The 1996 Speedway Conference League was the inaugural season of the
Conference League, which was the second tier of British
motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
. It was listed as the second tier of British speedway because during 1995 and 1996 the two divisions of the British League had merged into one division only. The following season it would be a third tier/division competition.
Summary
The Conference League was the first to promoted under the name and was an entirely amateur competition contested by thirteen teams (many were junior sides belonging to their parent clubs). The league expanded from the eight that had begun the previous season's
1995 Academy League
The 1995 Academy League was the second tier/division of British speedway. It was effectively the same division of teams that had competed in the 1994 British League Division 3 but was renamed because the British League Division 1 and 2 had merg ...
- Berwick, Buxton, Devon, Linlithgow, Mildenhall, and Sittingbourne all returned from 1995, and were joined by Arena Essex, Eastbourne, Owlerton, Peterborough, Reading, Ryde, and Swindon.
Stoke
Stoke may refer to:
Places Canada
* Stoke, Quebec
New Zealand
* Stoke, New Zealand
United Kingdom Berkshire
* Stoke Row
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stoke Gifford
* Bradley Stoke
* Little Stoke
* Harry Stoke
* Stoke Lodge
Bucking ...
and
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
did not return from 1995.
As not all fixtures were able to be run, the champions were decided by a percentage of total points available.
Linlithgow Lightning
Linlithgow Lightning were a British speedway team based in Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland. They raced at Heathersfield Stadium.
History
Plans for holding speedway in Linlithgow started in October 1988, when the Edinburgh Monarchs
The ...
topped the table to become champions.
Final table
PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Match Points; % = Win Rate
Fixtures & results
A fixtures
B fixtures
Conference League Knockout Cup
The 1996 Conference League Knockout Cup was the 29th edition of the
Knockout Cup for tier two teams.
It was only the tier two competition because the Division 1 & 2 had merged during 1995 & 1996, this meant that the newly formed Conference League was tier two of British speedway at the time. Linlithgow Lightning were the winners of the Cup.
First round
Final
First leg
Second leg
Linlithgow were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 88–68.
Riders' Championship
Mike Hampson won the
Riders' Championship. The final was held on 7 September at
Long Eaton Stadium
Long Eaton Stadium, previously the Recreation Ground, was a multi-use sports ground in Long Eaton, Derbyshire that staged cricket, cycling, football, greyhound racing and speedway.
Cricket
The first recorded match on the ground was in 1887, ...
.
Teams and riders
See also
*
List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
The List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions is split into three divisions, the top tier, the second tier and third tier, all three divisions have been known in various guises such as National League, Premier League, Elite League and many ...
*
Knockout Cup (speedway)
Knockout Cup (sometimes referred to as the KO Cup) is a type of British motorcycle speedway competition, examples of which have run annually since 1929.
Each tier of British Speedway has its own respective Knockout Cup. The current Knockout Cu ...
References
{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons
1996 in British motorsport