The 2008 Elite League speedway season (also known as the

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

Elite League for sponsorship reasons) was the 74th season of the top division of UK speedway and the 12th since its establishment as the Elite League. The first fixtures of the season took place on 29 March and the season ended on 27 October. The

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 ...

were the defending champions from 2007.

Summary

New rules introduced for 2008 included three points for an away win compared to two points in 2007, and the removal of the bonus point, in which a team was awarded an extra point for an aggregate win over home and away matches against another team. Also new in 2008 was a relegation and promotion

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

between an Elite League team and a

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 ...

team. The two teams that finish bottom of the Elite League will face in each other in a two legged playoff with the loser facing the Premier League playoff winner over two legs. The

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 ...

finished top of the league table, with the

Lakeside Hammers The Lakeside Hammers (formerly the Arena-Essex Hammers) were a speedway team who raced in the British league system from 1984 to 2018, most recently racing in the SGB Championship in 2018. The team were nicknamed the Hammers after the West Ham H ...

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 ...

and

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30 ...

occupying the other championship playoff places. Poole and Lakeside progressed to the grand final of the playoffs, with Poole winning the first leg at Lakeside 42–48, and the second leg at Poole 60–33, giving them a 108–75 victory. The Poole Pirates were crowned with their third Elite League title, and fifth championship overall.

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

faced Premier League team the

Edinburgh Monarchs The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish speedway team based in Armadale. They compete in the SGB Championship, racing on Friday nights during the speedway season. The club is run by a board of directors, chaired by Alex Harkess and also runs a ...

in the relegation/promotion playoff final, with Wolverhampton winning comfortably over the two legs with a 106–76 aggregate victory, and thus avoided relegation. Poole still had

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 ...

Bjarne Pedersen Bjarne Aagaard Pedersen (born 12 July 1978 in Holstebro, Denmark) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who represented Denmark in the Speedway World Cup, winning it on two occasions: in 2006 and 2008. Career summary Pedersen beg ...

and

Daniel Davidsson Daniel Jan Johan Davidsson (born 17 March 1983 in Motala, Sweden) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. Career Davidsson came to prominence after reaching the World Under 21 final in 2002 and 2004. In between the two finals he si ...

in their team, who were all members of the famous double double winners of 2004. They had since recruited

Chris Holder Christopher Robert Holder (born 24 September 1987 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian speedway rider, who was the 2012 World Speedway Champion. He is also five times Australian champion (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. Career Hold ...

Davey Watt David John Watt (born 6 January 1978 in Townsville, Queensland) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. He won the Queensland state championship in 2005 and was a member of the Australian team that finished second to ...

, Adam Skórnicki and Freddie Eriksson, who all made significant contributions for the Poole team.

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 ...

had left Poole for Belle Vue at the beginning of the season and missed out on a league title. Crump and fellow Australian

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 ...

were victims of their own success, the pair had been the stand out riders for several seasons but they were so good that the league averages created problems for teams when assembling a side to adhere to the league's points limit allowance. Consequently, teams had to decide whether to retain the rider or move them on, in the case of Adams, Swindon kept him but found it hard to bring in new signings to support him.

League table

Home: 3W = Home win by 7 points or more; 2W = Home win by between 1 and 6 points
Away: 4W = Away win by 7 points or more; 3W = Away win by between 1 and 6 points; 1L = Away loss by 6 points or less
M = Meetings; D = Draws; L = Losses; F = Race points for; A = Race points against; +/- = Race points difference; Pts = Total Points

Results

Teams face each other four times: twice home and away. The first of the home and away meetings are called the 'A' fixtures, and the second are the 'B' fixtures. A Fixtures ''*'' Meeting abandoned after heat 12. Result stands. Last updated: September 11, 2008. Source
BSPA
/small> Colours: Blue = home win; Red = away win; White = draw Home team listed in the left-hand column B Fixtures ''*''Meeting abandoned after heat 13. Result stands. Last updated: October 7, 2008. Source
BSPA
/small> Colours: Blue = home win; Red = away win; White = draw Home team listed in the left-hand column

Championship playoffs

Semi-finals ''Poole and Lakeside progressed to the grand final'' ----

Grand final

First leg Second leg ''Poole win 108-75 on aggregate and are the 2008 Elite League Champions.''

Relegation playoffs

Semi-finals ''Peterborough win 114-71 on aggregate. Wolverhampton will face the Premier League playoff winners, the

, over two legs.'' Final ''Wolverhampton win 106–76 on aggregate and avoid relegation.''

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2008 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 70th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams.

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British motorcycle speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England. They were founded in 1929 and are two times champions of Britain in 1995 and 2000. The team last raced on 31 July 2021. Hist ...

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

Final

First leg Second leg The Eastbourne Eagles were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 102-78.

Elite League Riders Championship

The Elite League Riders Championship involves the riders with the highest

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

from each club competing in the Elite League. It took place on 8 October 2008, at the Premier League track at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

after the original staging of the event on 20 August was abandoned due to bad weather. Format The top 15 highest averaged riders in the Elite League plus one wild card and two reserves take part, although no more than two riders from each club participate. There are 20 qualifying heats, a 'last chance' qualifying heat and a final. The top two scorers from the 20 qualifying heats qualify directly for the final. The next top four scorers take place in the last chance qualifying heat, with the 1st and 2nd place riders from that heat also qualifying to the final. Result *2008-10-08,

Perry Barr Stadium Perry Barr Stadium (also known as Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium and previously as Alexander Sports Ground(s)) is a Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing and motorcycle speedway stadium on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr, Birmin ...

*Changes: **(5)

Jarosław Hampel Jarosław "Jarek" Hampel (; born 17 April 1982 in Łódź, Poland) is a motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. He is a six times World Cup winner and earned 24 caps for the Poland national speedway team. Career He received his speedway licen ...

(IPS) → Janniro (COV) **(6) Lee Richardson (EAS) → Kennett **(8) Chris Harris (COV) → Bjerre (PET) **(10)

Scott Nicholls Scott Karl Nicholls (born 16 May 1978) is an English motorcycle speedway rider, who has won the British Championship seven times,Adam Shields Adam Matthew Shields (born 8 February 1977 in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, is an Australian former international motorcycle speedway rider, who has ridden for multiple teams in the British speedway. Speedway career He first rode in the Unit ...

(LH) → Davidsson **(12)

(PP) → Watt **(13)

Mads Korneliussen Mads Klit Korneliussen (born 15 June 1983) is a Danish former motorcycle speedway rider. Career Born in Aalborg, Denmark, Mads Korneliussen is the son of Karl Erik Korneliussen and younger brother of Tim Korneliussen, both former riders. Mads to ...

(SWI) → King (PET) **(14)

Andreas Jonsson Andreas Karl Rune Jonsson (born 3 September 1980 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish former international motorcycle speedway rider. He was a member of the Sweden speedway team that won the World Cup in 2003, 2004 and 2015. He earned 26 caps for ...

(LH) → Schlein (IPS) **(15)

Hans N. Andersen Hans Nørgaard Andersen (born 3 November 1980, in Odense, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider, who captained the Denmark national speedway team that won the Speedway World Cup in 2006 and 2008. Career summary Andersen was a Danish ...

(PET) → Bridger (EAS)

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 17 August and was won by Coventry Bees. The original date had been set for

King's Lynn Stadium King's Lynn Stadium, also known as the Adrian Flux Arena and previously as the Norfolk Arena, is a short oval stadium situated to the south of King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. It currently hosts BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Car Racing, Banger racing, ...

on 5 April but was postponed. Semi finals *Swindon 5 Ipswich 4 - Schlein, Adams, Korneliussen, Swiderski *Coventry 5 Belle Vue 4 - Crump, Andersen, Harris, Gjedde Final *Coventry 5 Swindon 4 - Korneliussen, Harris, Andersen, Adams

Leading final averages

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue * 10.94 * 8.41 * 7.36 * 6.63 * 5.90 * 5.75 * 5.70 * 5.14 * 3.32 * 2.31 * 1.96 * 1.91 Coventry * 9.89 (15 matches) * 8.35 * 7.59 * 7.37 * 6.97 * 6.71 * 5.42 * 4.52 * 4.13 * 3.02 Eastbourne * 9.58 * 8.65 * 7.63 * 6.72 * 6.31 * 4.93 * 2.24 Ipswich * 8.67 * 8.55 * 7.93 * 6.81 * 6.38 * 6.33 * 6.18 * 4.27 Lakeside * 9.98 * 8.57 * 7.73 * 7.30 * 7.25 * 7.00 * 6.72 * 5.70 * 5.38 * 2.00 Peterborough * 9.45 (22 matches) * 8.08 * 7.67 * 6.96 * 6.49 * 6.05 * 5.78 * 5.46 * 5.32 * 4.48 * 2.46 * 2.11 Poole * 9.30 * 8.95 * 8.30 * 7.89 * 7.29 * 7.11 * 6.05 * 5.36 * 5.18 * 4.10 Swindon * 11.04 * 8.16 * 7.38 * 7.12 * 5.53 * 5.52 * 5.06 * 3.11 * 2.80 Wolverhampton * 8.52 * 8.46 * 6.01 * 5.85 * 5.67 * 5.14 * 4.91 * 4.90 * 4.32 * 2.72

References

{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons SGB Premiership Elite League

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