# 2000 Elite League speedway season

The 2000 Elite League speedway season was the 66th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was the fourth known as the Elite League and was governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).

## Season summary

In 2000, the league decreased to nine teams with the Hull Vikings dropping back down to the Premier League after just one season. The league operated on a standard format without play-offs.
Eastbourne Eagles claimed the millennium season league title but only finished two points clear of King's Lynn Knights. Martin Dugard topped scored for the Eagles but was well supported by their new signing Joe Screen from Hull Vikings. Three other English riders finished with averages in excess of 7 which was the crucial difference during the season. They were David Norris, Paul Hurry and Dean Barker. The King's Lynn Australian pairing of Leigh Adams and Jason Crump topped the league averages but did not have the back up that Eastbourne relied on. King's Lynn gained consolation when winning the Knockout Cup.

## Final table

| Pos | | M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Bon | Tot |
| 1 | Eastbourne Eagles | 32 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 1544 | 1322 | 49 | 13 | 62 |
| 2 | King's Lynn Knights | 32 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 1564 | 1321 | 46 | 14 | 60 |
| 3 | Ipswich Witches | 32 | 16 | 3 | 13 | 1456 | 1409 | 35 | 11 | 46 |
| 4 | Coventry Bees | 32 | 16 | 3 | 13 | 1442 | 1427 | 35 | 8 | 43 |
| 5 | Poole Pirates | 32 | 14 | 4 | 14 | 1437 | 1426 | 32 | 8 | 40 |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 32 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 1396 | 1467 | 33 | 6 | 39 |
| 7 | Peterborough Panthers | 32 | 11 | 2 | 19 | 1431 | 1425 | 24 | 7 | 31 |
| 8 | Oxford Cheetahs | 31 | 9 | 1 | 21 | 1296 | 1477 | 19 | 3 | 22 |
| 9 | Belle Vue Aces | 31 | 5 | 3 | 23 | 1248 | 1540 | 13 | 1 | 14 |
$_{OxfordvBelleVuenotheld.}$

### 'A' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | KL | OX | PET | PP | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 52–38 | 37–53 | 44.5–45.5 | 44–46 | 40–50 | 47–43 | 40–50 | 41–49 |
| Coventry Bees | 52–38 | | 50–40 | 45–45 | 48–42 | 55–34 | 52–26 | 40–50 | 45–44 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 55–35 | 48–43 | | 48–42 | 50–39 | 55–35 | 54–37 | 56–34 | 43–29 |
| Ipswich Witches | 52–38 | 47–43 | 47–43 | | 45–45 | 52–38 | 50–40 | 51–40 | 53–37 |
| King's Lynn Knights | 62–28 | 56–34 | 49–41 | 47–43 | | 49–40 | 51–42 | 53–37 | 49–41 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 47–42 | 43–47 | 43–50 | 43–47 | 48–42 | | 41–49 | 42–48 | 47–43 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 56.5–33.5 | 42–48 | 41–49 | 49–43 | 51–39 | 56–34 | | 50–40 | 43–46 |
| Poole Pirates | 45–45 | 45–45 | 42–48 | 48–42 | 47–43 | 52–38 | 51–39 | | 42–49 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 47–43 | 41–49 | 45–45 | 45–44 | 47–43 | 51–42 | 49–41 | 48–42 | |

### 'B' Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | EAS | IPS | KL | OX | PET | PP | WOL |
| Belle Vue Aces | | 50–39 | 37–52 | 52–38 | 43–47 | n/a | 50–43 | 39–51 | 45–45 |
| Coventry Bees | 57–33 | | 38–52 | 42–47 | 48–42 | 47–43 | 47–43 | 46–44 | 41–49 |
| Eastbourne Eagles | 60–30 | 49–40 | | 51–39 | 50–42 | 54–36 | 48–42 | 53–37 | 50–40 |
| Ipswich Witches | 57–33 | 47–45 | 58–32 | | 34–58 | 47–43 | 50–40 | 45–45 | 53–37 |
| King's Lynn Knights | 60–30 | 56–34 | 58–32 | 47–43 | | 53–37 | 47–43 | 49–41 | 58–32 |
| Oxford Cheetahs | 46–44 | 43–47 | 46–44 | 46–44 | 42–48 | | 41–49 | 41–29 | 44–46 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 50–40 | 45–45 | 44–46 | 45–45 | 45–45 | 59–31 | | 42–48 | 57–33 |
| Poole Pirates | 60–30 | 45–48 | 46–44 | 50–39 | 41–49 | 45–45 | 50–39 | | 48–42 |
| Wolverhampton Wolves | 45–45 | 44–46 | 41–49 | 51–39 | 40–50 | 43–47 | 49–41 | 46–44 | |

## Elite League Knockout Cup

The 2000 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the 62nd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. King's Lynn Stars were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 12/05 | Oxford | 45-45 | Poole |
| 10/05 | Poole | 47-43 | Oxford |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 04/09 | Belle Vue | 40-44 | Coventry |
| 02/08 | King's Lynn | 52-38 | Ipswich |
| 09/06 | Peterborough | 52-38 | Poole |
| 26/06 | Wolverhampton | 51-39 | Eastbourne |
| 24/06 | Eastbourne | 44-46 | Wolverhampton |
| 27/05 | Coventry | 49-41 | Belle Vue |
| 25/05 | Ipswich | 48-42 | King's Lynn |
| 10/05 | Poole | 47-43 | Peterborough |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 19/10 | King's Lynn | 63-27 | Wolverhampton |
| 18/10 | Wolverhampton | 43-47 | King's Lynn |
| 14/10 | Coventry | 47-43 | Peterborough |
| 13/10 | Peterborough | 47-43 | Coventry |
| 22/10 (replay) | Peterborough | 46-44 | Coventry |
| 17/10 (replay) | Coventry | 45-45 | Peterborough |
Final
First leg
Second leg
King's Lynn Knights were declared Knockout Cup Champions, on aggregate score 100-80.

## Riders' Championship

Ryan Sullivan won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at the Brandon Stadium on 21 October.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Ryan Sullivan | 1 3 3 3 2 | 12 | x | 3 |
| 2 | Greg Hancock | 3 3 2 2 2 | 12 | x | 2 |
| 3 | Nicki Pedersen | 2 3 0 3 1 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | Scott Nicholls | 0 2 3 3 2 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Chris Louis | 0 1 2 3 3 | 9 | 1 | |
| 6 | Todd Wiltshire | 3 3 0 2 1 | 9 | 0 | |
| 7 | Mark Loram | 3 1 1 1 3 | 9 | | |
| 8 | Jason Crump | 2 2 0 2 3 | 9 | | |
| 9 | Billy Hamill | 2 2 3 2 0 | 9 | | |
| 10 | Peter Karlsson | 3 0 1 1 3 | 8 | | |
| 11 | Paul Hurry | 2 1 2 1 1 | 7 | | |
| 12 | Sam Ermolenko | 1 0 3 1 1 | 6 | | |
| 13 | Leigh Adams | 1 1 1 0 2 | 5 | | |
| 14 | Shane Parker | 1 0 2 0 0 | 3 | | |
| 15 | David Norris | 1 0 2 0 0 | 3 | | |
| 16 | Matt Cambridge (res) | 0 0 0 | 0 | | |
| 17 | Carl Downs (res) | 0 | 0 | | |

## Leading final averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Leigh Adams | Kings Lynn | 10.17 |
| Jason Crump | Kings Lynn | 10.15 |
| Mark Loram | Poole | 10.10 |
| Martin Dugard | Eastbourne | 9.67 |
| Chris Louis | Ipswich | 9.57 |
| Tomasz Gollob | Ipswich | 9.52 |
| Ryan Sullivan | Peterborough | 9.18 |
| Greg Hancock | Coventry | 9.00 |
| Joe Screen | Eastbourne | 8.82 |
| Billy Hamill | Coventry | 8.77 |

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Jason Lyons 8.34
* Peter Nahlin 7.02
* Brian Karger 7.00
* Kai Laukkanen 6.45
* Andy Smith 6.20
* Jan Stæchmann 6.20
* Jesper Olsen 5.78
* Brent Werner 5.58
* John Jørgensen 5.37
* Shane Parker 5.38
* Glenn Cunningham 4.64
* Kevin Doolan 3.76
* Daniel Andersson 2.20
Coventry
* Greg Hancock 9.00
* Billy Hamill 8.77
* Lee Richardson 7.63
* George Štancl 5.35
* Stuart Robson 5.34
* John Jørgensen 5.30
* Shaun Tacey 5.26
* Scott Robson 4.56
Eastbourne
* Martin Dugard 9.67
* Joe Screen 8.82
* David Norris 7.73
* Paul Hurry 7.34
* Stefan Dannö 7.20
* Dean Barker 7.02
* Petri Kokko 5.73
* Brent Collyer 2.89
Ipswich
* Chris Louis 9.57
* Tomasz Gollob 9.52
* Matej Ferjan 6.53
* Antonín Šváb Jr. 6.51
* Jeremy Doncaster 6.13
* Jason Bunyan 4.65
* Savalas Clouting 4.15
* Lawrence Hare 3.51
* Jan Andersen 3.46
King's Lynn
* Leigh Adams 10.17
* Jason Crump 10.15
* Craig Boyce 7.98
* John Cook 6.86
* Shane Parker 6.57
* Travis McGowan 5.88
* Steve Masters 4.40
* Tom P. Madsen 4.14
Oxford
* Todd Wiltshire 8.24
* Jimmy Nilsen 7.97
* Steve Johnston 7.36
* Brian Andersen 6.93
* Jan Stæchmann 5.49
* Mark Lemon 5.27
* Roman Povazhny 4.57
* Lukáš Dryml 4.54
* Aleš Dryml Jr. 4.26
Peterborough
* Ryan Sullivan 9.18
* Peter Karlsson 8.69
* Zdeněk Tesař 6.85
* Stefan Andersson 6.84
* Magnus Zetterström 5.92
* Glenn Cunningham 5.82
* David Howe 5.67
* Brett Woodifield 5.46
* Andre Compton 4.50
* Nigel Sadler 4.47
Poole
* Mark Loram 10.10
* Scott Nicholls 8.57
* Gary Havelock 7.60
* Lars Gunnestad 7.21
* Craig Watson 5.17
* Alun Rossiter 4.26
* Emil Lindqvist 3.41
* Justin Elkins 1.28
Wolverhampton
* Jesper B. Jensen 8.32
* Sam Ermolenko 7.94
* Ronnie Correy 7.75
* Nicki Pedersen 7.48
* Adam Skórnicki 5.79
* Roman Povazhny 5.55
* Wayne Carter 3.72