1994 British League season
LeagueBritish League
No. of competitors11
ChampionsPoole Pirates
Knockout CupEastbourne Eagles
FoursPoole Pirates
IndividualSam Ermolenko
Highest averagePer Jonsson
Division/s belowBritish League (Div 2)
British League (Div 3)

The 1994 British League season was the 60th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 30th and final season known as the British League.[1][2]

Summary

Poole Pirates dominated the league and won the title finishing 15 points clear of nearest rivals Eastbourne Eagles. The Pirates last top league success had been back in 1969 and it was thanks to solid performances throughout the season from their Australian pair; new signing from Swindon Jason Crump and Craig Boyce. They were backed up by Norwegian Lars Gunnestad and Londoner Steve Schofield.[3]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L BP Pts
1 Poole Pirates 40 30 1 9 16 77
2 Eastbourne Eagles 40 23 2 15 14 62
3 Wolverhampton Wolves 40 20 2 18 12 54
4 Coventry Bees 40 19 3 18 11 52
5 King's Lynn Stars 40 20 1 19 10 51
6 Ipswich Witches 40 19 2 19 10 50
7 Bradford Dukes 40 18 1 21 11 48
8 Arena Essex Hammers 40 19 0 21 8 46
9 Cradley Heath Heathens 40 16 3 21 7 42
10 Reading Racers 40 14 2 24 6 36
11 Belle Vue Aces 40 13 1 26 5 32

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


British League Knockout Cup

The 1994 British League Knockout Cup was the 56th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners for a third consecutive year.[4]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
23/04Eastbourne59-37Belle Vue
23/04Kings Lynn58-38Poole
21/04Ipswich61-33Cradley Heath
20/04Poole56-40Kings Lynn
16/04Cradley Heath70-25Ipswich
13/04Belle Vue47-49Eastbourne

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
28/06Coventry58-37Reading
15/06Kings Lynn61-35Bradford
14/06Bradford49-47Kings Lynn
28/05Eastbourne51-45Wolverhampton
23/05Reading52-43Coventry
16/05Wolverhampton50-46Eastbourne
14/05Cradley Heath59-24Arena Essex
13/05Arena Essex52-44Cradley Heath

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
31/07Eastbourne55-41Kings Lynn
30/07Kings Lynn55-41Eastbourne
16/07Coventry48-47Cradley Heath
02/07Cradley Heath55-41Coventry
29/08Kings Lynn45-51Eastbourne
28/08Eastbourne62-33Kings Lynn

Final

First leg

Eastbourne Eagles
Martin Dugard 14
Dean Barker 12
Stefan Danno 12
Paul Dugard 8
David Norris 7
Stefan Andersson 5
Scott Swain 1		59 - 37Cradley Heath
Greg Hancock 13
Peter Nahlin 9
Billy Hamill 7
Simon Cross 6
Jonathan Forsgren 2
Scott Smith 0
Lance Sealey 0
[5]

Second leg

Cradley Heath
Simon Cross 14
Billy Hamill 14
Peter Nahlin 9
Greg Hancock 7
Jonathan Forsgren 4
Scott Smith 1
Lance Sealey 0		49 - 47Eastbourne Eagles
[5]

Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 106-86.

Fours

Poole Pirates won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 7 August.[6]

Final

PosTeamPtsRiders
1Poole28Crump 9, Boyce 7, Rossiter 6, Schofield 6
2Cradley20Nahlin 8, Cross 7, Hamill 3, Hancock 2
3Eastbourne15Norris 5, Barker 4, Dugard 4, Andersson 2
4Coventry9Jørgensen 6, Andersen 2, Olsen 1, Tacey 0, Spicer 0

Riders' Championship

Sam Ermolenko won the British League Riders' Championship. It was held at Abbey Stadium on 9 October.[7]

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1United States Sam Ermolenko3 3 3 3 315
2Denmark Hans Nielsen3 3 3 1 313
3England Martin Dugard1 3 3 2 211
4England Mark Loram2 1 1 3 310
5England David Norris1 2 1 3 29
6Australia Leigh Adams0 0 3 3 39
7United States Greg Hancock3 2 1 1 29
8Australia Craig Boyce2 3 2 1 19
9England Joe Screen3 0 2 2 07
10England Gary Havelock1 1 2 2 17
11Sweden Peter Karlsson2 2 2 0 17
12England Chris Louis2 1 1 2 06
13Australia Jason Crump1 2 0 0 25
14England Michael Coles0 0 0 1 01
15England Paul Bentley0 1 0 0 12
16England Dave Mullett0 0 0 0 00
  • ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired

Leading averages

Rider Team Average
Sweden Per JonssonReading10.41
Sweden Tony RickardssonIpswich10.00
Denmark Hans NielsenCoventry9.98
United States Sam ErmolenkoWolverhampton9.83
Australia Leigh AdamsArena Essex9.79
England Joe ScreenBradford9.65
Sweden Henrik GustafssonBelle Vue9.64
England Gary HavelockBradford9.59
England Mark LoramKings Lynn9.46
England Martin DugardEastbourne9.33
Australia Jason CrumpPoole9.30
United States Greg HancockCradley Heath9.29
England David NorrisEastbourne9.18
Australia Craig BoycePoole9.08

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Belle Vue

Bradford

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Eastbourne

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Poole

Reading

Wolverhampton

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ↑ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "1994 league tables". Speedway GB.
  4. ↑ "1994 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  5. 1 2 "Coventry Bees 1988 season". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "1994 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Hans taped by old rival Sam". Heartland Evening News. 10 October 1994. Retrieved 6 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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