1996 Premier League speedway season
The 1996 Premier League season was the 62nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was also the second and last edition of two seasons, in which British speedway was competed as a single division. In addition there was a Conference League.[1][2]
League | Premier League |
---|---|
Champions | Wolverhampton Wolves |
Knockout Cup | Wolverhampton Wolves |
Individual | Sam Ermolenko |
Fours | Oxford Cheetahs |
Highest average | Billy Hamill |
Division/s below | 1996 Conference League |
As from 1997 the Elite League would be the top division and the Premier League would be the second division.
Summary
The one league set up only lasted for a second season due to the huge disparity between the sides. Wolverhampton Wolves won the title for the second time in six years, with American Ronnie Correy being the sole survivor of the 1991 winning team. In a strange coincidence a new set of two brothers helped Wolves win the title, back in 1991 it was the Ermolenko brothers but now it was the Swedish Karlsson brothers. Peter Karlsson and Mikael Karlsson both scored heavily and ended the season with averages around the 10 mark.[3][4]
Cradley Heathens and Stoke Potters merged for the 1996 season and despite their American stars Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock finishing first and second in the averages they could only manage fifth place in the league. Cradley Heath were disbanded after the season following the closure of Dudley Wood Stadium, their home venue.[5]
Final table
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | BP | Pts |
1 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 29 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 76 |
2 | Peterborough Panthers | 36 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 15 | 61 |
3 | Eastbourne Eagles | 36 | 23 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 59 |
4 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 22 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 58 |
5 | Cradley & Stoke Heathens | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 13 | 56 |
6 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 12 | 55 |
7 | Hull Vikings | 36 | 20 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 54 |
8 | Ipswich Witches | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 12 | 52 |
9 | London Lions | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 11 | 51 |
10 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 10 | 44 |
11 | Bradford Dukes | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 41 |
12 | Scottish Monarchs | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 37 |
13 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 12 | 4 | 20 | 8 | 36 |
14 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 5 | 33 |
15 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 4 | 32 |
16 | Middlesbrough Bears | 36 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 29 |
17 | Long Eaton Invaders | 36 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 4 | 28 |
18 | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 13 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 28 |
19 | Reading Racers | 36 | 11 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 25 |
PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; BP = Bonus Points Pts = Total Points
Leading averages
Rider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
![]() | Cradley & Stoke | 10.67 |
![]() | Cradley & Stoke | 10.55 |
![]() | Ipswich | 10.29 |
![]() | Peterborough | 10.20 |
![]() | Wolverhampton | 10.14 |
![]() | London | 10.09 |
![]() | Eastbourne | 10.08 |
![]() | Sheffield | 9.73 |
![]() | Wolverhampton | 9.71 |
![]() | Wolverhampton | 9.62 |
![]() | Bradford | 9.57 |
![]() | Bradford | 9.55 |
![]() | Coventry | 9.46 |
![]() | Poole | 9.38 |
![]() | Exeter | 9.28 |
![]() | Belle Vue | 9.27 |
![]() | Swindon | 9.22 |
![]() | Poole | 9.13 |
![]() | London | 9.07 |
![]() | Peterborough | 9.01 |
Premier League Knockout Cup
The 1996 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the 58th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams and the second with the name Premier League Knockout Cup. Wolverhampton Wolves were the winners of the competition. The following season the tier one teams would compete in the Elite League Knockout Cup and the Premier League Knockout Cup would be for tier two teams.[6]
First Round
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
20/04 | Bradford | 65-31 | Sheffield |
18/04 | Sheffield | 42-54 | Bradford |
24/04 | Hull | 56-40 | Middlesbrough |
23/05 | Middlesbrough | 50-45 | Hull |
04/05 | Swindon | 51-45 | Oxford |
26/04 | Oxford | 50-46 | Swindon |
Second Round
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
20/05 | Wolverhampton | 56-39 | Ipswich |
23/05 | Ipswich | 53-43 | Wolverhampton |
24/05 | Belle Vue | 53-43 | Cradley Heath |
13/07 | Cradley Heath | 52-44 | Belle Vue |
25/05 | Bradford | 57-39 | Edinburgh |
22/05 | Edinburgh | 44-52 | Bradford |
29/05 | Long Eaton | 56-40 | Hull |
31/05 | Hull | 47-49 | Long Eaton |
26/04 | Peterborough | 59-37 | Coventry |
25/05 | Coventry | 40-56 | Peterborough |
23/05 | Hackney | 54-42 | Reading |
13/05 | Reading | 40-56 | Hackney |
20/05 | Exeter | 45-51 | Poole |
26/06 | Poole | 44-52 | Exeter |
27/05 | Swindon | 59-37 | Eastbourne |
25/05 | Eastbourne | 56-39 | Swindon |
Quarter Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
19/08 | Wolverhampton | 48-48 | Belle Vue |
23/08 | Belle Vue | 48-48 | Wolverhampton |
24/08 | Bradford | 62-34 | Long Eaton |
28/08 | Long Eaton | 50-45 | Bradford |
23/08 | Peterborough | 52-44 | Hackney |
15/08 | Hackney | 51-45 | Peterborough |
09/09 | Exeter | 52-44 | Swindon |
17/08 | Swindon | 48-48 | Exeter |
09/09 | Wolverhampton | 51-45 | Belle Vue |
13/09 | Belle Vue | 49-46 | Wolverhampton |
Semi Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
23/09 | Wolverhampton | 59-37 | Bradford |
28/09 | Bradford | 54-42 | Wolverhampton |
13/09 | Peterborough | 61-35 | Exeter |
23/09 | Exeter | 48-48 | Peterborough |
First leg
Second leg
Wolverhampton Wolves were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 100-92.
1996
Teams
Belle Vue Aces
-
Wayne Carter
-
Chris Cobby
-
Neil Collins
-
Andre Compton
-
Sean Courtney
-
Richard Emson
-
Niklas Klingberg
-
Phil Knowles
-
Jason Lyons
-
Chris Manchester
-
Frede Schött
-
Charlie Venegas
Bradford Dukes
-
Rene Aas
-
Anthony Barlow
-
Andre Compton
-
Gary Havelock
-
Paul Pickering
-
Chris Readshaw
-
Joe Screen
-
Peter Scully
-
Andy Smith
-
Jonathan Swales
-
Glyn Taylor
-
Sean Wilson
Coventry Bees
-
Brian Andersen
-
Jan Andersen
-
Paul Bentley
-
Shane Bowes
-
Paul Clews
-
Simon Cross
-
Kevin Little
-
Stuart Robson
-
Shaun Tacey
Cradley & Stoke Heathens
-
Daniel Andersson
-
Les Collins
-
Billy Hamill
-
Greg Hancock
-
Niklas Karlsson
-
Steve Knott
-
Grant MacDonald
-
Troy Pratt
-
Stuart Swales
-
John Wainwright
-
John Wilson
Eastbourne Eagles
-
Stefan Andersson
-
Carl Checketts
-
Brent Collyer
-
Stefan Dannö
-
Martin Dugard
-
Justin Elkins
-
Darren Grayling
-
Paul Lydes-Uings
-
Alan Mogridge
-
David Norris
-
Tara O'Callaghan
-
Max Schofield
-
Dean Standing
-
Neville Tatum
Exeter Falcons
-
Michael Coles
-
Greg Daniels
-
Paul Fry
-
Paul Fudge
-
Graeme Gordon
-
Peter Jeffery
-
Roger Lobb
-
Mark Loram
-
Jorg Pingel
-
Alun Rossiter
-
Mark Simmonds
-
Petr Vandirek
-
Simon Wigg
Hull Vikings
-
James Birkinshaw
-
Lee Dicken
-
Nigel Crabtree
-
Alan Grahame
-
Mike Hampson
-
Graham Jones
-
Gareth Martin
-
Ray Morton
-
Róbert Nagy
-
Bobby Ott
-
Jan Stæchmann
-
Paul Thorp
Ipswich Witches
London Lions
-
Leigh Adams
-
Anthony Barlow
-
Paul Hurry
-
Josh Larsen
-
Paul Lydes-Uings
-
Grant MacDonald
-
Krister Marsh
-
David Mason
-
Alan Mogridge
-
Jan Pedersen
-
Kelvin Tatum
-
Neville Tatum
-
John Wainwright
-
Colin White
Long Eaton Invaders
-
Anthony Barlow
-
Martin Dixon
-
Charles Ermolenko
-
Steve Johnston
-
Kai Laukkanen
-
Robert Johansson
-
Rene Madsen
-
Róbert Nagy
-
Carl Stonehewer
-
Charlie Venegas
-
Brent Werner
Middlesbrough Bears
-
Wayne Carter
-
Martin Dixon
-
Graham Jones
-
Gareth Martin
-
Jesper Olsen
-
Paul Oughton
-
Shane Parker
-
Scott Robson
-
Stuart Robson
-
Antonín Šváb Jr.
-
Brian Turner
-
Martin Vinther
-
David Walsh
-
Martin Willis
Oxford Cheetahs
-
Phillipe Bergé
-
Bohumil Brhel
-
Carl Checketts
-
Paul Clews
-
Marvyn Cox
-
Martin Goodwin
-
Lawrence Hare
-
Neil Hewitt
-
Mark Lemon
-
Paul Lydes-Uings
-
Tara O'Callaghan
-
Peter Scully
-
Attila Stefáni+ (+ rode under the name of Mark Frost)
-
Tomáš Topinka
-
Martin Willis
Peterborough Panthers
-
Hans Clausen
-
Paul Clews
-
Jason Crump
-
Jason Gage
-
Marián Jirout
-
Rene Madsen
-
Anders Nielsen
-
Tommy Palmer
-
Alun Rossiter
-
Ryan Sullivan
-
Scott Swain
-
Zdeněk Tesař
Poole Pirates
-
Marcus Andersson
-
Craig Boyce
-
Brent Collyer
-
Dean Garrod
-
Darren Grayling
-
Lars Gunnestad
-
Ingar Hvamstad
-
Jorgen Johansson
-
Christer Jonsson
-
Tony Langdon
-
Grant MacDonald
-
David Meldrum
-
Neil Painter
-
Lee Richardson
-
Martin Willis
-
Magnus Zetterström
Reading Racers
-
Armando Castagna
-
Carl Checketts
-
Petri Kokko
-
David Mason
-
Ray Morton
-
Dave Mullett
-
Phil Morris
-
Tony Olsson
-
Darren Pearson
-
Jan Pedersen
-
Jorg Pingel
-
Erik Stenlund
-
Davd Steen
Scottish Monarchs
-
Stefano Alfonso
-
Barry Camnpbell
-
Robert Eriksson
-
Mike Faria
-
Robert Johansson
-
Scott Lamb
-
Kenny McKinna
-
Mick Powell
-
Blair Scott
-
Vesa Ylinen
Sheffield Tigers
-
Rene Aas
-
Zoltán Adorján
-
Tony Atkin
-
Jon Armstrong
-
James Birkinshaw
-
Peter Boast
-
Lee Dicken
-
Sam Ermolenko
-
Bobby Hedden
-
Robbie Kessler
-
Roman Matoušek
-
Krister Marsh
-
Grant MacDonald
-
Darren Pearson
-
Thomas Ravn
-
Scott Smith
-
Garry Stead
-
Mirko Wolter
Swindon Robins
-
Rene Aas
-
Glenn Cunningham
-
John Jørgensen
-
Brian Karger
-
Jarno Kosonen
-
Krister Marsh
-
Steve Masters
-
Jimmy Nilsen
-
Scott Pegler
-
Mark Thorpe
-
Martin Willis
Wolverhampton Wolves
-
Tony Atkin
-
Carl Checketts
-
Ronnie Correy
-
James Grieves
-
Mikael Karlsson
-
Peter Karlsson
-
Stewart McDonald
-
George Štancl
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- "1996 league tables". Speedway GB.
- SPEEDWAY GB - British Speedway Official Website
- "Heathens at Stoke:End of Another Era". Cradley Speedway.
- "1996 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- "Speedway". Reading Evening Post. 10 October 1996. Retrieved 27 June 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.