifying Heats
PosTeamPts
1Sheffield Tigers26
2Belle Vue Aces24
3Kings Lynn Stars23
4Wolverhampton Wolves23
5Ipswich Witches21
6Peterborough Panthers18

Semi-final
Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
Kings LynnBelle Vue7-2Pickering, Lawson, Kurtz, Fricke

Final
Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
Kings LynnSheffield5-4Holder, Lawson, Pickering, Ellis

Round Two
Qualifying Heats
PosTeamPts
1Sheffield Tigers29
2Belle Vue Aces24
3Ipswich Witches24
4Kings Lynn Stars23
5Peterborough Panthers21
6Wolverhampton Wolves14

Semi-final
Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
IpswichBelle Vue6-3Doyle, Zagar, Batchelor, Kurtz

Final
Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
IpswichSheffield6-3Doyle, Ellis, Batchelor, Musielak

Round Three
Qualifying Heats
PosTeamPts
1Ipswich Witches27
2Kings Lynn Stars27
3Sheffield Tigers23
4Peterborough Panthers21
5Belle Vue Aces20
6Wolverhampton Wolves17

Semi-final
Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
SheffieldKings Lynn6-3Holder, Pickering, Ellis, Lawson

Final
Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
IpswichSheffield5-4Holder, Doyle, King, Ellis

Round Four
Qualifying Heats
PosTeamPts
1Belle Vue Aces31
2Ipswich Witches27
3Wolverhampton Wolves24
4Kings Lynn Stars21
5Peterborough Panthers20
6Sheffield Tigers12

Semi-final
Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
IpswichWolverhampton6-3Doyle, Masters, Hume, Batchelor, Morris

Final
Team OneTeam TwoScoreResult
IpswichBelle Vue7-2Doyle, Batchelor, Fricke, Kurtz

Leading averages

  • averages include league, play offs & league cup, min 6 matches

Squads & final averages

Belle Vue Aces

  • 8.96' 8.76
  • 8.41
  • 7.25
  • ' 6.43
  • 5.89
  • 5.09
  • n/a

Ipswich Witches

  • 10.53
  • 7.83
  • 6.98' 6.93
  • 6.64
  • 6.00
  • 5.25
  • ' 5.65 5.14
  • 4.00

King's Lynn Stars

  • 8.32
  • 8.00' 7.45
  • 7.45
  • 7.35
  • 7.03
  • 6.83
  • 5.16
  • ' 3.39 2.78

Peterborough Panthers

  • 8.14
  • 6.91
  • 6.81
  • 5.73' 5.62
  • 5.53
  • ' 2.77
  • 1.88 0.44

Sheffield Tigers

  • 9.04
  • 8.67
  • 7.57' 6.77
  • 6.00
  • 5.56
  • ' 5.26
  • 3.56
  • 4.75 2.67
  • 2.40

Wolverhampton Wolves

' 9.10
  • 8.23
  • 7.79
  • 7.60
  • 7.33
  • ' 4.25
  • 3.65 2.00