1997 Premier League speedway season

Restructure

A restructure of British speedway took place, with the Premier League becoming the second division and a new Elite League becoming the top division. During the two previous seasons (1995 and 1996) there had been only one division of British speedway also called the Premier League, this confused matters because the Premier League was now only a second-tier competition.

Season summary

The Premier League was consisted of 14 teams for the 1997 season, running on a standard format with no play-offs. The Young Shield was introduced as an end of season cup competition for the top eight teams in the league standings.

A new team Skegness Braves, created by Peter Oakes, entered speedway for the first time but withdrew mid-season.

Reading Racers won the title.

Final table

• replaced Skegness Braves mid-season

Fixtures & results

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 1997 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 30th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams and the first with the name Premier League Knockout Cup. Edinburgh Monarchs were the winners of the competition.

During 1995 and 1996 the British League merged and ran as one newly named Premier League, which therefore meant that the second tier of speedway in the United Kingdom was the 1995 Academy League season, followed one year later by the 1996 Speedway Conference League season.

First round

Northern Group

Southern Group

Semi-finals

Final

First leg Neville Tatum 13 Philippe Bergé 11 Lawrence Hare 11 Mikael Teurnberg 6 Jeremy Luckhurst 2 Anthony Barlow 0 Darren Andrews R/R Peter Carr 12 Robert Eriksson 10 Kenny McKinna 10 Paul Gould 7 Blair Scott 6 Barry Campbell 2 Neil Hewitt 0 Second leg Kenny McKinna 13 Peter Carr 12 Robert Eriksson 11 Blair Scott 5 Paul Gould 3 Barry Campbell 3 Neil Hewitt R/R Philippe Bergé 15 Neville Tatum 12 Lawrence Hare 8 Mikael Teurnberg 4 William Beveridge 4 Anthony Barlow 0 Jeremy Luckhurst R/R Edinburgh were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 94–86.

Young Shield

• End of season competition for the top eight league teams

First Round

Semi-final

Final

Riders' Championship

Peter Carr won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 13 September at Brandon Stadium.

• f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Oxford Stadium on 26 September. The event was won by Long Eaton Invaders.

Fours

Long Eaton Invaders won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 3 August 1997, at the East of England Arena.

Final leading averages

Riders and final averages

Arena Essex

• Troy Pratt 8.65
• Jan Pedersen 8.42
• Colin White 7.22
• Tommy Palmer 7.08
• David Mason 4.07
• John Wainwright 4.00
• Paul Lydes-Uings 2.44

Berwick

• Scott Lamb 8.57
• Jörg Pingel 7.21
• Kevin Little 7.18
• Mike Smith 6.65
• Richard Juul 6.54
• David Meldrum 4.97
• David Blackburn 4.54
• Michael Lowrie 3.91

Edinburgh

• Peter Carr 9.88
• Kenny McKinna 9.73
• Robert Eriksson 9.46
• Jarno Kosonen 6.63
• Paul Gould 4.45
• Barry Campbell 3.85
• Blair Scott 3.68
• Neil Hewitt 2.35

Exeter

• Michael Coles 8.83
• Leigh Lanham 8.76
• Frank Smart 7.28
• Peter Jeffery 7.14
• Graeme Gordon 6.18
• Gary Lobb 3.52
• Paul Fudge 2.86

Glasgow

• Neil Collins 9.02
• Mick Powell 8.32
• Stewart McDonald 7.47
• Sean Courtney 6.91
• Will Beveridge 4.44
• Grant MacDonald 3.28

Hull

• Alan Grahame 9.75
• Stuart Robson 8.37
• Scott Robson 7.55
• Peter Scully 6.49
• Lee Dicken 5.01
• Brian Turner 2.91
• Richard Emson 1.95

Isle of Wight/Skegness

• Shaun Tacey 8.23
• Brett Woodifield 7.63
• Nigel Sadler 6.73
• Mark Simmonds 6.44
• Wayne Carter 6.20
• Jason Bunyan 5.71
• Paul Clews 3.75
• Gavin Hedge 2.70
• Lee Dixon 1.14

Long Eaton

• Carl Stonehewer 10.39
• Martin Dixon 9.81
• Brent Werner 9.27
• Justin Elkins 5.06
• Paul Lee 4.21
• Mark Burrows 4.00
• Dean Felton 2.39
• Bobby Eldridge 2.18

Newcastle

• Paul Bentley 8.81
• Jesper Olsen 8.57
• Richard Juul 7.73
• Stuart Swales 7.13
• Glyn Taylor 5.92
• Andre Compton 3.80
• Brian Turner 3.78
• James Birkinshaw 2.00

Newport

• Paul Fry 8.75
• Anders Henriksson 8.24
• Craig Watson 7.72
• Scott Pegler 6.12
• Martin Willis 4.14
• Roger Lobb 3.55

Oxford

• Neville Tatum 9.14
• Lawrence Hare 8.46
• Philippe Bergé 8.35
• Mikael Teurnberg 7.34
• Jason Bunyan 4.41
• Jeremy Luckhurst 3.37
• Krister Marsh 2.67
• Anthony Barlow 2.27
• Darren Andrews 1.37

Reading

• Dave Mullett 10.47
• Glenn Cunningham 9.92
• David Steen 7.75
• Lee Richardson 6.73
• Paul Pickering 6.50
• Krister Marsh 2.43
• Bobby Eldridge 2.00

Sheffield

• Robbie Kessler 9.76
• Scott Smith 8.95
• Mirko Wolter 7.94
• Rene Aas 6.89
• Steve Knott 5.45
• Peter Boast 3.70
• Derrol Keats 3.33
• Mike Hampson 3.10
• James Birkinshaw 3.02

Stoke

• Les Collins 9.44
• Phil Morris 6.53
• Craig Taylor 6.17
• Chris Cobby 5.87
• Tony Atkin 5.83
• Mark Burrows 4.42 Jon Armstrong 2.00

References

References

1. (30 June 1997). "Wheelie Good Trophy for Champs". Reading Evening Post.
2. "History Archive".
3. (7 November 1996). "Speedway bosses aim for Elite Era".
4. (13 November 1996). "Speedway revival".
5. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT)".
6. (25 June 1997). "Is this the end for the Braves?". Boston Target.
7. "1997 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher.
8. "1997 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
9. "1997 KO cup final".
10. "Edinburgh results 1997".
11. (15 September 1997). "Champions". Reading Evening Post.
12. "1997 season results".
13. "Speedway Premier League Pairs 26/09/1997".
14. (4 August 1997). "Monarchs are right out of luck". Daily Record.
15. "1997 Long Eaton results".