2000 Elite League speedway season

The 2000 Elite League speedway season was the 66th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was the fourth known as the Elite League and was governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).[1]

2000 Elite League speedway season
LeagueSky Sports Elite League
ChampionsEastbourne Eagles
Knockout CupKing's Lynn Knights
Craven ShieldCoventry Bees
Riders ChampionshipRyan Sullivan
Highest averageLeigh Adams
Division/s belowPremier League
Conference League

Season summary

In 2000, the league decreased to nine teams with the Hull Vikings dropping back down to the Premier League after just one season. The league operated on a standard format without play-offs.[2]

Eastbourne Eagles claimed the millennium season league title but only finished two points clear of King's Lynn Knights. Martin Dugard topped scored for the Eagles but was well supported by their new signing Joe Screen from Hull Vikings. Three other English riders finished with averages in excess of 7 which was the crucial difference during the season. They were David Norris, Paul Hurry and Dean Barker. The King's Lynn Australian pairing of Leigh Adams and Jason Crump topped the league averages but did not have the back up that Eastbourne relied on. King's Lynn gained consolation when winning the Knockout Cup.[3]

Final table
Pos M W D L F A Pts Bon Tot
1 Eastbourne Eagles 32 24 1 7 1544 1322 49 13 62
2 King's Lynn Knights 32 22 2 8 1564 1321 46 14 60
3 Ipswich Witches 32 16 3 13 1456 1409 35 11 46
4 Coventry Bees 32 16 3 13 1442 1427 35 8 43
5 Poole Pirates 30 14 4 14 1437 1426 32 8 40
6 Wolverhampton Wolves 32 15 3 14 1396 1467 33 6 39
7 Peterborough Panthers 32 11 2 19 1431 1425 24 7 31
8 Oxford Cheetahs 31 9 1 21 1296 1477 19 3 22
9 Belle Vue Aces 31 5 3 23 1248 1540 13 1 14

Oxford v Belle Vue not held.

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2000 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the 62nd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. King's Lynn Stars were the winners of the competition.[4]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
12/05Oxford45-45Poole
10/05Poole47-43Oxford

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
04/09Belle Vue40-44Coventry
02/08King's Lynn52-38Ipswich
09/06Peterborough52-38Poole
26/06Wolverhampton51-39Eastbourne
24/06Eastbourne44-46Wolverhampton
27/05Coventry49-41Belle Vue
25/05Ipswich48-42King's Lynn
10/05Poole47-43Peterborough

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
19/10King's Lynn63-27Wolverhampton
18/10Wolverhampton43-47King's Lynn
14/10Coventry47-43Peterborough
13/10Peterborough47-43Coventry
22/10
(replay)		Peterborough46-44Coventry
17/10
(replay)		Coventry45-45Peterborough

Final

First leg

King's Lynn Knights
Leigh Adams 14
Jason Crump 11
John Cook 11
Craig Boyce 8
Tom P. Madsen 6
Steve Masters 5
Travis McGowan 4		58 - 32Coventry Bees
Lee Richardson 11
Greg Hancock 10
Billy Hamill 9
Scott Robson 2
Shaun Tacey 0
Stuart Robson 0
John Jørgensen 0
[5]

Second leg

Coventry Bees
Billy Hamill 11
Greg Hancock 10
Scott Robson 9
Lee Richardson 6
Shaun Tacey 6
Stuart Robson 6
John Jørgensen R/R		48 - 42King's Lynn Knights
Leigh Adams 11
Jason Crump 8
John Cook 9
Craig Boyce 7
Tom P. Madsen 3
Steve Masters 2
Travis McGowan 2
[5]

King's Lynn Knights were declared Knockout Cup Champions, on aggregate score 100-80.

Riders' Championship

Ryan Sullivan won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at the Brandon Stadium on 21 October.[6]

Pos.RiderPtsTotalSFFinal
1Australia Ryan Sullivan1 3 3 3 212x3
2United States Greg Hancock3 3 2 2 212x2
3Denmark Nicki Pedersen2 3 0 3 1931
4England Scott Nicholls0 2 3 3 21020
5England Chris Louis0 1 2 3 391
6Australia Todd Wiltshire3 3 0 2 190
7England Mark Loram3 1 1 1 39
8Australia Jason Crump2 2 0 2 39
9United States Billy Hamill2 2 3 2 09
10Sweden Peter Karlsson3 0 1 1 38
11England Paul Hurry2 1 2 1 17
12United States Sam Ermolenko1 0 3 1 16
13Australia Leigh Adams1 1 1 0 25
14Australia Shane Parker1 0 2 0 03
15England David Norris1 0 2 0 03
16England Matt Cambridge (res)0 0 00
17England Carl Downs (res)00

Leading final averages
Rider Team Average
Australia Leigh AdamsKings Lynn10.17
Australia Jason CrumpKings Lynn10.15
England Mark LoramPoole10.10
England Martin DugardEastbourne9.67
England Chris LouisIpswich9.57
Poland Tomasz GollobIpswich9.52
Australia Ryan SullivanPeterborough9.18
United States Greg HancockCoventry9.00
England Joe ScreenEastbourne8.82
United States Billy HamillCoventry8.77

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Coventry

Eastbourne

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Oxford

Peterborough

Poole

Wolverhampton

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "2000 league tables". Speedway GB.
  3. "Eastbourne". wwosbackup. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  4. "2000 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  5. "Coventry Bees 2000 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  6. "2000 Elite League Riders Championship". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
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