Newcastle Diamonds

Newcastle Diamonds
Club information
Track address	Brough Park Stadium Fossway Byker Newcastle upon Tyne
Country	England
Founded	1929
Team manager	George English
Team captain	Derek Sneddon
League	Premier League
Website	Official site
Club facts
Colours	Black, Blue and White
Track size	300 metres
Track record time	61.0 seconds
Track record date	24 October 2010
Track record holder	Kenni Larsen
Current Team
Rider	CMA
Mark Lemon	9.18
Derek Sneddon	5.47
Joe Haines	5.30
Stuart Robson	8.75
Claes Nedermark	6.26
Kyle Newman	4.02
Richie Worrall	3.22
Total
Major team honours
Provincial League Champions National League Champions Premier League Champions National League Knockout Cup Winners Premier League Knockout Cup Winners Premier Trophy Winners Premier League Playoff Winners Premier Shield Winners Supernational Winners Gold Cup Winners National League Fours National League Best Pairs Winners Individual Honours World Champions National League Riders Championship Provincial League Riders Championship Premier League Riders Championship	1964 1976, 1982, 1983 2001 1976, 1982 2010 2010 2010 2011 1982, 1983 1991, 1992 1976, 1982, 1983 1975 Ivan Mauger - 1968 Joe Owen - 1976, 1982 Ivan Mauger - 1963, 1964 Kenni Larsen - 2010

Newcastle Diamonds are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the British Premier League. The club has a reputation of importing young foreign talent and have given starts to the British careers of six times World Champion Ivan Mauger, three times World Champion Ole Olsen, 1974 World Champion Anders Michanek and three time World Champion Nicki Pedersen. Current Speedway Grand Prix rider Kenneth Bjerre and former Speedway Grand Prix rider Bjarne Pedersen also started their British careers with the Diamonds.^[1]

The Brough Park stadium is primarily used for greyhound racing with the speedway track built in the centre. In 1992 rider Wayne Garratt died in hospital after crashing at the track, the fourth person to do so since 1946, including Chris Prime in 1978.

2011 Season

Season Overview

Performance in National Competitions

Competition	Result	Notes
Premier League	12th	46 points.
Knockout Cup	Semi Finalists	Beat Rye House (89-77) in Round 1. Beat Somerset (97-83) in Quarter Final. Lost to Glasgow (93-87) in the Semi Final.
Premier Shield	Champions	Inaugural champions, defeating the previous seasons league winners, Edinburgh Monarchs 94-89 on aggregate.
Premier League Riders Championship	11th	Represented by Mark Lemon (1, 1, 0, 2, 1) = 5.
Premier League Pairs	Quarter Finalists	Represented by Derek Sneddon (for Mark Lemon ) and Stuart Robson. Eliminated on 17 points, finished 3rd in Group A. Scorers: Sneddon (3, 0, 0, 0), Robson (2, 4, 4, 4).
Premier League Fours	Qualified / Withdrew	Qualified for the competition, however had to withdraw due to rider injuries.

2011 Team and Statistics

Greensheet Averages

Rider	M	H	A	R	P	2011	2010	+/-
Mark Lemon						9.18
Derek Sneddon						5.47
Joe Haines						5.30
Rene Bach						8.75
Claes Nedermark						6.26
Kyle Newman						4.02
Richie Worrall						3.22
Also Rode
Stuart Robson						8.85
Jason King						5.07
Matej Ferjan †						7.00
Lubos Tomicek ‡						4.70

Note: British riders have 2.5% reduction on their 2010 averages.
Also Rode: ^‡ Released., Injured., ^† Ferjan died on 22 May, 2011.^[2]

2011 Fixtures / Results

Date	Match	Comp	Res.	P	Top Scorer	Notes / Guests / Injuries
Team Change: Signed Lubos Tomicek for King
19 March	Berwick Bandits vs Newcastle Diamonds	TTW	43-50	-	M. Lemon 15 (5)
20 March	Newcastle Diamonds vs Berwick Bandits	TTW	49-44	-	M. Lemon 14 (5)	Won Tyne/Tweed Trophy, Agg. 94-92
25 March	Edinburgh Monarchs vs Newcastle Diamonds	PS	44-46	-	S. Robson 13 (5)
27 March	Newcastle Diamonds vs Redcar Bears	CHAL	45-44	-	S. Robson 13+1 (5)
1 Apr	Scunthorpe Scorpions vs Newcastle Diamonds	PL	47-42	1	M. Lemon 12 (5) S. Robson 11+1 (5)
2 April	Rye House Rockets vs Newcastle Diamonds	PL	44-46	3	M. Lemon 12 (5)
3 April	Newcastle Diamonds vs Edinburgh Monarchs	PS	48-45	-	S. Robson 14 (5)	Won Premier Shield, Agg. 94-89.
10 April	Newcastle Diamonds vs Rye House Rockets	PL	50-43	3	M. Lemon 13 (5)	Bach Broken tibia and fibula in right leg[3], possible further injuries to ribs and collarbone[4]. Newman Wrist [5].
14 April	Redcar Bears vs Newcastle Diamonds	CHAL	57-33	-	M. Lemon 13 (6)	r/r for Bach returned 6 points. Adam McKinna for Newman - 1 point.
16 April	Leicester Lions v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	52-43	0	S. Robson 12+1 (5)	Kevin Doolan for Bach - 11 points.
17 April	Newcastle Diamonds v Leicester Lions	PL	50-40	3	M. Lemon 15 (5)	Andrew Tully for Bach - 6+3 points. Adam McKinna for Newman (World U21's) - 1+1 points.
Team Change: Matej Ferjan for Bach [6]. Team Change: Claes Nedermark for Tomicek (released)[7].
24 April	Glasgow Tigers v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	50-43	0	M. Lemon 14 (5)	Worrall . Withdrew after 1 ride.
25 April	Newcastle Diamonds v Glasgow Tigers	PL	41-49	0	R. Worrall 10+4 (7)	Lemon . Double break in collarbone. [8].
29 April	Somerset Rebels v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	53-43	0	S. Robson 11+2 (5)	Sergey Darkin for Lemon - 6+1 points.
1 May	Newcastle Diamonds v Sheffield Tigers	PL	49-44	2	S. Robson 18 (5)	Kevin Doolan for Lemon - 9+1 points.
14 May	Rye House Rockets v Newcastle Diamonds	PLKOC	39-39	-	S. Robson 11 (4)	Leigh Lanham for Lemon - 9 points. Ferjan r/r (Hungarian Championship) - 4 points. Abandoned after Heat 13 (rain).
15 May	Newcastle Diamonds v Rye House Rockets	PLKOC	50-38	-	S. Robson 10+3 (5)	Jason Lyons for Lemon - 8+1 points.
Team Change: Jason King for Ferjan (died).
29 May	Newcastle Diamonds v Redcar Bears	PL	42-47	0	S. Robson 11 (5)	Mark Lemon returned from injury. Jason King returned for his first match since August 2010.
5 June	Newcastle Diamonds v Somerset Rebels	PL	48-45	2	S. Robson 14 (5)
16 June	Sheffield Tigers v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	52-39	0	S. Robson 11+1 (5)	Lee Complin for Lemon - 7+1 points.
19 June	Newcastle Diamonds v Plymouth Devils	PL	52-40	3	C. Nedermark 11+2 (5)	Jason Lyons for Lemon - 6 points.
23 June	Ipswich Witches v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	47-44	1	S. Robson 17 (5)	Leigh Lanham for Lemon - 8 points.
1 July	Edinburgh Monarchs v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	53-39	0	S. Robson 13 (5)	James Grieves for Lemon - 9 points.
2 July	Workington Comets v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	51-42	0	K. Newman 17+1 (7)	Jason Lyons for Lemon - 10 points. Robson withdrew after one ride.
3 July	Newcastle Diamonds v Scunthorpe Scorpions	PL	49-45	2	C. Nedermark 14 (6)	Jason Lyons for Lemon - 12+1 points. r/r for Robson - 9 points.
7 July	Redcar Bears v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	59-34	0	D. Howe 15 (6)	David Howe for Lemon - 15 points. r/r for Robson - 10 points. King .
10 July	Newcastle Diamonds v Edinburgh Monarchs	PL	52-43	3	J. Lyons 15 (5)	Jason Lyons for Lemon - 15 points. Aaron Summers for Robson - 11+1 points. r/r for King - 7 points.
16 July	Newport Wasps v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	48-42	1	S. Robson 10+1 (5)	Cory Gathercole for Lemon - 7 points. r/r for King - 7+2 points.
22 July	Somerset Rebels v Newcastle Diamonds	PLKOC	46-44	-	K. Newman 15+2 (7)	David Howe for Lemon - 3+1 points. r/r for King - 7+2 points.
24 July	Newcastle Diamonds V Somerset Rebels	PLKOC	53-37	-	K. Newman 15+2 (7)	Jason Lyons for Lemon - 4+2 points. r/r for King - 9+2 points. Sneddon - withdrew after 2 rides.
30 July	Berwick Bandits v Newcastle Diamonds	PL	49-43	1	J. Lyons 14 (5)	Jason Lyons for Lemon - 14 points. Thomas Jorgensen for Sneddon - 2 points r/r for King - 4 points.
31 July	Newcastle Diamonds v Workington Comets	PL	54-39	3	K. Newman 12+2 (7)	Jason Lyons for Lemon - 10+1 points. Jan Graversen for Sneddon - 4+1 points r/r for King - 6 points. Robson - punctured lung and broken ribs. [9] Nedermark - knees. [10]. Entire top five of the team injured.
Team Change: Rene Bach to return from injury Team Change: Joe Haines signed for King. [11]

Note: Top scorer in itallics indicates a full or paid maximum.
Fixtures: TTW: Tyne/Tweed Trophy, CHAL: Challenge, PS: Premier Shield, PL: Premier League
Coloring: Green: Won, Red: Lost, Yellow: Draw, Blue: Lost, but still gained league points (PL matches only)

2010 Season

Season Overview: Triple Champions

The 2010 season was a very successful campaign for the Newcastle Diamonds. Although the Edinburgh Monarchs dominated the League, it was the Diamonds that took most silverware of the season by winning the Premier League Play-Offs (Against Sheffield Tigers), the Premier Trophy (Against Birmingham Brummies) and the Premier League KOC (Against Edinburgh Monarchs). The Diamonds also found success in the Super7even events, when the Dane Kenni Larsen won the Premier League Riders Championship to add a fourth honour to the clubs successful season. Fellow Dane Rene Bach encountered further success away from the club by helping Denmark to win the under 21 world cup with a 15 point maximum, and by winning the Danish Under 21's Championship. In recognition of their achievements the team was awarded the prestigious 'Team of the Year' award by Sports North-East, shortly before the 2011 campaign commenced, ahead of the Championship League winning football side Newcastle United.^[12]

Performance in National Competitions

Competition	Result	Notes
Premier League	Runners Up	Finished second on 58 points. Won away at Glasgow (37-53), Newport (44-46), Redcar (40-50), Sheffield (43-47), Somerset (42-48), Stoke (42-48). Picked up one point from Kings Lynn (51-45) and Workington (47-43). Won all home matches apart from Edinburgh, which they lost by 41-51.
Premier Trophy	Champions	Only lost one match in the entire competition - Glasgow at home (43-47). Unbeaten away. Finished top of the Northern Group on 20 points. Defeated Kings Lynn Stars 103-81 in the Semi-Final, and the Birmingham Brummies 104-80 in the Final to win the trophy.
Knockout Cup	Champions	Beat Scunthorpe 100-80 in Round 1, Redcar 100-80 in the Quarter Finals, Birmingham 96-85 in the Semi Finals, and Edinburgh 91-88 in the Final.
Premier League Playoffs	Champions	Defeated Birmingham 92-90 in the Semi Finals, and Sheffield 101-89 in the Final. Went on to lose to the Ipswich Witches in the promotion / relegation battle 110-76.
Premier League Riders Championship	Champions	Represented by Kenni Larsen and Rene Bach who was awarded a wildcard spot for been the highest averaged rider, after all clubs were allocated one place. Larsen won the competition with a total of 16 points, and Bach finished 4th with 13. Scorers: Larsen (3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 3), Bach (3, 3, 3, 3, 1, 0 ).
Premier League Pairs	Quarter Finalists	Represented by Mark Lemon and Kenni Larsen. Eliminated on 20 points, the same as Somerset who advanced to the semi final, as they had previously won the Somerset vs Newcastle Heat 6-3. Scorers: Larsen (4, EF, 3, 3), Lemon (3, 3, 0, 4).
Premier League Fours	Semi Finalists	Represented by Mark Lemon, Kenni Larsen, Rene Bach, Jason King, and reserve Dakota North. Finished third in Group A. Scorers: Larsen (3, 1) Lemon (3, 3) Bach (EF, EF) King (1, 1) North (DNR).

2010 Team and Statistics

Greensheet Averages

The following averages take into account league and trophy matches only, excluding playoffs, semi-finals, and finals. These averages are used for team building purposes and riding order.

Rider	M	H	A	R	P	2009	2010	+/-
Kenni Larsen	28	15	13	129	312	8.10	9.67	+1.57
Derek Sneddon	34	17	17	142	187	4.95	5.27	+0.28
Jason King	29	13	16	122	177	7.08	5.80	-1.28
Rene Bach	30	16	14	144	325	7.02	9.03	+2.01
Mark Lemon	33	17	16	159	357	8.09	8.98	+0.89
Adam McKinna	21	11	10	80	50	3.37	3.00	-0.37
Dakota North	32	17	15	159	185	3.00	4.65	+1.65
Also Rode
Anders Andersen ‡	27	12	15	123	72	3.00	3.00	-

Note: British riders have 2.5% reduction on their 2010 averages.
Also Rode: ^‡ Released., Injured.

All Match Averages

The following averages take into account all matches including Knockout Cup and Playoffs.

Rider		M	R	PTS	BP	TOT	CMA
Kenni Larsen	H	24	115	300	10	310	10.78
	A	22	101	223	7	230	9.11
		46	216	523	17	540	10.00
Derek Sneddon	H	26	112	158	33	191	6.82
	A	25	108	103	18	121	4.48
		51	220	261	51	312	5.67
Jason King	H	17	73	130	22	152	8.33
	A	20	83	98	12	110	5.30
		37	156	228	34	262	6.72
Rene Bach	H	25	117	282	21	303	10.36
	A	22	105	212	8	220	8.38
		47	222	494	29	523	9.42
Mark Lemon	H	23	111	282	15	297	10.70
	A	23	110	213	8	221	8.04
		46	221	495	23	518	9.38
Dakota North	H	23	111	155	23	178	6.41
	A	22	114	114	12	126	4.42
		45	225	269	35	304	5.40
Adam McKinna	H	17	76	59	14	73	3.84
	A	16	64	32	10	42	2.63
		38	140	91	24	115	3.29
Also Rode
Anders Andersen	H	7	30	21	3	24	3.20
	A	8	33	13	3	16	1.94
		15	63	34	6	40	2.54

Number of Maximums

Rider	H/F	H/P	A/F	A/P	TOT	Near Maximums
Kenni Larsen	8	4	2		14	6 (3H, 3A)
Derek Sneddon		1			1	0
Jason King		1			1	0
Rene Bach	2	6			8	3 (3H)
Mark Lemon	2	2	3	1	8	16 (14H, 2A)
Adam McKinna					0	0
Dakota North		1			1	0
Also Rode
Anders Andersen					0	0

H/F: Full Home, H/P Paid Home, A/F Full Away, P/A Paid Away. Near Maximum: When the rider only dropped a single point from their rides.

Fastest Times

The following are the riders fastest times around the Brough Park track.

Rider	T	Date
Kenni Larsen	61.0	24/10/10
Derek Sneddon	63.5	22/08/10
Jason King	62.9	05/04/10
Rene Bach	61.9	24/10/10
Mark Lemon	62.5	13/06/10
Adam McKinna	66.3	21/03/10
Dakota North	63.7	30/08/10
Also Rode
Anders Andersen	65.1	20/06/10
Fastest Visitor
Andrew Tully	61.5	08/08/10

Note: Kenni Larsen set the current track record as 61.0 on 24/10/10.

2009 Season

2009 Team and Statistics

• Kenni Larsen
• Derek Sneddon
• Jason King
• Rene Bach
• Mark Lemon
• Adam McKinna
• Trent Leverington

Also rode:

• Casper Wortmann (Released)
• Steve Boxall (Released)
• Craig Branney (Released)

Previous Teams 2006-2008

2008 Josef Franc Sean Stoddart Jason King Kenni Larsen Christian Henry Jerran Hart Richard Juul Also Rode: Jamie Roberston ‡ Matyas Hlavacek ‡ Ben Powell ‡ George Štancl †

2007 Christian Henry Jonas Raun Josef Franc Paul Clews Carl Wilkinson Adam McKinna Sean Stoddart Also Rode: Ross Brady ‡

2006 George Stancl Manuel Hauzinger Christian Henry Josef Franc James Grieves Adam McKinna Jamie Roberston

^‡ Released.
^† Injured.

Club Honours

Team Honours

19 Titles

• Provincial League Champions - 1964
• National League Champions - 1976, 1982, 1983
• Premier League Champions - 2001
• National League Knockout Cup Winners - 1976, 1982
• Premier League Knockout Cup Winners - 2010
• Premier Trophy Winners - 2010
• Premier League Playoff Winners - 2010
• Premier Shield Winners - 2011.
• Supernational Winners - 1982, 1983
• Gold Cup Winners - 1991, 1992^[13]
• National League Four-Team Championship Winners - 1976, 1982, 1983
• National League Best Pairs Winners - Tom Owen & Brian Havelock (1975)

Individual Honours (As a Newcastle Rider)

6 Titles

• World Champions - Ivan Mauger (1968)
• National League Riders Championship - Joe Owen (1976, 1982)
• Provincial League Riders Championship - Ivan Mauger (1963, 1964)
• Premier League Riders Championship - Kenni Larsen (2010)

Regional Honour

1 Title

• Sport Newcastle Team of the Year - 2010, awarded ahead of the Championship League winning football side Newcastle United.^[14]

Notable Newcastle Riders

Highest Averaged Rider

1997: Paul Bentley 8.81 1998: Nicki Pedersen 9.97 1999: Jesper Olsen 9.68 2000: Bjarne Pedersen 9.70 2001: Bjarne Pedersen 10.16 2002: Kenneth Bjerre 8.61 2003: Bjarne Pedersen 10.17 2004: Jason Lyons 10.13

2005: James Grieves 8.78 2006: Josef Franc 8.34 2007: Josef Franc 8.42 2008: Josef Franc 7.89 2009: Mark Lemon 9.17 2010: Kenni Larsen 10.00 2011: Stuart Robson 9.43

Rider of the Year

As nominated by supporters:

• 2011: Stuart Robson
• 2010: Kenni Larsen
• 2009: Mark Lemon
• 2008: Jason King
• 2007: Sean Stoddart
• 2006: Christian Henry

Hall of Fame Riders/Managers

There are currently three inductees in the Diamonds hall of fame ^[15]:

• Ivan Mauger
• Tom Owen
• Kenni Larsen

80th Anniversary Series

In 2009 to commemorate the Diamonds 80th anniversary a series of 50 cigarette cards were produced by the club. Riders included:

Ivan Mauger Ole Olsen Nicki Pedersen Bjarne Pedersen Kenneth Bjerre Anders Michanek Dag Lovaas

Joe Owen Tom Owen Kenny Carter Ken Le Breton Frank Hodgson Alec Grant Derrick Close

External links

• Newcastle Diamonds Speedway Website
• Club history Website
• British Speedway Promoters Association
• Speedway Star Magazine published by Pinegen Limited

References

1. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
2. ^ http://speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.11196.1
3. ^ http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/motorsport-news/newcastle-diamonds/2011/04/12/double-fracture-horror-for-starlet-rene-bach-72703-28504150/
4. ^ http://www.newcastlespeedway.net/news/110410b.html
5. ^ http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/motorsport-news/newcastle-diamonds/2011/04/14/injured-newman-out-of-big-final-72703-28519625/
6. ^ http://newcastlespeedway.net/news/110417b.html
7. ^ http://www.newcastlespeedway.net/news/110419.html
8. ^ http://www.newcastlediamonds.co/news/110425b.html
9. ^ http://www.newcastlediamonds.co/news/110803.html
10. ^ http://www.newcastlediamonds.co/news/110803.html
11. ^ http://newcastlediamonds.co/news/110805.html
12. ^ http://www.worldspeedway.com/artman/publish/article_14972.shtml
13. ^ Bamford, R.(2004). Speedway Yearbook 2004. ISBN 0-7524-2955-8
14. ^ http://www.worldspeedway.com/artman/publish/article_14972.shtml
15. ^ http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/motorsport-news/newcastle-diamonds/2010/11/01/diamonds-complete-a-magnificent-trophy-treble-72703-27578850/