2005 Elite League speedway season


The 2005 Elite League speedway season was the 71st season of the top division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Bureau, in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association.

Season summary

In 2005, the league consisted of ten teams, with the title being decided by a play-off between the top four.
Belle Vue Aces topped the regular season table and won the Knockout Cup. Their world champion rider Jason Crump was in superb form throughout the season. Fellow Australian Leigh Adams topped the league averages for Swindon for arguably the second consecutive season but it was Coventry Bees that experienced their first title success since the glory days of the late 1980s.
Coventry had finished bottom of the table during the previous season and with the exception of finishing runner-up in 2003 had been starved of success. The club made a change that proved instrumental, they brought in Scott Nicholls from Ipswich and supported by Andreas Jonsson and Chris Harris the team defeated Belle Vue in the Elite League Play off final.

League

Final table



Play-offs

Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.
Semi-finals
Final
First leg
Second leg
The Coventry Bees were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 101-83.

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2005 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 67th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Belle Vue Aces were the winners of the competition.
First round
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
21/04 Swindon 60-36Poole
20/04 Poole 51-41Swindon
07/04 Ipswich 55-40Wolverhampton
04/04 Wolverhampton37-53 Ipswich

Quarter-finals
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
15/06 Arena Essex51-40Ipswich
12/06 Swindon55-39Coventry
26/05 Ipswich52-42Arena Essex
21/05 Eastbourne59-36 Peterborough
20/05 Coventry51-41Swindon
19/05 Oxford49-41Belle Vue
16/05 Belle Vue 59-35Oxford
13/05 Peterborough 56-37Eastbourne

Semi-finals
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
21/09 Arena Essex52-41Eastbourne
18/08 Swindon37-35Belle Vue
27/07 Belle Vue61-32Swindon
23/07 Eastbourne55-40Arena Essex

Final
First leg
Second leg
The Belle Vue Aces were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 97-83.

Craven Shield

  • End of season competition
First Round Group A
Team oneTeam twoScore
Arena EssexIpswich53–40, 41–49
PooleIpswich58–33, 50–47
Arena EssexPoole52–41, n–h

First Round Group B
Team oneTeam twoScore
WolverhamptonSwindon58–36, 40–54
OxfordSwindon41–34, 46–44
OxfordWolverhampton48–42, 45–51

Semi-final 1
Team oneTeam twoTeam threeScore
PeterboroughCoventryPoole38–36–34
PooleCoventryPeterborough38–34–35
CoventryPeterboroughPoole34–34–40

Semi-final 2
Team oneTeam twoTeam threeScore
EastbourneBelle VueOxford37–26–27
OxfordBelle VueEastbourne42–32–34
Belle VueEastbourneOxford34–36–38

Final
Team oneTeam twoTeam threeScore
EastbourneOxfordPoole41–40–27
PooleEastbourneOxford35–34–39
OxfordEastbournePoole36–39–33

Riders' Championship

Nicki Pedersen won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Abbey Stadium on 28 August.
Pos.RiderPtsTotalSFFinal
1

Pairs

The Elite League Pairs Championship was held at the East of England Arena on 27 March and was won by Swindon Robins for the second consecutive year.
Semi finals
  • Belle Vue 5 Arena Essex 4 - Rickardsson, Screen, Crump, Havelock
  • Swindon 7 Wolves 2 - Adams, Richardson, Max Howe
Final
  • Swindon 6 Belle Vue 3 - Adams, Crump, Richardson, Screen

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex
  • 10.06
  • 8.14
  • 6.43
  • 6.21
  • 6.05
  • 5.94
  • 5.66
  • 5.09
  • 4.96
  • 4.48
  • 4.20
Belle Vue
  • 10.35
  • 7.87
  • 7.69
  • 7.35
  • 6.95
  • 6.36
  • 5.09
  • 4.43
  • 1.50
  • 1.43
Coventry
  • 9.45
  • 8.76
  • 7.20
  • 7.20
  • 6.79
  • 6.43
  • 6.22
  • 6.00
  • 4.20
Eastbourne
  • 10.30
  • 7.75
  • 7.22
  • 7.11
  • 6.45
  • 4.76
  • 4.65
  • 2.56
Ipswich
  • 9.44
  • 8.43
  • 7.91
  • 6.99
  • 5.91
  • 5.27
  • 3.82
  • 3.28
  • 3.16
Oxford
  • 9.32
  • 7.95
  • 7.45
  • 6.36
  • 6.24
  • 6.22
  • 5.09
  • 4.15
  • 4.00
  • 3.06
  • 2.67
  • 1.28
Peterborough
  • 9.48
  • 8.19
  • 7.38
  • 7.21
  • 7.10
  • 6.62
  • 6.05
  • 2.95
  • 2.05
Poole
  • 9.27
  • 8.13
  • 7.78
  • 7.38
  • 6.26
  • 5.28
  • 4.35
  • 3.69
  • 2.13
Swindon
  • 10.42
  • 8.85
  • 8.48
  • 4.59
  • 4.38
  • 4.10
  • 3.93
  • 3.89
  • 3.76
  • 1.67
Wolverhampton
  • 8.82
  • 7.44
  • 6.98
  • 6.65
  • 6.36
  • 5.61
  • 5.23