2008 Elite League speedway season
LeagueSky Sports Elite League
ChampionsPoole Pirates
Knockout CupEastbourne Eagles
Craven ShieldCoventry Bees
Elite ShieldSwindon Robins
IndividualJason Crump
PairsCoventry Bees
Highest averageLeigh Adams
Division/s below2008 Premier League
2008 Conference

The 2008 Elite League speedway season (also known as the Sky Sports Elite League for sponsorship reasons) was the 74th season of the top division of UK speedway and the 12th since its establishment as the Elite League. The first fixtures of the season took place on 29 March and the season ended on 27 October. The Coventry Bees were the defending champions from 2007.[1][2]

Summary

New rules introduced for 2008 included three points for an away win compared to two points in 2007, and the removal of the bonus point, in which a team was awarded an extra point for an aggregate win over home and away matches against another team. Also new in 2008 was a relegation and promotion playoff between an Elite League team and a Premier League team. The two teams that finish bottom of the Elite League will face in each other in a two legged playoff with the loser facing the Premier League playoff winner over two legs.[3]

The Poole Pirates finished top of the league table, with the Lakeside Hammers, Swindon Robins and Ipswich Witches occupying the other championship playoff places. Poole and Lakeside progressed to the grand final of the playoffs, with Poole winning the first leg at Lakeside 42–48, and the second leg at Poole 60–33, giving them a 108–75 victory.[4] The Poole Pirates were crowned with their third Elite League title, and fifth championship overall. Wolverhampton faced Premier League team the Edinburgh Monarchs in the relegation/promotion playoff final, with Wolverhampton winning comfortably over the two legs with a 106–76 aggregate victory, and thus avoided relegation.[5] Poole still had Magnus Zetterström, Bjarne Pedersen and Daniel Davidsson in their team, who were all members of the famous double double winners of 2004. They had since recruited Chris Holder, Davey Watt, Adam Skórnicki and Freddie Eriksson, who all made significant contributions for the Poole team.[6]

Jason Crump had left Poole for Belle Vue at the beginning of the season and missed out on a league title. Crump and fellow Australian Leigh Adams were victims of their own success, the pair had been the stand out riders for several seasons but they were so good that the league averages created problems for teams when assembling a side to adhere to the league's points limit allowance. Consequently teams had to decide whether to retain the rider or move them on, in the case of Adams, Swindon kept him but found it hard to bring in new signings to support him.

League table

Key:
Competition playoffs
Relegation playoffs
PosClubMHomeAwayFA+/-Pts
WDLWDL
1 Poole Pirates 32 14 0 2 8 0 8 1600 1321 +279 52
2 Lakeside Hammers 32 15 0 1 7 1 8 1551 1375 +176 52
3 Swindon Robins 32 12 2 2 5 0 11 1498 1434 +64 41
4 Ipswich Witches 32 11 1 4 5 2 9 1483 1439 +44 40
5 Eastbourne Eagles 32 11 0 5 4 0 12 1462 1472 -10 34
6 Coventry Bees 32 10 2 4 2 1 13 1418 1506 -88 29
7 Belle Vue Aces 32 13 0 3 0 2 14 1423 1491 -68 28
8 Peterborough Panthers 32 12 1 3 1 0 15 1371 1528 -157 28
9 Wolverhampton Wolves 32 8 0 8 0 0 16 1341 1581 -240 16

Home: 3W = Home win by 7 points or more; 2W = Home win by between 1 and 6 points
Away: 4W = Away win by 7 points or more; 3W = Away win by between 1 and 6 points; 1L = Away loss by 6 points or less
M = Meetings; D = Draws; L = Losses; F = Race points for; A = Race points against; +/- = Race points difference; Pts = Total Points

Results

Teams face each other four times: twice home and away. The first of the home and away meetings are called the 'A' fixtures, and the second are the 'B' fixtures.

A Fixtures

  Home\Away BV COV EAS IPS LH PET PP SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 46-43 42-48 52-38 47-43 52-41 50-43 42-51 60-30
Coventry Bees 45-45 43-47 52-37 41-49 48-42 48-45 52-41 48-45
Eastbourne Eagles 50-40 50-40 42-48 53-39 59-35 41-48 46-44 53-40
Ipswich Witches 52-41 50-43 51-39 42-51 60-31 41-51 43-50 53-38
Lakeside Hammers 54-39 63-29 48-45 51-42 56-37 48-45 50-45 53-40
Peterborough Panthers 47-45 51-38 48-42 49-41 36-36* 35-57 42-48 48-42
Poole Pirates 59-33 53-39 52-41 40-50 54-38 44-46 53-39 62-31
Swindon Robins 49-43 49-43 56-37 45-45 53-40 53-40 39-51 50-42
Wolverhampton Wolves 48-45 44-45 50-39 43-48 41-49 59-33 54-36 42-48

* Meeting abandoned after heat 12. Result stands.

Last updated: September 11, 2008. Source: BSPA

Colours: Blue = home win; Red = away win; White = draw

Home team listed in the left-hand column

B Fixtures

  Home\Away BV COV EAS IPS LH PET PP SWI WOL
Belle Vue Aces 50-40 48-45 48-42 42-48 53-39 48-42 47-43 49-41
Coventry Bees 52-40 52-41 45-45 42-51 59-36 37-56 52-43 53-40
Eastbourne Eagles 56-37 46-47 41-49 49-44 46-44 41-52 50-43 63-27
Ipswich Witches 48-42 45-45 52-41 44-48 54-38 52-38 54-39 49-41
Lakeside Hammers 59-34 56-37 56-37 55-38 49-41 53-39 41-49 58-32
Peterborough Panthers 52-42 51-42 39-54 52-40 56-37 47-43 52-41 56-37
Poole Pirates 50-31* 54-36 60-33 59-34 50-42 54-36 58-35 55-37
Swindon Robins 45-45 51-39 53-39 49-44 53-39 49-44 42-51 62-29
Wolverhampton Wolves 48-45 47-43 45-48 40-52 43-47 54-38 44-46 47-46

*Meeting abandoned after heat 13. Result stands.

Last updated: October 7, 2008. Source: BSPA

Colours: Blue = home win; Red = away win; White = draw

Home team listed in the left-hand column

Championship playoffs

Semi-finals

Poole Pirates59 – 33Ipswich Witches
Bjarne Pedersen 13+1 (Report) Kenneth Bjerre (guest) 11
Referee: Dave Watters

Poole and Lakeside progressed to the grand final

Grand final

First leg

Lakeside Hammers42 – 48Poole Pirates
(Report)
Referee: Chris Gay
Lakeside:
1Sweden Andreas Jonsson (c)(2,3,0,3,1',3,3)15+1
2England Leigh Lanham(1',1,1,1,2)6+1
3Rider replacement
4Sweden Jonas Davidsson(1,3,2',2,2,0)10+1
5Poland Tomasz Jędrzejak(0,2,1,3,2')8+1
6Sweden Ricky Kling(1,0,1',1')3+2
7Poland Krzysztof Jabłoński(0,1',0)1+1
Manager:
England Jon Cook
Poole:
1Australia Chris Holder(3,2,2,0)7
2Sweden Magnus Zetterström(0,0,3,1')4+1
3Denmark Bjarne Pedersen (c)(2',2',3,3,2)12+2
4Poland Adam Skórnicki(3,3,f,3,1')10+1
5Australia Davey Watt(3,2,1,1)7
6Sweden Freddie Eriksson(2',0,0)2+1
7Sweden Daniel Davidsson(3,0,2',0,1')6+1
Manager:
England Neil Middleditch

Second leg

Poole Pirates60 – 33
(108 – 75)		Lakeside Hammers
Report
Referee: Tony Steele
Poole:
1Australia Chris Holder(3,3,3,0,3)12
2Sweden Magnus Zetterström(2',1,3,2')8+2
3Denmark Bjarne Pedersen (c)(3,3,3,3,2')14+1
4Poland Adam Skórnicki(1,ex,1,2)4
5Australia Davey Watt(3,1,2,2)8
6Sweden Freddie Eriksson(2',0,1',1')4+3
7Sweden Daniel Davidsson(3,2',2',1,2')10+3
Manager:
England Neil Middleditch
Lakeside:
1England Scott Nicholls (guest)(1,ex,6^,3,1)11
2England Leigh Lanham (c)(0,1,0)1
3Rider replacement
4Poland Tomasz Jędrzejak(0,2,1,1,3,0)7+1
5Sweden Jonas Davidsson(2,1,2,2,3,1)11
6Sweden Ricky Kling(0,ex,0,0)0
7Poland Krzysztof Jabłoński(1,0,2,0,0,ex)3
Manager:
England Jon Cook

Poole win 108-75 on aggregate and are the 2008 Elite League Champions.

Relegation playoffs

Semi-finals

Peterborough win 114-71 on aggregate. Wolverhampton will face the Premier League playoff winners, the Edinburgh Monarchs, over two legs.

Final

Wolverhampton Wolves53 – 38Edinburgh Monarchs
Jesper B. Monberg 12 Report Ryan Fisher 16+1
Monmore Green Stadium, Wolverhampton
Referee: Jim Lawrence

Wolverhampton win 106–76 on aggregate and avoid relegation.

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2008 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 70th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.[7]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
07/04Wolverhampton54-38Ipswich
03/04Ipswich50-42Wolverhampton

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
23/06Wolverhampton52-40Eastbourne
21/06Eastbourne62-30Wolverhampton
20/06Coventry56-37Belle Vue
20/06Lakeside50-42Peterborough
19/06Peterborough39-51Lakeside
19/06Swindon50-40Poole
18/06Poole53-40Swindon
16/06Belle Vue49-44Coventry

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
30/08Eastbourne54-39Lakeside
13/08Lakeside52-41Eastbourne
13/08Poole45-45Coventry
11/08Coventry45-45Poole

Final

First leg

Second leg

The Eastbourne Eagles were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 102-78.

Elite League Riders Championship

The Elite League Riders Championship involves the riders with the highest average from each club competing in the Elite League. It took place on 8 October 2008, at the Premier League track at Birmingham after the original staging of the event on 20 August was abandoned due to bad weather.[9]

Format The top 15 highest averaged riders in the Elite League plus one wild card and two reserves take part, although no more than two riders from each club participate. There are 20 qualifying heats, a 'last chance' qualifying heat and a final. The top two scorers from the 20 qualifying heats qualify directly for the final. The next top four scorers take place in the last chance qualifying heat, with the 1st and 2nd place riders from that heat also qualifying to the final.[10]

Result

Placing Rider Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts Pos 2122
1 Australia (2) Jason Crump (BV) 12 3 2 1 3 3 12 3 2 3
2 Australia (14) Rory Schlein (IPS) 10 3 1 1 3 2 10 5 3 2
3 Denmark (8) Kenneth Bjerre (PET) 13 3 2 3 2 3 13 2 1
4 Australia (4) Leigh Adams (SWI) 13 1 3 3 3 3 13 1 0
5 Australia (1) Chris Holder (PP) 11 2 3 3 1 2 11 4 1
6 Australia (12) Davey Watt (PP) 10 2 1 2 2 3 10 6 0
7 United Kingdom (15) Lewis Bridger (EAS) 8 2 2 3 0 1 8 7
8 Denmark (16) Niels K. Iversen (WOL) 7 1 0 2 2 2 7 8
9 United Kingdom (13) Daniel King (PET) 7 E 2 2 1 2 7 9
10 Sweden (3) Fredrik Lindgren (WOL) 6 0 0 2 3 1 6 10
11 Poland (7) Piotr Świderski (IPS) 5 0 3 1 0 1 5 11
12 Sweden (11) Jonas Davidsson (LH) 5 3 1 0 0 1 5 12
13 Australia (10) Troy Batchelor (SWI) 5 1 3 0 1 0 5 13
14 United Kingdom (6) Edward Kennett (EAS) 4 1 0 1 2 0 4 14
15 United States (5) Billy Janniro (COV) 2 2 0 0 0 - 2 15
16 Denmark (9) Charlie Gjedde (BV) 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 16
17 (17) Jay Herne (res) 0 0 0 17
Placing Rider Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts Pos 2122

m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fell • ns - non-starter • nc - non-classify

gate A - inside gate B gate C gate D - outside

Pairs

The Elite League Pairs Championship was held at the Abbey Stadium on 17 August and was won by Coventry Bees. The original date had been set for King's Lynn Stadium on 5 April but was postponed.[12]

Pos Team Pts Riders
1Swindon26Adams 16, Korneliussen 10
2Belle Vue25Crump 15, Gjedde 10
3Coventry23Andersen 14, Harris 9
4Ipswich21Swiderski 11, Schlein 10
5Poole20Pedersen B 11, Holder 9
6Wolves15Iversen 13, Lindgren 2
7Peterborough12Bjerre 6, King 6
8Eastbourne11Richardson 9, Woodward 2
9Lakeside9Shields 9, Davidsson 0

Semi finals

  • Swindon 5 Ipswich 4 - Schlein, Adams, Korneliussen, Swiderski
  • Coventry 5 Belle Vue 4 - Crump, Andersen, Harris, Gjedde

Final

  • Coventry 5 Swindon 4 - Korneliussen, Harris, Andersen, Adams

Leading final averages

Rider Team Average
Australia Leigh AdamsSwindon11.04
Australia Jason CrumpBelle Vue10.94
Sweden Andreas JonssonLakeside9.98
Denmark Hans AndersenCoventry9.89
England Scott NichollsEastbourne9.58
Denmark Bjarne PedersenPoole9.30
Australia Chris HolderPoole8.95
Poland Piotr ŚwiderskiIpswich8.67
England Lee RichardsonEastbourne8.65
Poland Jarosław HampelIpswich8.55

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Coventry

Eastbourne

Ipswich

Lakeside

Peterborough

Poole

Swindon

Wolverhampton

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ↑ "2008 league tables". Speedway GB.
  3. ↑ "British Speedway 2008". British Speedway Promoters' Association. 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
  4. ↑ "Douglas praises champions Poole". BBC Sport. 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  5. ↑ "Wolves seal EL place". Sky Sports. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  6. ↑ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "2008 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  8. ↑ "EASTBOURNE 57 PIRATES 35". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "Elite League stars in Birmingham". BBC Sport. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  10. ↑ "Elite League Riders Championship". British Speedway Promoters' Association. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
  11. ↑ "Crump wygrał w Birmingham" (in Polish). SportoweFakty.pl. 2008-10-08. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  12. ↑ "2008 Elite League Pairs". Speedway Updates. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
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