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2002 Elite League speedway season

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British motorcycle speedway season

2002 Elite League speedway season
League	Sky Sports Elite League
Champions	Wolverhampton Wolves
Knockout Cup	Eastbourne Eagles
Craven Shield	Poole Pirates
Riders Championship	Tony Rickardsson
Highest average	Tony Rickardsson
Division/s below	Premier League Conference League
←2001 2003 →

The2002 Elite League speedway season was the 68th season of the top division ofspeedway in theUnited Kingdom and in 2002 was governed by theSpeedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with theBritish Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).^[1] It was the first time that playoffs were introduced to determine the champions.^[2]

Season summary

[edit]

In 2002, the league consisted of nine teams. 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. The next four met in quarter and semi final rounds. The winner of these rounds qualified for the final.^[3]

Eastbourne Eagles topped the regular season table but were defeated byWolverhampton Wolves for the league title when losing the play off final. It was Wolves third title success in 11 years and the Swedish Karlsson brothers,Peter Karlsson andMikael Karlsson were once again integral to the Wolves team throughout the season.^[4] Eastbourne's season was not a total loss because they beat Peterborough in the final of theKnockout Cup thanks to efforts from their English rider contingent ofMark Loram,Joe Screen andDean Barker.

Tony Rickardsson became World Champion for the fifth time during the season, topped the league averages, won theElite League Riders' Championship and helped his club Poole win theCraven Shield.^[5]

League

[edit]

Final table

[edit]

Pos		M	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Bon	Tot
1	Eastbourne Eagles	32	20	3	9	1562	1316	43	15	58
2	Wolverhampton Wolves	32	20	2	10	1549	1311	42	12	54
3	Coventry Bees	32	19	3	10	1492	1383	41	9	50
4	Poole Pirates	32	17	1	14	1455	1406	35	11	46
5	Peterborough Panthers	31	15	0	16	1394	1395	30	6	36
6	Oxford Cheetahs	31	14	2	15	1369	1407	30	5	35
7	Ipswich Witches	32	11	3	18	1375	1494	25	6	31
8	Belle Vue Aces	32	11	3	18	1379	1484	25	4	29
9	King's Lynn Silver Machine	32	7	1	24	1247	1626	15	3	18

_{Peterborough v Oxford not held.}

	= Qualified for Play Off final
	= Qualified for Play Offs

'A' Fixtures

[edit]

Home \ Away	BV	COV	EAS	IPS	KL	OX	PET	PP	WOL
Belle Vue Aces		44–46	42–48	53–37	48–42	45–45	53–37	48–42	45–45
Coventry Bees	49–40		43–47	42–48	60–30	48–42	54–35	51–39	47–43
Eastbourne Eagles	60–30	44–45		55–35	58–32	48–42	64–26	60–30	56–34
Ipswich Witches	37–52	52–38	45–44		49–35	40–51	46–44	45–45	41–49
King's Lynn Silver Machine	43–47	32–48	37–53	47–42		55–35	51–41	49–41	39–51
Oxford Cheetahs	47–43	44–46	43–47	48–42	47–43		38–52	46–44	46–44
Peterborough Panthers	46–43	46–44	44–46	59–31	64–26	45–44		47–43	49–41
Poole Pirates	52–38	50–40	47–44	51–39	49–41	50–40	55–35		48–42
Wolverhampton Wolves	55–35	53–37	47–43	58–31	59–31	43–47	51–39	48–24

Source:^[6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

'B' Fixtures

[edit]

Home \ Away	BV	COV	EAS	IPS	KL	OX	PET	PP	WOL
Belle Vue Aces		38–51	45–45	49–41	59–31	42–36	47–43	47–43	41–49
Coventry Bees	49–41		45–45	49–41	62–28	51–39	51–39	40–50	47–43
Eastbourne Eagles	50–40	45–45		44–46	58–32	51–38	54–36	49–41	51–39
Ipswich Witches	49–41	56–34	43–47		45–45	47–43	457–33	50–40	39–50
King's Lynn Silver Machine	59–31	37–52	44–46	50–40		49–41	42–48	40–50	42–47
Oxford Cheetahs	47–42	46–44	51–39	45–45	52–38		47–43	54–36	50–40
Peterborough Panthers	52–38	58–32	50–40	48–42	65–25	n/a		41–49	55–35
Poole Pirates	52–38	43–47	52–38	50–39	60–29	53–37	46–44		44–46
Wolverhampton Wolves	56–34	45–45	47–43	55–35	67–23	52–38	60–30	54–36

Source:^[6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-offs

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

Quarter-finals

Wolverhampton Wolves 50-39 Peterborough Panthers
Coventry Bees 59-31 Poole Pirates

Semi-finals

Wolverhampton Wolves 51-39 Coventry Bees

Final

[edit]

First leg

25 September 2002

Wolverhampton Wolves Mikael Karlsson 13 Peter Karlsson 12 Paul Hurry 9 Jesper B. Jensen 5 David Howe 5 Chris Neath 3 Adam Skórnicki 2	49 - 41	Eastbourne Eagles Mark Loram 10 Stefan Andersson 10 Joe Screen 9 David Norris 8 Dean Barker 2 Savalas Clouting 2 Adam Shields 0
	^[7]

Monmore Green Stadium

Second leg

2 October 2002

Eastbourne Eagles Mark Loram 12 Billy Janniro 12 Dean Barker 6 Stefan Andersson 5 Joe Screen 5 David Norris 4 Edward Kennett 2	46 - 44	Wolverhampton Wolves Mikael Karlsson 14 Peter Karlsson 10 David Howe 8 Adam Skórnicki 6 Jesper B. Jensen 3 Chris Neath 3 Paul Hurry 0

Arlington Stadium

The Wolverhampton Wolves were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate93-87.

Elite League Knockout Cup

[edit]

The 2002 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 64th edition of theKnockout Cup for tier one teams.Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.^[8]

First round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
08/04	Wolverhampton	57-33	Poole
03/04	Poole	45-45	Wolverhampton

Quarter-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
27/05	Reading	47-43	Arena Essex
29/04	Wolverhampton	61-29	Oxford
27/04	Coventry	36-35	Kings Lynn
26/04	Oxford	45-45	Wolverhampton
24/04	Kings Lynn	42-48	Coventry
22/04	Belle Vue	51-39	Peterborough
20/04	Eastbourne	54-36	Ipswich
19/04	Peterborough	59-31	Belle Vue
18/04	Ipswich	39-51	Eastbourne

Semi-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
01/07	Wolverhampton	40-49	Eastbourne
29/06	Coventry	49-41	Peterborough
29/06	Eastbourne	52-38	Wolverhampton
28/06	Peterborough	50-40	Coventry

Final

[edit]

First leg

21 September 2002

Eastbourne Eagles David Norris 14 Mark Loram 14 Dean Barker 8 Adam Shields 7 Stefan Andersson 6 Joe Screen 5 Savalas Clouting 1	55 - 35	Peterborough Panthers Lee Richardson (guest) 13 Mark Lemon (guest) 9 Zdeněk Tesař 9 Shane Parker 3 Chris Harris 1 Jason King 0 R/R

Arlington Stadium

Second leg

9 October 2002

Peterborough Panthers Ryan Sullivan 15 Shane Parker 10 Magnus Zetterström 8 Chris Harris 6 Piotr Protasiewicz 6 Simon Stead 5 Zdeněk Tesař 1	51 - 39	Eastbourne Eagles Mark Loram 9 Joe Screen 9 Dean Barker 9 Steve Johnston 7 Adam Shields 3 Stefan Andersson 2 Paul Lee 0

East of England Showground

The Eastbourne Eagles were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate94-86.

Craven Shield

[edit]

Anglia

Pos	Team	M	W	D	L	Pts
1	Ipswich	4	3	0	1	6
2	Peterbrorough	4	2	0	2	4
3	King's Lynn	4	1	0	3	2

Midland

Pos	Team	M	W	D	L	Pts
1	Coventry	4	3	0	1	6
2	Belle Vue	2	1	0	1	2
3	Wolverhampton	2	0	0	2	0

South

Pos	Team	M	W	D	L	Pts
1	Poole	4	2	0	2	4
2	Eastbourne	4	2	0	2	4
3	Oxford	4	2	0	2	4

Home \ Away	IPS	KL	PET
Ipswich		46–44	47–43
King's Lynn	44–46		47–43
Peterborough	51–39	57–33

Source:^[9]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Home \ Away	BV	COV	WOL
Belle Vue		49–40	n–h
Coventry	51–39		51–39
Wolverhampton	n–h	41–51

Source:^[10]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Home \ Away	EAS	OX	PP
Eastbourne		52–38	49–41
Oxford	46–44		46–44
Poole	49–41	54–36

Source:^[11]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final

Leg	Team one	Team two	Team three	Score
1	Poole	Coventry	Ipswich	44–32–32
2	Ipswich	Coventry	Poole	45–33–30
3	Coventry	Poole	Ipswich	36–40–32

Riders' Championship

[edit]

Tony Rickardsson won theRiders' Championship for the second time. The final was held atWimborne Road on 21 August.^[12]

Pos.	Rider	Pts	Total	SF	Final
1	Tony Rickardsson	13333	13	x	3
2	Nicki Pedersen	33332	14	x	2
3	Jason Crump	33310	10	2	1
4	Craig Boyce	12323	11	3	0
5	Mikael Karlsson	33231	12	1
6	Ryan Sullivan	32133	12	0
7	Peter Karlsson	22222	10
8	Joe Screen	22120	7
9	Scott Nicholls	21013	7
10	Sebastian Ułamek	11022	6
11	Stuart Robson	10112	5
12	Mark Loram	20201	5
13	Gary Havelock	00211	4
14	Davey Watt	01101	3
15	Jason Lyons	010	1
16	Alun Rossiter	00000	0

Leading final averages

[edit]

Rider	Team	Average
Tony Rickardsson	Poole	10.88
Jason Crump	Belle Vue	10.44
Ryan Sullivan	Peterborough	10.34
Leigh Adams	Oxford	10.10
Mikael Karlsson	Wolverhampton	9.93
Scott Nicholls	Ipswich	9.76
Mark Loram	Eastbourne	9.56
Andreas Jonsson	Coventry	9.39
Peter Karlsson	Wolverhampton	9.23
Lee Richardson	Coventry	8.97

Riders & final averages

[edit]

Belle Vue

Coventry

Eastbourne

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Oxford

Peterborough

Poole

Wolverhampton

References

[edit]

^"Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
^"HISTORY ARCHIVE".British Speedway. Retrieved4 July 2021.
^"2002 league tables". Speedway GB.
^"Speedway riders, history and results".wwosbackup. Retrieved1 August 2021.
^"Tony Rickardsson".wwosbackup. Retrieved1 August 2021.
^^a ^b"2002 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved2 June 2024.
^"Speedway".Wolverhampton Express and Star. 26 September 2002. Retrieved6 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"2002 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
^"2002 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved5 November 2025.
^"2002 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved4 November 2025.
^"2002 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved5 November 2025.
^"Rickardsson roars to create Poole history".Dorest Echo. Retrieved8 June 2023.

v t e Speedway in the United Kingdom
Current leagues	SGB Premiership SGB Championship National Development League List of champions
Former leagues	Elite League Premier League National League (1932–1964) Provincial League (1960–1964) British League British League Division Two/National League Conference League National League Division Two National League Division Three English Dirt Track League/Northern League Southern League (1929–1931) Southern League (1952–1953) Provincial League (1936–1937) Southern Area League
Current team competitions	Knockout Cup League Pairs champions League Fours champions
Former team competitions	London Cup Midland Cup Craven and Young Shields Premiership Shield
Current individual competitions	British Speedway Championship League Riders' champions British U-21 British U-19 Scottish Open
Former individual competitions	London Riders' Midland Riders' Northern Riders' Southern Riders' Olympique Internationale
See also	Speedway British Speedway Promoters' Association Speedway Control Bureau

v t e United Kingdom Speedway Seasons
Tier One League Top division	1929 1929 1930 1930 1931 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Tier Two League Second division	1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Tier Three League Third division	1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1994 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Champions	League champions Cup winners

v t e Elite League
Teams	Belle Vue Aces Birmingham Brummies Bradford Dukes Coventry Bees Eastbourne Eagles Hull Vikings Ipswich Witches King's Lynn Stars Lakeside Hammers Leicester Lions Oxford Cheetahs Peterborough Panthers Poole Pirates Reading Bulldogs Rye House Rockets Somerset Rebels Swindon Robins Wolverhampton Wolves
Seasons	1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Domestic cups	Elite League Knockout Cup Craven Shield Elite Shield Elite League Riders' Championship Elite League Pairs Championship