1996 Premier League speedway season
LeaguePremier League
ChampionsWolverhampton Wolves
Knockout CupWolverhampton Wolves
IndividualSam Ermolenko
FoursOxford Cheetahs
Highest averageBilly Hamill
Division/s below1996 Conference League

The 1996 Premier League season was the 62nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was also the second and last edition of two seasons, in which British speedway was competed as a single division. In addition there was a Conference League.[1][2]

As from 1997 the Elite League would be the top division and the Premier League would be the second division.

Summary

The one league set up only lasted for a second season due to the huge disparity between the sides. Wolverhampton Wolves won the title for the second time in six years, with American Ronnie Correy being the sole survivor of the 1991 winning team. In a strange coincidence a new set of two brothers helped Wolves win the title, back in 1991 it was the Ermolenko brothers but now it was the Swedish Karlsson brothers. Peter Karlsson and Mikael Karlsson both scored heavily and ended the season with averages around the 10 mark.[3][4]

Cradley Heathens and Stoke Potters merged for the 1996 season and despite their American stars Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock finishing first and second in the averages they could only manage fifth place in the league. Cradley Heath were disbanded after the season following the closure of Dudley Wood Stadium, their home venue.[5]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L BP Pts
1 Wolverhampton Wolves 36 29 0 7 18 76
2 Peterborough Panthers 36 23 0 13 15 61
3 Eastbourne Eagles 36 23 1 12 12 59
4 Swindon Robins 36 22 2 12 12 58
5 Cradley & Stoke Heathens 36 21 1 14 13 56
6 Belle Vue Aces 36 21 1 14 12 55
7 Hull Vikings 36 20 3 13 11 54
8 Ipswich Witches 36 20 0 16 12 52
9 London Lions 36 20 0 16 11 51
10 Coventry Bees 36 16 2 18 10 44
11 Bradford Dukes 36 16 0 20 9 41
12 Scottish Monarchs 36 16 0 20 5 37
13 Oxford Cheetahs 36 12 4 20 8 36
14 Poole Pirates 36 13 2 21 5 33
15 Exeter Falcons 36 13 2 21 4 32
16 Middlesbrough Bears 36 11 1 14 6 29
17 Long Eaton Invaders 36 12 0 24 4 28
18 Sheffield Tigers 36 13 0 23 2 28
19 Reading Racers 36 11 1 24 2 25

PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; BP = Bonus Points Pts = Total Points

Premier League Knockout Cup

The 1996 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the 58th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams and the second with the name Premier League Knockout Cup. Wolverhampton Wolves were the winners of the competition. The following season the tier one teams would compete in the Elite League Knockout Cup and the Premier League Knockout Cup would be for tier two teams.[6]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
20/04Bradford65-31Sheffield
18/04Sheffield42-54Bradford
24/04Hull56-40Middlesbrough
23/05Middlesbrough50-45Hull
04/05Swindon51-45Oxford
26/04Oxford50-46Swindon

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
20/05Wolverhampton56-39Ipswich
23/05Ipswich53-43Wolverhampton
24/05Belle Vue53-43Cradley Heath
13/07Cradley Heath52-44Belle Vue
25/05Bradford57-39Edinburgh
22/05Edinburgh44-52Bradford
29/05Long Eaton56-40Hull
31/05Hull47-49Long Eaton
26/04Peterborough59-37Coventry
25/05Coventry40-56Peterborough
23/05Hackney54-42Reading
13/05Reading40-56Hackney
20/05Exeter45-51Poole
26/06Poole44-52Exeter
27/05Swindon59-37Eastbourne
25/05Eastbourne56-39Swindon

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
19/08Wolverhampton48-48Belle Vue
23/08Belle Vue48-48Wolverhampton
24/08Bradford62-34Long Eaton
28/08Long Eaton50-45Bradford
23/08Peterborough52-44Hackney
15/08Hackney51-45Peterborough
09/09Exeter52-44Swindon
17/08Swindon48-48Exeter
09/09Wolverhampton51-45Belle Vue
13/09Belle Vue49-46Wolverhampton

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
23/09Wolverhampton59-37Bradford
28/09Bradford54-42Wolverhampton
13/09Peterborough61-35Exeter
23/09Exeter48-48Peterborough

Final

First leg

Wolverhampton Wolves
Peter Karlsson 14
Mikael Karlsson 12
Ronnie Correy 12		58 - 38Peterborough Panthers
Jason Crump 13
Ryan Sullivan 10
[7]

Second leg

Wolverhampton Wolves were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 100-92.

Riders' Championship

Sam Ermolenko won the Premier League Riders Championship, held at Odsal Stadium on 19 October. It was the third time that Ermolenko had won the Riders' Championship trophy but the most fortunate. He had qualified for the semi finals with just 7 points and then won the final when Chris Louis was leading on the final lap before suffering an engine failure.[8]

Pos.RiderTotalSFFinal
1United States Sam Ermolenko723
2Australia Jason Crump1232
3Australia Leigh Adams1021
4England Chris Louis113ef
5Italy Armando Castagna81
6Sweden Jimmy Nilsen81
7Denmark Brian Andersen70
8Sweden Peter Karlsson70
9England Joe Screen7
10Australia Craig Boyce6
11England Mark Loram6
12United States Mike Faria6
13England Sean Wilson4
14England Martin Dugard4
15Australia Steve Johnston4
16United States Billy Hamill3
17United States Chris Manchester3
18Czech Republic Tomáš Topinka3
19Denmark Jan Staechmann3
20Australia Shane Parker1
  • ef=engine failure

Fours

Oxford Cheetahs won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 4 August 1996, at the East of England Arena.[9]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1Oxford23Cox 7, Brhel 7, Topinka 7, Hare 3
2Peterborough17Crump 8, Jirout 6, Swain 2, Nielsen 1
3Hull16Ott 6, Grahame 4, Thorp 3, Morton 3
4Ipswich16Louis 6, Doncaster 6, Howe 3, Clouting 1

Leading final averages

Rider Team Average
United States Billy HamillCradley & Stoke10.67
United States Greg HancockCradley & Stoke10.55
England Chris LouisIpswich10.29
Australia Jason CrumpPeterborough10.20
Sweden Peter KarlssonWolverhampton10.14
Australia Leigh AdamsLondon10.09
England Martin DugardEastbourne10.08
United States Sam ErmolenkoSheffield9.73
Sweden Mikael KarlssonWolverhampton9.71
United States Ronnie CorreyWolverhampton9.62
England Joe ScreenBradford9.57
England Gary HavelockBradford9.55
Denmark Brian AndersenCoventry9.46
Australia Craig BoycePoole9.38
England Mark LoramExeter9.28
England Chris ManchesterBelle Vue9.27
Sweden Jimmy NilsenSwindon9.22
Norway Lars GunnestadPoole9.13
England Kelvin TatumLondon9.07
Australia Ryan SullivanPeterborough9.01

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Bradford

Coventry

Cradley & Stoke

Eastbourne

Exeter

Hull

Ipswich

London

Long Eaton

Middlesbrough

Oxford

Peterborough

Poole

Reading

Scottish Monarchs

Sheffield

Swindon

Wolverhampton

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ↑ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "1996 league tables". Speedway GB.
  4. ↑ SPEEDWAY GB – British Speedway Official Website
  5. ↑ "Heathens at Stoke:End of Another Era". Cradley Speedway.
  6. ↑ "1996 Premier League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  7. ↑ "Speedway". Reading Evening Post. 10 October 1996. Retrieved 27 June 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "American ace survives late drama". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 21 October 1996. Retrieved 7 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Cheetahs race to four team title". Hull Daily Mail. 5 August 1996. Retrieved 5 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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