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1998 Elite League speedway season
British motorcycle speedway season
British motorcycle speedway season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| competition | Sky Sports Elite League |
| domesticcup1 | Champions |
| domesticcup1 winners | Ipswich Witches |
| domesticcup2 | Knockout Cup |
| domesticcup2 winners | Ipswich Witches |
| domesticcup3 | Craven Shield |
| domesticcup3 winners | Ipswich Witches |
| domesticcup4 | Individual |
| domesticcup4 winners | Tony Rickardsson |
| highest average | Tony Rickardsson |
| leagues below | Premier League |
| Conference League | |
| prevseason | 1997 |
| nextseason | 1999 |
The 1998 Elite League speedway season was the 64th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the second year known as the Elite League, governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).
Summary
In 1998, the league decreased to nine teams with the closure of the Bradford Dukes at the end of their championship winning season in 1997. The Peterborough Panthers dropped down to the Premier League but were replaced by the Oxford Cheetahs. The league operated on a standard format without play-offs.
Ipswich Witches won the league (their first since 1984) and cup double and were led by the world's leading rider Tony Rickardsson. Rickardsson topped the averages for the second consecutive season and was well supported by Pole Tomasz Gollob in his maiden British season. English riders Chris Louis and Scott Nicholls added even more strength and became British Champion and British Under-21 Champion respectively during the season.
Final table
| 9 | King's Lynn Knights | 32 | 8 | 1 | 23 | 1270 | 1610 | 17 | 1 | 18 |
|---|
'A' Fixtures
'B' Fixtures
Elite League Knockout Cup
The 1998 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the 60th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams and the second under its new name. Ipswich Witches were the winners of the competition.
First round
Group A
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27/03 | Belle Vue | 50-40 | Coventry |
| 28/03 | Coventry | 51-39 | Belle Vue |
| 29/03 | Swindon | 41-49 | Wolverhampton |
| 30/03 | Wolverhampton | 47-42 | Oxford |
| 03/04 | Oxford | 45-45 | Coventry |
| 06/04 | Wolverhampton | 50-40 | Swindon |
| 10/04 | Swindon | 46-44 | Oxford |
| 11/04 | Coventry | 47-43 | Swindon |
| 12/04 | Belle Vue | 43-47 | Wolverhampton |
| 13/04 | Wolverhampton | 45-45 | Belle Vue |
| 17/04 | Belle Vue | 46-43 | Oxford |
| 18/04 | Coventry | 48-42 | Oxford |
| 20/04 | Wolverhampton | 45-45 | Coventry |
| 24/04 | Belle Vue | 41-48 | Swindon |
| 24/04 | Oxford | 39-51 | Wolverhampton |
| 25/04 | Coventry | 54-36 | Wolverhampton |
| 30/04 | Swindon | 40-50 | Belle Vue |
| 03/05 | Oxford | 48-42 | Belle Vue |
| 08/05 | Oxford | 58-32 | Swindon |
| 11/05 | Swindon | 41-49 | Coventry |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolverhampton | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Coventry | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Belle Vue | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Oxford | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Swindon | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
Group B
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19/03 | Ipswich | 60-30 | Kings Lynn |
| 22/03 | Eastbourne | 65-25 | Kings Lynn |
| 26/03 | Ipswich | 56-33 | Poole |
| 29/03 | Eastbourne | 52-38 | Poole |
| 01/04 | Kings Lynn | 41-31 | Eastbourne |
| 02/04 | Ipswich | 49-41 | Eastbourne |
| 11/04 | Eastbourne | 44-46 | Ipswich |
| 22/04 | Kings Lynn | 34-55 | Ipswich |
| 22/04 | Poole | 47-43 | Eastbourne |
| 24/04 | Kings Lynn | 47-43 | Poole |
| 26/04 | Poole | 48-42 | Kings Lynn |
| 06/05 | Poole | 39-51 | Ipswich |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ipswich | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Eastbourne | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | King's Lynn | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Poole | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/08 | Coventry | 54-36 | Wolverhampton |
| 29/06 | Wolverhampton | 49-41 | Coventry |
| 16/07 | Ipswich | 57-33 | Eastbourne |
| 04/07 | Eastbourne | 42-48 | Ipswich |
Final
The first leg was due to be held on 9 October at Foxhall Stadium but was abandoned after 5 heats due to heavy rain. Coventry were leading 17-13 at the time.
First leg Jason Crump (guest) 15 Greg Hancock 13 Brian Andersen 8 Shaun Tacey 6 Andreas Jonsson 1 Stuart Robson 0 Tony Rickardsson 15 Tomasz Gollob 11 Scott Nicholls 10 Chris Louis 6 Antonín Šváb Jr. 3 Savalas Clouting 2
Second leg Tomasz Gollob 12 Tony Rickardsson 11 Chris Louis 10 Scott Nicholls 6 Antonín Šváb Jr. 5 Savalas Clouting 4 Greg Hancock 18 Brian Andersen 12 Mark Loram (guest) 5 Shaun Tacey 3 Andreas Jonsson 2 Stuart Robson 2
Ipswich were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 95-85.
Craven Shield
- End of season competition for the top 6 league teams
First Round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Wolverhampton | Coventry | 40–50, 41–49 |
| Swindon | Eastbourne | 68–22, 41–49 |
Semi-final
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Belle Vue | Coventry | 43–47, 38–52 |
| Ipswich | Swindon | 49–41, 50–40 |
Final
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Ipswich | Coventry | 59–31, 37–53 |
Riders' Championship
Tony Rickardsson won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at the Abbey Stadium on 11 October.
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- exc=excluded
Leading final averages
| Rider | Team | Average |
|---|---|---|
| SWE Tony Rickardsson | Ipswich | 10.35 |
| USA Billy Hamill | Coventry | 10.07 |
| USA Greg Hancock | Coventry | 9.58 |
| AUS Jason Crump | Oxford | 9.54 |
| POL Tomasz Gollob | Ipswich | 9.38 |
| ENG Chris Louis | Ipswich | 9.35 |
| USA Ronnie Correy | Belle Vue | 9.02 |
| ENG Joe Screen | Belle Vue | 8.99 |
| ENG Martin Dugard | Eastbourne | 8.70 |
| AUS Leigh Adams | Swindon | 8.53 |
| SWE Mikael Karlsson | Wolverhampton | 8.53 |
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
- 9.02
- 8.99
- 7.50
- 6.00
- 5.83
- 5.57
- 5.25
- 4.87
- 4.00
- 2.24
Coventry
- 10.07
- 9.58
- 7.67
- 5.63
- 4.44
- 3.42
- 3.19
Eastbourne
- 8.70
- 7.33
- 7.15
- 6.86
- 6.59
- 6.32
- 6.00
- S 2.82
- 2.36
Ipswich
- 10.35
- 9.38
- 9.35
- 6.41
- 4.98
- 4.19
King's Lynn
- 6.81
- 6.64
- 5.80
- 5.59
- 5.53
- 5.09
- 4.72
- 2.78
Oxford
- 9.54
- 6.80
- 6.31
- 6.18
- 5.87
- 5.27
- 3.48
Poole
- 8.17
- 7.59
- 7.12
- 6.40 5.56
- 5.46
- 5.25
- 4.61
Swindon
- 8.53
- 8.32
- 7.55
- 6.93
- 6.27
- 4.78
- 3.37
Wolverhampton
- 8.53
- 8.02
- 7.42
- 6.23
- 4.73
- 3.77
- 3.65
References
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- "1998 league tables". Speedway GB.
- "HISTORY ARCHIVE".
- "1998 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher.
- "1998 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher.
- "1998 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- "Coventry Bees 1998 season".
- (12 October 1998). "Screen provides the chief thrills". Manchester Evening News.
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