1995 Premier League speedway season
LeaguePremier League
ChampionsEastbourne Eagles
Knockout CupBradford Dukes
IndividualGary Havelock
FoursCradley Heathens
Highest averageBilly Hamill
Division/s below1995 Academy League

The 1995 Premier League season was the 61st season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was also the first for the new league, and the first of two seasons in which British speedway was competed as a single division.[1]

Summary

The gulf in quality of teams was highlighted because of the merging of the two leagues, with Eastbourne Eagles winning the title 56 points clear of bottom club Exeter Falcons.[2] Eastbourne had been an easy runner-up the previous year to runaway winners Poole Pirates and retained four of their riders Martin Dugard, Dean Barker, Stefan Dannö and Stefan Andersson, which provided enough firepower to seal the Championship. Poole finished mid-table but were missing Craig Boyce who had switched to Swindon Robins.[3]

Bradford Dukes won their fourth Knockout Cup in the last five years. Former World Champion Gary Havelock guided Bradford to the Cup success and also picked up the Premier League Riders Championship.[4]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L BP Pts
1 Eastbourne Eagles 40 28 3 9 18 77
2 Bradford Dukes 40 25 2 13 17 69
3 Cradley Heath Heathens 40 25 1 14 17 68
4 Peterborough Panthers 40 25 0 15 12 62
5 Wolverhampton Wolves 40 23 0 17 14 60
6 Ipswich Witches 40 23 0 17 13 59
7 Glasgow Tigers 40 21 1 18 14 57
8 Belle Vue Aces 40 20 1 19 14 55
9 Edinburgh Monarchs 40 20 4 16 10 54
10 Arena Essex Hammers 40 21 0 19 10 52
11 Swindon Robins 40 20 3 17 9 52
12 Poole Pirates 40 18 2 20 9 47
13 Reading Racers 40 17 4 19 9 47
14 Sheffield Tigers 40 19 0 21 9 47
15 Coventry Bees 40 17 1 22 8 43
16 Hull Vikings 40 17 2 21 4 40
17 Oxford Cheetahs 40 16 1 23 6 39
18 Long Eaton Invaders 40 14 4 22 7 39
19 King's Lynn Stars 40 14 4 22 6 38
20 Middlesbrough Bears 40 10 2 28 2 24
21 Exeter Falcons 40 8 3 29 2 21

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points


Premier League Knockout Cup

The 1995 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the 57th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams but the first to be known as the Premier League Knockout Cup. Bradford Dukes were the winners of the competition.[5]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
21/04Peterborough64-42Ipswich
20/04Ipswich65-44Peterborough
22/04Eastbourne52-54Arena Essex
21/04Arena Essex56-53Eastbourne
23/04Glasgow63-43Middlesbrough
27/04Middlesbrough43-64Glasgow
18/05Sheffield63-43Long Eaton
19/04Long Eaton54-52Sheffield
21/04Oxford72-36Poole
19/04Poole54-51Oxford

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
20/07Ipswich52-56Reading
17/07Reading46-59Ipswich
15/07Bradford70-38Wolverhampton
05/07Kings Lynn55-53Coventry
17/06Coventry65-43Kings Lynn
14/06Cradley Heath59-53Glasgow
09/06Edinburgh46-61Hull
05/06Exeter47-57Swindon
05/06Wolverhampton58-46Bradford
04/06Glasgow54-53Cradley Heath
03/06Swindon55-50Exeter
31/05Hull59-49Edinburgh
02/06Belle Vue68-36Sheffield
01/06Sheffield61-46Belle Vue
02/06Arena Essex58-48Oxford
29/05Oxford58.5-47.5Arena Essex

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
10/08Ipswich57-50Coventry
05/08Bradford72-35Hull
26/07Coventry58-49Ipswich
26/07Hull54-41Bradford
22/07Cradley Heath61-47Oxford
22/07Swindon57-50Belle Vue
21/07Belle Vue68-38Swindon
21/07Oxford54-52Cradley Heath

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
13/09Coventry52-55Bradford
02/09Bradford58-50Coventry
19/08Cradley Heath49-57Belle Vue
18/08Belle Vue59-48Cradley Heath

Final

First leg

Second leg

Bradford Dukes were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 111-97.

Riders' Championship

Gary Havelock won the Premier League Riders Championship. It was held at Abbey Stadium, Swindon on 14 October.[6]

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotalSFFinal
1England Gary Havelock3 2 3 210x3
2United States Billy Hamill0 3 3 3932
3Australia Jason Crump3 3 3 211x1
4Australia Leigh Adams3 3 3 211x0
5United States Greg Hancock2 2 2 392x
6Sweden Peter Karlsson1 3 2 391x
7United States Sam Ermolenko3 2 2 07
8Australia Craig Boyce3 1 1 27
9England Paul Fry1 1 2 37
10Australia Shane Parker2 1 1 37
11Denmark Brian Andersen2 2 2 17
12England Chris Louis2 0 3 16
13Norway Lars Gunnestad1 3 1 16
14Sweden Jimmy Nilsen2 2 1 16
15United States Mike Faria3 2 0 05
16Australia Steve Johnston2 3 0 05
17Australia Ryan Sullivan1 0 3 15
18England Paul Thorp0 1 1 35
19Sweden Stefan Andersson1 0 2 25
20United States Charles Ermolenko0 0 1 23
21Denmark Frede Schott0 1 0 12
22England Dave Mullett1 0 0 01
23United States Bobby Ott0 1 0 01
24Australia Greg Bartlett0 0 0 00

Fours

Cradley Heathens won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 6 August 1995, at the East of England Arena.[7]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1Cradley21Cross 8, Hamill 8, Hancock 3, Smith 2
2Peterborough20Poole 7, Sullivan 7, Tesar 6, Pedersen 0, Clausen 0
3Bradford19Screen 6, Havelock 5, Wilson 5, Pickering 3
4Arena Essex11Hurry 5, Adams 4, Larsen 2, Mogridge 0

Leading final averages

Rider Team Average
United States Billy HamillCradley Heath10.91
England Joe ScreenBradford10.82
England Chris LouisIpswich10.52
Sweden Peter KarlssonWolverhampton10.50
Australia Jason CrumpPoole10.44
United States Greg HancockCradley Heath10.42
United States Sam ErmolenkoWolverhampton10.37
England Gary HavelockBradford10.25
England Martin DugardEastbourne10.22
Australia Craig BoyceSwindon9.99
Australia Leigh AdamsArena Essex9.96
Norway Lars GunnestadPoole9.94
England Mark LoramExeter9.78
Denmark Brian AndersenCoventry9.53
England Dean BarkerEastbourne9.35
Australia Jason LyonsBelle Vue9.06
United States Bobby OttKings Lynn8.98
England Paul ThorpHull8.97
England David NorrisReading8.90
Australia Ryan SullivanPeterborough8.85

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Belle Vue

Bradford

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Eastbourne

Edinburgh

Exeter

Glasgow

Hull

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Long Eaton

Middlesbrough

Oxford

Peterborough

Poole

Reading

Sheffield

Swindon

Wolverhampton

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ↑ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "1995 league tables". Speedway GB.
  4. ↑ "Bradford Dukes". Greyhound Derby .com. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "1995 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  6. ↑ "Mullett misery". Reading Evening Post. 16 October 1995. Retrieved 6 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Speedway". Birmingham Daily Post. 7 August 1995. Retrieved 5 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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