1996 Premier League speedway season

The 1996 Premier League season was the second and last edition of two seasons, in which British speedway was competed as a single division. In addition there was a Conference League.[1]

1996 Premier League speedway season

League	Premier League
Season	1996
Champions	Wolverhampton Wolves
Knockout Cup	Wolverhampton Wolves
Division/s below	1996 Conference League

As from 1997 the Elite League would be the top division and the Premier League would be the second division.

Summary

Wolverhampton Wolves won the title.[2][3]

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	BP	Pts
Wolverhampton Wolves	36	29	0	7	18	76
Peterborough Panthers	36	23	0	13	15	61
Eastbourne Eagles	36	23	1	12	12	59
Swindon Robins	36	22	2	12	12	58
Cradley & Stoke Heathens	36	21	1	14	13	56
Belle Vue Aces	36	21	1	14	12	55
Hull Vikings	36	20	3	13	11	54
Ipswich Witches	36	20	0	16	12	52
London Lions	36	20	0	16	11	51
Coventry Bees	36	16	2	18	10	44
Bradford Dukes	36	16	0	20	9	41
Scottish Monarchs	36	16	0	20	5	37
Oxford Cheetahs	36	12	4	20	8	36
Poole Pirates	36	13	2	21	5	33
Exeter Falcons	36	13	2	21	4	32
Middlesbrough Bears	36	11	1	14	6	29
Long Eaton Invaders	36	12	0	24	4	28
Sheffield Tigers	36	13	0	23	2	28
Reading Racers	36	11	1	24	2	25

PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; BP = Bonus Points Pts = Total Points

Leading averages

Rider	Team	Average
Billy Hamill	Cradley & Stoke	10.67
Greg Hancock	Cradley & Stoke	10.55
Chris Louis	Ipswich	10.29
Jason Crump	Peterborough	10.20
Peter Karlsson	Wolverhampton	10.14
Leigh Adams	London	10.09
Martin Dugard	Eastbourne	10.08
Sam Ermolenko	Sheffield	9.73
Mikael Max	Wolverhampton	9.71
Ronnie Correy	Wolverhampton	9.62
Joe Screen	Bradford	9.57
Gary Havelock	Bradford	9.55
Brian Andersen	Coventry	9.46
Craig Boyce	Poole	9.38
Mark Loram	Exeter	9.28
Chris Manchester	Belle Vue	9.27
Jimmy Nilsen	Swindon	9.22
Lars Gunnestad	Poole	9.13
Kelvin Tatum	London	9.07
Ryan Sullivan	Peterborough	9.01

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 1996 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 58th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams and the second with the name Premier League Knockout Cup. Wolverhampton Wolves were the winners of the competition. The following season the tier one teams would compete in the Elite League Knockout Cup and the Premier League Knockout Cup would be for tier two teams.[4]

First Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
20/04	Bradford	65-31	Sheffield
18/04	Sheffield	42-54	Bradford
24/04	Hull	56-40	Middlesbrough
23/05	Middlesbrough	50-45	Hull
04/05	Swindon	51-45	Oxford
26/04	Oxford	50-46	Swindon

Second Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
20/05	Wolverhampton	56-39	Ipswich
23/05	Ipswich	53-43	Wolverhampton
24/05	Belle Vue	53-43	Cradley Heath
13/07	Cradley Heath	52-44	Belle Vue
25/05	Bradford	57-39	Edinburgh
22/05	Edinburgh	44-52	Bradford
29/05	Long Eaton	56-40	Hull
31/05	Hull	47-49	Long Eaton
26/04	Peterborough	59-37	Coventry
25/05	Coventry	40-56	Peterborough
23/05	Hackney	54-42	Reading
13/05	Reading	40-56	Hackney
20/05	Exeter	45-51	Poole
26/06	Poole	44-52	Exeter
27/05	Swindon	59-37	Eastbourne
25/05	Eastbourne	56-39	Swindon

Quarter Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
19/08	Wolverhampton	48-48	Belle Vue
23/08	Belle Vue	48-48	Wolverhampton
24/08	Bradford	62-34	Long Eaton
28/08	Long Eaton	50-45	Bradford
23/08	Peterborough	52-44	Hackney
15/08	Hackney	51-45	Peterborough
09/09	Exeter	52-44	Swindon
17/08	Swindon	48-48	Exeter
09/09	Wolverhampton	51-45	Belle Vue
13/09	Belle Vue	49-46	Wolverhampton

Semi Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
23/09	Wolverhampton	59-37	Bradford
28/09	Bradford	54-42	Wolverhampton
13/09	Peterborough	61-35	Exeter
23/09	Exeter	48-48	Peterborough

Final

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
09/10	Wolverhampton	58-38	Peterborough
18/10	Peterborough	54-42	Wolverhampton

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. "1996 league tables". Speedway GB.
3. http://www.british-speedway.co.uk/
4. "1996 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.