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]
League | Sky Sports Elite League |
---|---|
Champions | Bradford Dukes |
Knockout Cup | Eastbourne Eagles |
Craven Shield | Coventry Bees |
Highest average | Tony Rickardsson |
Division/s below | 1997 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 |
---|---|---|
![]() | Ipswich | 10.09 |
![]() | Belle Vue | 10.07 |
![]() | Coventry | 9.85 |
![]() | Bradford | 9.77 |
![]() | Swindon | 9.76 |
![]() | Peterborough | 9.71 |
![]() | Bradford | 9.59 |
![]() | Poole | 9.43 |
![]() | Ipswich | 9.42 |
![]() | Coventry | 9.02 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
15/03 | 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
First leg
Second leg
Eastbourne Eagles were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 116-66.
Teams
Belle Vue Aces
-
Wayne Carter
-
Simon Cartwright
-
Chris Cobby
-
Sean Courtney
-
Scott Donovan
-
Sam Ermolenko
-
Billy Hamill
-
Phil Knowles
-
Jason Lyons
-
Chris Manchester
-
Nathan Murray
-
Paul Smith
-
Glyn Taylor
-
Paul Thorp
-
Charlie Venegas
Bradford Dukes
Coventry Bees
Eastbourne Eagles
Ipswich Witches
King's Lynn Knights
Peterborough Panthers
-
Jason Bunyan
-
Hans Clausen
-
Jason Crump
-
Marián Jirout
-
Paul Lee
-
Rene Madsen
-
Ronni Pedersen
-
Jorg Pingel
-
Lee Richardson
-
Jan Stæchmann
-
Ryan Sullivan
-
Kelvin Tatum
-
Zdeněk Tesař
Poole Pirates
Swindon Robins
-
Leigh Adams
-
Jon Armstrong
-
Brian Karger
-
Steve Masters
-
Jimmy Nilsen
-
Tony Olsson
-
Gary Phelps
-
Alun Rossiter
Wolverhampton Wolves
-
Wayne Carter
-
Ronnie Correy
-
Charles Ermolenko
-
James Grieves
-
Jesper B. Jensen
-
Mikael Karlsson
-
Peter Karlsson
-
George Štancl
-
Craig Taylor
External links
- british-speedway.co.uk - Official league tables
References
- "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.
- "1997 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.