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1998 Elite League speedway season

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1998 Elite League speedway season
LeagueSky Sports Elite League
ChampionsIpswich Witches
Knockout CupIpswich Witches
Craven ShieldIpswich Witches
IndividualTony Rickardsson
Highest averageTony Rickardsson
Division/s belowPremier League
Conference League

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).[1]

Summary

[edit]

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.[2]

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.[3]

Final table

[edit]
Pos M W D L F A Pts Bon Tot
1 Ipswich Witches 32 26 1 5 1653 1211 53 16 69
2 Belle Vue Aces 32 20 0 12 1524 1353 40 12 52
3 Coventry Bees 32 18 1 13 1474 1401 37 11 48
4 Swindon Robins 32 15 1 16 1429 1450 31 7 38
5 Eastbourne Eagles 32 15 0 17 1430 1449 30 7 37
6 Wolverhampton Wolves 32 14 1 17 1421 1444 29 8 37
7 Oxford Cheetahs 32 13 2 17 1388 1490 28 5 33
8 Poole Pirates 32 11 1 14 1348 1529 23 5 28
9 King's Lynn Knights 32 8 1 23 1270 1610 17 1 18

'A' Fixtures

[edit]
Home \ Away BV COV EAS IPS KL OX PP SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 46–44 54–36 47.5–41.5 54–36 55–35 54–36 59–31 52–38
Coventry Bees 43–46 51–39 43–47 47–43 45–45 52–38 53–37 44–46
Eastbourne Eagles 49–41 49–41 42–48 48–42 60–30 52–38 52–38 57–33
Ipswich Witches 54–36 50–39 53–37 60–30 48–42 63–27 61–29 51–39
King's Lynn Knights 59–31 47–43 47–43 33–57 47–43 44–46 52–38 45–45
Oxford Cheetahs 46–44 37–53 39–51 47–43 52–38 38–51 46–44 50–40
Poole Pirates 47–43 48–42 41–49 26–64 57–33 48–41 38–52 43–47
Swindon Robins 47–4 42–47 49–41 31–59 55–35 51–39 53–37 52–38
Wolverhampton Wolves 31–59 39–50 54–36 38–40 50–40 55–35 50–40 55–35
Source: [4]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

'B' Fixtures

[edit]
Home \ Away BV COV EAS IPS KL OX PP SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 58–32 56–34 46–44 65–25 51–39 49–41 57–33 48–42
Coventry Bees 52–38 50–40 46–44 55–35 44–46 48–42 48–42 46–44
Eastbourne Eagles 59–31 44–46 38–51 56–34 47–43 52–38 55–35 55–35
Ipswich Witches 48–42 49–41 47–43 60–30 63–27 51–39 58–32 56–34
King's Lynn Knights 41–49 47–43 46–44 27–63 40–50 40–50 42–48 53–37
Oxford Cheetahs 47–43 42–48 56–34 44–46 57–33 47–43 45–45 44–46
Poole Pirates 40–50 49–41 56–34 45–45 46–44 40–50 42–48 46–43
Swindon Robins 55–35 42–48 64–26 44–46 56–34 38–52 59–31 56–34
Wolverhampton Wolves 48–42 40–49 62–28 47–43 62–28 56–34 51–39 42–48
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Elite League Knockout Cup

[edit]

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.[6]

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

Coventry Bees
Jason Crump (guest) 15
Greg Hancock 13
Brian Andersen 8
Shaun Tacey 6
Andreas Jonsson 1
Stuart Robson 0		43 - 47Ipswich Witches
Tony Rickardsson 15
Tomasz Gollob 11
Scott Nicholls 10
Chris Louis 6
Antonín Šváb Jr. 3
Savalas Clouting 2
[7]

Second leg

Ipswich Witches
Tomasz Gollob 12
Tony Rickardsson 11
Chris Louis 10
Scott Nicholls 6
Antonín Šváb Jr. 5
Savalas Clouting 4		48 - 42Coventry Bees
Greg Hancock 18
Brian Andersen 12
Mark Loram (guest) 5
Shaun Tacey 3
Andreas Jonsson 2
Stuart Robson 2
[7]

Ipswich were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 95-85.

Riders' Championship

[edit]

Tony Rickardsson won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at the Abbey Stadium on 11 October.[8]

Pos. Rider Pts Total SF Final
1 Sweden Tony Rickardsson 3 2 2 3 3 13 x 3
2 Australia Jason Crump 3 3 3 3 2 14 x 2
3 England Joe Screen 3 2 1 2 3 11 2 1
4 Australia Leigh Adams 2 1 3 3 2 11 3 0
5 Sweden Jimmy Nilsen 2 2 2 3 2 11 1
6 Australia Todd Wiltshire 3 3 2 2 0 10 0
7 United States Greg Hancock 2 3 0 2 3 10
8 Denmark Brian Andersen 0 3 3 0 1 7
9 United States Ronnie Correy 2 1 3 1 0 7
10 England Chris Louis 1 1 0 1 3 6
11 England Mark Loram 1 0 1 2 2 6
12 England Martin Dugard 1 0 1 2 2 6
13 Australia Craig Boyce 1 0 1 1 0 3
14 Australia Ryan Sullivan 0 2 0 0 0 2
15 England David Norris 0 1 0 0 1 2
16 Australia Shane Parker exc 0 1 0 1 2
17 England Garry Stead (res) 2 0 2
  • exc=excluded

Leading final averages

[edit]
Rider Team Average
Sweden Tony Rickardsson Ipswich 10.35
United States Billy Hamill Coventry 10.07
United States Greg Hancock Coventry 9.58
Australia Jason Crump Oxford 9.54
Poland Tomasz Gollob Ipswich 9.38
England Chris Louis Ipswich 9.35
United States Ronnie Correy Belle Vue 9.02
England Joe Screen Belle Vue 8.99
England Martin Dugard Eastbourne 8.70
Australia Leigh Adams Swindon 8.53
Sweden Mikael Karlsson Wolverhampton 8.53

Riders & final averages

[edit]

Belle Vue

Coventry

Eastbourne

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Oxford

Poole

Swindon

Wolverhampton

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "1998 league tables". Speedway GB.
  3. ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. ^ "1998 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  5. ^ "1998 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  6. ^ "1998 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  7. ^ a b "Coventry Bees 1998 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Screen provides the chief thrills". Manchester Evening News. 12 October 1998. Retrieved 8 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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