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]
League | Sky Sports Elite League |
---|---|
Champions | Bradford Dukes |
Knockout Cup | Eastbourne Eagles |
Craven Shield | Coventry Bees |
Individual | Greg Hancock |
Fours | Peterborough Panthers |
Highest average | Tony Rickardsson |
Division/s below | 1997 Premier League 1997 Conference League |
Season summary
editIn 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
editPos | 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'B' Fixtures
editElite League Knockout Cup
editThe 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
editFirst leg
Poole Pirates Craig Boyce 18 Lars Gunnestad 10 | 43 - 49 | Eastbourne Eagles Stefan Andersson 10 Gary Havelock (guest) 10 David Norris 8 Stefan Danno 7 Alan Mogridge 5 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Second leg
Eastbourne Eagles Martin Dugard 14 Ronnie Correy (guest) 14 Stefan Andersson 13 Stefan Danno 12 David Norris 8 Alan Mogridge 6 | 67 - 23 | Poole Pirates Craig Boyce 7 Mark Lemon 5 Armando Castagna 4 Ben Howe 3 Lars Gunnestad 2 Savalas Clouting 2 |
---|---|---|
[10] |
Eastbourne Eagles were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 116-66.
Riders' Championship
editGreg Hancock won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at Odsal Stadium on 11 October.[11]
Pos. | Rider | Total | Total | SF | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Greg Hancock | 2 1 3 3 3 | 12 | x | 3 |
2 | Tony Rickardsson | 2 3 2 3 3 | 13 | x | 2 |
3 | Chris Louis | 3 3 1 2 2 | 11 | 2 | 1 |
4 | Simon Wigg | 1 0 3 2 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
5 | Mark Loram | 1 2 3 1 2 | 9 | 1 | |
6 | Billy Hamill | 3 TX 0 3 3 | 9 | 0 | |
7 | Sam Ermolenko | 3 1 2 0 2 | 8 | ||
8 | Craig Boyce | 1 1 3 2 1 | 8 | ||
9 | Joe Screen | 2 3 1 1 1 | 8 | ||
10 | Jason Crump | 0 2 2 3 0 | 7 | ||
11 | Martin Dugard | 2 3 0 0 1 | 6 | ||
12 | Brian Andersen | 0 2 1 2 1 | 6 | ||
13 | Peter Karlsson | 0 1 2 1 2 | 6 | ||
14 | Mikael Karlsson | 3 0 1 TX 0 | 4 | ||
15 | Garry Stead (res) | 2 0 | 2 | ||
16 | Leigh Adams | 1 0 0 0 0 | 1 | ||
17 | Steve Johnston | 0 0 0 1 0 | 1 |
- tx-touched tapes, excluded
Fours
editPeterborough 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
editRider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
Tony Rickardsson | Ipswich | 10.09 |
Billy Hamill | Belle Vue | 10.07 |
Greg Hancock | Coventry | 9.85 |
Joe Screen | Bradford | 9.77 |
Leigh Adams | Swindon | 9.76 |
Jason Crump | Peterborough | 9.71 |
Mark Loram | Bradford | 9.59 |
Craig Boyce | Poole | 9.43 |
Chris Louis | Ipswich | 9.42 |
Brian Andersen | Coventry | 9.02 |
Riders & final averages
editBelle Vue
- Billy Hamill 10.07
- Sam Ermolenko 8.48
- Jason Lyons 7.74
- Charlie Venegas 5.58
- Chris Manchester 5.56
- Paul Thorp 4.17
- Paul Smith 1.62
- Nathan Murray 0.97
Bradford
- Joe Screen 9.77
- Mark Loram 9.59
- Gary Havelock 7.59
- Garry Stead 5.78
- Josh Larsen 5.70
- David Walsh 4.45
Coventry
- Greg Hancock 9.85
- Brian Andersen 9.02
- John Jørgensen 6.90
- Andy Smith 5.84
- Sean Wilson 5.67
- Simon Cross 5.13
- Shane Bowes 4.15
- Paul Smith 1.44
Eastbourne
- Martin Dugard 8.44
- Stefan Andersson 8.24
- Dean Barker 7.32
- Stefan Dannö 6.97
- David Norris 6.57
- Alan Mogridge 4.56
Ipswich
- Tony Rickardsson 10.09
- Chris Louis 9.42
- Steve Johnston 7.74
- Scott Nicholls 6.25
- Ben Howe 6.17
- Jeremy Doncaster 6.11
- Antonín Šváb Jr. 3.62
King's Lynn
- Simon Wigg 8.07
- Shane Parker 7.48
- Tomáš Topinka 7.24
- Bohumil Brhel 6.91
- Paul Hurry 6.26
- Charles Ermolenko 5.14
- Shaun Tacey 3.11
Peterborough
- Jason Crump 9.71
- Kelvin Tatum 7.80
- Ryan Sullivan 7.71
- Hans Clausen 7.22
- Ronni Pedersen 7.08
- Zdeněk Tesař 4.95
- Marián Jirout 4.90
- Rene Madsen 2.52
Poole
- Craig Boyce 9.43
- Lars Gunnestad 7.48
- Marvyn Cox 7.30
- Mark Lemon 6.43
- Steve Schofield 6.18
- Armando Castagna 4.80
- Savalas Clouting 4.77
- Ben Howe 4.45
Swindon
- Leigh Adams 9.76
- Jimmy Nilsen 8.96
- Brian Karger 8.12
- Tony Olsson 6.68
- Alun Rossiter 4.68
- Steve Masters 2.53
Wolverhampton
- Mikael Karlsson 8.62
- Peter Karlsson 8.37
- Ronnie Correy 7.08
- Jesper B. Jensen 5.45
- Charles Ermolenko 4.76
- George Štancl 4.55
- James Grieves 4.16
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "1997 league tables". Speedway GB.
- ^ "Wheelie Good Trophy for Champs". Reading Evening Post. 30 June 1997. Retrieved 10 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "History Archive". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ "British Final Roll of Honour". BSPA. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "1997 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "1997 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ "Speedway". Reading Evening Post. 5 September 1997. Retrieved 31 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway". South Wales Echo. 8 September 1997. Retrieved 31 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Double triumph for Greg". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 13 October 1997. Retrieved 7 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway". Birmingham Daily Post. 4 August 1997. Retrieved 6 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1997 fixtures and results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 July 2023.