# 1997 Premier League speedway season

The 1997 Premier League speedway season was the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).

## Restructure

A restructure of British speedway took place, with the Premier League becoming the second division and a new Elite League becoming the top division. During the two previous seasons (1995 and 1996) there had been only one division of British speedway also called the Premier League, this confused matters because the Premier League was now only a second-tier competition.

## Season summary

The Premier League was consisted of 14 teams for the 1997 season, running on a standard format with no play-offs. The Young Shield was introduced as an end of season cup competition for the top eight teams in the league standings.
A new team Skegness Braves, created by Peter Oakes, entered speedway for the first time but withdrew mid-season.
Reading Racers won the title.

## Final table

| Pos | | M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Bon | Tot |
| 1 | Reading Racers | 26 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1323 | 1011 | 44 | 13 | 57 |
| 2 | Long Eaton Invaders | 26 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 1227 | 1107 | 37 | 11 | 48 |
| 3 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 26 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 1235 | 1102 | 38 | 8 | 43 |
| 4 | Newcastle Diamonds | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 1201 | 1134 | 30 | 8 | 38 |
| 5 | Exeter Falcons | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 1213 | 1125 | 28 | 6 | 34 |
| 6 | Glasgow Tigers | 26 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 1158 | 1179 | 26 | 6 | 32 |
| 7 | Arena Essex Hammers | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 1157 | 1179 | 24 | 7 | 31 |
| 8 | Isle of Wight Islanders* | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 1149 | 1184 | 24 | 7 | 31 |
| 9 | Hull Vikings | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 1134 | 1195 | 26 | 5 | 31 |
| 10 | Sheffield Tigers | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 1116 | 1219 | 24 | 5 | 29 |
| 11 | Oxford Cheetahs | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 1116 | 1219 | 18 | 6 | 24 |
| 12 | Stoke Potters | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 1111 | 1122 | 18 | 3 | 21 |
| 13 | Berwick Bandits | 26 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 1105 | 1223 | 15 | 4 | 19 |
| 14 | Newport Wasps | 26 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 1095 | 1241 | 15 | 2 | 17 |
* replaced Skegness Braves mid-season

## Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | AE | BER | ED | EX | GLA | HV | IOW | LE | ND | NW | OX | RR | SHE | STO |
| Arena Essex Hammers | | 53–36 | 40–49 | 55–35 | 57–33 | 49–41 | 54–36 | 43–47 | 48–42 | 51–38 | 48–42 | 39–51 | 60–30 | 44–46 |
| Berwick Bandits | 43–47 | | 50–40 | 43–47 | 45–45 | 43–47 | 42–48+ | 41–49 | 54–35 | 59–31 | 48–42 | 37–53 | 50–39 | 56–34 |
| Edinburgh Monarchs | 54–36 | 46–44 | | 54–36 | 53–37 | 59–31 | 53–36+ | 45–45 | 44–4 | 55–35 | 58–32 | 46–44 | 64–26 | 48–42 |
| Exeter Falcons | 53–37 | 51–39 | 52–38 | | 72–18 | 55–34 | 57–33 | 65–25 | 54–36 | 61–29 | 55–35 | 39–51 | 49–41 | 50–40 |
| Glasgow Tigers | 50–40 | 48–41 | 44–46 | 55–35 | | 51–39 | 55–35 | 42–48 | 53–37 | 52–38 | 64–26 | 49–41 | 52–38 | 52–38 |
| Hull Vikings | 48–42 | 55–32 | 46–44 | 60–30 | 53–36 | | 51–39 | 50–40 | 44–46 | 48–42 | 49–41 | 41–49 | 53–37 | 42–48 |
| Isle of Wight Islanders | 59–30 | 49–40 | 53–36 | 57–33 | 47–43 | 58–32 | | 41–49 | 51–39 | 38–52 | 52–38 | 59–29 | 43–47 | 53–37 |
| Long Eaton Invaders | 53–37 | 51–39 | 59–31 | 50–40 | 52–37 | 57–32 | 50–40 | | 52–38 | 52–37 | 51–38 | 46–44 | 55–35 | 46–44 |
| Newcastle Diamonds | 55–35 | 48–42 | 48–42 | 56–34 | 50–40 | 53–37 | 57–33 | 52–38 | | 53–37 | 49–41 | 41–48 | 60–30 | 42–47 |
| Newport Wasps | 43–47 | 39–50 | 39–51 | 50–40 | 48–42 | 43–46 | 57–33 | 51–39 | 43–47 | | 50–40 | 41–49 | 49–41 | 45–45 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 56–34 | 55–34 | 44–46 | 54–36 | 40–50 | 53–37 | 41–49 | 46–43 | 50–39 | 52–38 | | 43–47 | 52–38 | 51–38 |
| Reading Racers | 49–41 | 64–26 | 50–40 | 54–36 | 62–28 | 48–40 | 61–29 | 55–35 | 52–38 | 52–38 | 54–36 | | 59–31 | 61–29 |
| Sheffield Tigers | 48–42 | 62–18 | 44–46 | 49–40 | 53–37 | 43–46 | 50–40 | 47–42 | 48–41 | 46–44 | 50–40 | 44–46 | | 49–41 |
| Stoke Potters | 42–48 | 45–43 | 43–47 | 32–58 | 45–45 | 57–32 | 51–38 | 37–53 | 37–53 | 52–38 | 62–28 | 39–50 | 40–50 | |

## Premier League Knockout Cup

The 1997 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 30th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams and the first with the name Premier League Knockout Cup. Edinburgh Monarchs were the winners of the competition.
During 1995 and 1996 the British League merged and ran as one newly named Premier League, which therefore meant that the second tier of speedway in the United Kingdom was the 1995 Academy League season, followed one year later by the 1996 Speedway Conference League season.
First round
Northern Group
| Pos | Team | Played | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Hull Vikings | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| 3 | Newcastle Diamonds | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| 4 | Sheffield Tigers | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| 5 | Berwick Bandits | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| 6 | Stoke Potters | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 7 | Glasgow Tigers | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Southern Group
| Pos | Team | Played | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Oxford Cheetahs | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
| 2 | Reading Racers | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| 3 | Long Eaton Invaders | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 4 | Arena Essex Hammers | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| 5 | Exeter Falcons | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| 6 | Skegness Braves | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 04/07 | Edinburgh | 51-39 | Reading |
| 21/07 | Reading | 48-42 | Edinburgh |
| 29/06 | Oxford | 51-39 | Hull |
| 09/07 | Hull | 46-43 | Oxford |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Edinburgh were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 94–86.

## Riders' Championship

Peter Carr won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 13 September at Brandon Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Peter Carr | 2 2 0 2 3 | 9 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Glenn Cunningham | 0 2 3 3 2 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Robert Eriksson | 2 2 3 2 r | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Brett Woodifield | 3 1 3 1 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Dave Mullett | 1 3 3 3 2 | 12 | 1 |
| 6 | Neville Tatum | 3 3 2 3 1 | 12 | 1 |
| 7 | Leigh Lanham | 3 3 fex 2 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 8 | Stuart Robson | 1 1 1 3 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 9 | Scott Lamb | 2 1 2 1 3 | 9 |
| 10 | Carl Stonehewer | 3 1 1 1 2 | 8 |
| 11 | Les Collins | 1 3 1 0 2 | 7 |
| 12 | Scott Smith | 0 0 2 2 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Neil Collins | 2 0 2 0 0 | 4 |
| 14 | Troy Pratt | 0 2 1 0 0 | 3 |
| 15 | Paul Bentley | 1 0 0 1 1 | 3 |
| 16 | Anders Henriksson | 0 fex - - - | 0 |
| 17 | David Housley (res) | - - 0 - 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Nick Simmons (res) | - - - 0 - | 0 |
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

## Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Oxford Stadium on 26 September. The event was won by Long Eaton Invaders.
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Long Eaton | 33 | Stonehewer 18, Dixon 15 |
| 2 | Reading | 31 | Richardson 19, Mullett 12 |
| 3 | Exeter | 28 | Coles 21, Lanham 7 |
| 4 | Oxford | 26 | Hare 20, Tatum 6 |
| 5 | Sheffield | 26 | Kessler 18, Smith 8 |
| 6 | Glasgow | 23 | Powell 13, Collins 10 |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 22 | Carr P 17, McKinna 5 |

## Fours

Long Eaton Invaders won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 3 August 1997, at the East of England Arena.
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Long Eaton | 28 | Lee 7, Stonehewer 7, Werner 7, Dixon 6, Elkins 1 |
| 2 | Edinburgh | 23 | Carr P 12, Eriksson 6, McKinna K 4, Gould 1 |
| 3 | Oxford | 17 | Hare 6, Teurnberg 4, Berge 4, Tatum 3 |
| 4 | Berwick | 9 | Lamb 4, Little 2, Pingel 1, Kosonen 1, Meldrum 1 |

## Final leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Dave Mullett | Reading | 10.47 |
| Carl Stonehewer | Long Eaton | 10.39 |
| Glenn Cunningham | Reading | 9.92 |
| Peter Carr | Edinburgh | 9.88 |
| Martin Dixon | Long Eaton | 9.81 |
| Kenny McKinna | Edinburgh | 9.73 |
| Robbie Kessler | Sheffield | 9.76 |
| Alan Grahame | Hull | 9.75 |
| Robert Eriksson | Edinburgh | 9.46 |
| Les Collins | Stoke | 9.44 |

## Riders & final averages

Arena Essex
* Troy Pratt 8.65
* Jan Pedersen 8.42
* Colin White 7.22
* Tommy Palmer 7.08
* David Mason 4.07
* John Wainwright 4.00
* Paul Lydes-Uings 2.44
Berwick
* Scott Lamb 8.57
* Jörg Pingel 7.21
* Kevin Little 7.18
* Mike Smith 6.65
* Richard Juul 6.54
* David Meldrum 4.97
* David Blackburn 4.54
* Michael Lowrie 3.91
Edinburgh
* Peter Carr 9.88
* Kenny McKinna 9.73
* Robert Eriksson 9.46
* Jarno Kosonen 6.63
* Paul Gould 4.45
* Barry Campbell 3.85
* Blair Scott 3.68
* Neil Hewitt 2.35
Exeter
* Michael Coles 8.83
* Leigh Lanham 8.76
* Frank Smart 7.28
* Peter Jeffery 7.14
* Graeme Gordon 6.18
* Gary Lobb 3.52
* Paul Fudge 2.86
Glasgow
* Neil Collins 9.02
* Mick Powell 8.32
* Stewart McDonald 7.47
* Sean Courtney 6.91
* Will Beveridge 4.44
* Grant MacDonald 3.28
Hull
* Alan Grahame 9.75
* Stuart Robson 8.37
* Scott Robson 7.55
* Peter Scully 6.49
* Lee Dicken 5.01
* Brian Turner 2.91
* Richard Emson 1.95
Isle of Wight/Skegness
* Shaun Tacey 8.23
* Brett Woodifield 7.63
* Nigel Sadler 6.73
* Mark Simmonds 6.44
* Wayne Carter 6.20
* Jason Bunyan 5.71
* Paul Clews 3.75
* Gavin Hedge 2.70
* Lee Dixon 1.14
Long Eaton
* Carl Stonehewer 10.39
* Martin Dixon 9.81
* Brent Werner 9.27
* Justin Elkins 5.06
* Paul Lee 4.21
* Mark Burrows 4.00
* Dean Felton 2.39
* Bobby Eldridge 2.18
Newcastle
* Paul Bentley 8.81
* Jesper Olsen 8.57
* Richard Juul 7.73
* Stuart Swales 7.13
* Glyn Taylor 5.92
* Andre Compton 3.80
* Brian Turner 3.78
* James Birkinshaw 2.00
Newport
* Paul Fry 8.75
* Anders Henriksson 8.24
* Craig Watson 7.72
* Scott Pegler 6.12
* Martin Willis 4.14
* Roger Lobb 3.55
Oxford
* Neville Tatum 9.14
* Lawrence Hare 8.46
* Philippe Bergé 8.35
* Mikael Teurnberg 7.34
* Jason Bunyan 4.41
* Jeremy Luckhurst 3.37
* Krister Marsh 2.67
* Anthony Barlow 2.27
* Darren Andrews 1.37
Reading
* Dave Mullett 10.47
* Glenn Cunningham 9.92
* David Steen 7.75
* Lee Richardson 6.73
* Paul Pickering 6.50
* Krister Marsh 2.43
* Bobby Eldridge 2.00
Sheffield
* Robbie Kessler 9.76
* Scott Smith 8.95
* Mirko Wolter 7.94
* Rene Aas 6.89
* Steve Knott 5.45
* Peter Boast 3.70
* Derrol Keats 3.33
* Mike Hampson 3.10
* James Birkinshaw 3.02
Stoke
* Les Collins 9.44
* Phil Morris 6.53
* Craig Taylor 6.17
* Chris Cobby 5.87
* Tony Atkin 5.83
* Mark Burrows 4.42
Jon Armstrong 2.00