League | Sky Sports Elite League |
---|---|
Champions | Bradford Dukes |
Knockout Cup | Eastbourne Eagles |
Craven Shield | Coventry Bees |
Individual | Greg Hancock |
Fours | Peterborough Panthers |
Highest average | Tony Rickardsson |
Division/s below | 1997 Premier League 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). [1] [2]
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]
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 |
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. [9]
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 |
First leg
Poole Pirates Craig Boyce 18 Lars Gunnestad 10 | 43 - 49 | Eastbourne Eagles Stefan Andersson 10 Gary Havelock (guest) 10 |
---|---|---|
[10] |
Second leg
Eastbourne Eagles Martin Dugard 14 Ronnie Correy (guest) 14 Stefan Andersson 13 Stefan Danno 12 David Norris 8 Alan Mogridge 6 | 67 - 23 | Poole Pirates Craig Boyce 7 Mark Lemon 5 Armando Castagna 4 Ben Howe 3 Lars Gunnestad 2 Savalas Clouting 2 |
---|---|---|
[11] |
Eastbourne Eagles were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 116-66.
Greg Hancock won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at Odsal Stadium on 11 October. [12]
Pos. | Rider | Total | Total | SF | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 2 1 3 3 3 | 12 | x | 3 |
2 | ![]() | 2 3 2 3 3 | 13 | x | 2 |
3 | ![]() | 3 3 1 2 2 | 11 | 2 | 1 |
4 | ![]() | 1 0 3 2 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
5 | ![]() | 1 2 3 1 2 | 9 | 1 | |
6 | ![]() | 3 TX 0 3 3 | 9 | 0 | |
7 | ![]() | 3 1 2 0 2 | 8 | ||
8 | ![]() | 1 1 3 2 1 | 8 | ||
9 | ![]() | 2 3 1 1 1 | 8 | ||
10 | ![]() | 0 2 2 3 0 | 7 | ||
11 | ![]() | 2 3 0 0 1 | 6 | ||
12 | ![]() | 0 2 1 2 1 | 6 | ||
13 | ![]() | 0 1 2 1 2 | 6 | ||
14 | ![]() | 3 0 1 TX 0 | 4 | ||
15 | ![]() | 2 0 | 2 | ||
16 | ![]() | 1 0 0 0 0 | 1 | ||
17 | ![]() | 0 0 0 1 0 | 1 |
Peterborough Panthers won the Elite League Four Team Tournament, which was held on 3 August 1997, at the East of England Arena. [13] [14]
Final | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
1 | Peterborough | 27 | Crump 9, Sullivan 6 |
2 | Bradford | 21 | Screen 10 |
3 | Swindon | 15 | Adams 10 |
4 | Belle Vue | 15 | Hamill 6 |
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 |
Belle Vue
Bradford
Coventry
Eastbourne
Ipswich
King's Lynn
Peterborough
Poole
Swindon
Wolverhampton
Poole Pirates are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions.
Mark Roysten Gregory Loram is a former British motorcycle speedway rider, who won the World Speedway Championship in 2000 and won the British Championship in 1997, 1999, and 2001. He earned 36 international caps for the England national speedway team and 10 caps for the Great Britain team.
Robert Gary Havelock is a British former speedway rider who was World Champion in 1992.
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