League | Elite League |
---|---|
Champions | Poole Pirates |
Elite Shield | Poole Pirates |
Riders' Championship | Jason Doyle |
Highest average | Jason Doyle |
Division/s below | 2015 Premier League 2015 National League |
The 2015 Elite League speedway season was the 81st season of the top division of UK speedway and the nineteenth season of the Elite League that took place between March and October 2015. The Poole Pirates were the defending champions after winning their second consecutive title in 2014.[1][2]
Summary
Both the Birmingham Brummies and the Eastbourne Eagles elected to ride in the National League in 2015, meaning the Elite League featured just 8 teams as opposed to the 10 teams that started the 2014 season.
The Poole Pirates won the Elite League for a record third successive year, beating the Belle Vue Aces in the two-legged Grand Final. The Aces – in their first Grand Final since 2005 – hosted the first leg at Kirkmanshulme Lane, and at one point trailed by 13 points. However, a tactical ride[3] (offering double points) from Matej Žagar started their comeback,[4] and despite trailing by 10 with 3 heats to go, the Aces managed to secure a 46–46 draw.[5] At Poole Stadium, the Pirates repeated their fast start and the Aces could not gain the lead at any point during the meeting; in the penultimate heat, Kacper Gomólski sealed the title for Poole, the Pirates ultimately winning 92–90 on aggregate.[6]
As well as winning the overall championship, the Pirates finished the regular season with the most points for the second season in succession, while the team also won the Elite Shield at the start of the season, defeating the King's Lynn Stars 96–85 on aggregate.[7] The Elite League Riders' Championship was won by Australian rider Jason Doyle, a member of the Leicester Lions team.[8]
Regulation changes
At the annual Elite League AGM, which was held in November 2014, it was announced that the points limit for the top 5 members of the teams would be raised from 32 to 34. It was also decided that the fixture list for 2015 would be compiled in a matter which was described as "sympathetic" to riders competing in the Grand Prix series, with no fixtures to be ridden in the week prior to a Grand Prix. The effect of this was to potentially result in more of the top riders in World Speedway returning to race in the Elite League in the future.[9] However, there was a visa issue for non-EU riders, meaning that many American and Australian riders were unable to race in the Elite League, unless the issue was resolved.[10]
Teams
Personnel and stadia
Team | Team Manager | Captain | Stadium |
---|---|---|---|
Belle Vue | Mark Lemon | Scott Nicholls | Kirkmanshulme Lane |
Coventry | Gary Havelock | Chris Harris | Brandon Stadium |
King's Lynn | Rob Lyon | Rory Schlein | Norfolk Arena |
Lakeside | Neil Vatcher | Andreas Jonsson | Arena Essex Raceway |
Leicester | Norrie Allan | Jason Doyle | Beaumont Park Stadium |
Poole | Neil Middleditch | Maciej Janowski | Wimborne Road Stadium |
Swindon | Alun Rossiter | Troy Batchelor | Abbey Stadium |
Wolverhampton | Peter Adams | Peter Karlsson | Monmore Green Stadium |
Results
Teams faced each other four times: twice home and away. The first of the home and away meetings were called the 'A' fixtures, and the second were the 'B' fixtures.
'A' Fixtures
'B' Fixtures
Final league table
Pos. | Club | M | Home | Away | F | A | +/− | Pts | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | D | L | 4W | 3W | D | 1L | L | |||||||
1 | Poole Pirates (Q) | 28 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1383 | 1131 | +252 | 65 |
2 | Coventry Bees (Q) | 28 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1278 | 1189 | +89 | 61 |
3 | Swindon Robins (Q) | 28 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1290 | 1240 | +50 | 57 |
4 | Belle Vue Aces (Q) | 28 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1325 | 1223 | +102 | 53 |
5 | King's Lynn Stars | 28 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1276 | 1263 | +13 | 51 |
6 | Leicester Lions | 28 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1172 | 1360 | −188 | 28 |
7 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 28 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1168 | 1385 | −217 | 28 |
8 | Lakeside Hammers | 28 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1207 | 1308 | −101 | 27 |
Play-offs
Draw
Semi-finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||
4 | Belle Vue Aces | 50 | 47 | 97 | |||||||||
3 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 43 | 79 | |||||||||
4 | Belle Vue Aces | 46 | 44 | 90 | |||||||||
1 | Poole Pirates | 46 | 46 | 92 | |||||||||
2 | Coventry Bees | 45 | 31 | 76 | |||||||||
1 | Poole Pirates | 45 | 58 | 103 |
Semi-finals
14 September 2015 | Report | Belle Vue Aces | 50–36 | Swindon Robins | Kirkmanshulme Lane Referee(s): Peter Clarke |
18 September 2015 | Report | Coventry Bees | 45–45 | Poole Pirates | Brandon Stadium Referee(s): Chris Durno |
21 September 2015 | Report | Swindon Robins | 43–47 | Belle Vue Aces | Abbey Stadium Referee(s): Mick Posselwhite |
21 September 2015 | Report | Poole Pirates | 58–31 | Coventry Bees | Poole Stadium Referee(s): Jim Lawrence |
Grand Final
28 September 2015 | Report | Belle Vue Aces Žagar 14 Cook 12 Nicholls 8 Grajczonek 5 Fricke 4 Worrall 2 Nielsen 1 |
46–46 | Poole Pirates Holder 10 Starke 9 Newman 9 North 7 Watt 5 Janowski 4 Gomolski 2 |
Kirkmanshulme Lane Referee(s): Graham Flint |
30 September 2015 | Report | Poole Pirates Janowski 11 Newman 7 Watt 7 Gomolski 7 North 6 Holder 4 Starke 4 |
46–44 | Belle Vue Aces Cook 13 Nicholls 10 Žagar 5 Grajczonek 5 Fricke 4 Nielsen 4 Worrall 3 |
Poole Stadium Referee(s): Mick Bates |
Riders' Championship
Jason Doyle won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Beaumont Park Stadium on 1 March.[13][14]
Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jason Doyle | 2 3 3 2 2 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
2 | Niels Kristian Iversen | 3 3 2 1 3 | 12 | x | 2 |
3 | Maciej Janowski | 1 3 3 3 3 | 13 | x | 1 |
4 | Troy Batchelor | 1 3 2 0 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
5 | Scott Nicholls | 1 1 3 3 2 | 10 | 1 | |
6 | Hans Andersen | 3 1 3 0 3 | 10 | 0 | |
7 | Szymon Woźniak | 2 2 1 3 0 | 9 | ||
8 | Freddie Lindgren | 3 2 2 0 1 | 8 | ||
9 | Chris Holder | 2 2 2 1 1 | 8 | ||
10 | Matej Žagar | 3 1 ret 1 2 | 7 | ||
11 | Bjarne Pedersen | 1 2 ret 2 1 | 6 | ||
12 | Kenneth Bjerre | 2 1 1 2 ret | 6 | ||
13 | Nick Morris | exc 0 1 3 1 | 5 | ||
14 | Richard Lawson | 0 0 0 2 2 | 4 | ||
15 | Mikkel Bech | 0 0 0 1 ret | 1 | ||
16 | Chris Harris | 0 ret | 0 | ||
17 | Josh Auty (res) | 0 f/exc | 0 | ||
18 | Josh Bates (res) | ret 0 | 0 |
- f=fell, exc=excluded, ret=retired ef=engine failure t-touched tapes
Final leading averages
Rider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
Jason Doyle | Leicester | 9.39 |
Maciej Janowski | Poole | 9.38 |
Niels Kristian Iversen | Kings Lynn | 9.09 |
Kyle Newman | Poole | 8.41 |
Andreas Jonsson | Lakeside | 8.40 |
Chris Harris | Coventry | 8.34 |
Rory Schlein | King's Lynn | 8.15 |
Jason Garrity | Coventry | 8.09 |
Matej Žagar | Belle Vue | 8.03 |
Scott Nicholls | Belle Vue | 7.92 |
Riders & final averages
Unless otherwise stated, all listed riders were declared at the start of the 2015 Elite League season.[15]
Belle Vue
- Matej Žagar 8.03
- Scott Nicholls 7.92
- Craig Cook 7.86
- Steve Worrall 6.98
- Josh Grajczonek 6.64 [N 1]
- Max Fricke 6.52
- Stefan Nielsen 4.93
- Simon Stead 4.53 [N 1]
Coventry
- Chris Harris 8.34
- Jason Garrity 8.09
- Joonas Kylmäkorpi 7.45
- Hans N. Andersen 7.29
- Danny King 6.84
- Stuart Robson 5.64 [N 2]
- James Sarjeant 5.23
- Kyle Howarth 4.36 [N 2]
King's Lynn
- Niels Kristian Iversen 9.09
- Rory Schlein 8.15 [N 3]
- Robert Lambert 7.65
- Lewis Kerr 7.15
- Kenneth Bjerre 6.24
- Nicklas Porsing 5.23
- Václav Milík, Jr. 5.14 [N 3]
- Ashley Morris 4.21
Lakeside
- Andreas Jonsson 8.40
- Kim Nilsson 7.24
- Mikkel Bech 7.16
- Ashley Birks 7.13 [N 4]
- Edward Kennett 6.63
- Richard Lawson 6.63
- Adam Ellis 4.89
Leicester
- Jason Doyle 9.39
- Josh Auty 7.29
- Sam Masters 6.50 [N 5]
- Grzegorz Walasek 6.49
- Szymon Woźniak 5.97
- Bjarne Pedersen 4.20 [N 5]
- Piotr Świderski 4.47 [N 6]
- Simon Lambert 3.69
Poole
- Maciej Janowski 9.38
- Kyle Newman 8.41
- Chris Holder 7.86
- Davey Watt 7.57 [N 7]
- Josh Grajczonek 7.25 [N 7]
- Kacper Gomólski 6.72
- Dakota North 6.70
- Paul Starke 5.34
Swindon
- Darcy Ward 10.40 (10 matches only) [N 8][N 9]
- Adrian Miedziński 8.21 (2 matches only) [N 10][N 8]
- Peter Kildemand 7.88 [N 10][N 9]
- Grzegorz Zengota 7.70
- Troy Batchelor 7.55
- Nick Morris 7.42
- Aaron Summers 7.24 [N 11]
- Charles Wright 6.63
- Kyle Howarth 6.38 [N 12]
- Lewis Rose 3.73
- Eduard Krčmář 2.50 [N 12][N 11]
Wolverhampton
- Peter Karlsson 7.16
- Fredrik Lindgren 7.13
- Ricky Wells 6.58
- Lewis Blackbird 6.37
- Jacob Thorssell 5.97
- Tobiasz Musielak 5.11
- Josh Bates 4.34
Notes
- 1 2 Josh Grajczonek replaced Simon Stead for the seventh declaration of the season.[16]
- 1 2 Kyle Howarth replaced Stuart Robson for the twenty-second declaration of the season.[17]
- 1 2 Václav Milík, Jr. replaced Rory Schlein for the thirteenth declaration of the season.[18]
- ↑ Steve Boxall replaced Ashley Birks for the third declaration of the season.[19] This change was reverted for the fourth declaration.[20] Boxall again replaced Birks for the seventh declaration,[16] with Birks returning for the thirteenth declaration.[18]
- 1 2 Sam Masters replaced Bjarne Pedersen for the eleventh declaration of the season.[21]
- ↑ Piotr Świderski replaced Lewis Bridger for the fifteenth declaration of the season.[22]
- 1 2 Josh Grajczonek replaced Davey Watt for the second declaration of the season.[23] Watt returned for the sixth declaration.[24]
- 1 2 Darcy Ward replaced Adrian Miedziński for the seventeenth declaration of the season.[26]
- 1 2 Peter Kildemand replaced Ward for the twenty-second declaration of the season.[17]
- 1 2 Peter Kildemand replaced Adrian Miedziński for the sixth declaration of the season.[24] Miedziński returned for the twelfth declaration,[25] but this change was reverted for the thirteenth declaration.[18] Miedziński again returned for the fifteenth declaration.[22]
- 1 2 Aaron Summers replaced Eduard Krčmář for the twentieth declaration of the season.[27]
- 1 2 Eduard Krčmář replaced Kyle Howarth for the seventeenth declaration of the season.[26]
See also
References
- ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ↑ "2015 league tables". Speedway GB.
- ↑ Bromley, Hayley (28 September 2015). "Belle Vue 46 Poole Pirates 46: Aces stage stirring fightback in Grand Final first leg". Manchester Evening News. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ "Belle Vue Aces earn first-leg draw against Poole Pirates in Elite League Grand Final". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ Mitchell, Andy (28 September 2015). "Poole Pirates drop chunky lead but still draw first blood at Belle Vue". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Newsquest. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ Bromley, Hayley (30 September 2015). "Belle Vue Aces' Elite League title dream sunk by Poole Pirates in Grand Final". Manchester Evening News. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ Payne, Ned (27 March 2015). "Poole Pirates retain Elite Shield at King's Lynn Stars". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Newsquest. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ "Jason Doyle wins Elite League Riders' Championship". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ "British Speedway AGM Statement". Speedway GB. British Speedway Promoters' Association. 16 November 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ↑ "BRITISH SPEEDWAY IN VISA CRISIS". SpeedwayGP.com. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- 1 2 "BRITISH SPEEDWAY – RESULTS & SCORERS". Speedway GP. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ↑ "Elite League". SpeedwayGB. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ "Elite League Riders' Championship". WWOS Backup. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ↑ "SPEEDWAY LIVE: Elite League Riders Championship". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ↑ "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 1" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- 1 2 "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 7" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- 1 2 "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 22" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 13" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ↑ "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 3" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ↑ "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 4" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ↑ "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 11" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- 1 2 "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 15" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ↑ "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 2" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- 1 2 "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 6" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ↑ "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 12" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- 1 2 "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 17" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ↑ "2015 Elite League Team Declarations And Green Sheets Issue 20" (PDF). Elite League. Speedway GB. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.