The 2005 Elite League speedway season was the 71st season of the top division 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
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 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.
Each club has a promot ...
(
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 promot ...
).
Season summary
In 2005, the league consisted of ten teams, with the title being decided by a play-off between the top four.
[
]
Belle Vue Aces topped the regular season table and won the
Knockout Cup. Their world champion rider
Jason Crump
Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion.
In a 21-year career in Speedway, Jason ...
was in superb form throughout the season. 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 w ...
topped the league averages for Swindon for arguably the second consecutive season but it was
Coventry Bees
Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England.
History
A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Souther ...
that experienced their first title success since the glory days of the late 1980s. Coventry had finished bottom of the table during the previous season and with the exception of finishing runner-up in 2003 had been starved of success. The club made a change that proved instrumental, they brought in
Scott Nicholls
Scott Karl Nicholls (born 16 May 1978) is a British speedway rider, who has won the British Championship seven times,[Andreas Jonsson
Andreas Karl Rune Jonsson (born 3 September 1980 in Stockholm, Sweden) is an international motorcycle speedway rider. He was a member of the Sweden speedway team that won the World Cup in 2003, 2004 and 2015.
Career summary
Jonsson won ...]
and
Chris Harris the team defeated Belle Vue in the Elite League Play off final.
Final table
Play-offs
Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.
Semi-finals
*
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wi ...
53-40
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 ...
*
Coventry Bees
Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England.
History
A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Souther ...
55-41
Peterborough Panthers
The Peterborough Panthers are a British speedway team based in Peterborough, England. They are three times champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest level league in 1999, 2006 and 2021.
History 1970–1994
The Panthers inaugural se ...
Final
First leg
Second leg
The Coventry Bees were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 101-83.
Elite League Knockout Cup
The 2005 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 67th edition of the
Knockout Cup for tier one teams.
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wi ...
were the winners of the competition.
First round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
First leg
Second leg
The Belle Vue Aces were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 97-83.
Leading final averages
Riders & final averages
Arena Essex
* 10.06
* 8.14
* 6.43
* 6.21
* 6.05
* 5.94
* 5.66
* 5.09
* 4.96
* 4.48
* 4.20
Belle Vue
* 10.35
* 7.87
* 7.69
* 7.35
* 6.95
* 6.36
* 5.09
* 4.43
* 1.50
* 1.43
Coventry
* 9.45
* 8.76
* 7.20
* 7.20
* 6.79
* 6.43
* 6.22
* 6.00
* 4.20
Eastbourne
* 10.30
* 7.75
* 7.22
* 7.11
* 6.45
* 4.76
* 4.65
* 2.56
Ipswich
* 9.44
* 8.43
* 7.91
* 6.99
* 5.91
* 5.27
* 3.82
* 3.28
* 3.16
Oxford
* 9.32
* 7.95
* 7.45
* 6.36
* 6.24
* 6.22
* 5.09
* 4.15
* 4.00
* 3.06
* 2.67
* 1.28
Peterborough
* 9.48
* 8.19
* 7.38
* 7.21
* 7.10
* 6.62
* 6.05
* 2.95
* 2.05
Poole
* 9.27
* 8.13
* 7.78
* 7.38
* 6.26
* 5.28
* 4.35
* 3.69
* 2.13
Swindon
* 10.42
* 8.85
* 8.48
* 4.59
* 4.38
* 4.10
* 3.93
* 3.89
* 3.76
* 1.67
Wolverhampton
* 8.82
* 7.44
* 6.98
* 6.65
* 6.36
* 5.61
* 5.23
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
Se ...
*
List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
*
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 Cup c ...
References
{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons
SGB Premiership
2005 in British motorsport