| League | Sky Sports Elite League |
|---|---|
| Champions | Peterborough Panthers |
| Knockout Cup | Coventry Bees |
| Craven Shield | Poole Pirates |
| Elite Shield | Coventry Bees |
| Individual | Jason Crump |
| Pairs | Belle Vue Aces |
| Highest average | Jason Crump |
| Division/s below | Premier League Conference League |
The2006 Elite League speedway season was the 72nd season of the top division ofspeedway in the United Kingdom and governed by theSpeedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with theBritish Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).[1][2]
In 2006, the league consisted of eleven teams, after the newly namedReading Bulldogs, moved up from thePremier League. The Championship was won by thePeterborough Panthers by a single race point in the play-off final.[3]
Peterborough and Reading battled each other throughout the season finishing level on points in the regular season table before Peterborough edged Reading in the Play off final. Peterborough had a strong all round squad and included Danish trio ofHans Andersen,Jesper Jensen andNiels Kristian Iversen, in addition to AustralianRyan Sullivan.[4] Reading who had come up from the division below had recruitedGreg Hancock as their main heat leader who finished 7th in the league averages which were headed once again by Australian starsJason Crump andLeigh Adams.
| Home | Away | Bonus | ||||||||||||
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | W | L | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peterborough Panthers | 40 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 1942 | 1731 | 48 | 16 | 4 | 64 |
| 2 | Reading Bulldogs | 40 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 1934 | 1756 | 51 | 13 | 7 | 64 |
| 3 | Swindon Robins | 40 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 1893 | 1786 | 47 | 14 | 6 | 61 |
| 4 | Coventry Bees | 40 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 1856 | 1835 | 47 | 11 | 9 | 58 |
| 5 | Belle Vue Aces | 40 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 1880 | 1761 | 42 | 15 | 5 | 57 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 40 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 1827 | 1840 | 42 | 10 | 10 | 52 |
| 7 | Poole Pirates | 40 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1880 | 1806 | 38 | 13 | 6 | 51 |
| 8 | Ipswich Witches | 40 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 1847 | 1837 | 38 | 8 | 12 | 46 |
| 9 | Eastbourne Eagles | 40 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1791 | 1860 | 41 | 5 | 15 | 46 |
| 10 | Oxford Cheetahs | 40 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1696 | 1989 | 24 | 2 | 18 | 26 |
| 11 | Arena Essex Hammers | 40 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1658 | 2003 | 22 | 3 | 17 | 25 |
| = Qualified for Play Off finals |
| Home \ Away | AE | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | OX | PET | PP | RB | SWI | WOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena Essex Hammers | 48–41 | 46–43 | 40–52 | 49–41 | 39–53 | 42–48 | 55–40 | 58–33 | 50–40 | 46–44 | |
| Belle Vue Aces | 46–44 | 58–37 | 48–42 | 48–42 | 56–38 | 50–40 | 53–37 | 51–39 | 55–41 | 54–39 | |
| Coventry Bees | 47–43 | 49–42 | 56–40 | 48–45 | 50–42 | 48–44 | 47–42 | 42–48 | 51–43 | 53–40 | |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 62–32 | 48–42 | 47–41 | 51–39 | 60–32 | 47–46 | 49–41 | 42–48 | 41–55 | 46–44 | |
| Ipswich Witches | 50–42 | 53–42 | 51–42 | 57–38 | 60–30 | 48–42 | 50–40 | 43–47 | 48–45 | 50–42 | |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 64–26 | 43–50 | 47–43 | 42–48 | 42–51 | 42–47 | 50–43 | 50–44 | 47–43 | 41–51 | |
| Peterborough Panthers | 56–39 | 46–44 | 62–32 | 59–33 | 55–38 | 63–31 | 48–42 | 41–52 | 55–40 | 54–38 | |
| Poole Pirates | 59–33 | 55–38 | 55–38 | 54–36 | 57–39 | 55–40 | 48–42 | 45–48 | 48–42 | 47–43 | |
| Reading Bulldogs | 50–46 | 52–43 | 41–49 | 61–34 | 50–40 | 67–28 | 39–51 | 50–40 | 46–44 | 43–47 | |
| Swindon Robins | 53–38 | 50–43 | 56–39 | 51–39 | 53–40 | 56–38 | 58–34 | 52–43 | 44–49 | 52–42 | |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 56–36 | 46–44 | 53–40 | 48–45 | 56–35 | 53–37 | 48–42 | 52–41 | 47–44 | 44–46 |
| Home \ Away | AE | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | OX | PET | PP | RB | SWI | WOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena Essex Hammers | 39–56 | 44–46 | 48–42 | 42–48 | 62–32 | 58–38 | 50–40 | 41–51 | 43–46 | 44–46 | |
| Belle Vue Aces | 51–42 | 49–41 | 44–30 | 51–39 | 53–39 | 52–43 | 42–48 | 59–34 | 43–30 | 61–35 | |
| Coventry Bees | 65–29 | 49–44 | 56–39 | 46–44 | 54–38 | 49–47 | 49–42 | 47–46 | 45–45 | 51–42 | |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 53–41 | 42–36 | 47–46 | 54–39 | 50–45 | 55–35 | 53–41 | 46–44 | 53–43 | 45–45 | |
| Ipswich Witches | 57–37 | 52–43 | 44–50 | 42–48 | 52–43 | 51–43 | 52–44 | 56–38 | 56–37 | 53–43 | |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 55–37 | 46–44 | 44–51 | 50–42 | 46–44 | 41–49 | 49–47 | 39–54 | 48–47 | 44–46 | |
| Peterborough Panthers | 62–28 | 55–39 | 49–41 | 61–32 | 50–40 | 55–34 | 47–46 | 43–49 | 53–37 | 47–42 | |
| Poole Pirates | 66–24 | 50–44 | 47–46 | 49–44 | 54–36 | 49–42 | 36–56 | 47–43 | 58–36 | 59–34 | |
| Reading Bulldogs | 60–33 | 55–40 | 44–46 | 54–41 | 57–38 | 50–42 | 51–42 | 53–41 | 57–35 | 58–37 | |
| Swindon Robins | 57–36 | 51–42 | 53–40 | 58–32 | 57–38 | 52–38 | 47–46 | 49–44 | 53–40 | 47–43 | |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 54–40 | 52–39 | 53–43 | 47–43 | 47–46 | 46–44 | 44–46 | 52–40 | 45–45 | 41–49 |
Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.
Semi-finals
Final
First leg
| Reading Bulldogs Charlie Gjedde 13 Greg Hancock 12 Janusz Kołodziej 8 Travis McGowan 6 Zdeněk Simota 6 Mark Lemon 4 R/R | 49 - 47 | Peterborough Panthers Ryan Sullivan 15 Hans N. Andersen 14 Piotr Świderski 8 Richard Hall 6 Ulrich Østergaard 3 Jesper B. Jensen 1 Niels Kristian Iversen R/R |
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| Peterborough Panthers Hans N. Andersen 14 Ryan Sullivan 12 Richard Hall 10 Niels Kristian Iversen 5 Piotr Świderski 4 Jesper B. Jensen 2 Ulrich Østergaard 1 | 48 - 45 | Reading Bulldogs Mark Lemon 12 Greg Hancock 11 Janusz Kołodziej 9 Travis McGowan 7 Charlie Gjedde 4 Zdeněk Simota 2 R/R |
|---|---|---|
The Peterborough Panthers were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate95-94.
The 2006 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 68th edition of theKnockout Cup for tier one teams.Coventry Bees were the winners of the competition.[7]
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/04 | Swindon | 40-50 | Reading |
| 10/04 | Reading | 47-43 | Swindon |
| 06/04 | Peterborough | 57-37 | Arena Essex |
| 03/04 | Wolverhampton | 54-40 | Oxford |
| 31/03 | Arena Essex | 59-35 | Peterborough |
| 29/03 | Oxford | 43-47 | Wolverhampton |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/07 | Belle Vue | 56-38 | Arena Essex |
| 07/07 | Arena Essex | 44-46 | Belle Vue |
| 07/07 | Coventry | 56-40 | Ipswich |
| 07/07 | Reading | 51-42 | Poole |
| 05/07 | Poole | 58-34 | Reading |
| 03/07 | Wolverhampton | 41-51 | Eastbourne |
| 01/07 | Eastbourne | 55-38 | Wolverhampton |
| 01/06 | Ipswich | 48-42 | Coventry |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29/09 | Coventry | 61-31 | Eastbourne |
| 28/09 | Poole | 43-34 | Belle Vue |
| 16/09 | Eastbourne | 46-44 | Coventry |
| 11/09 | Belle Vue | 53-41 | Poole |
First leg
| Belle Vue Aces Jason Crump 14 Kenneth Bjerre 9 Simon Stead 9 Phil Morris 7 Tom P. Madsen 3 James Wright 3 R/R | 45 - 45 | Coventry Bees Scott Nicholls 13 Martin Smolinski 8 Rory Schlein 8 Chris Harris7 Emil Kramer 3 Billy Janniro 2 Oliver Allen 2 |
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| Coventry Bees Chris Harris 12 Scott Nicholls 9 Martin Smolinski 9 Rory Schlein 8 Troy Batchelor 8 Billy Janniro]5 Oliver Allen 5 | 56 - 40 | Belle Vue Aces Jason Crump 15 Simon Stead 12 Davey Watt 5 James Wright 4 Phil Morris 1 Joel Parsons 1 R/R |
|---|---|---|
The Coventry Bees were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate101-85.
Jason Crump won theRiders' Championship for the third time. The final was held atWimborne Road on 1 October.[8]
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33333 | 15 | x | 3 | |
| 2 | 32332 | 13 | x | 2 | |
| 3 | 22323 | 12 | 3 | 1 | |
| 4 | 23122 | 10 | 2 | 0 | |
| 5 | 11313 | 9 | 1 | ||
| 6 | 30222 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 7 | 03230 | 8 | |||
| 8 | 12113 | 8 | |||
| 9 | 22111 | 7 | |||
| 10 | 11221 | 7 | |||
| 11 | 00032 | 5 | |||
| 12 | 031- - | 4 | |||
| 13 | 30001 | 4 | |||
| 14 | 01210 | 4 | |||
| 15 | 21 - - - | 3 | |||
| 16 | 10001 | 2 | |||
| 17 | 0000 | 0 |
TheElite League Pairs Championship was held at theAbbey Stadium on 4 June and was won by Belle Vue Aces.[9]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Final
| Rider | Team | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Belle Vue | 11.21 | |
| Swindon | 10.47 | |
| Peterborough | 10.40 | |
| Wolverhampton | 9.94 | |
| Eastbourne | 9.92 | |
| Poole | 9.39 | |
| Reading | 9.28 | |
| Coventry | 9.05 | |
| Ipswich | 8.92 | |
| Peterborough | 8.76 |
Arena Essex
Belle Vue
Coventry
Eastbourne
Ipswich
Oxford
Peterborough
Poole
Reading
Swindon
Wolverhampton