2006 Elite League speedway season


The 2006 Elite League speedway season was the 72nd season of the top division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Board, in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association.

Season summary

In 2006, the league consisted of eleven teams, after the newly named Reading Bulldogs, moved up from the Premier League. The Championship was won by the Peterborough Panthers by a single race point in the play-off final.
Peterborough and Reading battled each other throughout the season finishing level on points in the regular season table before Peterborough edged Reading in the Play off final. Peterborough had a strong all round squad and included Danish trio of Hans Andersen, Jesper Jensen and Niels Kristian Iversen, in addition to Australian Ryan Sullivan. Reading who had come up from the division below had recruited Greg Hancock as their main heat leader who finished 7th in the league averages which were headed once again by Australian stars Jason Crump and Leigh Adams.

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 Peterborough Panthers were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 95-94.

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2006 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 68th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Coventry Bees were the winners of the competition.
First round
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
13/04 Swindon40-50Reading
10/04 Reading47-43Swindon
06/04 Peterborough57-37Arena Essex
03/04 Wolverhampton54-40Oxford
31/03 Arena Essex59-35Peterborough
29/03 Oxford43-47Wolverhampton

Quarter-finals
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
10/07 Belle Vue56-38Arena Essex
07/07 Arena Essex44-46Belle Vue
07/07 Coventry56-40 Ipswich
07/07 Reading51-42 Poole
05/07 Poole58-34Reading
03/07 Wolverhampton41-51 Eastbourne
01/07 Eastbourne55-38Wolverhampton
01/06 Ipswich 48-42Coventry

Semi-finals
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
29/09 Coventry61-31Eastbourne
28/09 Poole43-34Belle Vue
16/09 Eastbourne46-44Coventry
11/09 Belle Vue53-41Poole

Final
First leg
Second leg
The Coventry Bees were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 101-85.

Craven Shield

  • End of season competition for the highest nine league teams
First Round
Team oneTeam twoTeam threeScore
WolverhamptonEastbourneIpswich33–38–37
IpswichEastbourneWolverhampton46–38–23
EastbourneIpswichWolverhampton42–33–33

Team oneTeam twoTeam threeScore
SwindonPooleReading36–35–37
PooleReadingSwindon41–29–37
ReadingPooleSwindon37–40–31

Team oneTeam twoTeam threeScore
CoventryBelle VuePeterborough42–40–26
PeterboroughBelle VueCoventry45–26–37
Belle VueCoventryPeterborough41–34–33

Final
Team oneTeam twoTeam threeScore
CoventryEastbournePoole38–29–41
EastbourneCoventryPoole35–38–35
PooleEastbourneCoventry38–29–41

Riders' Championship

Jason Crump won the Riders' Championship for the third time. The final was held at Wimborne Road on 1 October.
Pos.RiderPtsTotalSFFinal
1

Pairs

The Elite League Pairs Championship was held at the Abbey Stadium on 4 June and was won by Belle Vue Aces.
Final
  • Swindon 5 Belle Vue 4 - Adams, Crump, Stead, Ulamek

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex
  • 8.08
  • 7.78
  • 6.87
  • 6.70
  • 6.53
  • 6.48
  • 6.41
  • 3.77
  • 3.68
  • 2.88
  • 1.40
Belle Vue
  • 11.21
  • 8.08
  • 7.75
  • 7.51
  • 4.89
  • 4.26
  • 3.61
  • 1.90
Coventry
  • 9.05
  • 7.93
  • 7.84
  • 7.13
  • 6.59
  • 6.16
  • 5.83
  • 5.54
  • 4.54
  • 4.00
Eastbourne
  • 9.92
  • 7.79
  • 7.66
  • 7.14
  • 5.29
  • 5.04
  • 4.88
  • 4.06
  • 4.00
  • 3.42
Ipswich
  • 8.92
  • 8.10
  • 8.02
  • 6.50
  • 6.47
  • 5.58
  • 4.09
  • 3.62
  • 2.99
Oxford
  • 9.76
  • 7.98
  • 6.97
  • 6.61
  • 6.27
  • 5.10
  • 4.15
  • 4.12
  • 3.84
  • 2.29
Peterborough
  • 10.40
  • 8.76
  • 8.23
  • 7.82
  • 5.55
  • 5.28
  • 4.72
  • 4.67
Poole
  • 9.39
  • 8.38
  • 7.65
  • 7.22
  • 6.09
  • 5.47
  • 4.09
  • 3.63
  • 2.77
Reading
  • 9.28
  • 8.13
  • 7.60
  • 7.52
  • 7.01
  • 6.39
  • 5.52
  • 5.43
Swindon
  • 10.47
  • 7.72
  • 7.65
  • 7.16
  • 5.98
  • 5.48
  • 4.91
  • 4.47
  • 3.40
Wolverhampton
  • 9.94
  • 8.37
  • 8.12
  • 5.56
  • 5.19
  • 4.71
  • 4.37
  • 1.76