2000 Elite League speedway season

The 2000 Elite League speedway season was the 66th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was the fourth known as the Elite League and was governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).[1]

2000 Elite League speedway season
LeagueSky Sports Elite League
ChampionsEastbourne Eagles
Knockout CupKing's Lynn Knights
Craven ShieldCoventry Bees
Riders ChampionshipRyan Sullivan
Highest averageLeigh Adams
Division/s belowPremier League
Conference League

Season summary

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In 2000, the league decreased to nine teams with the Hull Vikings dropping back down to the Premier League after just one season. The league operated on a standard format without play-offs.[2]

Eastbourne Eagles claimed the millennium season league title but only finished two points clear of King's Lynn Knights. Martin Dugard topped scored for the Eagles but was well supported by their new signing Joe Screen from Hull Vikings. Three other English riders finished with averages in excess of 7 which was the crucial difference during the season. They were David Norris, Paul Hurry and Dean Barker. The King's Lynn Australian pairing of Leigh Adams and Jason Crump topped the league averages but did not have the back up that Eastbourne relied on. King's Lynn gained consolation when winning the Knockout Cup.[3]

Final table

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Pos M W D L F A Pts Bon Tot
1 Eastbourne Eagles 32 24 1 7 1544 1322 49 13 62
2 King's Lynn Knights 32 22 2 8 1564 1321 46 14 60
3 Ipswich Witches 32 16 3 13 1456 1409 35 11 46
4 Coventry Bees 32 16 3 13 1442 1427 35 8 43
5 Poole Pirates 32 14 4 14 1437 1426 32 8 40
6 Wolverhampton Wolves 32 15 3 14 1396 1467 33 6 39
7 Peterborough Panthers 32 11 2 19 1431 1425 24 7 31
8 Oxford Cheetahs 31 9 1 21 1296 1477 19 3 22
9 Belle Vue Aces 31 5 3 23 1248 1540 13 1 14

Oxford v Belle Vue not held.

'A' Fixtures

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Home \ Away BV COV EAS IPS KL OX PET PP WOL
Belle Vue Aces 52–38 37–53 44.5–45.5 44–46 40–50 47–43 40–50 41–49
Coventry Bees 52–38 50–40 45–45 48–42 55–34 52–26 40–50 45–44
Eastbourne Eagles 55–35 48–43 48–42 50–39 55–35 54–37 56–34 43–29
Ipswich Witches 52–38 47–43 47–43 45–45 52–38 50–40 51–40 53–37
King's Lynn Knights 62–28 56–34 49–41 47–43 49–40 51–42 53–37 49–41
Oxford Cheetahs 47–42 43–47 43–50 43–47 48–42 41–49 42–48 47–43
Peterborough Panthers 56.5–33.5 42–48 41–49 49–43 51–39 56–34 50–40 43–46
Poole Pirates 45–45 45–45 42–48 48–42 47–43 52–38 51–39 42–49
Wolverhampton Wolves 47–43 41–49 45–45 45–44 47–43 51–42 49–41 48–42
Source: [4]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

'B' Fixtures

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Home \ Away BV COV EAS IPS KL OX PET PP WOL
Belle Vue Aces 50–39 37–52 52–38 43–47 n/a 50–43 39–51 45–45
Coventry Bees 57–33 38–52 42–47 48–42 47–43 47–43 46–44 41–49
Eastbourne Eagles 60–30 49–40 51–39 50–42 54–36 48–42 53–37 50–40
Ipswich Witches 57–33 47–45 58–32 34–58 47–43 50–40 45–45 53–37
King's Lynn Knights 60–30 56–34 58–32 47–43 53–37 47–43 49–41 58–32
Oxford Cheetahs 46–44 43–47 46–44 46–44 42–48 41–49 41–29 44–46
Peterborough Panthers 50–40 45–45 44–46 45–45 45–45 59–31 42–48 57–33
Poole Pirates 60–30 45–48 46–44 50–39 41–49 45–45 50–39 48–42
Wolverhampton Wolves 45–45 44–46 41–49 51–39 40–50 43–47 49–41 46–44
Source: [4]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Elite League Knockout Cup

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The 2000 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the 62nd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. King's Lynn Stars were the winners of the competition.[5]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
12/05 Oxford 45-45 Poole
10/05 Poole 47-43 Oxford

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
04/09 Belle Vue 40-44 Coventry
02/08 King's Lynn 52-38 Ipswich
09/06 Peterborough 52-38 Poole
26/06 Wolverhampton 51-39 Eastbourne
24/06 Eastbourne 44-46 Wolverhampton
27/05 Coventry 49-41 Belle Vue
25/05 Ipswich 48-42 King's Lynn
10/05 Poole 47-43 Peterborough

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
19/10 King's Lynn 63-27 Wolverhampton
18/10 Wolverhampton 43-47 King's Lynn
14/10 Coventry 47-43 Peterborough
13/10 Peterborough 47-43 Coventry
22/10
(replay)
Peterborough 46-44 Coventry
17/10
(replay)
Coventry 45-45 Peterborough

Final

First leg

King's Lynn Knights
Leigh Adams 14
Jason Crump 11
John Cook 11
Craig Boyce 8
Tom P. Madsen 6
Steve Masters 5
Travis McGowan 4
58 - 32Coventry Bees
Lee Richardson 11
Greg Hancock 10
Billy Hamill 9
Scott Robson 2
Shaun Tacey 0
Stuart Robson 0
John Jørgensen 0
[6]

Second leg

Coventry Bees
Billy Hamill 11
Greg Hancock 10
Scott Robson 9
Lee Richardson 6
Shaun Tacey 6
Stuart Robson 6
John Jørgensen R/R
48 - 42King's Lynn Knights
Leigh Adams 11
Jason Crump 8
John Cook 9
Craig Boyce 7
Tom P. Madsen 3
Steve Masters 2
Travis McGowan 2
[6]

King's Lynn Knights were declared Knockout Cup Champions, on aggregate score 100-80.

Riders' Championship

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Ryan Sullivan won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at the Brandon Stadium on 21 October.[7]

Pos. Rider Pts Total SF Final
1   Ryan Sullivan 1 3 3 3 2 12 x 3
2   Greg Hancock 3 3 2 2 2 12 x 2
3   Nicki Pedersen 2 3 0 3 1 9 3 1
4   Scott Nicholls 0 2 3 3 2 10 2 0
5   Chris Louis 0 1 2 3 3 9 1
6   Todd Wiltshire 3 3 0 2 1 9 0
7   Mark Loram 3 1 1 1 3 9
8   Jason Crump 2 2 0 2 3 9
9   Billy Hamill 2 2 3 2 0 9
10   Peter Karlsson 3 0 1 1 3 8
11   Paul Hurry 2 1 2 1 1 7
12   Sam Ermolenko 1 0 3 1 1 6
13   Leigh Adams 1 1 1 0 2 5
14   Shane Parker 1 0 2 0 0 3
15   David Norris 1 0 2 0 0 3
16   Matt Cambridge (res) 0 0 0 0
17   Carl Downs (res) 0 0

Leading final averages

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Rider Team Average
  Leigh Adams Kings Lynn 10.17
  Jason Crump Kings Lynn 10.15
  Mark Loram Poole 10.10
  Martin Dugard Eastbourne 9.67
  Chris Louis Ipswich 9.57
  Tomasz Gollob Ipswich 9.52
  Ryan Sullivan Peterborough 9.18
  Greg Hancock Coventry 9.00
  Joe Screen Eastbourne 8.82
  Billy Hamill Coventry 8.77

Riders & final averages

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Belle Vue

Coventry

Eastbourne

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Oxford

Peterborough

Poole

Wolverhampton

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "2000 league tables". Speedway GB.
  3. ^ "Eastbourne". wwosbackup. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b "2000 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  5. ^ "2000 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  6. ^ a b "Coventry Bees 2000 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  7. ^ "2000 Elite League Riders Championship". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 8 June 2023.