1996 Speedway Conference League

1996 Speedway Conference League
LeagueConference League
Season1996
No. of competitors13
ChampionsLinlithgow Lightning
Knockout CupLinlithgow Lightning
IndividualMike Hampson
Division/s above1996 Premier League

The 1996 Speedway Conference League was the inaugural season of the Conference League, which was the second tier of British motorcycle speedway.[1] It was listed as the second tier of British speedway because during 1995 and 1996 the two divisions of the British League had merged into one division only.[2] The following season it would be a third tier/division competition.

Summary

[edit]

The Conference League was the first to promoted under the name and was an entirely amateur competition contested by thirteen teams (many were junior sides belonging to their parent clubs). The league expanded from the eight that had begun the previous season's 1995 Academy League - Berwick, Buxton, Devon, Linlithgow, Mildenhall, and Sittingbourne all returned from 1995, and were joined by Arena Essex, Eastbourne, Owlerton, Peterborough, Reading, Ryde, and Swindon. Stoke and Cleveland did not return from 1995.[3]

As not all fixtures were able to be run, the champions were decided by a percentage of total points available. Linlithgow Lightning topped the table to become champions.[4][5]

Final table

[edit]
Pos Team PL W D L Pts %
1 Linlithgow Lightning 23 18 0 5 36 78
2 Devon Demons 11 7 1 3 15 68
3 Berwick Bandits 12 8 0 4 16 66
4 Ryde Wight Wizards 19 12 1 6 25 65
5 Swindon Sprockets 12 7 0 5 14 58
6 Arena Essex Hammers 27 14 1 12 29 53
7 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 19 10 0 9 20 52
8 Buxton Hitmen 21 10 2 9 22 52
9 Peterborough Thundercats 13 5 1 7 11 42
10 Owlerton Prowlers 12 5 0 7 10 41
11 Reading Ravens 13 5 0 8 10 38
12 Eastbourne Starlets 16 1 2 13 4 12
13 Sittingbourne Crusaders 18 1 2 15 4 11

PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Match Points; % = Win Rate

Fixtures & results

[edit]

A fixtures

Home \ Away AE BER BUX DEV EAS LL MIL OW PET REA RWW SIT SWI
Arena Essex Hammers 37–41 41–37 48–30 39–39 33–43 45–33 n/a 42–36 43–35 51–27 39–38 48–29
Berwick Bandits 52–26 42–36 n/a 56–22 50–27 51–27 49–29 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Buxton Hitmen 53–25 44–34 39–39 44–32 40–38 47–31 45–31 46–31 n/a 58–20 53–25 n/a
Devon Demons 49–29 n/a 41–35 n/a 39–38 n/a n/a n/a n/a 44–34 n/a 43–34
Eastbourne Starlets 37–40 n/a n/a n/a 29–48 31–45 n/a n/a 24–29 31–45 47–31 n/a
Linlithgow Lightning 58–19 46–32 42–35 n/a 47–31 42–34 58–19 44–34 n/a 53–24 54–22 n/a
Mildenhall Fen Tigers 59–19 41–37 46–32 38–40 n/a 34–44 52–26 n/a 45–32 44–34 52–25 n/a
Owlerton Prowlers 42–35 40–38 41–37 n/a n/a 38–40 44–34 43–34 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Peterborough Thundercats 41–31 n/a 39–38 n/a n/a 35–43 n/a n/a 48–29 39–39 n/a n/a
Reading Ravens 44–34 n/a n/a n/a 47–31 37–40 n/a n/a n/a 38–40 59–19 43–34
Ryde Wight Wizards 47–30 n/a 44–34 41–36 45–33 40–38 44–34 n/a 49–29 54–24 42–36 40–38
Sittingbourne Crusaders 36–41 n/a 39–39 38–40 39–39 28–50 32–46 n/a 32–44 n/a 52–26 36–42
Swindon Sprockets 48–30 n/a n/a 43–35 46.5–31.5 42–36 n/a n/a 40–38 49–29 n/a n/a
Source: [6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

B fixtures

Home \ Away AE BER BUX DEV EAS LL MIL OW PET REA RWW SIT SWI
Arena Essex Hammers n/a n/a n/a 49–27 n/a n/a n/a n/a 47–31 n/a 53–25 53–24
Berwick Bandits n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Buxton Hitmen n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 41–36 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Devon Demons n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Eastbourne Starlets n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Linlithgow Lightning n/a n/a n/a n/a 50–28 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 54–24 n/a
Mildenhall Fen Tigers n/a 37–41 44–34 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Owlerton Prowlers n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Peterborough Thundercats n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Reading Ravens n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Ryde Wight Wizards n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Sittingbourne Crusaders n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Swindon Sprockets n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Source: [7]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Conference League Knockout Cup

[edit]

The 1996 Conference League Knockout Cup was the 29th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams.[8]

It was only the tier two competition because the Division 1 & 2 had merged during 1995 & 1996, this meant that the newly formed Conference League was tier two of British speedway at the time. Linlithgow Lightning were the winners of the Cup.

First round

Dates Team one Team two Scores
30/06, 02/08 Mildenhall Arena Essex 56-22, 40-38
14/07, 01/09 Linlithgow Buxton 46-31, 39-39

Final

[edit]

First leg

Linlithgow
Peter Scully 15
Barry Campbell 11
Brian Turner 8
Grant McDonald 8
Blair Scott 4
Neil Hewitt 3
Brian Mercer 0		49 – 29Mildenhall
Geoff Powell 9
Peter Boast 8
Dean Garrod 6
Jonathan Swales 5
Tony Kingsbury 1
Charlie Whitwham 1
Colin Thorpe 0
[9]

Second leg

Mildenhall
Jonathan Swales 13
Dean Garrod 8
Geoff Powell 8
Peter Boast 6
Tony Kingsbury 2
Jason Gage 1
Darren Smith 1		39 – 39Linlithgow
Barry Campbell 10
Peter Scully 10
[10]

Linlithgow were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 88–68.

Riders' Championship

[edit]

Mike Hampson won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 7 September at Long Eaton Stadium.[11]

Pos. Rider Team Total
1 Mike Hampson Buxton 12
2 Justin Elkins Isle of Wight 12
3 Graeme Gordon Exeter 12
4 David Mason Sittingbourne 12
5 Paul Lee Peterborough 10
6 Lee Dicken Sheffield 9
7 Martin Willis Isle of Wight 8
8 Barry Campbell Linlithgow 8
9 Krister Marsh Swindon 7
10 Dean Garrod Mildenhall 6
11 Carl Checketts Reading 6
12 Russell Etherington Arena Essex 4
13 Roland Pollard Arena Essex 4
14 Blair Scott Linlithgow 3
15 Bobby Eldridge Eastbourne 2
16 Anthony Barlow Berwick 2
17 Paul Clews (res) Peterborough 0

Teams and riders

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "More variety for the Tigers". Cambridge Daily News. 15 March 1996. Retrieved 14 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "Major League Competitions". Speedway Archive.
  3. ^ "1996 Tables". Speedway GB.com.
  4. ^ "Linlithgow Speedway". Defunct Speedway.
  5. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  6. ^ "1997 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  7. ^ "1997 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  8. ^ "1996 Conference League Knockout Cup Final". Speedway GB.
  9. ^ "Tigers have steep climb after cup battering". Cambridge Daily News. 7 October 1996. Retrieved 6 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Speedway". Scotland on Sunday. 13 October 1996. Retrieved 6 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Half a team". Cambridge Daily News. 9 September 1996. Retrieved 28 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ Total points scored, plus bonus points, divided by total number of races, multiplied by 4
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