# 2007 Elite League speedway season

The 2007 Elite League speedway season was the 73rd season of the top division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).

## Season summary

In 2007, the league consisted of eleven teams for the start of the season. However on 31 May, the Oxford Cheetahs issued a statement explaining their resignation from the league. Their results were expunged from the table and the season was completed with ten teams. It was the last time that Oxford Cheetahs would compete in the league for 15 years, following the refusal of the landlords to allow speedway at Oxford and the subsequent closure of Oxford Stadium in 2012.
Coventry bounced back to winning ways completing the league and cup double. English duo Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris were once again the main catalysts to the team's success. The United States pair of Rory Schlein and Billy Janniro also added valuable contributions to the Coventry team.
Once again the Australian pair of Leigh Adams and Jason Crump were the best riders during the season and finished first and second in the league averages.

## Final table

| | | M | W | D | L | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | BP | Tot |
| 1 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 1819 | 1463 | 57 | 16 | 73 |
| 2 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1853.5 | 1451.5 | 53 | 14 | 67 |
| 3 | Peterborough Panthers | 36 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 1757 | 1501 | 51 | 12 | 63 |
| 4 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 1761 | 1514 | 45 | 13 | 58 |
| 5 | Lakeside Hammers | 36 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 1605 | 1690 | 34 | 8 | 42 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 1602 | 1685 | 33 | 8 | 41 |
| 7 | Eastbourne Eagles | 36 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 1624.5 | 1676.5 | 26 | 7 | 33 |
| 8 | Reading Racers | 36 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 1497 | 1779 | 23 | 3 | 26 |
| 9 | Ipswich Witches | 36 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 1464 | 1809 | 20 | 5 | 25 |
| 10 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 1439 | 1853 | 18 | 4 | 22 |
| | Oxford Cheetahs | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew |
* = Qualified for Play Offs

### 'A' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | LH | OX | PET | PP | RR | SWI | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 38–54 | 50–43 | 49–40 | 47–43 | n/a | 39–52 | 52–38 | 55–38 | 34–56 | 42–48 |
| Coventry Bees | 53–39 | | 50–40 | 57–33 | 67–25 | 65–28 | 50–40 | 46–44 | 45–45 | 44–46 | 47–43 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 62–29 | 43–50 | | 45–45 | 55–38 | 43–31 | 44–50 | 49–41 | 55–38 | 56.5–38.5 | 57–35 |
| Ipswich Witches | 65–25 | 37–56 | 60–30 | | 44–44 | 53–40 | 61–32 | 35–58 | 43–47 | 46–44 | 49–43 |
| Lakeside Hammers | 58–34 | 52–41 | 54–36 | 60–33 | | 51–42 | 56–37 | 48–42 | 52–38 | 41–50 | 39–51 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 49–51 | 28–64 | 59–34 | n/a | 39–53 | | 43–46 | 34–58 | 40–50 | 31–59 | n/a |
| Peterborough Panthers | 62–31 | 48–42 | 49–44 | 46–28 | 65–25 | 61–30 | | 46–43 | 52–40 | 58–35 | 53–40 |
| Poole Pirates | 50–43 | 52–40 | 52–36 | 58–34 | 56–37 | 57–35 | 53–40 | | 52–41 | 45–45 | 63–27 |
| Reading Racers | 48–42 | 39–53 | 54–38 | 60–32 | 55–35 | 54–36 | 56–37 | 42–51 | | 39–45 | 49–41 |
| Swindon Robins | 68–24 | 54–40 | 55–38 | 68–24 | 63–29 | n/a | 52–37 | 46–44 | 65–28 | | 58–34 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 54–39 | 43–49 | 51–42 | 63–29 | 49–44 | 60–32 | 55–38 | 49–43 | 54–39 | 51–42 | |

### 'B' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | LH | PET | PP | RR | SWI | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 34–56 | 60–29 | 54–39 | 39–53 | 40–52 | 43–50 | 56–37 | 35–58 | 43–47 |
| Coventry Bees | 62–28 | | 49–44 | 64–29 | 58–34 | 45–30 | 49–42 | 57–36 | 55–35 | 52–41 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 55–37 | 40–53 | | 47–46 | 43–49 | 42–51 | 53–37 | 58–35 | 53–37 | 50–39 |
| Ipswich Witches | 55–35 | 41–52 | 46–44 | | 51–42 | 43–46 | 41–49 | 38–52 | 44–46 | 52–41 |
| Lakeside Hammers | 53–40 | 42–48 | 52–40 | 58–35 | | 45–45 | 45–47 | 53–39 | 53–41 | 58–35 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 47–43 | 46–44 | 51–42 | 62–30 | 54–36 | | 54–38 | 60–31 | 51–42 | 66–24 |
| Poole Pirates | 60–32 | 43–49 | 48–46 | 63–30 | 57–36 | 46–44 | | 48–24 | 50–43 | 56–36 |
| Reading Racers | 46–47 | 44–49 | 46–44 | 50–42 | 41–49 | 50–40 | 39–51 | | 35–57 | 49–33 |
| Swindon Robins | 65–28 | 51–42 | 56–36 | 64–26 | 62–28 | 51–42 | 47–46 | 57–36 | | 57–36 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 57–33 | 42–51 | 45–45 | 55–38 | 52–38 | 38–54 | 47–45 | 59–31 | 44–45 | |

## Play-offs

Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.
Semi-finals
* Coventry Bees 55-38 Poole Pirates
* Swindon Robins 50-42 Peterborough Panthers

### Final

First leg
Second leg
The Coventry Bees were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 102-83.

## Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2007 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 69th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Coventry Bees were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 04/05 | Lakeside | 50-40 | Belle Vue |
| 30/04 | Belle Vue | 47-46 | Lakeside |
| 16/04 | Wolverhampton | 51-42 | Reading |
| 13/04 | Oxford | 45-45 | Ipswich |
| 13/04 | Reading | 56-34 | Wolverhampton |
| 12/04 | Ipswich | 52-38 | Oxford |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 15/09 | Eastbourne | 41-49 | Lakeside |
| 14/09 | Lakeside | 59-33 | Eastbourne |
| 13/09 | Swindon | 55-37 | Reading |
| 16/08 | Ipswich | 49-44 | Reading |
| 13/07 | Reading Racers | 53-40 | Ipswich |
| 09/07 | Coventry | 53-40 | Poole |
| 14/06 | Swindon | 63-27 | Peterborough |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 15/10 | Reading Racers | 38-54 | Swindon |
| 06/10 | Lakeside | 45-45 | Coventry |
| 05/10 | Coventry | 52-41 | Lakeside |
| 19/09 | Poole | 31-44 | Coventry |
Final
First leg
Second leg
The Coventry Bees were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 98-85.

## Riders' Championship

Nicki Pedersen won the Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held at King's Lynn Stadium on 30 August.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Nicki Pedersen | 3 3 3 3 2 | 14 | x | 3 |
| 2 | Chris Harris | 0 2 3 2 3 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Leigh Adams | 3 3 2 2 3 | 13 | x | 1 |
| 4 | Davey Watt | 3 1 2 3 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Bjarne Pedersen | 1 3 1 3 2 | 10 | 1 | |
| 6 | Krzysztof Kasprzak | 2 2 0 1 3 | 8 | 0 | |
| 7 | Troy Batchelor | 2 0 3 1 2 | 8 | | |
| 8 | Hans Andersen | 2 3 0 0 2 | 7 | | |
| 9 | Scott Nicholls | 0 2 1 3 1 | 7 | | |
| 10 | Adam Shields | 0 1 2 2 1 | 6 | | |
| 11 | Rory Schlein | 1 1 3 1 0 | 6 | | |
| 12 | Travis McGowan | 3 2 0 0 1 | 6 | | |
| 13 | Freddie Lindgren | 0 1 1 2 1 | 5 | | |
| 14 | Tomáš Topinka | 2 0 2 1 0 | 5 | | |
| 15 | Chris Louis | 0 0 1 0 0 | 1 | | |
| 16 | Chris Mills | 1 0 0 0 0 | 1 | | |

## Pairs

The Elite League Pairs Championship was held at the King's Lynn Stadium on 7 April and was won by Poole Pirates.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Reading | 22 | Hancock 13, McGowan 9 |
| 2 | Poole | 21 | Crump 13, Pedersen B 8 |
| 3 | Coventry | 21 | Nicholls 11, Schlein 10 |
| 4 | Eastbourne | 18 | Pedersen N 15, Bridger 3 |
| 5 | Ipswich | 8 | Jansson 6, Louis 2 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Peterborough | 24 | Andersen 16, Iversen 8 |
| 2 | Swindon | 23 | Adams 14, Ulamek 9 |
| 3 | Lakeside | 19 | Shields 14, Kylmakorpi 5 |
| 4 | Oxford | 12 | Jensen 12, Eriksson 0 |
| 5 | Wolves | 12 | Karlsson 8, Hamill 4 |
Semi finals
* Poole 6 Peterborough 3 - Crump, Iversen, Pedersen B, Andersen
* Reading 6 Swindon 3 - McGowan, Adams, Hancock, Ulamek
Final
* Poole 6 Reading 3 - Crump, Hancock, Pedersen B, McGowan

## Leading final averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Leigh Adams | Swindon | 10.77 |
| Jason Crump | Poole | 10.71 |
| Nicki Pedersen | Eastbourne | 10.55 |
| Hans Andersen | Peterborough | 10.38 |
| Bjarne Pedersen | Poole | 9.96 |
| Scott Nicholls | Coventry | 9.60 |
| Greg Hancock | Reading | 9.54 |
| Peter Karlsson | Wolverhampton | 9.22 |
| Chris Harris | Coventry | 8.90 |
| Davey Watt | Eastbourne | 8.52 |

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Simon Stead 7.38
* Joe Screen 7.03
* Antonio Lindbäck 6.75
* Kevin Doolan 6.25
* Adam Skórnicki 6.22
* James Wright 5.54
* Billy Forsberg 5.46
* Kai Laukkanen 4.98
* Joel Parsons 4.00
* Ryan Fisher 3.04
* Adam Roynon 1.65
Coventry
* Scott Nicholls 9.60
* Chris Harris 8.90
* Rory Schlein 8.15
* Billy Janniro 6.82
* Steve Johnston 6.70
* Morten Risager 6.31
* Oliver Allen 6.29
* Martin Smolinski 5.83
Eastbourne
* Nicki Pedersen 10.55
* Davey Watt 8.52
* David Norris 6.77
* Dean Barker 6.64
* Roman Povazhny 6.29
* Morten Risager 5.49
* Cameron Woodward 5.34
* Lewis Bridger 5.33
* Stefan Andersson 5.18
* Simon Gustafsson 4.17
Ipswich
* Chris Louis 7.89
* Jesper B. Jensen 7.25
* Robert Miśkowiak 6.82
* Kim Jansson 5.90
* Tobias Kroner 5.72
* Zbigniew Suchecki 4.07
* Marcin Rempała 4.00
* Chris Schramm 3.50
Lakeside
* Andreas Jonsson 9.50
* Krzysztof Kasprzak 8.17
* Adam Shields 7.86
* Joonas Kylmäkorpi 7.32
* Leigh Lanham 6.14
* Chris Neath 5.36
* Henning Bager 5.14
* Christian Hefenbrock 5.01
* Paul Hurry 4.77
* Andreas Messing 4.43
* Ricky Kling 4.33
* Luboš Tomíček Jr. 4.00
Oxford (withdrew from league)
* Piotr Protasiewicz 7.00
* Jesper B Jensen 6.67
* Steve Johnston 5.79
* Luboš Tomíček Jr. 5.71
* Freddie Eriksson 5.04
* Ricky Kling 4.94
* Andy Smith 4.00
* Eric Andersson 3.88
* Aleš Dryml Jr. 3.82
Peterborough
* Hans N. Andersen 10.38
* Kenneth Bjerre 8.38
* Niels Kristian Iversen 7.74
* Lukáš Dryml 6.59
* Piotr Świderski 6.10
* Danny King 6.03
* Richard Hall 4.46
* Christian Hefenbrock 4.46
Poole
* Jason Crump 10.71
* Bjarne Pedersen 9.96
* Edward Kennett 6.49
* Craig Boyce 6.24
* Troy Batchelor 6.22
* Jason Doyle 5.11
* Piotr Świst 5.00
* Steve Boxall 3.64
* Craig Watson 2.26
Reading
* Greg Hancock 9.54
* Matej Žagar 8.00
* Janusz Kołodziej 7.21
* Travis McGowan 6.29
* Jonas Davidsson 5.71
* Zdeněk Simota 5.24
* Mark Lemon 5.20
* Krzysztof Buczkowski 5.05
* Danny Bird 4.81
Swindon
* Leigh Adams 10.77
* Lee Richardson 8.48
* Charlie Gjedde 8.31
* Sebastian Ułamek 7.62
* Tomasz Chrzanowski 7.19
* Mads Korneliussen 6.10
* Andrew Moore 4.59
Wolverhampton
* Peter Karlsson 9.22
* Freddie Lindgren 8.35
* David Howe 7.80
* Billy Hamill 7.74
* James Grieves 5.20
* Magnus Karlsson 4.37
* Theo Pijper 4.35
* William Lawson 4.28
* Kenneth Hansen 4.13
* Carl Wilkinson 2.44