# 1998 Elite League speedway season

The 1998 Elite League speedway season was the 64th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the second year known as the Elite League, governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).

## Summary

In 1998, the league decreased to nine teams with the closure of the Bradford Dukes at the end of their championship winning season in 1997. The Peterborough Panthers dropped down to the Premier League but were replaced by the Oxford Cheetahs. The league operated on a standard format without play-offs.
Ipswich Witches won the league (their first since 1984) and cup double and were led by the world's leading rider Tony Rickardsson. Rickardsson topped the averages for the second consecutive season and was well supported by Pole Tomasz Gollob in his maiden British season. English riders Chris Louis and Scott Nicholls added even more strength and became British Champion and British Under-21 Champion respectively during the season.

## Final table

| Pos | | M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Bon | Tot |
| 1 | Ipswich Witches | 32 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 1653 | 1211 | 53 | 16 | 69 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 32 | 20 | 0 | 12 | 1524 | 1353 | 40 | 12 | 52 |
| 3 | Coventry Bees | 32 | 18 | 1 | 13 | 1474 | 1401 | 37 | 11 | 48 |
| 4 | Swindon Robins | 32 | 15 | 1 | 16 | 1429 | 1450 | 31 | 7 | 38 |
| 5 | Eastbourne Eagles | 32 | 15 | 0 | 17 | 1430 | 1449 | 30 | 7 | 37 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 32 | 14 | 1 | 17 | 1421 | 1444 | 29 | 8 | 37 |
| 7 | Oxford Cheetahs | 32 | 13 | 2 | 17 | 1388 | 1490 | 28 | 5 | 33 |
| 8 | Poole Pirates | 32 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 1348 | 1529 | 23 | 5 | 28 |
| 9 | King's Lynn Knights | 32 | 8 | 1 | 23 | 1270 | 1610 | 17 | 1 | 18 |

### 'A' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | KL | OX | PP | SWI | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 46–44 | 54–36 | 47.5–41.5 | 54–36 | 55–35 | 54–36 | 59–31 | 52–38 |
| Coventry Bees | 43–46 | | 51–39 | 43–47 | 47–43 | 45–45 | 52–38 | 53–37 | 44–46 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 49–41 | 49–41 | | 42–48 | 48–42 | 60–30 | 52–38 | 52–38 | 57–33 |
| Ipswich Witches | 54–36 | 50–39 | 53–37 | | 60–30 | 48–42 | 63–27 | 61–29 | 51–39 |
| King's Lynn Knights | 59–31 | 47–43 | 47–43 | 33–57 | | 47–43 | 44–46 | 52–38 | 45–45 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 46–44 | 37–53 | 39–51 | 47–43 | 52–38 | | 38–51 | 46–44 | 50–40 |
| Poole Pirates | 47–43 | 48–42 | 41–49 | 26–64 | 57–33 | 48–41 | | 38–52 | 43–47 |
| Swindon Robins | 47–4 | 42–47 | 49–41 | 31–59 | 55–35 | 51–39 | 53–37 | | 52–38 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 31–59 | 39–50 | 54–36 | 38–40 | 50–40 | 55–35 | 50–40 | 55–35 | |

### 'B' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | KL | OX | PP | SWI | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 58–32 | 56–34 | 46–44 | 65–25 | 51–39 | 49–41 | 57–33 | 48–42 |
| Coventry Bees | 52–38 | | 50–40 | 46–44 | 55–35 | 44–46 | 48–42 | 48–42 | 46–44 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 59–31 | 44–46 | | 38–51 | 56–34 | 47–43 | 52–38 | 55–35 | 55–35 |
| Ipswich Witches | 48–42 | 49–41 | 47–43 | | 60–30 | 63–27 | 51–39 | 58–32 | 56–34 |
| King's Lynn Knights | 41–49 | 47–43 | 46–44 | 27–63 | | 40–50 | 40–50 | 42–48 | 53–37 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 47–43 | 42–48 | 56–34 | 44–46 | 57–33 | | 47–43 | 45–45 | 44–46 |
| Poole Pirates | 40–50 | 49–41 | 56–34 | 45–45 | 46–44 | 40–50 | | 42–48 | 46–43 |
| Swindon Robins | 55–35 | 42–48 | 64–26 | 44–46 | 56–34 | 38–52 | 59–31 | | 56–34 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 48–42 | 40–49 | 62–28 | 47–43 | 62–28 | 56–34 | 51–39 | 42–48 | |

## Elite League Knockout Cup

The 1998 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the 60th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams and the second under its new name. Ipswich Witches were the winners of the competition.
First round
Group A
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 27/03 | Belle Vue | 50-40 | Coventry |
| 28/03 | Coventry | 51-39 | Belle Vue |
| 29/03 | Swindon | 41-49 | Wolverhampton |
| 30/03 | Wolverhampton | 47-42 | Oxford |
| 03/04 | Oxford | 45-45 | Coventry |
| 06/04 | Wolverhampton | 50-40 | Swindon |
| 10/04 | Swindon | 46-44 | Oxford |
| 11/04 | Coventry | 47-43 | Swindon |
| 12/04 | Belle Vue | 43-47 | Wolverhampton |
| 13/04 | Wolverhampton | 45-45 | Belle Vue |
| 17/04 | Belle Vue | 46-43 | Oxford |
| 18/04 | Coventry | 48-42 | Oxford |
| 20/04 | Wolverhampton | 45-45 | Coventry |
| 24/04 | Belle Vue | 41-48 | Swindon |
| 24/04 | Oxford | 39-51 | Wolverhampton |
| 25/04 | Coventry | 54-36 | Wolverhampton |
| 30/04 | Swindon | 40-50 | Belle Vue |
| 03/05 | Oxford | 48-42 | Belle Vue |
| 08/05 | Oxford | 58-32 | Swindon |
| 11/05 | Swindon | 41-49 | Coventry |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L |
| 1 | Wolverhampton | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Coventry | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Belle Vue | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Oxford | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Swindon | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
Group B
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 19/03 | Ipswich | 60-30 | Kings Lynn |
| 22/03 | Eastbourne | 65-25 | Kings Lynn |
| 26/03 | Ipswich | 56-33 | Poole |
| 29/03 | Eastbourne | 52-38 | Poole |
| 01/04 | Kings Lynn | 41-31 | Eastbourne |
| 02/04 | Ipswich | 49-41 | Eastbourne |
| 11/04 | Eastbourne | 44-46 | Ipswich |
| 22/04 | Kings Lynn | 34-55 | Ipswich |
| 22/04 | Poole | 47-43 | Eastbourne |
| 24/04 | Kings Lynn | 47-43 | Poole |
| 26/04 | Poole | 48-42 | Kings Lynn |
| 06/05 | Poole | 39-51 | Ipswich |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L |
| 1 | Ipswich | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Eastbourne | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | King's Lynn | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Poole | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 22/08 | Coventry | 54-36 | Wolverhampton |
| 29/06 | Wolverhampton | 49-41 | Coventry |
| 16/07 | Ipswich | 57-33 | Eastbourne |
| 04/07 | Eastbourne | 42-48 | Ipswich |
Final
The first leg was due to be held on 9 October at Foxhall Stadium but was abandoned after 5 heats due to heavy rain. Coventry were leading 17-13 at the time.
First leg
Second leg
Ipswich were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 95-85.

## Riders' Championship

Tony Rickardsson won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at the Abbey Stadium on 11 October.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Tony Rickardsson | 3 2 2 3 3 | 13 | x | 3 |
| 2 | Jason Crump | 3 3 3 3 2 | 14 | x | 2 |
| 3 | Joe Screen | 3 2 1 2 3 | 11 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Leigh Adams | 2 1 3 3 2 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Jimmy Nilsen | 2 2 2 3 2 | 11 | 1 | |
| 6 | Todd Wiltshire | 3 3 2 2 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 7 | Greg Hancock | 2 3 0 2 3 | 10 | | |
| 8 | Brian Andersen | 0 3 3 0 1 | 7 | | |
| 9 | Ronnie Correy | 2 1 3 1 0 | 7 | | |
| 10 | Chris Louis | 1 1 0 1 3 | 6 | | |
| 11 | Mark Loram | 1 0 1 2 2 | 6 | | |
| 12 | Martin Dugard | 1 0 1 2 2 | 6 | | |
| 13 | Craig Boyce | 1 0 1 1 0 | 3 | | |
| 14 | Ryan Sullivan | 0 2 0 0 0 | 2 | | |
| 15 | David Norris | 0 1 0 0 1 | 2 | | |
| 16 | Shane Parker | exc 0 1 0 1 | 2 | | |
| 17 | Garry Stead (res) | 2 0 | 2 | | |
* exc=excluded

## Leading final averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Tony Rickardsson | Ipswich | 10.35 |
| Billy Hamill | Coventry | 10.07 |
| Greg Hancock | Coventry | 9.58 |
| Jason Crump | Oxford | 9.54 |
| Tomasz Gollob | Ipswich | 9.38 |
| Chris Louis | Ipswich | 9.35 |
| Ronnie Correy | Belle Vue | 9.02 |
| Joe Screen | Belle Vue | 8.99 |
| Martin Dugard | Eastbourne | 8.70 |
| Leigh Adams | Swindon | 8.53 |
| Mikael Karlsson | Wolverhampton | 8.53 |

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Ronnie Correy 9.02
* Joe Screen 8.99
* Jason Lyons 7.50
* Frank Smart 6.00
* Zdeněk Tesař 5.83
* Andy Smith 5.57
* Niklas Klingberg 5.25
* Sean Wilson 4.87
* Robert Eriksson 4.00
* Matej Ferjan 2.24
Coventry
* Billy Hamill 10.07
* Greg Hancock 9.58
* Brian Andersen 7.67
* Andreas Jonsson 5.63
* Shaun Tacey 4.44
* Stuart Robson 3.42
* David Walsh 3.19
Eastbourne
* Martin Dugard 8.70
* Glenn Cunningham 7.33
* David Norris 7.15
* Stefan Dannö 6.86
* Gary Havelock 6.59
* Stefan Andersson 6.32
* Peter Nahlin 6.00
* Scott RobsonS 2.82
* Robert Johansson 2.36
Ipswich
* Tony Rickardsson 10.35
* Tomasz Gollob 9.38
* Chris Louis 9.35
* Scott Nicholls 6.41
* Antonín Šváb Jr. 4.98
* Savalas Clouting 4.19
King's Lynn
* Shane Parker 6.81
* Piotr Protasiewicz 6.64
* Bohumil Brhel 5.80
* Tomáš Topinka 5.59
* Simon Wigg 5.53
* Lee Richardson 5.09
* Ben Howe 4.72
* Scott Swain 2.78
Oxford
* Jason Crump 9.54
* Todd Wiltshire 6.80
* Steve Johnston 6.31
* Paul Hurry 6.18
* Jan Stæchmann 5.87
* Steve Schofield 5.27
* Lawrence Hare 3.48
Poole
* Gary Havelock 8.17
* Ryan Sullivan 7.59
* Craig Boyce 7.12
* Mark Lemon 6.40
* Kelvin Tatum 5.56
* Lars Gunnestad 5.46
* Marvyn Cox 5.25
* Magnus Zetterström 4.61
Swindon
* Leigh Adams 8.53
* Jimmy Nilsen 8.32
* Andy Smith 7.55
* John Jørgensen 6.93
* Brian Karger 6.27
* Charlie Gjedde 4.78
* Steve Masters 3.37
Wolverhampton
* Mikael Karlsson 8.53
* Mark Loram 8.02
* Sam Ermolenko 7.42
* George Štancl 6.23
* Jesper B. Jensen 4.73
* Garry Stead 3.77
* James Grieves 3.65