The 2006 Elite League speedway season was the 72nd 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 Board 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 B ...

(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).

Season summary

In 2006, the league consisted of eleven teams, after the newly named Reading Bulldogs, moved up from 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 ...

. The Championship was won by the

Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Peterborough, England from 1970 to 2023. They were three times List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest lev ...

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 Niels Kristian Trochmann Iversen (, born 20 June 1982 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is an international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a seven times national champion of Denmark and was part of the Danish teams that won the Speedway World Cup in 2006 ...

, in addition to Australian

Ryan Sullivan Ryan Geoffrey Sullivan (born 20 January 1975, in Fitzroy, Victoria) is a former Australian international motorcycle speedway rider who has won the Australian Solo Championship, Australian Under-21 Speedway Championship, and Under-16 champi ...

. Reading who had come up from the division below had recruited

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 ...

as their main heat leader who finished 7th in the league averages which were headed once again by Australian stars

Jason Crump Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia (UK born). He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, and a World Cup winner. In a 21-year career in Speedway, Crump finished with sev ...

and

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 ...

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 *

52-40

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees are a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon, Warwickshire, Brandon near Coventry, England. They are eight times champions of Britain. History Origins and 1920s The firs ...

* Reading Bulldogs 51-43

Swindon Robins The Swindon Robins are a motorcycle speedway team from England, established in 1949 that have competed primarily in the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They are five times league champions of the United Kingdo ...

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.

were the winners of the competition. First round Quarter-finals Semi-finals

Final

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

Riders' Championship

Jason Crump won the Riders' Championship for the third time. The final was held at

Wimborne Road Poole Stadium is a motorcycle speedway, speedway and former Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing venue located in the town centre of Poole, Dorset in England. The stadium is owned by the Borough of Poole. It was built in the ...

on 1 October.

Pairs

The

Elite League Pairs Championship The SGB Premiership Pairs (formerly the Elite League Pairs) is a motorcycle speedway contest between the top two riders from each club competing in the SGB Premiership in the United Kingdom. History The Championship was a reincarnation of the B ...

was held at the

Abbey Stadium The Abbey Stadium, currently known as the Cledara Abbey Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United since 1932, and currently has a maximum capacity of 7,937 spe ...

on 4 June and was won by Belle Vue Aces. Final *Swindon 5 Belle Vue 4 - Adams, Crump, Stead, Ulamek

Leading averages

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 matches only) * 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

References

{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons SGB Premiership 2006 in British motorsport