1998 Elite League speedway season

1998 Elite League speedway season

League	Sky Sports Elite League
Champions	Ipswich Witches
Knockout Cup	Ipswich Witches
Craven Shield	Ipswich Witches
Riders Championship	Tony Rickardsson
Highest average	Tony Rickardsson
Division/s below	Premier League Conference League
← 1997 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).^[1]

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.^[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[]

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	30	15	1	16	1429	1450	31	7	38
5	Eastbourne Eagles	30	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

Leading averages[]

Rider	Team	Average
Tony Rickardsson	Ipswich	10.35
Billy Hamill	Coventry	10.07
Greg Hancock	Coventry	9.58
Jason Crump	Oxford	9.54
Tomasz Gollob	Ipswich	9.38
Chris Louis	Ipswich	9.35
Ronnie Correy	Belle Vue	9.02
Joe Screen	Belle Vue	8.99
Martin Dugard	Eastbourne	8.70
Leigh Adams	Swindon	8.53
Mikael Max	Wolverhampton	8.53

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.^[4]

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[]

Second leg[]

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

Teams[]

Belle Vue Aces[]

• 
• James Birkinshaw
• 
• Andre Compton
• Ronnie Correy
• 
• Matej Ferjan
• 
• Niklas Klingberg
• 
• Joe Screen
• Jason Lyons
• 
• Andy Smith
• Zdeněk Tesař
• Brent Werner
• Sean Wilson

Coventry Bees[]

• Brian Andersen
• 
• Billy Hamill
• Greg Hancock
• Andreas Jonsson
• Leigh Lanham
• 
• Stuart Robson
• Shaun Tacey
• David Walsh
• 

Eastbourne Eagles[]

• Stefan Andersson
• Glenn Cunningham
• Stefan Dannö
• Martin Dugard
• 
• Gary Havelock
• 
• Antonín Kasper Jr.
• Peter Nahlin
• David Norris
• Lee Richardson
• Scott Robson
• 
• 

Ipswich Witches[]

• Savalas Clouting
• Tomasz Gollob
• Chris Louis
• Scott Nicholls
• Jan Pedersen
• Tony Rickardsson
• Antonín Šváb Jr.

King's Lynn Knights[]

• Bohumil Brhel
• 
• Glenn Cunningham
• Ben Howe
• Shane Parker
• Piotr Protasiewicz
• Lee Richardson
• 
• Tomáš Topinka
• Simon Wigg

Oxford Cheetahs[]

• Michael Coles
• Jason Crump
• Glenn Cunningham
• Lawrence Hare
• Paul Hurry
• Steve Johnston
• Steve Schofield
• Jan Stæchmann
• Todd Wiltshire

Poole Pirates[]

• Craig Boyce
• Marvyn Cox
• Lars Gunnestad
• Gary Havelock
• Mark Lemon
• Lee Richardson
• 
• Ryan Sullivan
• Kelvin Tatum
• Magnus Zetterström

Swindon Robins[]

• Leigh Adams
• 
• Neil Collins
• Glenn Cunningham
• Charlie Gjedde
• 
• John Jørgensen
• 
• Brian Karger
• Petri Kokko
• 
• Paul Lee
• 
• Jimmy Nilsen
• Jan Pedersen
• Alun Rossiter
• Andy Smith
• Lee Richardson
• 
• 
• Craig Watson

Wolverhampton Wolves[]

• 
• Sam Ermolenko
• James Grieves
• Jesper B. Jensen
• 
• Mikael Karlsson
• Mark Loram
• George Štancl
• Garry Stead

See also[]

• List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
• Knockout Cup (speedway)

External links[]

• british-speedway.co.uk - Official league tables

References[]