# 2006 Elite League speedway season

The 2006 Elite League speedway season was the 72nd season of the top division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).

## Season summary

In 2006, the league consisted of eleven teams, after the newly named Reading Bulldogs, moved up from the Premier League. The Championship was won by the Peterborough Panthers by a single race point in the play-off final.
Peterborough and Reading battled each other throughout the season finishing level on points in the regular season table before Peterborough edged Reading in the Play off final. Peterborough had a strong all round squad and included Danish trio of Hans Andersen, Jesper Jensen and Niels Kristian Iversen, in addition to Australian Ryan Sullivan. Reading who had come up from the division below had recruited Greg Hancock as their main heat leader who finished 7th in the league averages which were headed once again by Australian stars Jason Crump and Leigh Adams.

## Final table

| | | | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | | | | Bonus | Bonus | |
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | W | L | Tot |
| 1 | Peterborough Panthers | 40 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 1942 | 1731 | 48 | 16 | 4 | 64 |
| 2 | Reading Bulldogs | 40 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 1934 | 1756 | 51 | 13 | 7 | 64 |
| 3 | Swindon Robins | 40 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 1893 | 1786 | 47 | 14 | 6 | 61 |
| 4 | Coventry Bees | 40 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 1856 | 1835 | 47 | 11 | 9 | 58 |
| 5 | Belle Vue Aces | 40 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 1880 | 1761 | 42 | 15 | 5 | 57 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 40 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 1827 | 1840 | 42 | 10 | 10 | 52 |
| 7 | Poole Pirates | 40 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1880 | 1806 | 38 | 13 | 6 | 51 |
| 8 | Ipswich Witches | 40 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 1847 | 1837 | 38 | 8 | 12 | 46 |
| 9 | Eastbourne Eagles | 40 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1791 | 1860 | 41 | 5 | 15 | 46 |
| 10 | Oxford Cheetahs | 40 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1696 | 1989 | 24 | 2 | 18 | 26 |
| 11 | Arena Essex Hammers | 40 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1658 | 2003 | 22 | 3 | 17 | 25 |
* = Qualified for Play Off finals

### 'A' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | AE | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | OX | PET | PP | RB | SWI | WOL |
| Arena Essex Hammers | | 48–41 | 46–43 | 40–52 | 49–41 | 39–53 | 42–48 | 55–40 | 58–33 | 50–40 | 46–44 |
| Belle Vue Aces | 46–44 | | 58–37 | 48–42 | 48–42 | 56–38 | 50–40 | 53–37 | 51–39 | 55–41 | 54–39 |
| Coventry Bees | 47–43 | 49–42 | | 56–40 | 48–45 | 50–42 | 48–44 | 47–42 | 42–48 | 51–43 | 53–40 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 62–32 | 48–42 | 47–41 | | 51–39 | 60–32 | 47–46 | 49–41 | 42–48 | 41–55 | 46–44 |
| Ipswich Witches | 50–42 | 53–42 | 51–42 | 57–38 | | 60–30 | 48–42 | 50–40 | 43–47 | 48–45 | 50–42 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 64–26 | 43–50 | 47–43 | 42–48 | 42–51 | | 42–47 | 50–43 | 50–44 | 47–43 | 41–51 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 56–39 | 46–44 | 62–32 | 59–33 | 55–38 | 63–31 | | 48–42 | 41–52 | 55–40 | 54–38 |
| Poole Pirates | 59–33 | 55–38 | 55–38 | 54–36 | 57–39 | 55–40 | 48–42 | | 45–48 | 48–42 | 47–43 |
| Reading Bulldogs | 50–46 | 52–43 | 41–49 | 61–34 | 50–40 | 67–28 | 39–51 | 50–40 | | 46–44 | 43–47 |
| Swindon Robins | 53–38 | 50–43 | 56–39 | 51–39 | 53–40 | 56–38 | 58–34 | 52–43 | 44–49 | | 52–42 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 56–36 | 46–44 | 53–40 | 48–45 | 56–35 | 53–37 | 48–42 | 52–41 | 47–44 | 44–46 | |

### 'B' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | AE | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | OX | PET | PP | RB | SWI | WOL |
| Arena Essex Hammers | | 39–56 | 44–46 | 48–42 | 42–48 | 62–32 | 58–38 | 50–40 | 41–51 | 43–46 | 44–46 |
| Belle Vue Aces | 51–42 | | 49–41 | 44–30 | 51–39 | 53–39 | 52–43 | 42–48 | 59–34 | 43–30 | 61–35 |
| Coventry Bees | 65–29 | 49–44 | | 56–39 | 46–44 | 54–38 | 49–47 | 49–42 | 47–46 | 45–45 | 51–42 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 53–41 | 42–36 | 47–46 | | 54–39 | 50–45 | 55–35 | 53–41 | 46–44 | 53–43 | 45–45 |
| Ipswich Witches | 57–37 | 52–43 | 44–50 | 42–48 | | 52–43 | 51–43 | 52–44 | 56–38 | 56–37 | 53–43 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 55–37 | 46–44 | 44–51 | 50–42 | 46–44 | | 41–49 | 49–47 | 39–54 | 48–47 | 44–46 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 62–28 | 55–39 | 49–41 | 61–32 | 50–40 | 55–34 | | 47–46 | 43–49 | 53–37 | 47–42 |
| Poole Pirates | 66–24 | 50–44 | 47–46 | 49–44 | 54–36 | 49–42 | 36–56 | | 47–43 | 58–36 | 59–34 |
| Reading Bulldogs | 60–33 | 55–40 | 44–46 | 54–41 | 57–38 | 50–42 | 51–42 | 53–41 | | 57–35 | 58–37 |
| Swindon Robins | 57–36 | 51–42 | 53–40 | 58–32 | 57–38 | 52–38 | 47–46 | 49–44 | 53–40 | | 47–43 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 54–40 | 52–39 | 53–43 | 47–43 | 47–46 | 46–44 | 44–46 | 52–40 | 45–45 | 41–49 | |

## Play-offs

Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.
Semi-finals
* Peterborough Panthers 52-40 Coventry Bees
* Reading Bulldogs 51-43 Swindon Robins
Final
First leg
Second leg
The Peterborough Panthers were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 95-94.

## Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2006 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 68th 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 |
| 13/04 | Swindon | 40-50 | Reading |
| 10/04 | Reading | 47-43 | Swindon |
| 06/04 | Peterborough | 57-37 | Arena Essex |
| 03/04 | Wolverhampton | 54-40 | Oxford |
| 31/03 | Arena Essex | 59-35 | Peterborough |
| 29/03 | Oxford | 43-47 | Wolverhampton |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 10/07 | Belle Vue | 56-38 | Arena Essex |
| 07/07 | Arena Essex | 44-46 | Belle Vue |
| 07/07 | Coventry | 56-40 | Ipswich |
| 07/07 | Reading | 51-42 | Poole |
| 05/07 | Poole | 58-34 | Reading |
| 03/07 | Wolverhampton | 41-51 | Eastbourne |
| 01/07 | Eastbourne | 55-38 | Wolverhampton |
| 01/06 | Ipswich | 48-42 | Coventry |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 29/09 | Coventry | 61-31 | Eastbourne |
| 28/09 | Poole | 43-34 | Belle Vue |
| 16/09 | Eastbourne | 46-44 | Coventry |
| 11/09 | Belle Vue | 53-41 | Poole |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
The Coventry Bees were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 101-85.

## Riders' Championship

Jason Crump won the Riders' Championship for the third time. The final was held at Wimborne Road on 1 October.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Jason Crump | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 | x | 3 |
| 2 | Nicki Pedersen | 3 2 3 3 2 | 13 | x | 2 |
| 3 | Greg Hancock | 2 2 3 2 3 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | Scott Nicholls | 2 3 1 2 2 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Hans Andersen | 1 1 3 1 3 | 9 | 1 | |
| 6 | Todd Wiltshire | 3 0 2 2 2 | 9 | 0 | |
| 7 | Leigh Adams | 0 3 2 3 0 | 8 | | |
| 8 | Billy Hamill | 1 2 1 1 3 | 8 | | |
| 9 | Rory Schlein | 2 2 1 1 1 | 7 | | |
| 10 | Adam Shields | 1 1 2 2 1 | 7 | | |
| 11 | Craig Boyce | 0 0 0 3 2 | 5 | | |
| 12 | Krzysztof Kasprzak | 0 3 1 - - | 4 | | |
| 13 | Simon Stead | 3 0 0 0 1 | 4 | | |
| 14 | Jesper B. Monberg | 0 1 2 1 0 | 4 | | |
| 15 | Mark Loram | 2 1 - - - | 3 | | |
| 16 | Mikael Max | 1 0 0 0 1 | 2 | | |
| 17 | Matt Bates (res) | 0 0 0 0 | 0 | | |

## Pairs

The Elite League Pairs Championship was held at the Abbey Stadium on 4 June and was won by Belle Vue Aces.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Swindon | 31 | Adams 20, Ulamek 11 |
| 2 | Peterborough | 26 | Andersen 15, Iversen 11 |
| 3 | Eastbourne | 25 | Pedersen N 15, Norris 10 |
| 4 | Coventry | 22 | Nicholls 11, Schlein 11 |
| 6 | Ipswich | 17 | Protasiewicz 10, Jansson 7 |
| 5 | Wolves | 13 | Lindgren 11, Correy 2 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Belle Vue | 21 | Crump 16, Stead 5 |
| 2 | Poole | 21 | Lindback 12, Pedersen B 9 |
| 3 | Reading | 19 | Hancock 10, Zagar 9 |
| 4 | Oxford | 15 | Wiltshire 13, Skornicki 2 |
| 5 | Arena Essex | 14 | Kylmakorpi 12, Lanham 2 |
Final
* Swindon 5 Belle Vue 4 - Adams, Crump, Stead, Ulamek

## Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Jason Crump | Belle Vue | 11.21 |
| Leigh Adams | Swindon | 10.47 |
| Hans Andersen | Peterborough | 10.40 |
| Peter Karlsson | Wolverhampton | 9.94 |
| Nicki Pedersen | Eastbourne | 9.92 |
| Bjarne Pedersen | Poole | 9.39 |
| Greg Hancock | Reading | 9.28 |
| Scott Nicholls | Coventry | 9.05 |
| Mark Loram | Ipswich | 8.92 |
| Jesper B Jensen | Peterborough | 8.76 |

## Riders & final averages

Arena Essex
* Joonas Kylmäkorpi 8.08
* Andreas Jonsson 7.78
* Mikael Max 6.87
* Leigh Lanham 6.70
* Steve Johnston 6.53
* Paul Hurry 6.48
* Henning Bager 6.41
* Brent Werner 3.77
* Mariusz Puszakowski 3.68
* Andreas Messing 2.88
* Łukasz Romanek 1.40
Belle Vue
* Jason Crump 11.21
* Simon Stead 8.08
* Joe Screen 7.75
* Kenneth Bjerre 7.51
* James Wright 4.89
* Phil Morris 4.26
* Tom P. Madsen 3.61
* Joel Parsons 1.90
Coventry
* Scott Nicholls 9.05
* Rory Schlein 7.93
* Chris Harris 7.84
* Jacek Rempala 7.13
* Billy Janniro 6.59
* Martin Smolinski 6.16
* Oliver Allen 5.83
* Troy Batchelor 5.54
* Morten Risager 4.54
* Paweł Hlib 4.00
Eastbourne
* Nicki Pedersen 9.92
* Adam Shields 7.79
* David Norris 7.66
* Dean Barker 7.14
* Edward Kennett 5.29
* Kevin Doolan 5.04
* Lewis Bridger 4.88
* Andrew Moore 4.06
* Andrew Appleton 4.00
* Cameron Woodward 3.42
Ipswich
* Mark Loram 8.92
* Piotr Protasiewicz 8.10
* Chris Louis 8.02
* Kim Jansson 6.50
* Robert Miśkowiak 6.47
* Danny King 5.58
* Carl Wilkinson 4.09
* Tobias Kroner 3.62
* Jan Jaroš 2.99
Oxford
* Tony Rickardsson 9.76 (7 matches only)
* Todd Wiltshire 7.98
* Davey Watt 6.97
* Adam Skórnicki 6.61
* David Howe 6.27
* Eric Andersson 5.10
* Stanisław Burza 4.15
* Luboš Tomíček Jr. 4.12
* Freddie Eriksson 3.84
* Adam Pietraszko 2.29
Peterborough
* Hans N. Andersen 10.40
* Jesper B. Jensen 8.76
* Ryan Sullivan 8.23
* Niels Kristian Iversen 7.82
* Karol Ząbik 5.55
* Piotr Świderski 5.28
* Richard Hall 4.72
* Ulrich Østergaard 4.67
Poole
* Bjarne Pedersen 9.39
* Antonio Lindbäck 8.38
* Krzysztof Kasprzak 7.65
* Grzegorz Walasek 7.22
* Craig Boyce 6.09
* Jonas Davidsson 5.47
* Daniel Davidsson 4.09
* Matthew Wethers 3.63
* Shaun Tacey 2.77
Reading
* Greg Hancock 9.28
* Matej Žagar 8.13
* Janusz Kołodziej 7.60
* Charlie Gjedde 7.52
* Travis McGowan 7.01
* Mark Lemon 6.39
* Andy Smith 5.52
* Zdeněk Simota 5.43
Swindon
* Leigh Adams 10.47
* Tomasz Chrzanowski 7.72
* Sebastian Ułamek 7.65
* Lee Richardson 7.16
* Adrian Miedziński 5.98
* Renat Gafurov 5.48
* Mads Korneliussen 4.91
* Sebastian Aldén 4.47
* Ritchie Hawkins 3.40
Wolverhampton
* Peter Karlsson 9.94
* Billy Hamill 8.37
* Freddie Lindgren 8.12
* Ronnie Correy 5.56
* Christian Hefenbrock 5.19
* Magnus Karlsson 4.71
* William Lawson 4.37
* Ben Wilson 1.76