2004 Elite League speedway season
The Elite League is the top division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).[1][2]
League | Sky Sports Elite League |
---|---|
Season | 2004 |
Champions | Poole Pirates |
Knockout Cup | Poole Pirates |
Pairs Championship | Swindon Robins |
Craven Shield | Hull Vikings |
Elite League Riders Championship | Bjarne Pedersen |
Division/s below | Premier League Conference League |
Season summary
In 2004, the league increased to ten teams, with the Arena Essex Hammers and the Swindon Robins moving up from the Premier League. The title was decided by a play-off between the top five teams. The team that finished top of the table were seeded directly to the final and the next four met in quarter and semi final rounds. The winner of these rounds qualified for the final.[3]
Final table
M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Bon | Tot | |
Poole Pirates | 36 | 23 | 2 | 11 | 1721 | 1603 | 48 | 13 | 61 |
Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 21 | 0 | 15 | 1729 | 1586 | 42 | 16 | 58 |
Ipswich Witches | 36 | 21 | 0 | 15 | 1701 | 1626 | 42 | 11 | 53 |
Eastbourne Eagles | 36 | 18 | 3 | 15 | 1699 | 1632 | 39 | 11 | 50 |
Oxford Silver Machine | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 1679 | 1672 | 38 | 10 | 48 |
Swindon Robins | 36 | 18 | 3 | 15 | 1657 | 1667 | 39 | 6 | 45 |
Belle Vue Aces | 35 | 17 | 0 | 18 | 1630 | 1597 | 34 | 9 | 43 |
Arena Essex Hammers | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 1651 | 1679 | 32 | 8 | 40 |
Peterborough Panthers | 35 | 12 | 2 | 21 | 1514 | 1722 | 23 | 3 | 26 |
Coventry Bees | 36 | 9 | 0 | 27 | 1565 | 1762 | 18 | 3 | 21 |
* Belle Vue v Peterborough not held
Play-offs
Quarter-Final and Semi-Final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
- Wolverhampton Wolves 45-45 Ipswich Witches (Mikael Max beat Hans Andersen in run-off)
Final
First leg:
Second leg:
Poole won the championship with an aggregate score of 112-71.
Leading averages
Rider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
Tony Rickardsson | Poole | 10.89 |
Leigh Adams | Swindon | 10.83 |
Jason Crump | Belle Vue | 10.67 |
David Norris | Eastbourne | 9.95 |
Mark Loram | Arena Essex | 9.87 |
Greg Hancock | Oxford | 9.83 |
Nicki Pedersen | Eastbourne | 9.48 |
Mikael Max | Wolverhampton | 9.39 |
Scott Nicholls | Ipswich | 9.33 |
Andreas Jonsson | Coventry | 9.07 |
Elite League Knockout Cup
The 2004 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 66th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Poole Pirates were the winners of the competition.[4]
First Round
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
01/04 | Coventry | 42-54 | Belle Vue |
06/05 | Swindon | 56-38 | Wolverhampton |
22/03 | Wolverhampton | 50-43 | Swindon |
Quarter Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
23/09 | Swindon | 48-42 | Belle Vue |
11/09 | Eastbourne | 46-48 | Ipswich |
12/05 | Kings Lynn | 56-39 | Isle Of Wight |
06/05 | Swindon | 56-38 | Wolverhampton |
07/04 | Arena Essex | 48-46 | Oxford |
02/04 | Peterborough | 44-46 | Poole |
01/04 | Coventry | 42-54 | Belle Vue |
26/03 | Oxford | 47-46 | Arena Essex |
25/03 | Ipswich | 51-42 | Eastbourne |
24/03 | Poole | 58-37 | Peterborough |
Semi Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
07/10 | Ipswich | 51-42 | Arena Essex |
07/10 | Swindon | 53-40 | Poole |
06/10 | Arena Essex | 43-46 | Ipswich |
06/10 | Poole | 61-30 | Swindon |
Final
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
31/10 | Poole | 57-39 | Ipswich |
21/10 | Ipswich | 48-42 | Poole |
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- "2004 league tables". Speedway GB.
- Bamford, Robert (2005). Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2005. NPI Media Group. ISBN 0-7524-3396-2.
- "2004 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
External links
- british-speedway.co.uk - Official league tables