1997 Elite League speedway season

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]

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

Season summary

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
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

Leading averages
Rider Team Average
Tony RickardssonIpswich10.09
Billy HamillBelle Vue10.07
Greg HancockCoventry9.85
Joe ScreenBradford9.77
Leigh AdamsSwindon9.76
Jason CrumpPeterborough9.71
Mark LoramBradford9.59
Craig BoycePoole9.43
Chris LouisIpswich9.42
Brian AndersenCoventry9.02

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 1997 Elite League Knockout Cup 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.[7]

First Round

Group A

Date Team One Score Team Two
15/03Coventry51-40Swindon
16/03Swindon41-49Coventry
21/03Belle Vue48-42Coventry
22/03Coventry45-45Wolverhampton
22/03Bradford56-34Swindon
23/03Swindon47-42Bradford
24/03Wolverhampton52-38Swindon
28/03Belle Vue56-33Wolverhampton
29/03Swindon56-34Belle Vue
29/03Bradford58-32Wolverhampton
31/03Coventry49-41Bradford
31/03Wolverhampton52-38Belle Vue
04/04Belle Vue46-44Bradford
05/04Bradford52-38Coventry
05/04Swindon65-25Wolverhampton
11/04Belle Vue52-40Swindon
12/04Coventry51-41Belle Vue
14/04Wolverhampton50-40Coventry
19/04Bradford57-33Belle Vue
28/04Wolverhampton44-46Bradford
Pos Team P W D L
1Bradford8503
2Coventry8413
3Belle Vue8404
4Wolverhampton8314
5Swindon8305

Group B

Date Team One Score Team Two
20/03Ipswich47-43Peterborough
21/03Peterborough41-49Kings Lynn
23/03Eastbourne53-37Ipswich
28/03Ipswich50-40Kings Lynn
28/03Peterborough62-27Eastbourne
30/03Eastbourne54-36Poole
02/04Poole53-37Kings Lynn
03/04Ipswich44-46Eastbourne
06/04Eastbourne55-35Kings Lynn
09/04Kings Lynn46-44Eastbourne
09/04Poole52-38Peterborough
10/04Ipswich41-49Poole
11/04Peterborough38-52Poole
12/04Kings Lynn37-52Poole
16/04Kings Lynn47-43Peterborough
16/04Poole57-33Ipswich
18/04Peterborough48-42Ipswich
19/04Eastbourne52-37Peterborough
23/04Poole73-17Eastbourne
30/04Kings Lynn41-49Ipswich
Pos Team P W D L
1Poole8701
2Eastbourne8503
3King's Lynn8305
4Peterborough8305
5Ipswich8206

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
02/07Poole53-37Coventry
15/06Coventry48-42Poole
15/07Bradford56-34Eastbourne
13/04Eastbourne58-32Bradford

Final

First leg

Poole Pirates43 - 49Eastbourne Eagles

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

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

Teams

Belle Vue Aces

Bradford Dukes

Coventry Bees

Eastbourne Eagles

Ipswich Witches

King's Lynn Knights

Peterborough Panthers

Poole Pirates

Swindon Robins

Wolverhampton Wolves

See also

References
  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. "1997 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
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