The 1997 Elite League speedway season was the 63rd season of the top tier of

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was the first season of a new league known as the Elite League and was 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 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. Each club has a promote ...

(

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. Each club has a promote ...

Season summary

In 1997, the single speedway league in Great Britain separated after two seasons, forming a new top division. The inaugural league consisted of ten teams. The league operated on a standard format without play-offs. The

Craven Shield The Craven Shield and Young Shield were shortlived speedway end of season cup competitions in the United Kingdom governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). Craven Shield ...

was introduced as an end of season cup competition for the top eight teams in the league standings.

Bradford Dukes The Bradford Dukes were a British motorcycle speedway team which operated from the Odsal Stadium in Bradford from 1986 until their closure in 1997.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History Speedway has long been asso ...

finally won the league, their first success since 1966 when they raced as

Halifax Dukes The Halifax Dukes were a Speedway team which operated from 1949–1951 and again from 1965 until their closure in 1985 at The Shay Stadium in Halifax. The team were nicknamed the "Dukes" after the local Duke of Wellington's Regiment, whose tra ...

. Bradford retained top English riders

Gary Havelock Robert Gary Havelock (born 4 November 1968, in Eaglescliffe, County Durham, England) is a former speedway rider who was World Champion in 1992. For several years he captained the Redcar Bears in the Premier League. He is the son of former spee ...

and

Joe Screen Joseph Screen (born 27 November 1972 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire), is a former British international speedway rider. His major speedway honours include winning the World Under-21 Championship in 1993, the British Championship in 1996 and 2004, ...

but crucially brought in

Mark Loram Mark Roysten Gregory Loram (born 12 January 1971) is a former British motorcycle speedway rider who won the World Speedway Championship in 2000 and won the British Championship in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Career Born in Mtarfa, Malta, Mark Lor ...

from Exeter Falcons. Loram had a superb season that included becoming the new British Champion.

Final table

Elite League Knockout Cup

The 1997 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 59th 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 but the first under its new name.

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England, that raced in the SGB Championship. History Speedway was initially introduced to Eastbourne in 1929. During their first league season th ...

were the winners of the competition.

First round

Group A Group B

Semi-finals

Final

First leg Second leg Eastbourne Eagles were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 116-66.

Final leading averages

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue * 10.07 * 8.48 * 7.74 * 5.58 * 5.56 * 4.17 * 1.62 * 0.97 Bradford * 9.77 * 9.59 * 7.59 * 5.78 * 5.70 * 4.45 Coventry * 9.85 * 9.02 * 6.90 * 5.84 * 5.67 * 5.13 * 4.15 * 1.44 Eastbourne * 8.44 * 8.24 * 7.32 * 6.97 * 6.57 * 4.56 Ipswich * 10.09 * 9.42 * 7.74 * 6.25 * 6.17 * 6.11 * 3.62 King's Lynn * 8.07 * 7.48 * 7.24 * 6.91 * 6.26 * 5.14 * 3.11 Peterborough * 9.71 * 7.80 * 7.71 * 7.22 * 4.95 * 4.90 * 2.52 Poole * 9.43 * 7.48 * 7.30 * 6.43 * 6.18 * 4.80 * 4.77 * 4.45 Swindon * 9.76 * 8.96 * 8.12 * 6.68 * 4.68 * 2.53 Wolverhampton * 8.62 * 8.37 * 7.08 * 5.45 * 4.76 * 4.55 * 4.16

References

{{Speedway Elite League SGB Premiership 1997 in British motorsport