The 2003 Elite League speedway season was the 69th season of the top division of
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida.
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta.
*Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
in the United Kingdom and governed by the
Speedway Control Bureau
The Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), known as the Speedway Control Board between 1948 and 2002, governs the sport of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom on behalf of the Auto Cycle Union (ACU). The directors are appointed by the ACU and Br ...
(SCB), in conjunction with the
British Speedway Promoters' Association
The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Wimbledon controller Ronn ...
(
BSPA
The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Wimbledon controller Ronn ...
).
Season summary
In 2003, the league decreased to eight teams, after the
King's Lynn
King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...
dropped to the
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and reverted back to their traditional name of Stars. They also lost the promotion of Nigel Wagstaff, who took over at
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, which resulted in he name Cheetahs replaced with the Silver Machine name from King's Lynn. King's Lynn's leading riders
Nicki Pedersen
Nicki Pedersen (born 2 April 1977) is a Danish motorcycle speedway rider. He is a three time world champion having won the World Championship in 2003, 2007 and 2008. He has also won the World Cup with Denmark in 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014.
Car ...
and
Sebastian Ułamek
Sebastian Ułamek (born 20 November 1975) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. He was a European individual Champion and earned 9 international caps for the Poland national speedway team.
Career
Ułamek rode in the Polish leagues f ...
also switched to Oxford.
Freddie Eriksson
Freddie Ove Eriksson (born 23 April 1981 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. He earned one cap for the Sweden national speedway team
The Sweden national speedway team are one of the major teams in interna ...
went to Ipswich. Oxford also brought in former World Champion
Greg Hancock
Gregory Alan Hancock (born June 3, 1970, in Whittier, California) is a former professional motorcycle speedway rider from the United States. As of 2023, he was one of only six riders to have won the individual World Championship four or more ti ...
from Coventry but lost
Leigh Adams
Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971 in Mildura, Victoria)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion. He also wo ...
and
Lukáš Dryml
Lukáš Dryml (born 16 April 1981 in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from the Czech Republic. He earned 20 international caps for the Czech Republic national speedway team and represented his nati ...
to Poole.
Poole's decision to recruit Adams and Dryml was instrumental because they went on to claim the title. Adams finished top of the league averages and he was backed up by their five time World Champion
Tony Rickardsson
Jan Tony Sören Rickardsson (born on 17 August 1970) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1989 to 2006 and won six Speedway World Championship titles in 15 attempts. ...
and the vastly improved form of
Magnus Zetterström
Hans Magnus Zetterström (born 9 December 1971 in Eskilstuna, Sweden) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. He earned 3 caps for the Sweden national speedway team.
Career
Zetterström's first season in the British leag ...
. Poole went on to complete the double by winning the
Knockout Cup.
[
]
Final table
'A' Fixtures
'B' Fixtures
Play-offs
Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.
Semi-finals
*Poole Pirates 48-42 Oxford Silver Machine
*Coventry Bees 60-30 Peterborough Panthers
Final
First leg
Second leg
The Poole Pirates were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 100-79.
Elite League Knockout Cup
The 2003 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 65th edition of the
Knockout Cup for tier one teams.
Poole Pirates
Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions.
Poole Speedway is promoted by l ...
were the winners of the competition.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
First leg
Second leg
The Poole Pirates were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 90-88.
Riders' Championship
Lee Richardson won the
Riders' Championship. The final was held at
Brandon Stadium
Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Saturd ...
on 18 October.
*r-retired
Leading final averages
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
* 10.79
* 8.24
* 7.93
* 6.78
* 6.52
* 6.21
* 5.23
* 5.15
* 4.79
* 4.78
* 4.31
* 2.67
* 2.46
Coventry
* 9.23
* 8.78
* 8.49
*7.72
* 6.84
* 5.97
* 3.71
* 3.27
* 2.82
Eastbourne
* 8.48
* 8.08
* 8.05
* 7.83
* 7.81
* 7.44
* 7.36
* 5.89
* 5.70
* 5.08
* 4.00
* 4.00
* 2.67
Ipswich
* 9.41
* 6.53
* 6.46
* 5.93
* 5.93
* 5.91
* 5.60
* 5.47
* 4.83
* 4.70
* 4.07
* 4.00
Oxford
* 9.33
* 9.28
* 8.64
* 7.82
* 7.81
* 6.52
* 6.43
* 6.37
* 6.30
* 5.57
* 4.84
* 4.77
* 4.46
* 2.72
Peterborough
* 9.23
* 8.76
* 7.28
* 7.22
* 6.97
* 6.93
* 6.23
* 5.86
Poole
* 10.14
* 10.07
* 9.64
* 8.52
* 7.66
* 7.20
* 7.06
* 6.48
* 6.10
* 5.83
* 4.55
* 4.33
Wolverhampton
* 9.28
* 9.10
* 7.45
* 7.40
* 7.02
* 7.01
* 6.57
* 6.00
* 5.80
* 5.67
* 4.88
* 2.95
See also
*
Speedway in the United Kingdom
The sport of speedway in the United Kingdom has changed little since the first meetings in the 1920s. It has three domestic leagues, its own Speedway Grand Prix, and an annual entry into the Speedway World Cup / Speedway of Nations.
History
S ...
*
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
{{Speedway Elite League
SGB Premiership
2003 in British motorsport