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1997 Elite League speedway season

British motorcycle speedway season

British motorcycle speedway season

FieldValue
competitionSky Sports Elite League
domesticcup1Champions
domesticcup1 winnersBradford Dukes
domesticcup2Knockout Cup
domesticcup2 winnersEastbourne Eagles
domesticcup3Craven Shield
domesticcup3 winnersCoventry Bees
domesticcup4Individual
domesticcup4 winnersGreg Hancock
domesticcup5Fours
domesticcup5 winnersPeterborough Panthers
highest averageTony Rickardsson
leagues below1997 Premier League
1997 Conference League
prevseason1996
nextseason1998

1997 Conference League

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).

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. The Craven Shield was introduced as an end of season cup competition for the top eight teams in the league standings.

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.

Final table

10Peterborough Panthers36140221556167928533

'A' Fixtures

'B' Fixtures

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 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.

First round

Group A

DateTeam oneScoreTeam 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
PosTeamPWDL
1Bradford8503
2Coventry8413
3Belle Vue8404
4Wolverhampton8314
5Swindon8305

Group B

DateTeam oneScoreTeam 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
PosTeamPWDL
1Poole8701
2Eastbourne8503
3King's Lynn8305
4Peterborough8305
5Ipswich8206

Semi-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
02/07Poole53-37Coventry
15/06Coventry48-42Poole
15/07Bradford56-34Eastbourne
13/04Eastbourne58-32Bradford

Final

First leg

Craig Boyce 18 Lars Gunnestad 10 Stefan Andersson 10 Gary Havelock (guest) 10 David Norris 8 Stefan Danno 7 Alan Mogridge 5

Second leg

Martin Dugard 14 Ronnie Correy (guest) 14 Stefan Andersson 13 Stefan Danno 12 David Norris 8 Alan Mogridge 6 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.

Craven Shield

  • End of season competition for the top eight league teams

First Round

Team oneTeam twoScore
IpswichKing's Lynn50–40, 39–51
BradfordCoventry55–35, 34–56
EastbourneWolverhampton52–38, 51–38
SwindonBelle Vue60–30, n–h

Semi-final

Team oneTeam twoScore
CoventrySwindon50–40, 49–41
King's LynnEastbourne53–36, 37–52

Final

Team oneTeam twoScore
King's LynnCoventry41–49, 32–58

Riders' Championship

Greg Hancock won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at Odsal Stadium on 11 October.

Pos.width=200pxRiderwidth=100pxTotalwidth=50pxTotalwidth=50pxSFwidth=50pxFinal
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
  • tx-touched tapes, excluded

Fours

Peterborough Panthers won the Elite League Four Team Tournament, which was held on 3 August 1997, at the East of England Arena.

FinalPosTeamPtsRiders
1Peterborough27Crump 9, Sullivan 6
2Bradford21Screen 10
3Swindon15Adams 10
4Belle Vue15Hamill 6

Final leading averages

RiderTeamAverage
SWE Tony RickardssonIpswich10.09
USA Billy HamillBelle Vue10.07
USA Greg HancockCoventry9.85
ENG Joe ScreenBradford9.77
AUS Leigh AdamsSwindon9.76
AUS Jason CrumpPeterborough9.71
ENG Mark LoramBradford9.59
AUS Craig BoycePoole9.43
ENG Chris LouisIpswich9.42
DEN Brian AndersenCoventry9.02

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

  • 10.07
  • 8.48
  • 7.74
  • 5.58
  • 5.56
  • 4.17
  • 1.62
  • 0.97

Bradford

  • 9.77
  • 9.59
  • 7.59
  • 5.78
  • 5.70
  • 4.45

Coventry

  • 9.85
  • 9.02
  • 6.90
  • 5.84
  • 5.67
  • 5.13
  • 4.15
  • 1.44

Eastbourne

  • 8.44
  • 8.24
  • 7.32
  • 6.97
  • 6.57
  • 4.56

Ipswich

  • 10.09
  • 9.42
  • 7.74
  • 6.25
  • 6.17
  • 6.11
  • 3.62

King's Lynn

  • 8.07
  • 7.48
  • 7.24
  • 6.91
  • 6.26
  • 5.14
  • 3.11

Peterborough

  • 9.71
  • 7.80
  • 7.71
  • 7.22
  • 7.08
  • 4.95
  • 4.90
  • 2.52

Poole

  • 9.43
  • 7.48
  • 7.30
  • 6.43
  • 6.18
  • 4.80
  • 4.77
  • 4.45

Swindon

  • 9.76
  • 8.96
  • 8.12
  • 6.68
  • 4.68
  • 2.53

Wolverhampton

  • 8.62
  • 8.37
  • 7.08
  • 5.45
  • 4.76
  • 4.55
  • 4.16

References

References

  1. (7 November 1996). "Speedway bosses aim for Elite Era".
  2. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  3. "HISTORY ARCHIVE".
  4. "1997 league tables". Speedway GB.
  5. (30 June 1997). "Wheelie Good Trophy for Champs". Reading Evening Post.
  6. "History Archive".
  7. "1997 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher.
  8. "1997 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  9. (5 September 1997). "Speedway". Reading Evening Post.
  10. (8 September 1997). "Speedway". South Wales Echo.
  11. (13 October 1997). "Double triumph for Greg". Coventry Evening Telegraph.
  12. (4 August 1997). "Speedway". Birmingham Daily Post.
  13. "1997 fixtures and results".
Info: Wikipedia Source

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