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
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 (
BSPA).
Season summary
In 2006, the league consisted of eleven teams, after the newly named
Reading Bulldogs
Reading Racers are a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished. In 2016 ...
, moved up from the
Premier League. The Championship was won by the
Peterborough Panthers by a single race point in the play-off final.
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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 was part of the Danish teams that won the Speedway World Cup in 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014.
Early lif ...
, 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
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Peterborough Panthers 52-40
Coventry Bees
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Reading Bulldogs
Reading Racers are a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished. In 2016 ...
51-43
Swindon Robins
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
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
for tier one teams.
Coventry Bees 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.
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
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
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Peterborough
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Poole
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Reading
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Swindon
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Wolverhampton
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See also
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Speedway in the United Kingdom
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List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
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Knockout Cup (speedway)
References
{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons
SGB Premiership
2006 in British motorsport