Wikipedia

SGB Championship 2023

The 2023 SGB Championship season (sponsored by Cab Direct[1]) was the 76th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 6th known as the SGB Championship.[2] The British Speedway Network (BSN) streamed 35 matches live for the second year running.[3]

SGB Championship 2023
LeagueSGB Championship
No. of competitors9
ChampionsGlasgow Tigers
Knockout CupScunthorpe Scorpions
BSN SeriesPoole Pirates
PairsGlasgow Tigers
Riders' ChampionshipCharles Wright
Highest averageRyan Douglas
Division/s aboveSGB Premiership
Division/s belowSGB National League

Summary

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Nine clubs competed in the Championship in 2023,[2] with Edinburgh Monarchs remaining in the league despite problems surrounding their home venue.[4] The only change to the league was Leicester Lions, who left for the higher league of the SGB Premiership 2023.[5]

The league format was the same as in 2022, with each team racing against each other twice (home and away), meaning a total of 16 fixtures each during the season. The points system was revamped and simplified, with teams scoring two points for a win (home or away), with a bonus point scored for an aggregate win. A 'Super Heat' was also introduced in the event of a tied meeting, with the winners scoring two league points and the losers gaining one point.

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Locations of the 2023 SGB Championship teams

The top six teams qualified for the playoffs, however they were split into two groups of three, with the winners of each qualifying for the Grand Final. Finally, the points limit for team construction was reduced from 42 to 40 points.[6]

Glasgow Tigers won the title for the first time 2011, while Scunthorpe Scorpions claimed the knockout cup.[7] Poole Pirates had been looking to secure an unprecedented third consecutive double of league and cup, however they lost in both finals. However, Poole did win the BSN Series, an early season competition.[8]

 
Chris Harris, league and pairs champion with Glasgow

League

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[9]

Regular season

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League table

Pos. Club M Home Away F A B Pts +/−
W SHL L W SHL L
1 Poole Pirates 16 8 0 0 6 0 2 818 622 7 35 +196
2 Oxford Cheetahs 16 8 0 0 5 0 3 791 647 8 34 +144
3 Glasgow Tigers (C) 16 8 0 0 5 0 3 772 614 5 31 +148
4 Scunthorpe Scorpions 16 6 1 1 2 0 6 758 657 6 23 +101
5 Redcar Bears 16 6 1 1 3 0 5 719 702 4 23 +17
6 Edinburgh Monarchs 16 3 0 5 3 0 5 662 758 3 15 -96
7 Birmingham Brummies 16 2 0 6 2 0 6 629 791 2 10 -162
8 Berwick Bandits 16 3 0 5 0 0 8 641 797 1 7 -156
9 Plymouth Gladiators 16 2 0 6 0 0 8 621 813 0 4 -192

Fixtures & results

Home \ Away BER BIR EDI GLA OXF PLY POL RED SCU
Berwick 40–50 44–46 36–53 44–46 52–38 40–50 46–44 47–43
Birmingham 48–42 36–54 36–53 36–54 50–40 36–54 44–46 35–55
Edinburgh 49–41 38–34 39–51 37–52 60–29 35–55 43–47 36–54
Glasgow 63–27 64–26 49–41 51–39 55–35 46–44 51–39 38–28
Oxford 53–37 55–35 54–36 52–38 59–31 52–38 52–38 50–40
Plymouth 45–44 42–47 44–46 42–48 42–47 44–46 41–49 49–41
Poole 54–36 57–33 59–31 53–37 51–39 64–26 52–38 49–41
Redcar 57–33 46–44 58–32 33–39 48–42 48–41 45–45 48–42
Scunthorpe 58–32 51–39 51–39 54–36 45–45 57–32 43–47 55–35
Source: [10]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play Offs

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Six of the nine teams qualified for the play offs, including sixth placed Edinburgh who lost 10 of their 16 matches.[11]

Group A

Fixtures

Home \ Away EDI POL SCU
Edinburgh 36–54 36–54
Poole 55–35 45–45
Scunthorpe 59–31 40–50
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

Pos. Club M Home Away F A B Pts +/−
W SHL L W SHL L
1 Poole Pirates (Q) 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 204 156 2 10 +48
2 Scunthorpe Scorpions 4 1 0 1 1 1 0 198 162 1 6 +36
3 Edinburgh Monarchs 4 0 0 2 0 0 2 138 222 0 0 -84

Group B

Fixtures

Home \ Away GLA OXF RED
Glasgow 52–38 55–35
Oxford 50–40 53–37
Redcar 39–51 43–47
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

Pos. Club M Home Away F A B Pts +/−
W SHL L W SHL L
1 Glasgow Tigers (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 198 162 2 8 +36
2 Oxford Cheetahs 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 188 172 1 7 +16
3 Redcar Bears 4 0 0 2 0 0 2 154 206 0 0 -52

Grand final

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First leg

9 October [12] Glasgow Tigers
Chris Harris 14
Benjamin Basso 10
Tom Brennan 9
Vadim Tarasenko 9
Lee Complin 9
Ace Pijper 1
Claus Vissing r/r 		52–38 Poole Pirates
Richard Lawson 9
Steve Worrall 9
Zach Cook 8
Ben Cook 6
Kyle Newman 4
Joe Thompson 2
Anders Rowe r/r 		Ashfield Stadium
Referee(s):
David Watters

Second leg

11 October [13] Poole Pirates
Ben Cook 11
Steve Worrall 10
Zach Cook 8
Kyle Newman 8
Richard Lawson 7
Joe Thompson 3
Anders Rowe r/r 		47–43 Glasgow Tigers
Chris Harris 14
Vadim Tarasenko 9
Tom Brennan 9
Benjamin Basso 5
Lee Complin 4
Ace Pijper 2
Claus Vissing r/r 		Poole Stadium
Referee(s):
David Watters

Knockout Cup

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The 2023 SGB Championship Knockout Cup was the 55th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams and the 6th edition under the SGB Championship Knockout Cup name.

Round One Quarter Finals Semi Finals Final
Redcar Bears 53 48 101
Redcar Bears 53 52 105 Glasgow Tigers 37 42 79
Berwick Bandits 37 38 75 Redcar Bears 36 41 77
Scunthorpe Scorpions 54 49 103
Birmingham Brummies 44 29 73
Scunthorpe Scorpions 46 61 107
Scunthorpe Scorpions 47 45 92
Poole Pirates 43 45 88
Poole Pirates 54 51 105
Plymouth Gladiators 36 39 75
Poole Pirates 44 52 96
Oxford Cheetahs 46 38 84
Oxford Cheetahs 54 45 99
Edinburgh Monarchs 36 45 81

Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in red

Final

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First Leg

15 October [14] Scunthorpe Scorpions
Ryan Douglas 13
Drew Kemp 10
Michael Palm Toft 8
Jake Allen 6
Simon Lambert 6
Connor Mountain 3
Nathan Ablitt 1 		47–43 Poole Pirates
Zach Cook 14
Richard Lawson 10
Ben Cook 6
Steve Worrall 6
Joe Thompson 4
Kyle Newman 3
Anders Rowe r/r 		Eddie Wright Raceway
Referee(s):
Michael Breckon

Second Leg

21 October [15] Poole Pirates
Richard Lawson 10
Ben Cook 8
Zach Cook 8
Kyle Newman 8
Steve Worrall 7
Joe Thompson 3
Anders Rowe 1 		45–45 Scunthorpe Scorpions
Simon Lambert 12
Drew Kemp 10
Ryan Douglas 9
Connor Mountain 7
Jake Allen 4
Michael Palm Toft 3
Nathan Ablitt 0 		Poole Stadium
Referee(s):
Christina Turnbull

BSN Series

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Scottish Group [16]

Fixtures

Home \ Away BER EDB GLA
Berwick 51–39 38–51
Edinburgh 41–49 48–42
Glasgow 58–32 51–39
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

Pos. Club M Home Away F A B Pts +/−
W SHL L W SHL L
1 Glasgow Tigers (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 202 157 2 8 +45
2 Berwick Bandits 4 1 0 1 1 0 1 170 189 1 5 -19
3 Edinburgh Monarchs 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 167 193 0 2 -26

Northern Group

Fixtures

Home \ Away BIR RED SCU
Birmingham 38–52 41–49
Redcar 49–41 49–41
Scunthorpe 55–35 50–40
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

Pos. Club M Home Away F A B Pts +/−
W SHL L W SHL L
1 Scunthorpe Scorpions (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 195 165 2 8 +30
2 Redcar Bears (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 190 170 1 7 +20
3 Birmingham Brummies 4 0 0 2 0 0 2 155 205 0 0 -50

Southern Group

Fixtures

Home \ Away OXF PLY POL
Oxford 58–32 43–46
Plymouth 42–48 46–44
Poole 57–33 59–30
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

Pos. Club M Home Away F A B Pts +/−
W SHL L W SHL L
1 Poole Pirates (Q) 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 206 152 2 8 +54
2 Oxford Cheetahs 4 1 0 1 1 0 1 182 177 1 5 +5
3 Plymouth Gladiators 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 150 209 0 2 -59

Knockout stages

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Semi-finals Grand Final
        
Scunthorpe Scorpions 44 35 79
Glasgow Tigers 46 55 101
Glasgow Tigers 28 48 76
Poole Pirates 62 42 104
Poole Pirates 48 52 100
Redcar Bears 42 38 80

Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in red

Grand Final

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First leg

5 July [17] Poole Pirates
Steve Worrall 14
Richard Lawson 13
Ben Cook 11
Zach Cook 8
Anders Rowe 7
Kyle Newman 5
Adam Roynon 4 		62–28 Glasgow Tigers
Chris Harris 7
Benjamin Basso 7
Claus Vissing 5
Ace Pijper 5
Tom Brennan 4
Marcin Nowak 0
Lee Complin 0 		Poole Stadium
Referee(s):
Christina Turnbull

Second leg

21 July [18] Glasgow Tigers
Benjamin Basso 12
Tom Brennan 11
Marcin Nowak 8
Chris Harris 7
Lee Complin 6
Claus Vissing 3
Ace Pijper 1 		48–42 Poole Pirates
Steve Worrall 12
Ben Cook 10
Richard Lawson 8
Kyle Newman 4
Adam Roynon 3
Anders Rowe 3
Zach Cook 2 		Ashfield Stadium
Referee(s):
Barbara Horley

Pairs Championship

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The 2023 edition of the SGB Championship Pairs took place on Friday 1 September, at Oxford Stadium, Oxford. It was won by Glasgow Tigers, who beat defending champions Redcar Bears in the final.

Qualifying heats

Pos Team Pts Riders
1 Redcar Bears 25 Charles Wright 14, Danny King 11
2 Oxford Cheetahs 25 Lewis Kerr 15, Sam Masters 10
3 Glasgow Tigers 23 Chris Harris 12, Benjamin Basso 11
4 Poole Pirates 17 Ben Cook 11, Richard Lawson 6
5 Scunthorpe Scorpions 17 Ryan Douglas 13, Simon Lambert 4
6 Berwick Bandits 15 Jye Etheridge 8, Leon Flint 7
7 Edinburgh Monarchs 14 Josh Pickering 12, Luke Killeen 2
8 Birmingham Brummies 14 Justin Sedgmen 12, Troy Batchelor 2
9 Plymouth Gladiators 12 Kyle Howarth 8, Max Perry 4

Semi-finals

Team One Team Two Score Result
Redcar Poole 7-2 Wright 4, King 3, Lawson 2, Cook 0
Team One Team Two Score Result
Glasgow Oxford 5-4 Masters 4, Harris 3, Basso 2, Kerr 0

Final

Team One Team Two Score Result
Glasgow Redcar 6-3 Basso 4, Wright 3, Harris 2, King 0

Riders' Championship

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The 2023 edition of the SGB Championship Riders Championship was held on 27 August, at the Ecco Arena in Redcar. The event was won by Charles Wright on his home track.[19]

Pos. Rider Pts Total SF Final
1   Charles Wright (Redcar) 1 2 2 3 3 11 2 3
2   Chris Harris (Glasgow) 2 1 3 3 3 12 x 2
3   Ben Cook (Poole) 3 2 3 3 2 12 x 1
4   Danny King (Redcar) 3 3 2 2 2 12 3 0
5   Lewis Kerr (Oxford) 3 1 3 2 1 10 1
6   Richard Lawson (Poole) 2 0 1 3 3 9 0
7   Ryan Douglas (Scunthorpe) 2 2 2 fx 2 8
8   Richie Worrall (Plymouth) 1 3 3 1 0 8
9   Rory Schlein (Berwick) 2 3 1 1 0 7
10   Leon Flint (Berwick) 0 3 2 2 0 7
11   Justin Sedgmen (Birmingham) 3 0 0 1 2 6
12   Jake Allen (Scunthorpe) 1 1 1 0 2 5
13   Paco Castagna (Edinburgh) 0 1 0 2 1 4
14   Troy Batchelor (Birmingham) 0 2 0 1 1 4
15   Kye Thomson (Edinburgh) 1 0 1 0 1 3
16   Craig Cook (Edinburgh) r tm - - - 0
17   Luke Harrison (res) 0 0 0
18   Sam McGurk (res) 0 0 0
  • f=fell, r=retired, ex=excluded tm=two minute warning excluded

Leading averages

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Rider Team Average
1 Ryan Douglas Scunthorpe 10.09
2 Sam Masters Oxford 9.80
3 Charles Wright Redcar 9.66
4 Scott Nicholls Oxford 9.54
5 Chris Harris Glasgow 9.47
6 Benjamin Basso Glasgow 9.45
7 Richard Lawson Poole 9.37
8 Craig Cook Edinburgh 9.08
9 Danny King Redcar 8.58
10 Josh Pickering Edinburgh 8.55
  • averages include league, play offs, knockout cup & bsn series, min 6 matches

Squads & final averages

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[20]

Berwick Bandits

Birmingham Brummies

Edinburgh Monarchs

Glasgow Tigers

Oxford Cheetahs

Plymouth Gladiators

Poole Pirates

Redcar Bears

Scunthorpe Scorpions

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cab Direct Announced as New Sponsor of the British Speedway Championship". Cab Direct. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Championship plans for 23". British Speedway. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Championship continues BSN Partnership & unveils the BSN Series". British Speedway. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  4. ^ "MONARCHS REIGN SET TO CONTINUE WITH ARMADALE STADIUM REPRIEVE". Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Lions moving up in 2023". Leicester Speedway. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  6. ^ "British Speedway AGM statement". SCB. 17 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Scunthorpe Scorpions beat Poole Pirates to win 2023 Knockout Cup". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  8. ^ "BSN Series Final". British Speedway. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  9. ^ "2023 Championship Table, Fixtures & Results - British Speedway Official Website". 9 December 2021.
  10. ^ "2023 Championship table". British Speedway. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Groups for Championship Play-Offs". 9 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Glasgow Tigers vs Poole Pirates scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  13. ^ "Poole Pirates vs Glasgow Tigers scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  14. ^ "Scunthorpe Scorpions vs Poole Pirates scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  15. ^ "Poole Pirates vs Scunthorpe Scorpions scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  16. ^ "BSN Series". British Speedway. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Poole Pirates vs Glasgow Tigers scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  18. ^ "Glasgow Tigers vs Poole Pirates scorecard" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  19. ^ "Charles Wright's thrilling battle to be champion". Cumbria Crack. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  20. ^ "2023 Championship Declarations – British Speedway Official Website".
  21. ^ "SCB Statement: Nick Morris". 17 August 2023.
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