# 2002 Elite League speedway season

The 2002 Elite League speedway season was the 68th season of the top division of speedway in the United Kingdom and in 2002 was governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It was the first time that playoffs were introduced to determine the champions.

## Season summary

In 2002, the league consisted of nine teams. The title was decided by a play-off between the top five teams. The team that finished top of the table were seeded directly to the final. The next four met in quarter and semi final rounds. The winner of these rounds qualified for the final.
Eastbourne Eagles topped the regular season table but were defeated by Wolverhampton Wolves for the league title when losing the play off final. It was Wolves third title success in 11 years and the Swedish Karlsson brothers, Peter Karlsson and Mikael Karlsson were once again integral to the Wolves team throughout the season. Eastbourne's season was not a total loss because they beat Peterborough in the final of the Knockout Cup thanks to efforts from their English rider contingent of Mark Loram, Joe Screen and Dean Barker.
Tony Rickardsson became World Champion for the fifth time during the season, topped the league averages, won the Elite League Riders' Championship and helped his club Poole win the Craven Shield.

## Final table

| Pos | | M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Bon | Tot |
| 1 | Eastbourne Eagles | 32 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 1562 | 1316 | 43 | 15 | 58 |
| 2 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 32 | 20 | 2 | 10 | 1549 | 1311 | 42 | 12 | 54 |
| 3 | Coventry Bees | 32 | 19 | 3 | 10 | 1492 | 1383 | 41 | 9 | 50 |
| 4 | Poole Pirates | 32 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 1455 | 1406 | 35 | 11 | 46 |
| 5 | Peterborough Panthers | 31 | 15 | 0 | 16 | 1394 | 1395 | 30 | 6 | 36 |
| 6 | Oxford Cheetahs | 31 | 14 | 2 | 15 | 1369 | 1407 | 30 | 5 | 35 |
| 7 | Ipswich Witches | 32 | 11 | 3 | 18 | 1375 | 1494 | 25 | 6 | 31 |
| 8 | Belle Vue Aces | 32 | 11 | 3 | 18 | 1379 | 1484 | 25 | 4 | 29 |
| 9 | King's Lynn Silver Machine | 32 | 7 | 1 | 24 | 1247 | 1626 | 15 | 3 | 18 |
$_{PeterboroughvOxfordnotheld.}$
* = Qualified for Play Off final
* = Qualified for Play Offs

### 'A' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | KL | OX | PET | PP | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 44–46 | 42–48 | 53–37 | 48–42 | 45–45 | 53–37 | 48–42 | 45–45 |
| Coventry Bees | 49–40 | | 43–47 | 42–48 | 60–30 | 48–42 | 54–35 | 51–39 | 47–43 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 60–30 | 44–45 | | 55–35 | 58–32 | 48–42 | 64–26 | 60–30 | 56–34 |
| Ipswich Witches | 37–52 | 52–38 | 45–44 | | 49–35 | 40–51 | 46–44 | 45–45 | 41–49 |
| King's Lynn Silver Machine | 43–47 | 32–48 | 37–53 | 47–42 | | 55–35 | 51–41 | 49–41 | 39–51 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 47–43 | 44–46 | 43–47 | 48–42 | 47–43 | | 38–52 | 46–44 | 46–44 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 46–43 | 46–44 | 44–46 | 59–31 | 64–26 | 45–44 | | 47–43 | 49–41 |
| Poole Pirates | 52–38 | 50–40 | 47–44 | 51–39 | 49–41 | 50–40 | 55–35 | | 48–42 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 55–35 | 53–37 | 47–43 | 58–31 | 59–31 | 43–47 | 51–39 | 48–24 | |

### 'B' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | KL | OX | PET | PP | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 38–51 | 45–45 | 49–41 | 59–31 | 42–36 | 47–43 | 47–43 | 41–49 |
| Coventry Bees | 49–41 | | 45–45 | 49–41 | 62–28 | 51–39 | 51–39 | 40–50 | 47–43 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 50–40 | 45–45 | | 44–46 | 58–32 | 51–38 | 54–36 | 49–41 | 51–39 |
| Ipswich Witches | 49–41 | 56–34 | 43–47 | | 45–45 | 47–43 | 457–33 | 50–40 | 39–50 |
| King's Lynn Silver Machine | 59–31 | 37–52 | 44–46 | 50–40 | | 49–41 | 42–48 | 40–50 | 42–47 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 47–42 | 46–44 | 51–39 | 45–45 | 52–38 | | 47–43 | 54–36 | 50–40 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 52–38 | 58–32 | 50–40 | 48–42 | 65–25 | n/a | | 41–49 | 55–35 |
| Poole Pirates | 52–38 | 43–47 | 52–38 | 50–39 | 60–29 | 53–37 | 46–44 | | 44–46 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 56–34 | 45–45 | 47–43 | 55–35 | 67–23 | 52–38 | 60–30 | 54–36 | |

## Play-offs

Quarter-final and Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.
Quarter-finals
* Wolverhampton Wolves 50-39 Peterborough Panthers
* Coventry Bees 59-31 Poole Pirates
Semi-finals
* Wolverhampton Wolves 51-39 Coventry Bees

### Final

First leg
Second leg
The Wolverhampton Wolves were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 93-87.

## Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2002 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 64th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 08/04 | Wolverhampton | 57-33 | Poole |
| 03/04 | Poole | 45-45 | Wolverhampton |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 27/05 | Reading | 47-43 | Arena Essex |
| 29/04 | Wolverhampton | 61-29 | Oxford |
| 27/04 | Coventry | 36-35 | Kings Lynn |
| 26/04 | Oxford | 45-45 | Wolverhampton |
| 24/04 | Kings Lynn | 42-48 | Coventry |
| 22/04 | Belle Vue | 51-39 | Peterborough |
| 20/04 | Eastbourne | 54-36 | Ipswich |
| 19/04 | Peterborough | 59-31 | Belle Vue |
| 18/04 | Ipswich | 39-51 | Eastbourne |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 01/07 | Wolverhampton | 40-49 | Eastbourne |
| 29/06 | Coventry | 49-41 | Peterborough |
| 29/06 | Eastbourne | 52-38 | Wolverhampton |
| 28/06 | Peterborough | 50-40 | Coventry |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
The Eastbourne Eagles were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 94-86.

## Riders' Championship

Tony Rickardsson won the Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held at Wimborne Road on 21 August.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Tony Rickardsson | 1 3 3 3 3 | 13 | x | 3 |
| 2 | Nicki Pedersen | 3 3 3 3 2 | 14 | x | 2 |
| 3 | Jason Crump | 3 3 3 1 0 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Craig Boyce | 1 2 3 2 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Mikael Karlsson | 3 3 2 3 1 | 12 | 1 | |
| 6 | Ryan Sullivan | 3 2 1 3 3 | 12 | 0 | |
| 7 | Peter Karlsson | 2 2 2 2 2 | 10 | | |
| 8 | Joe Screen | 2 2 1 2 0 | 7 | | |
| 9 | Scott Nicholls | 2 1 0 1 3 | 7 | | |
| 10 | Sebastian Ułamek | 1 1 0 2 2 | 6 | | |
| 11 | Stuart Robson | 1 0 1 1 2 | 5 | | |
| 12 | Mark Loram | 2 0 2 0 1 | 5 | | |
| 13 | Gary Havelock | 0 0 2 1 1 | 4 | | |
| 14 | Davey Watt | 0 1 1 0 1 | 3 | | |
| 15 | Jason Lyons | 0 1 0 | 1 | | |
| 16 | Alun Rossiter | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 | | |

## Leading final averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Tony Rickardsson | Poole | 10.88 |
| Jason Crump | Belle Vue | 10.44 |
| Ryan Sullivan | Peterborough | 10.34 |
| Leigh Adams | Oxford | 10.10 |
| Mikael Karlsson | Wolverhampton | 9.93 |
| Scott Nicholls | Ipswich | 9.76 |
| Mark Loram | Eastbourne | 9.56 |
| Andreas Jonsson | Coventry | 9.39 |
| Peter Karlsson | Wolverhampton | 9.23 |
| Lee Richardson | Coventry | 8.97 |

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Jason Crump 10.44
* Jason Lyons 8.41
* Brian Karger 6.89
* Sam Ermolenko 6.38
* Kai Laukkanen 5.67
* Scott Robson 4.71
* Matej Ferjan 4.57
* Tomasz Jędrzejak 3.95
* Lee Complin 2.38
* Blair Scott 1.24
* Mark Burrows 1.10
Coventry
* Andreas Jonsson 9.39
* Lee Richardson 8.97
* Billy Hamill 8.72
* Billy Janniro 6.87
* Tomáš Topinka 5.82
* Stuart Robson 5.81
* Ryan Fisher 5.28
* Wayne Carter 1.52
Eastbourne
* Mark Loram 9.56
* Joe Screen 8.46
* David Norris 7.81
* Antonín Šváb Jr. 7.21
* Dean Barker 7.17
* Stefan Andersson 6.54
* Adam Shields 5.88
* Savalas Clouting 4.14
Ipswich
* Scott Nicholls 9.76
* Jarosław Hampel 7.91
* Craig Boyce 7.15
* Chris Louis 6.51
* Krzysztof Słaboń 5.95
* Jeremy Doncaster 5.10
* Joonas Kylmäkorpi 4.95
* Danny Bird 4.76
* Kim Jansson 4.00
* Leigh Lanham 3.52
King's Lynn
* Nicki Pedersen 8.47
* Sebastian Ułamek 7.26
* Freddie Eriksson 6.33
* Tom P. Madsen 5.53
* Travis McGowan 5.23
* Artur Pietrzyk 4.27
* Roman Povazhny 4.21
* Jernej Kolenko 3.58
* Emil Kramer 3.40
Oxford
* Leigh Adams 10.10
* Steve Johnston 6.83
* Lukáš Dryml 6.29
* Mark Lemon 5.56
* Brian Andersen 5.50
* Aleš Dryml Jr. 4.92
* Krzysztof Jabłoński 4.00
* Andrew Appleton 2.90
* Joachim Kugelmann 2.67
* Alun Rossiter 2.07
Peterborough
* Ryan Sullivan 10.34
* Magnus Zetterström 6.98
* Piotr Protasiewicz 6.88
* Simon Stead 6.54
* Zdeněk Tesař 6.47
* Shane Parker 6.13
* Hans Clausen 5.87
* Chris Harris 5.00
* Henning Bager 3.75
* Oliver Allen 3.08
Poole
* Tony Rickardsson 10.88
* Bjarne Pedersen 6.82
* Gary Havelock 6.70
* Hans N. Andersen 6.56
* Grzegorz Walasek 6.32
* Lars Gunnestad 6.20
* Henka Gustaffson 6.00
* Magnus Zetterström 5.41
* Mariusz Staszewski 4.43
* Tomasz Chrzanowski 4.34
* Andre Compton 3.88
Wolverhampton
* Mikael Karlsson 9.93
* Peter Karlsson 9.23
* Adam Skórnicki 7.32
* Daniel Nermark 7.27
* Paul Hurry 6.80
* David Howe 6.67
* Jesper B. Jensen 5.81
* Chris Neath 4.08
* Lee Dicken 1.56