# 2005 Elite League speedway season

The 2005 Elite League speedway season was the 71st season of the top division of 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 2005, the league consisted of ten teams, with the title being decided by a play-off between the top four.
Belle Vue Aces topped the regular season table and won the Knockout Cup. Their world champion rider Jason Crump was in superb form throughout the season. Fellow Australian Leigh Adams topped the league averages for Swindon for arguably the second consecutive season but it was Coventry Bees that experienced their first title success since the glory days of the late 1980s.
Coventry had finished bottom of the table during the previous season and with the exception of finishing runner-up in 2003 had been starved of success. The club made a change that proved instrumental, they brought in Scott Nicholls from Ipswich and supported by Andreas Jonsson and Chris Harris the team defeated Belle Vue in the Elite League Play off final.

## Final table

| Pos | | M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Bon | Tot |
| 1 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 1766 | 1520 | 48 | 13 | 61 |
| 2 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 1739 | 1605 | 46 | 13 | 59 |
| 3 | Peterborough Panthers | 36 | 21 | 2 | 23 | 1709 | 1598 | 44 | 12 | 56 |
| 4 | Eastbourne Eagles | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 1658 | 1646 | 39 | 10 | 49 |
| 5 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 1666 | 1647 | 37 | 10 | 47 |
| 6 | Ipswich Witches | 36 | 16 | 3 | 17 | 1661 | 1672 | 35 | 9 | 44 |
| 7 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 1617 | 1675 | 36 | 7 | 43 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 1682 | 1647 | 30 | 10 | 40 |
| 9 | Oxford Silver Machine | 36 | 11 | 1 | 24 | 1550 | 1773 | 23 | 3 | 26 |
| 10 | Arena Essex Hammers | 36 | 11 | 0 | 25 | 1539 | 1804 | 22 | 3 | 25 |
* = Qualified for Play Offs

### 'A' Fixtures

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

### 'B' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | AE | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | OX | PET | PP | SWI | WOL |
| Arena Essex Hammers | | 41–51 | 42–51 | 43–47 | 49–41 | 47–46 | 39–54 | 51–44 | 52–42 | 36–60 |
| Belle Vue Aces | 47–48 | | 51–44 | 59–35 | 64–29 | 52–43 | 36–39 | 53–42 | 52–41 | 58–38 |
| Coventry Bees | 54–42 | 49–42 | | 58–37 | 44–46 | 54–39 | 53–43 | 49–44 | 51–45 | 48–41 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 56–37 | 46–43 | 43–46 | | 58–38 | 57–35 | 48–42 | 46–40 | 55–39 | 49–41 |
| Ipswich Witches | 64–30 | 43–47 | 40–54 | 55–38 | | 54–40 | 46–46 | 51–45 | 42–42 | 50–42 |
| Oxford Silver Machine | 49–41 | 41–54 | 42–52 | 49–41 | 45–47 | | 43–47 | 46–44 | 51–42 | 47–43 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 61–32 | 48–42 | 48–42 | 62–31 | 50–43 | 52–30 | | 48–42 | 53–43 | 51–39 |
| Poole Pirates | 52–38 | 53–41 | 46–47 | 50–40 | 44–46 | 46–44 | 44–46 | | 50–40 | 52–43 |
| Swindon Robins | 58–35 | 53–39 | 47–43 | 44–46 | 52–41 | 54–38 | 47–43 | 53–39 | | 48–42 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 63–31 | 39–51 | 38–55 | 49–41 | 59–34 | 45–45 | 55–41 | 54–42 | 53–40 | |

## Play-offs

Semi-final decided over one leg. Grand Final decided by aggregate scores over two legs.

### Semi-finals

* Belle Vue Aces 53-40 Eastbourne Eagles
* Coventry Bees 55-41 Peterborough Panthers

### Final

First leg
Second leg
The Coventry Bees were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 101-83.

## Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2005 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 67th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Belle Vue Aces were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 21/04 | Swindon | 60-36 | Poole |
| 20/04 | Poole | 51-41 | Swindon |
| 07/04 | Ipswich | 55-40 | Wolverhampton |
| 04/04 | Wolverhampton | 37-53 | Ipswich |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 15/06 | Arena Essex | 51-40 | Ipswich |
| 12/06 | Swindon | 55-39 | Coventry |
| 26/05 | Ipswich | 52-42 | Arena Essex |
| 21/05 | Eastbourne | 59-36 | Peterborough |
| 20/05 | Coventry | 51-41 | Swindon |
| 19/05 | Oxford | 49-41 | Belle Vue |
| 16/05 | Belle Vue | 59-35 | Oxford |
| 13/05 | Peterborough | 56-37 | Eastbourne |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 21/09 | Arena Essex | 52-41 | Eastbourne |
| 18/08 | Swindon | 37-35 | Belle Vue |
| 27/07 | Belle Vue | 61-32 | Swindon |
| 23/07 | Eastbourne | 55-40 | Arena Essex |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
The Belle Vue Aces were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 97-83.

## Riders' Championship

Nicki Pedersen won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Abbey Stadium on 28 August.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Nicki Pedersen | 1 3 3 2 3 | 12 | x | 3 |
| 2 | Scott Nicholls | 0 3 3 2 2 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Peter Karlsson | 3 1 3 1 2 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | Bjarne Pedersen | 3 1 2 3 3 | 12 | x | 0 |
| 5 | Charlie Gjedde | 3 1 1 3 3 | 11 | 1 | |
| 6 | Lee Richardson | 2 0 3 2 3 | 10 | 0 | |
| 7 | Greg Hancock | 2 3 2 0 2 | 9 | | |
| 8 | Jason Crump | 2 2 0 2 2 | 8 | | |
| 9 | Krzysztof Kasprzak | 0 3 1 3 1 | 8 | | |
| 10 | Billy Hamill | 3 2 0 - - | 5 | | |
| 11 | Mark Loram | 2 2 0 1 0 | 5 | | |
| 12 | Aleš Dryml Jr. | 0 1 0 3 0 | 4 | | |
| 13 | David Howe | 1 2 0 0 1 | 4 | | |
| 14 | Davey Watt | 1 0 2 1 0 | 4 | | |
| 15 | Freddie Lindgren | 0 0 2 1 1 | 4 | | |
| 16 | Simon Stead | 1 0 1 0 1 | 3 | | |

## Pairs

The Elite League Pairs Championship was held at the East of England Arena on 27 March and was won by Swindon Robins for the second consecutive year.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Arena Essex | 26 | Rickardsson 15, Havelock 11 |
| 2 | Wolves | 19 | Max 11, Howe 8 |
| 3 | Eastbourne | 18 | Pedersen N 15, Norris 3 |
| 4 | Poole | 17 | Sullivan 8, Pedersen B 9 |
| 5 | Oxford | 10 | Hancock 10, McGowan 0 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Swindon | 27 | Adams 14, Richardson 13 |
| 2 | Belle Vue | 18 | Crump 9, Screen 9 |
| 3 | Wolves | 19 | Max 11, Howe 8 |
| 4 | Ipswich | 16 | Andersen 9, Protasiewicz 7 |
| 5 | Coventry | 15 | Nicholls 13, Jonsson 2 |
| 6 | Peterborough | 14 | Karlsson 10, Ermolenko 4 |
Semi finals
* Belle Vue 5 Arena Essex 4 - Rickardsson, Screen, Crump, Havelock
* Swindon 7 Wolves 2 - Adams, Richardson, Max Howe
Final
* Swindon 6 Belle Vue 3 - Adams, Crump, Richardson, Screen

## Leading final averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Leigh Adams | Swindon | 10.42 |
| Jason Crump | Belle Vue | 10.35 |
| Nicki Pedersen | Eastbourne | 10.30 |
| Scott Nicholls | Coventry | 9.45 |
| Peter Karlsson | Peterborough | 9.48 |
| Hans Andersen | Ipswich | 9.44 |
| Mikael Max | Wolverhampton | 9.39 |
| Greg Hancock | Oxford | 9.32 |
| Bjarne Pedersen | Poole | 9.27 |
| Lee Richardson | Swindon | 8.85 |

## Riders & final averages

Arena Essex
* Tony Rickardsson 10.06
* Mark Loram 8.14
* Gary Havelock 6.43
* Leigh Lanham 6.21
* Roman Povazhny 6.05
* Sergei Darkin 5.94
* Paul Hurry 5.66
* Adam Skórnicki 5.09
* Josh Larsen 4.96
* Piotr Świst 4.48
* Phil Morris 4.20
Belle Vue
* Jason Crump 10.35
* Kenneth Bjerre 7.87
* Joe Screen 7.69
* Simon Stead 7.35
* Jason Lyons 6.95
* Andy Smith 6.36
* James Wright 5.09
* Rusty Harrison 4.43
* Steve Masters 1.50
* Krister Marsh 1.43
Coventry
* Scott Nicholls 9.45
* Andreas Jonsson 8.76
* Joonas Kylmäkorpi 7.20
* Sebastian Ułamek 7.20
* Billy Janniro 6.79
* Rory Schlein 6.43
* Morten Risager 6.22
* Tomáš Topinka 6.00
* Daniel Davidsson 4.20
Eastbourne
* Nicki Pedersen 10.30
* David Norris 7.75
* Davey Watt 7.22
* Adam Shields 7.11
* Dean Barker 6.45
* Oliver Allen 4.76
* Andrew Moore 4.65
* Steen Jensen 2.56
Ipswich
* Hans N. Andersen 9.44
* Chris Louis 8.43
* Piotr Protasiewicz 7.91
* Robert Miskowiak 6.99
* Kim Jansson 5.91
* Mariusz Puszakowski 5.27
* Danny King 3.82
* Kevin Doolan 3.28
* Karol Baran 3.16
Oxford
* Greg Hancock 9.32
* Billy Hamill 7.95
* Niels Kristian Iversen 7.45
* Travis McGowan 6.36
* Jesper B. Jensen 6.24
* Henka Gustaffson 6.22
* Stefan Andersson 5.09
* Tom P. Madsen 4.15
* Tomasz Bajerski 4.00
* Luboš Tomíček Jr. 3.06
* Chris Mills 2.67
* Tobias Kroner 1.28
Peterborough
* Peter Karlsson 9.48
* Aleš Dryml Jr. 8.19
* Jesper B. Jensen 7.38
* Joonas Kylmäkorpi 7.21
* Lukáš Dryml 7.10
* Sam Ermolenko 6.62
* Henning Bager 6.05
* Daniel Davidsson 2.95
* Paul Lee 2.05
Poole
* Bjarne Pedersen 9.27
* Krzysztof Kasprzak 8.13
* Ryan Sullivan 7.78
* Antonio Lindbäck 7.38
* Matej Ferjan 6.26
* Edward Kennett 5.28
* Ricky Ashworth 4.35
* Ray Morton 3.69
* Tobias Johansson 2.13
Swindon
* Leigh Adams 10.42
* Lee Richardson 8.85
* Charlie Gjedde 8.48
* Jonas Davidsson 4.59
* Mads Korneliussen 4.38
* Sebastien Tresarrieu 4.10
* Sebastian Aldén 3.93
* Peter Ljung 3.89
* Oliver Allen 3.76
* Tommy Allen 1.67
Wolverhampton
* Mikael Max 8.82
* Freddie Lindgren 7.44
* David Howe 6.98
* Steve Johnston 6.65
* Ronnie Correy 6.36
* Magnus Karlsson 5.61
* Krzysztof Pecyna 5.23