Premier League Pairs Championship

The Premier League Pairs Championship is a contest between the top two riders from each club competing in the Speedway Premier League in the UK. The meetings comprise ten teams of two riders drawn into two qualifying groups.

Contents

Rules

Gate positions

In the Qualification Heats, riders are allocated starting gates. For the Semi-Finals, the group winners have first choice of gate positions (A&C or B&D). Gate A is on the inside of the track, whilst Gate D is on the outside. For the Final, the gate positions (A&C and B&D) are decided by the toss of a coin.

Points scoring

All heats are scored as follows:

This system is used to encourage team riding. A pair finishing first and second will score seven points, whereas a pair finishing first and last will score only four. Race points scored over all Qualification Heats are used to determine the final group placings.

Ties

Where two are tied for a place, the team who scored most points scored in the heat where they met go through. Where more than two teams are tied for a place, the tie is resolved as follows:

Winners

Year Winners Runners-up
1975 Newcastle Diamonds
(Tom Owen & Brian Havelock)
Ellesmere Port Gunners
(John Jackson & Colin Goad)
1976 Ellesmere Port Gunners
(John Jackson & Chris Turner)
Newcastle Diamonds
(Tom Owen & Joe Owen)
1977 Boston Barracudas
(Rob Hollingworth & Colin Cook)
Newport Wasps
(Jim Brett & Brian Woodward)
1978 Ellesmere Port Gunners
(John Jackson & Steve Finch)
Newcastle Diamonds
(Tom Owen & Robbie Blackadder)
1979 Milton Keynes Knights
(Andy Grahame & Bob Humphreys)
Ellesmere Port Gunners
(John Jackson & Steve Finch)
1980 Middlesbrough Bears
(Mark Courtney & Steve Wilcock)
Boston Barracudas
(Rob Hollingworth & Gary Guglielmi)
1981 Canterbury Crusaders
(Mike Ferreira & Denzil Kent)
Berwick Bandits
(Wayne Brown & Steve McDermott)
1982 Weymouth Wildcats
(Martin Yeates & Simon Wigg)
Long Eaton Invaders
(Alan Molyneux & Dave Perks)
1983 Weymouth Wildcats
(Martin Yeates & Simon Cross)
Glasgow Tigers
(Jim McMillan & Steve Lawson)
1984 Stoke Potters
(Nigel Crabtree & Tom Owen)
Berwick Bandits
(Bruce Cribb & Steve McDermott)
1985 Ellesmere Port Gunners
(Joe Owen & Louis Carr)
Poole Pirates
(Martin Yeates & Stan Bear)
1986 Edinburgh Monarchs
(Les Collins & Doug Wyer)
Hackney Kestrels
(Barry Thomas & Andy Galvin)
1987 Mildenhall Fen Tigers
(Dave Jessup & Mel Taylor)
Peterborough Panthers
(Ian Barney & Kevin Hawkins)
1988 Stoke Potters
(Graham Jones & Steve Bastable)
Poole Pirates
(Steve Schofield & David Biles)
1989 Stoke Potters
(Nigel Crabtree & Eric Monaghan)
Mildenhall Fen Tigers
(Preben Eriksen & Peter Glanz)
1990 Hackney Kestrels
(Steve Schofield & Andy Galvin)
Exeter Falcons
(Steve Regeling & Peter Jeffrey)
1991-
1993
competition not held
1994 Swindon Robins
(Tony Olsson & Steve Langdon)
Glasgow Tigers
(Nigel Crabtree & David Walsh)
1995-
1996
competition not held
1997 Long Eaton Invaders
(Carl Stonehewer & Martin Dixon)
Reading Racers
(David Mullet & Lee Richardson)
1998 Peterborough Panthers
(Glenn Cunningham & Brett Woodifield)
Exeter Falcons
(Frank Smart & Michael Coles)
1999 Workington Comets
(Carl Stonehewer & Brent Werner)
Arena Essex Hammers
(Colin White & Leigh Lanham)
2000 Workington Comets
(Carl Stonehewer & Mick Powell)
Isle of Wight Islanders
(Ray Morton & Danny Bird)
2001 Workington Comets
(Carl Stonehewer & Peter I. Karlsson)
Newcastle Diamonds
(Jesper Olsen & Bjarne Pedersen)
2002 Isle of Wight Islanders
(Adam Shields & Danny Bird)
Newport Wasps
(Frank Smart & Craig Watson)
2003 Workington Comets
(Carl Stonehewer & Simon Stead)
Newport Wasps
(Frank Smart & Niels Kristian Iversen)
2004 Reading Racers
(Phil Morris & Danny Bird)
Stoke Potters
(Paul Pickering & Alan Mogridge)
2005 Glasgow Tigers
(Shane Parker & George Stancl)
Somerset Rebels
(Magnus Zetterström & Glenn Cunningham)
2006 Glasgow Tigers
(Shane Parker & Danny Bird)
Sheffield Tigers
(Ben Wilson & Ricky Ashworth)
2007 Isle of Wight Islanders
(Chris Holder & Jason Bunyan)
Glasgow Tigers
(Shane Parker & Craig Watson)
2008 Workington Comets
(Daniel Nermark & Kauko Nieminen)
Somerset Rebels
(Jason Doyle & Emil Kramer)
2009 Birmingham Brummies
(Jason Lyons & Tomasz Piszcz)
Somerset Rebels
(Jason Doyle & Emil Kramer)
2010 Sheffield Tigers
(Ricky Ashworth & Josh Auty)
Birmingham Brummies
(Jason Lyons & Steve Johnston)
2011 Glasgow Tigers
(Joe Screen & James Grieves)
Workington Comets
(James Wright & Rusty Harrison)

See also