The 1994 British League season was the 60th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 30th and final season known as the British League.[1][2]
League | British League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 11 |
Champions | Poole Pirates |
Knockout Cup | Eastbourne Eagles |
Fours | Poole Pirates |
Individual | Sam Ermolenko |
Highest average | Per Jonsson |
Division/s below | British League (Div 2) British League (Div 3) |
Poole Pirates dominated the league and won the title finishing 15 points clear of nearest rivals Eastbourne Eagles. The Pirates last top league success had been back in 1969 and it was thanks to solid performances throughout the season from their Australian pair; new signing from Swindon Jason Crump and Craig Boyce. They were backed up by Norwegian Lars Gunnestad and Londoner Steve Schofield.[3]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | BP | Pts |
1 | Poole Pirates | 40 | 30 | 1 | 9 | 16 | 77 |
2 | Eastbourne Eagles | 40 | 23 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 62 |
3 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 40 | 20 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 54 |
4 | Coventry Bees | 40 | 19 | 3 | 18 | 11 | 52 |
5 | King's Lynn Stars | 40 | 20 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 51 |
6 | Ipswich Witches | 40 | 19 | 2 | 19 | 10 | 50 |
7 | Bradford Dukes | 40 | 18 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 48 |
8 | Arena Essex Hammers | 40 | 19 | 0 | 21 | 8 | 46 |
9 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 40 | 16 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 42 |
10 | Reading Racers | 40 | 14 | 2 | 24 | 6 | 36 |
11 | Belle Vue Aces | 40 | 13 | 1 | 26 | 5 | 32 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
The 1994 British League Knockout Cup was the 56th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners for a third consecutive year.[4]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
23/04 | Eastbourne | 59-37 | Belle Vue |
23/04 | Kings Lynn | 58-38 | Poole |
21/04 | Ipswich | 61-33 | Cradley Heath |
20/04 | Poole | 56-40 | Kings Lynn |
16/04 | Cradley Heath | 70-25 | Ipswich |
13/04 | Belle Vue | 47-49 | Eastbourne |
Quarter-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
28/06 | Coventry | 58-37 | Reading |
15/06 | Kings Lynn | 61-35 | Bradford |
14/06 | Bradford | 49-47 | Kings Lynn |
28/05 | Eastbourne | 51-45 | Wolverhampton |
23/05 | Reading | 52-43 | Coventry |
16/05 | Wolverhampton | 50-46 | Eastbourne |
14/05 | Cradley Heath | 59-24 | Arena Essex |
13/05 | Arena Essex | 52-44 | Cradley Heath |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
31/07 | Eastbourne | 55-41 | Kings Lynn |
30/07 | Kings Lynn | 55-41 | Eastbourne |
16/07 | Coventry | 48-47 | Cradley Heath |
02/07 | Cradley Heath | 55-41 | Coventry |
29/08 | Kings Lynn | 45-51 | Eastbourne |
28/08 | Eastbourne | 62-33 | Kings Lynn |
First leg
Eastbourne Eagles Martin Dugard 14 Dean Barker 12 Stefan Danno 12 Paul Dugard 8 David Norris 7 Stefan Andersson 5 Scott Swain 1 | 59 - 37 | Cradley Heath Greg Hancock 13 Peter Nahlin 9 Billy Hamill 7 Simon Cross 6 Jonathan Forsgren 2 Scott Smith 0 Lance Sealey 0 |
---|---|---|
[5] |
Second leg
Cradley Heath Simon Cross 14 Billy Hamill 14 Peter Nahlin 9 Greg Hancock 7 Jonathan Forsgren 4 Scott Smith 1 Lance Sealey 0 | 49 - 47 | Eastbourne Eagles |
---|---|---|
[5] |
Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 106-86.
Poole Pirates won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 7 August.[6]
Final
Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Poole | 28 | Crump 9, Boyce 7, Rossiter 6, Schofield 6 |
2 | Cradley | 20 | Nahlin 8, Cross 7, Hamill 3, Hancock 2 |
3 | Eastbourne | 15 | Norris 5, Barker 4, Dugard 4, Andersson 2 |
4 | Coventry | 9 | Jørgensen 6, Andersen 2, Olsen 1, Tacey 0, Spicer 0 |
Sam Ermolenko won the British League Riders' Championship. It was held at Abbey Stadium on 9 October.[7]
Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Sam Ermolenko | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 |
2 | Hans Nielsen | 3 3 3 1 3 | 13 |
3 | Martin Dugard | 1 3 3 2 2 | 11 |
4 | Mark Loram | 2 1 1 3 3 | 10 |
5 | David Norris | 1 2 1 3 2 | 9 |
6 | Leigh Adams | 0 0 3 3 3 | 9 |
7 | Greg Hancock | 3 2 1 1 2 | 9 |
8 | Craig Boyce | 2 3 2 1 1 | 9 |
9 | Joe Screen | 3 0 2 2 0 | 7 |
10 | Gary Havelock | 1 1 2 2 1 | 7 |
11 | Peter Karlsson | 2 2 2 0 1 | 7 |
12 | Chris Louis | 2 1 1 2 0 | 6 |
13 | Jason Crump | 1 2 0 0 2 | 5 |
14 | Michael Coles | 0 0 0 1 0 | 1 |
15 | Paul Bentley | 0 1 0 0 1 | 2 |
16 | Dave Mullett | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 |
Rider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
Per Jonsson | Reading | 10.41 |
Tony Rickardsson | Ipswich | 10.00 |
Hans Nielsen | Coventry | 9.98 |
Sam Ermolenko | Wolverhampton | 9.83 |
Leigh Adams | Arena Essex | 9.79 |
Joe Screen | Bradford | 9.65 |
Henrik Gustafsson | Belle Vue | 9.64 |
Gary Havelock | Bradford | 9.59 |
Mark Loram | Kings Lynn | 9.46 |
Martin Dugard | Eastbourne | 9.33 |
Jason Crump | Poole | 9.30 |
Greg Hancock | Cradley Heath | 9.29 |
David Norris | Eastbourne | 9.18 |
Craig Boyce | Poole | 9.08 |
Arena Essex
Belle Vue
Bradford
Coventry
Cradley Heath
Eastbourne
Ipswich
King's Lynn
Poole
Reading
Wolverhampton