2001 Elite League speedway season
LeagueSky Sports Elite League
ChampionsOxford Cheetahs
Knockout CupPeterborough Panthers
Craven ShieldPoole Pirates
Riders ChampionshipJason Crump
Highest averageJason Crump
Division/s belowPremier League
Conference League

The 2001 Elite League speedway season was the 67th season of top division of speedway in the United Kingdom and in 2001 was governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).[1][2]

Season summary

In 2001, the league consisted of nine teams and operated on a standard format without play-offs.[3] Oxford Cheetahs won their first title since 1989. Leigh Adams was brought in from King's Lynn to lead the team that retained fellow Australian riders Todd Wiltshire and Steve Johnston, Czech brothers Lukáš Dryml and Aleš Dryml Jr. and Dane Brian Andersen. In a closely fought three way title battle they claimed the crown ahead of Poole and Coventry.[4] Poole were led by three times World Champion Tony Rickardsson who would claim his fourth Speedway World Championship during the season. Jason Crump was runner-up in the World Championship and topped the league averages for King's Lynn.[5]

Final table

Pos M W D L F A Pts Bon Tot
1 Oxford Cheetahs 32 20 5 7 1495 1367 45 13 58
2 Poole Pirates 32 21 2 9 1538 1325 44 13 57
3 Coventry Bees 32 21 2 9 1518 1356 44 11 55
4 Ipswich Witches 32 17 2 13 1444 1429 36 7 43
5 Peterborough Panthers 30 12 2 16 1356 1329 26 7 33
6 King's Lynn Knights 31 12 1 19 1381 1467 25 7 32
7 Eastbourne Eagles 32 11 3 18 1373 1463 25 7 32
8 Wolverhampton Wolves 32 12 0 20 1397 1478 24 4 28
9 Belle Vue Aces 30 7 1 22 1196 1484 15 1 16

Peterborough v Belle Vue and Belle Vue v Peterborough not held.

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2001 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 63rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Peterborough Panthers were the winners of the competition.[6]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
04/04Poole50-40Ipswich
17/05Ipswich56-34Poole

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
09/07Reading50-40Exeter
08/07Stoke41-48Hull
12/05Coventry39-50Peterborough
12/05Eastbourne50-40Oxford
11/05Oxford53-37Eastbourne
11/05Peterborough50-40Coventry
09/05King's Lynn56-34Belle Vue
07/05Belle Vue39-47King's Lynn

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
09/10Ipswich46-44Oxford
14/09Oxford45-45Ipswich
14/09Peterborough49-41King's Lynn
12/09King's Lynn38-33Peterborough

Final

First leg

Second leg

Peterborough Panthers were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 93-87.

Riders' Championship

Jason Crump won the Elite League Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held at Owlerton Stadium on 20 September.[7]

Pos.RiderPtsTotalSFFinal
1Australia Jason Crump3 3 3 3 214x3
2England Scott Nicholls3 1 3 2 312x2
3Denmark Nicki Pedersen1 3 2 3 21131
4Sweden Mikael Karlsson2 2 2 3 21120
5Australia Craig Boyce0 1 3 2 391
6Sweden Tony Rickardsson3 3 2 1 090
7Australia Ryan Sullivan3 1 1 1 39
8England Lee Richardson2 3 2 2 09
9Australia Leigh Adams1 2 1 1 38
10England Mark Loram0 2 0 3 27
11United States Sam Ermolenko2 1 1 2 17
12Australia Jason Lyons1 2 3 0 06
13England Dean Barker2 0 0 1 14
14Poland Krzysztof Cegielski1 0 1 0 13
15Australia Steve Johnston0 0 0 0 00
16England David Norris0 0 00
17England David Howe (res)11
18England Paul Lee (res)00

Leading final averages

Rider Team Average
Australia Jason CrumpKing's Lynn10.39
England Scott NichollsIpswich10.11
Australia Leigh AdamsOxford10.08
Sweden Tony RickardssonPoole9.66
Australia Ryan SullivanPeterborough9.52
United States Billy HamillCoventry9.26
United States Greg HancockCoventry9.05
Denmark Nicki PedersenKing's Lynn9.01
Sweden Mikael KarlssonWolverhampton9.00
Sweden Peter KarlssonKing's Lynn8.75

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Coventry

Eastbourne

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Oxford

Peterborough

Poole

Wolverhampton

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ↑ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "2001 league tables". Speedway GB.
  4. ↑ "Oxford". wwosbackup. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "2001 Elite League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  7. ↑ "Elite League Riders' Championship". WWOS Backup. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
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