# 2010 Elite League speedway season

The 2010 Elite League speedway season (also known as the Sky Sports Elite League for sponsorship reasons) was the 76th season of the top division of UK speedway and the 14th since its establishment in 1997.

## Summary

The first fixtures of the season took place on 29 March and the season ended on 27 October. The Wolverhampton Wolves were the defending champions from 2009.
The negative side of playoffs was experienced during the 2010 season when Coventry Bees claimed the title. Coventry had finished in the fourth and final play off spot, 26 points behind regular season table winners Poole Pirates, who in turn had finished 20 points ahead of their nearest rivals racking up 78 points in total. Coventry went on to win their semi final and then defeat Poole in the final. Although Poole won the Knockout Cup there was a distinct feeling of an injustice. Poole's Australian contingent of Chris Holder, Darcy Ward, Davey Watt and Jason Doyle had been consistent all season except during the play off final and Coventry's Polish duo of Krzysztof Kasprzak and Przemysław Pawlicki both hit great form on the night.

## League table

* Key:
* Championship play-offs
* Relegation play-offs
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

### 'A' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | LH | PET | PP | SWI | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 51–41 | 59–36 | 55–37 | 57–38 | 51–41 | 36–55 | 51–39 | 47–43 |
| Coventry Bees | 42–48 | | 53–40 | 50–44 | 53–40 | 41–51 | 39–54 | 49–46 | 44–46 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 55–41 | 50–40 | | 45–45 | 45–45 | 47–43 | 49–41 | 43–47 | 45–48 |
| Ipswich Witches | 51–42 | 45–47 | 49–43 | | 43–50 | 50–43 | 44–46 | 46–47 | 50–43 |
| Lakeside Hammers | 54–40 | 59–32 | 53–43 | 49–43 | | 58–37 | 53–40 | 55–40 | 51–44 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 51–41 | 50–40 | 43–47 | 51–42 | 56–39 | | 47–43 | 57–36 | 57–36 |
| Poole Pirates | 59–36 | 63–29 | 63–29 | 63–30 | 70–24 | 54–39 | | 58–35 | 57–35 |
| Swindon Robins | 57–38 | 42–48 | 60–36 | 56–36 | 44–46 | 54–39 | 44–52 | | 51–45 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 50–43 | 56–38 | 46–44 | 54–39 | 56–38 | 55–40 | 50–43 | 50–42 | |

### 'B' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | LH | PET | PP | SWI | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 37–53 | 55–35 | 51–44 | 47–37 | 56–38 | 48–44 | 39–53 | 45–45 |
| Coventry Bees | 65–27 | | 58–35 | 52–44 | 51–41 | 58–34 | 53–42 | 45–45 | 52–43 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 57–35 | 56–39 | | 50–42 | 53–40 | 56–37 | 48–42 | 47–43 | 49–41 |
| Ipswich Witches | 48–42 | 41–49 | 47–43 | | 49–43 | 50–46 | 33–59 | 56–37 | 44–46 |
| Lakeside Hammers | 49–44 | 49–41 | 49–41 | 55–37 | | 39–51 | 43–46 | 45–45 | 49–41 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 54–40 | 44–46 | 57–36 | 50–39 | 51–42 | | 49–44 | 51–42 | 57–35 |
| Poole Pirates | 55–37 | 58–35 | 61–31 | 52–40 | 56–33 | 50–39 | | 51–41 | 53–39 |
| Swindon Robins | 57–35 | 44–46 | 50–34 | 53–40 | 51–44 | 47–49 | 40–53 | | 48–45 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 56–39 | 50–40 | 61–29 | 57–38 | 56–37 | 50–43 | 50–40 | 55–40 | |

## Championship play-offs

Semi-finals
Leg 1
Leg 2
Grand final
First leg
11 :
| | 2 | Richard Sweetman | 1, 1', 1 | 3+1 |
| | 3 | Ben Barker | 0, 3, 0, X | 3 |
| | 4 | Edward Kennett | 2, 2', 2, 1' | 7+2 |
| | 5 | Chris Harris | 2', 1', 1', 3, X | 7+3 |
| | 6 | Lewis Bridger | 3, 2, 1, 2, 2 | 10 |
| | 7 | Przemysław Pawlicki | 2', 3, 3, 2 | 10+1 |
| Manager: Alun Rossiter |||
7 :
| | 2 | Darcy Ward | X, 1, F, 0 | 1 |
| | 3 | Artur Mroczka | 1, 0, 0 | 1 |
| | 4 | Bjarne Pedersen | 3, 3, 4^, 3, 2 | 15 |
| | 5 | Davey Watt | 0, 3, 3, X | 6 |
| | 6 | Leon Madsen | 0, 0, 1, 3 | 4 |
| | 7 | Jason Doyle | 1, 1, 2, 1, F | 5 |
| Manager: Neil Middleditch |||
Second leg
5 :
| | 2 | Darcy Ward | 3, 1', 2, 0 | 6+1 |
| | 3 | Artur Mroczka | 2', 0, 0 | 2+1 |
| | 4 | Bjarne Pedersen | 3, 2, 2, 0, 1 | 8 |
| | 5 | Davey Watt | 3, 2', 3, 0 | 8+1 |
| | 6 | Leon Madsen | 2, 3, 0, 1, 1 | 7 |
| | 7 | Jason Doyle | 0, 1, 0, 3 | 4 |
| Manager: Neil Middleditch |||
13 :
| | 2 | Richard Sweetman | 0, 1, 1, 1' | 3+1 |
| | 3 | Ben Barker | 1, 0, 0, 2' | 3+1 |
| | 4 | Edward Kennett R/R | | |
| | 5 | Chris Harris | Fx, 3, 3, 3, 2', 2' | 13+2 |
| | 6 | Lewis Bridger | 1, 0, 0, 1 | 2 |
| | 7 | Przemysław Pawlicki | 3, 2, 1, 3, 2', 2, 3 | 16+1 |
| Manager: Alun Rossiter |||
Coventry were declared Elite League Champions, on Aggregate 101-79.

## Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2010 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 72nd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Poole Pirates were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 12/04 | Wolverhampton | 56-39 | Ipswich |
| 08/04 | Ipswich | 43-46 | Wolverhampton |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 10/06 | Swindon | 49-41 | Peterborough |
| 17/09 | Peterborough | 58-37 | Swindon |
| 05/07 | Belle Vue | 50-40 | Poole |
| 21/07 | Poole | 57-35 | Belle Vue |
| 19/07 | Coventry | 48-42 | Wolverhampton |
| 30/09 | Wolverhampton | 51-43 | Coventry |
| 23/09 | Eastbourne | 53-41 | Lakeside |
| 24/09 | Lakeside | 45-45 | Eastbourne |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 13/10 | Poole | 58-36 | Peterborough |
| 11/10 | Peterborough | 43-50 | Poole |
| 11/10 | Wolverhampton | 44-46 | Eastbourne |
| 10/10 | Eastbourne | 63-29 | Wolverhampton |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
The Poole Pirates were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 95-90.

## Riders' Championship

Freddie Lindgren won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at East of England Arena on 16 October.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Freddie Lindgren | 3 2 0 3 3 | 11 | x | 3 |
| 2 | Chris Harris | 2 3 3 2 3 | 13 | x | 2 |
| 3 | Kenneth Bjerre | 3 2 0 3 2 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Bjarne Pedersen | 3 0 1 3 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Chris Holder | 3 0 3 1 1 | 8 | 1 | |
| 6 | Scott Nicholls | 2 3 2 1 2 | 10 | 0 | |
| 7 | Simon Stead | 1 2 1 2 2 | 8 | | |
| 8 | Kauko Nieminen | 1 2 2 0 3 | 8 | | |
| 9 | Niels Kristian Iversen | 2 1 3 2 | 8 | | |
| 10 | Hans Andersen | 0 0 2 3 2 | 7 | | |
| 11 | Joonas Kylmäkorpi | 0 1 3 2 0 | 6 | | |
| 12 | Danny King | 1 3 2 0 0 | 6 | | |
| 13 | Peter Karlsson | 0 3 1 - 1 | 5 | | |
| 14 | Tai Woffinden | 2 1 0 0 1 | 4 | | |
| 15 | Cameron Woodward | 0 1 0 1 1 | 3 | | |
| 16 | Krzysztof Kasprzak | 1 0 1 1 - | 3 | | |
| 17 | Lewis Kerr (res) | 0 | 0 | | |

## Pairs

The Elite League Pairs Championship was held at the Foxhall Stadium on 4 September and was won by Coventry Bees.
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Coventry | 26 | Kasprzak 14, Harris 12 |
| 2 | Poole | 23 | Pedersen 12, Holder 11 |
| 3 | Lakeside | 22 | Shields 12, Davidsson 10 |
| 4 | Peterborough | 20 | Bjerre 10, Iversen 10 |
| 5 | Swindon | 18 | Zengota 11, Korneliussen 7 |
| 6 | Ipswich | 17 | King 9, Nicholls 8 |
| 7 | Wolves | 15 | Klindt 12, Haines 3 |
| 8 | Eastbourne | 13 | Kling 9, Woodward 4 |
| 9 | Belle Vue | 8 | Wright J 6, Sitera 2 |
Semi finals
* Eastbourne 7 Peterborough 2 - Harris, Kasprzak, Iversen, Bjerre
* Poole 7 Lakeside 2 - Holder, Pedersen, Shields, Jacobs
Final
* Coventry 5 Poole 4 - Kasprzak, Harris, Holder, Pedersen

## Final leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Freddie Lindgren | Wolverhampton | 10.23 |
| Leigh Adams | Swindon | 9.90 |
| Kenneth Bjerre | Peterborough | 9.62 |
| Lee Richardson | Lakeside | 9.35 |
| Scott Nicholls | Ipswich | 9.34 |
| Krzysztof Kasprzak | Coventry | 9.02 |
| Bjarne Pedersen | Poole | 8.83 |
| Chris Harris | Coventry | 8.80 |
| Hans Andersen | Belle Vue | 8.70 |
| Chris Holder | Poole | 8.58 |

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Hans Andersen 8.70
* Peter Karlsson 7.44
* Patrick Hougaard 6.77
* Leigh Lanham 6.11
* Ulrich Østergaard 6.08
* James Wright 5.73
* Josh Grajczonek 4.66
* William Lawson 4.47
* Tobias Kroner3.87
* Ricky Ashworth 3.73
* Filip Šitera 2.80
Coventry
* Krzysztof Kasprzak 9.02
* Chris Harris 8.80
* Edward Kennett 7.25
* Przemysław Pawlicki 7.08
* Rory Schlein 7.00
* Ben Barker 6.56
* Lewis Bridger 6.29
* Richard Sweetman 6.11
* Aaron Summers 4.39
* Josh Auty 3.65
* Filip Šitera 3.38
Eastbourne
* Matej Žagar 8.29
* Joonas Kylmakorpi 7.56
* Cameron Woodward 7.26
* Simon Gustafsson 6.27
* Tomasz Jędrzejak 6.04
* Lukáš Dryml 5.93
* Ricky Kling 5.44
* Chris Schramm 4.61
* Dawid Lampart 4.34
Ipswich
* Scott Nicholls 9.34
* Danny King 7.39
* Linus Sundstrom 6.79
* Robert Miśkowiak 6.56
* Aleš Dryml Jr. 6.07
* Dawid Stachyra 5.83
* Oliver Allen 5.67
* Krzysztof Słaboń 5.03
* Claus Vissing 3.71
* Kozza Smith 3.69
* Ritchie Hawkins 3.61
* Carl Wilkinson 2.11
Lakeside
* Lee Richardson 9.35
* Krzysztof Kasprzak 8.17
* Adam Shields 7.64
* Jonas Davidsson 6.87
* Peter Ljung 6.10
* Kauko Nieminen 5.96
* Daniel Davidsson 5.49
* Chris Neath 5.29
* Paul Hurry 4.73
* Stuart Robson 4.64
Peterborough
* Kenneth Bjerre 9.62
* Niels Kristian Iversen 7.93
* Troy Batchelor 7.48
* Rory Schlein 7.25
* Krzysztof Buczkowski 6.39
* Norbert Kosciuch 5.04
* Lewis Bridger 4.90
* Ulrich Østergaard 4.46
* Mathieu Trésarrieu 3.95
* Craig Cook 2.38
Poole
* Bjarne Pedersen 8.83
* Chris Holder 8.58
* Davey Watt 8.01
* Darcy Ward 7.93
* Artur Mroczka 6.89
* Leon Madsen 6.74
* Jason Doyle 6.25
Swindon
* Leigh Adams 9.90
* Simon Stead 8.21
* Mads Korneliussen 6.81
* Maciej Janowski 6.62
* Grzegorz Zengota 6.52
* Thomas H. Jonasson 5.91
* Morten Risager 4.39
* Cory Gathercole 3.86
* Justin Sedgmen 3.55
Wolverhampton
* Freddie Lindgren 10.23
* Tai Woffinden 7.54
* Nicolai Klindt 6.91
* Adam Skórnicki 6.89
* Ty Proctor 6.72
* Joe Screen 6.52
* Matthew Wethers 5.30
* Ludvig Lindgren 5.26
* Joe Haines 3.55