2003 Elite League speedway season

2003 Elite League speedway season
LeagueSky Sports Elite League
ChampionsPoole Pirates
Knockout CupPoole Pirates
Riders ChampionshipLee Richardson
Highest averageJason Crump
Division/s belowPremier League
Conference League

The 2003 Elite League speedway season was the 69th season of 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][3]

Season summary

In 2003, the league decreased to eight teams, after the King's Lynn dropped to the Premier League and reverted back to their traditional name of Stars. They also lost the promotion of Nigel Wagstaff who took over at Oxford, which resulted in Oxford Cheetahs taking over the Silver Machine name from King's Lynn. King's Lynn's leading riders Nicki Pedersen and Sebastian Ułamek also switched to Oxford. Freddie Eriksson went to Ipswich. Oxford also brought in former World Champion Greg Hancock from Coventry but lost Leigh Adams and Lukáš Dryml to Poole.[4]

Poole's decision to recruit Adams and Dryml was instrumental because they went on to claim the title. Adams finished top of the league averages and he was backed up by their five time World Champion Tony Rickardsson and the vastly improved form of Magnus Zetterström. Poole went on to complete the double by winning the Knockout Cup.[5][6]

[7]

Final table

Pos M W D L F A Pts Bon Tot
1 Poole Pirates 28 20 1 7 1335 1182 41 11 52
2 Coventry Bees 28 17 0 11 1295 1224 34 9 43
3 Peterborough Panthers 28 16 0 12 1325 1195 32 8 40
4 Oxford Silver Machine 28 16 0 12 1295 1224 32 8 40
5 Wolverhampton Wolves 28 14 1 13 1248 1265 29 6 35
6 Eastbourne Eagles 28 12 1 15 1261 1250 25 7 32
7 Belle Vue Aces 28 9 1 18 1219 1298 19 5 24
8 Ipswich Witches 28 6 0 22 1088 1428 12 0 12
= Qualified for Play Offs

'A' Fixtures

Home \ Away BV COV EAS IPS OX PET PP WOL
Belle Vue Aces 43–47 41–49 56–34 44–46 42–48 45–44 49–41
Coventry Bees 50–40 48–42 48–42 49–41 51–39 43–47 49–41
Eastbourne Eagles 47–43 47–43 50–40 47–43 55–35 43–46 47–42
Ipswich Witches 47–43 36–54 49–41 39–51 42–47 40–50 47–43
Oxford Silver Machine 51–39 46–44 47–43 51–38 48–42 41–49 58–32
Peterborough Panthers 53–37 43–47 52–38 62–28 59–31 47–43 53–37
Poole Pirates 54–36 43–47 60–30 49–40 51–39 46–44 58–32
Wolverhampton Wolves 48–42 51–39 48–42 49–41 53–37 53–37 45–45
Source: [8]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

'B' Fixtures

Home \ Away BV COV EAS IPS OX PET PP WOL
Belle Vue Aces 47–43 45–45 51–37 49–41 47–43 47–43 51–39
Coventry Bees 48–42 51–38 54–36 47–43 52–38 43–47 49–41
Eastbourne Eagles 56–34 44–46 54–36 52–38 61–29 43–47 46–38
Ipswich Witches 46–44 46–44 47–43 41–49 33–57 39–51 40–50
Oxford Silver Machine 52–38 52–38 46–44 58–32 46–44 62–28 62–28
Peterborough Panthers 53–37 48–42 56–34 62–28 54–36 48–42 58–32
Poole Pirates 46–44 52–38 47–43 57–33 46–44 53–37 47–43
Wolverhampton Wolves 47–43 49–41 53–37 60–30 54–36 53–37 46–44
Source: [8]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-offs

Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.

Semi-finals

  • Poole Pirates 48-42 Oxford Silver Machine
  • Coventry Bees 60-30 Peterborough Panthers

Final

First leg

Coventry Bees
Andreas Jonsson 15
Lee Richardson 7
Jason Bunyan 7
Billy Hamill 6
Billy Janniro 4
Robson 4
Ryan Fisher 1		44 - 45Poole Pirates
Tony Rickardsson 11
Todd Wiltshire 9
Leigh Adams 7
Bjarne Pedersen 6
Aleš Dryml Jr. 4
Davey Watt 4
Antonio Lindbäck 4

Second leg

Poole Pirates
Aleš Dryml Jr. 14
Tony Rickardsson 13
Leigh Adams 11
Mark Loram 8
Bjarne Pedersen 5
Antonio Lindbäck 4
Davey Watt 0		55 - 35Coventry Bees
Andreas Jonsson 13
Ryan Fisher 6
Billy Janniro 6
Lee Richardson 4
Joe Screen 3
Robson 2
Jason Bunyan 1

The Poole Pirates were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 100-79.

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2003 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 65th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Poole Pirates were the winners of the competition.[9]

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
23/05 Peterborough 52-38 Coventry
09/05 Oxford 55-35 Ipswich
05/05 Ipswich 41-49 Oxford
21/04 Coventry 52-38 Peterborough
21/04 Wolverhampton 57-33 Belle Vue
18/04 Belle Vue 49-41 Wolverhampton
18/04 Eastbourne 40-32 Poole
18/04 Poole 56-34 Eastbourne
10/09
(replay)		 Peterborough 44-46 Coventry
03/09
(replay)		 Coventry 61-29 Peterborough

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
11/10 Coventry 50-40 Wolverhampton
10/10 Oxford 46-44 Poole
08/10 Wolverhampton 48-41 Coventry
15/09 Poole 56-34 Oxford

Final

First leg

Poole Pirates
Tony Rickardsson 13
Leigh Adams 12
Mark Loram 8
Aleš Dryml Jr. 5
Bjarne Pedersen 3
Garry Stead 3
Antonio Lindbäck 2		46 - 42Coventry Bees
Billy Janniro 14
Lee Richardson 10
Ryan Fisher 8
Andreas Jonsson 7
Jason Bunyan 2
Stuart Robson 1
Billy Hamill R/R

Second leg

Coventry Bees
Andreas Jonsson 12
Ryan Fisher 10
Lee Richardson 7
Mikael Max (guest) 7
Billy Janniro 7
Jason Bunyan 2
Stuart Robson 1		46 - 44Poole Pirates
Leigh Adams 12
Tony Rickardsson 12
Bjarne Pedersen 8
Mark Loram 6
Garry Stead 3
Aleš Dryml Jr. 2
Antonio Lindbäck 1

The Poole Pirates were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 90-88.

Riders' Championship

Lee Richardson won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Brandon Stadium on 18 October.[10]

Pos. Rider Pts Total SF Final
1 England Lee Richardson 2 3 2 2 2 11 2 3
2 Sweden Andreas Jonsson 3 0 3 3 1 10 3 2
3 England Scott Nicholls 3 0 3 3 2 11 x 1
4 Australia Jason Crump 2 3 2 3 3 13 x ret
5 United States Billy Janniro 2 3 2 2 1 10 1
6 England Dean Barker 3 2 3 3 0 11 0
7 England Mark Loram 3 1 1 0 3 8
8 Australia Todd Wiltshire 1 2 1 1 2 7
9 Sweden Tony Rickardsson 0 2 3 1 0 6
10 Sweden Mikael Max 1 3 0 2 0 6
11 Australia Leigh Adams 2 2 1 0 1 6
12 Sweden Peter Karlsson 0 1 0 1 3 5
13 Denmark Charlie Gjedde 0 1 2 2 0 5
14 England Joe Screen 1 1 0 0 2 4
15 Australia Jason Lyons 1 0 0 1 1 3
16 England David Norris 0 0 1 0 1
17 England Chris Harris (res) 3 3
  • r-retired

Leading final averages

Rider Team Average
Australia Jason Crump Belle Vue 10.79
Australia Leigh Adams Poole 10.14
Sweden Magnus Zetterström Poole 10.07
Sweden Tony Rickardsson Poole 9.64
England Scott Nicholls Ipswich 9.41
Denmark Nicki Pedersen Oxford 9.33
Sweden Mikael Max Wolverhampton 9.28
United States Greg Hancock Oxford 9.28
Australia Ryan Sullivan Peterborough 9.23
United States Billy Hamill Coventry 9.23

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Coventry

Eastbourne

Ipswich

Oxford

Peterborough

Poole

Wolverhampton

See also

References

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "2003 league tables". Speedway GB.
  3. ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. ^ Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The Story of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. 175–177. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
  5. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  6. ^ "DRYML BOYS PLAY PART IN 2003 TITLE SUCCESS". Poole Speedway. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  7. ^ Bamford, Robert (2005). Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2005. NPI Media Group. ISBN 0-7524-3396-2.
  8. ^ a b "2003 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  9. ^ "2003 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  10. ^ "Richardson claims ELRC". Crash.net. Retrieved 9 June 2023.