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1997 Elite League speedway season

1997 Elite League speedway season
LeagueSky Sports Elite League
ChampionsBradford Dukes
Knockout CupEastbourne Eagles
Craven ShieldCoventry Bees
IndividualGreg Hancock
FoursPeterborough Panthers
Highest averageTony Rickardsson
Division/s below1997 Premier League
1997 Conference League

The 1997 Elite League speedway season was the 63rd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was the first season of a new league known as the Elite League and was governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).[1][2]

Season summary

[edit]

In 1997, the single speedway league in Great Britain separated after two seasons, forming a new top division. The inaugural league consisted of ten teams. The league operated on a standard format without play-offs.[3] The Craven Shield was introduced as an end of season cup competition for the top eight teams in the league standings.[4][5]

Bradford Dukes finally won the league, their first success since 1966 when they raced as Halifax Dukes. Bradford retained top English riders Gary Havelock and Joe Screen but crucially brought in Mark Loram from Exeter Falcons. Loram had a superb season that included becoming the new British Champion.[6]

Final table

[edit]
Pos M W D L F A Pts Bon Tot
1 Bradford Dukes 36 23 1 12 1733 1506 47 15 62
2 Eastbourne Eagles 36 20 0 16 1665 1570 40 11 51
3 Swindon Robins 36 20 1 15 1662 1578 41 9 50
4 Ipswich Witches 36 16 2 17 1671 1616 34 13 47
5 King's Lynn Knights 36 18 3 15 1592 1645 39 8 47
6 Belle Vue Aces 36 18 0 18 1646 1587 36 9 45
7 Wolverhampton Wolves 36 18 0 18 1572 1658 36 6 42
8 Coventry Bees 36 15 1 20 1582 1653 31 7 38
9 Poole Pirates 36 13 2 21 1551 1684 28 6 34
10 Peterborough Panthers 36 14 0 22 1556 1679 28 5 33

'A' Fixtures

[edit]
Home \ Away BV BD COV EAS IPS KL PET PP SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 48–42 42–47 54–36 51–38 63–27 51–39 61–29 53–37 52–38
Bradford Dukes 51–39 50–40 55–35 58–32 52–38 42–48 44–45 46–44 55–35
Coventry Bees 48–42 44–46 48–42 50–40 42–48 39–51 50–40 41–49 51–39
Eastbourne Eagles 48–42 58–32 56–34 63–27 53–37 56–33 59–31 48–42 42–46
Ipswich Witches 44–45 51–39 56–34 60–30 50–40 49–41 51–39 55–37 57–33
King's Lynn Knights 47–43 41–49 48–42 56–34 50–40 50–40 50–40 51–39 50–40
Peterborough Panthers 53–37 40–50 50–40 46–44 41–49 44–46 43–47 41–49 42–47
Poole Pirates 39–51 37–53 48–42 44–46 50–40 52–38 44–46 45–45 47–43
Swindon Robins 51–39 47–43 50–40 54–36 52–38 46–44 47–43 55–35 56–34
Wolverhampton Wolves 51–39 49–41 46–43 59–31 53–37 53–36 51–39 56–33 48–42
Source: [7]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

'B' Fixtures

[edit]
Home \ Away BV BD COV EAS IPS KL PET PP SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 44–46 52–38 57–33 55–33 56–34 47–43 50–40 54–36 48–42
Bradford Dukes 53–37 45–45 59–31 60–30 57–33 54–36 36–54 52–38 58–32
Coventry Bees 53–36 52–28 53–37 52–38 40–49 47–43 58–32 54–36 60–30
Eastbourne Eagles 51–39 56–34 54–36 49–41 61–29 66–24 55–35 55–35 52–37
Ipswich Witches 58–32 39–51 57–32 59–31 45–45 44–45 52–38 47–43 57–32
King's Lynn Knights 49–41 48–42 46–44 48–42 45–45 53–37 52–38 42–48 58–32
Peterborough Panthers 57–33 41–49 50–40 53–36 41–49 50–40 48–41 49–41 51–39
Poole Pirates 53–36 35–55 65–25 44–46 48–42 45–45 58–32 48–42 61–28
Swindon Robins 54–36 49–41 43–47 47–43 59–31 53–37 49–41 57–33 54–36
Wolverhampton Wolves 49–41 35–55 59–31 40–50 52–38 47–42 55–35 52–38 54–36
Source: [7]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Elite League Knockout Cup

[edit]

The 1997 Elite League Knockout Cup, sponsored by the Speedway Star, was the 59th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams but the first under its new name. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.[8]

First round

Group A

Date Team one Score Team two
15/03 Coventry 51-40 Swindon
16/03 Swindon 41-49 Coventry
21/03 Belle Vue 48-42 Coventry
22/03 Coventry 45-45 Wolverhampton
22/03 Bradford 56-34 Swindon
23/03 Swindon 47-42 Bradford
24/03 Wolverhampton 52-38 Swindon
28/03 Belle Vue 56-33 Wolverhampton
29/03 Swindon 56-34 Belle Vue
29/03 Bradford 58-32 Wolverhampton
31/03 Coventry 49-41 Bradford
31/03 Wolverhampton 52-38 Belle Vue
04/04 Belle Vue 46-44 Bradford
05/04 Bradford 52-38 Coventry
05/04 Swindon 65-25 Wolverhampton
11/04 Belle Vue 52-40 Swindon
12/04 Coventry 51-41 Belle Vue
14/04 Wolverhampton 50-40 Coventry
19/04 Bradford 57-33 Belle Vue
28/04 Wolverhampton 44-46 Bradford
Pos Team P W D L
1 Bradford 8 5 0 3
2 Coventry 8 4 1 3
3 Belle Vue 8 4 0 4
4 Wolverhampton 8 3 1 4
5 Swindon 8 3 0 5

Group B

Date Team one Score Team two
20/03 Ipswich 47-43 Peterborough
21/03 Peterborough 41-49 Kings Lynn
23/03 Eastbourne 53-37 Ipswich
28/03 Ipswich 50-40 Kings Lynn
28/03 Peterborough 62-27 Eastbourne
30/03 Eastbourne 54-36 Poole
02/04 Poole 53-37 Kings Lynn
03/04 Ipswich 44-46 Eastbourne
06/04 Eastbourne 55-35 Kings Lynn
09/04 Kings Lynn 46-44 Eastbourne
09/04 Poole 52-38 Peterborough
10/04 Ipswich 41-49 Poole
11/04 Peterborough 38-52 Poole
12/04 Kings Lynn 37-52 Poole
16/04 Kings Lynn 47-43 Peterborough
16/04 Poole 57-33 Ipswich
18/04 Peterborough 48-42 Ipswich
19/04 Eastbourne 52-37 Peterborough
23/04 Poole 73-17 Eastbourne
30/04 Kings Lynn 41-49 Ipswich
Pos Team P W D L
1 Poole 8 7 0 1
2 Eastbourne 8 5 0 3
3 King's Lynn 8 3 0 5
4 Peterborough 8 3 0 5
5 Ipswich 8 2 0 6

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
02/07 Poole 53-37 Coventry
15/06 Coventry 48-42 Poole
15/07 Bradford 56-34 Eastbourne
13/04 Eastbourne 58-32 Bradford

Final

[edit]

First leg

Poole Pirates
Craig Boyce 18
Lars Gunnestad 10		43 - 49Eastbourne Eagles
Stefan Andersson 10
Gary Havelock (guest) 10
David Norris 8
Stefan Danno 7
Alan Mogridge 5
[9]
Wimborne Road

Second leg

Eastbourne Eagles
Martin Dugard 14
Ronnie Correy (guest) 14
Stefan Andersson 13
Stefan Danno 12
David Norris 8
Alan Mogridge 6		67 - 23Poole Pirates
Craig Boyce 7
Mark Lemon 5
Armando Castagna 4
Ben Howe 3
Lars Gunnestad 2
Savalas Clouting 2
[10]
Arlington Stadium

Eastbourne Eagles were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 116-66.

Riders' Championship

[edit]

Greg Hancock won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at Odsal Stadium on 11 October.[11]

Pos. Rider Total Total SF Final
1 United States Greg Hancock 2 1 3 3 3 12 x 3
2 Sweden Tony Rickardsson 2 3 2 3 3 13 x 2
3 England Chris Louis 3 3 1 2 2 11 2 1
4 England Simon Wigg 1 0 3 2 3 9 3 0
5 England Mark Loram 1 2 3 1 2 9 1
6 United States Billy Hamill 3 TX 0 3 3 9 0
7 United States Sam Ermolenko 3 1 2 0 2 8
8 Australia Craig Boyce 1 1 3 2 1 8
9 England Joe Screen 2 3 1 1 1 8
10 Australia Jason Crump 0 2 2 3 0 7
11 England Martin Dugard 2 3 0 0 1 6
12 Denmark Brian Andersen 0 2 1 2 1 6
13 Sweden Peter Karlsson 0 1 2 1 2 6
14 Sweden Mikael Karlsson 3 0 1 TX 0 4
15 England Garry Stead (res) 2 0 2
16 Australia Leigh Adams 1 0 0 0 0 1
17 Australia Steve Johnston 0 0 0 1 0 1

Fours

[edit]

Peterborough Panthers won the Elite League Four Team Tournament, which was held on 3 August 1997, at the East of England Arena.[12][13]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1 Peterborough 27 Crump 9, Sullivan 6
2 Bradford 21 Screen 10
3 Swindon 15 Adams 10
4 Belle Vue 15 Hamill 6

Final leading averages

[edit]
Rider Team Average
Sweden Tony Rickardsson Ipswich 10.09
United States Billy Hamill Belle Vue 10.07
United States Greg Hancock Coventry 9.85
England Joe Screen Bradford 9.77
Australia Leigh Adams Swindon 9.76
Australia Jason Crump Peterborough 9.71
England Mark Loram Bradford 9.59
Australia Craig Boyce Poole 9.43
England Chris Louis Ipswich 9.42
Denmark Brian Andersen Coventry 9.02

Riders & final averages

[edit]

Belle Vue

Bradford

Coventry

Eastbourne

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Peterborough

Poole

Swindon

Wolverhampton

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  3. ^ "1997 league tables". Speedway GB.
  4. ^ "Wheelie Good Trophy for Champs". Reading Evening Post. 30 June 1997. Retrieved 10 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "History Archive". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  6. ^ "British Final Roll of Honour". BSPA. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b "1997 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  8. ^ "1997 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  9. ^ "Speedway". Reading Evening Post. 5 September 1997. Retrieved 31 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Speedway". South Wales Echo. 8 September 1997. Retrieved 31 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Double triumph for Greg". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 13 October 1997. Retrieved 7 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ "Speedway". Birmingham Daily Post. 4 August 1997. Retrieved 6 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ^ "1997 fixtures and results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 July 2023.