1996 Speedway Conference League

British motorcycle speedway season

1996 Speedway Conference League
League	Conference League
Season	1996
No. of competitors	13
Champions	Linlithgow Lightning
Knockout Cup	Linlithgow Lightning
Individual	Mike Hampson
Division/s above	1996 Premier League
← 1995 1997 →

The 1996 Speedway Conference League was the inaugural season of the Conference League, which was the second tier of British motorcycle speedway. 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. The following season it would be a third tier/division competition.

Summary

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.

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.

Final table

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

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:
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:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Conference League Knockout Cup

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

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

First leg

6 October 1996

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

Heathersfield Stadium

Second leg

12 October 1996

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

Mildenhall Stadium

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

Riders' Championship

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

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

Arena Essex Hammers	CMA
Russell Etherington	8.11
Paul Lydes-Udings	7.91
Nathan Morton	6.82
Roland Pollard	6.68
Simon Wolstenholme	6.59
Darren Bolger	6.35
Andy Carfield	5.28
Gavin Pell	5.25
Phil Ranson	4.97
Ben Osborn	4.00
Jamie Barton	0.89

Berwick Bandits	CMA
David Blackburn	10.19
Glyn Taylor	9.19
Anthony Barlow	8.88
Richard Emson	8.00
William Beveridge	7.76
Peter Johnson	5.96
David McAllan	2.70
Michael Lowrie	8.67
Darren Pearson	2.67
Peter Grimwood	0.00

Buxton Hitmen	CMA
Mike Hampson	10.00
Jon Armstrong	8.77
Barry Ayres	8.00
Stephen Read	7.16
Dean Felton	7.13
Tony Howe	6.26
David Meldrum	6.10
Mark Harrison	4.38
Paul Macklin	2.18
Tony Atkin	12.00
Andre Compton	12.00
Graeme Gordon	10.67
Craig Taylor	9.75
Michael Lowrie	8.00
Drew Wheeldon	7.00
Elvis Jones	6.00
Jamie Young	6.00
Mark Burrows	4.00
Paul Fudge	4.00
Darren Matthews	2.67
Richard Moss	1.85
Jamie Isherwood	1.71
Geoff Batt	1.33
Neil Painter	1.00
David Nix	0.00
Paul Taylor	0.00

Devon Demons	CMA
Graeme Gordon	9.90
Paul Fudge	9.05
Roger Lobb	8.08
Greg Daniels	7.72
Kevin Phillips	4.84
Gary Lobb	4.00
Richard Ford	2.55
Mike Bowden	5.00
Andy Wilkinson	3.00
Wayne Holloway	0.00
Dave Ward	0.00
Nick Couch	0.00

Eastbourne Starlets	CMA
Paul Lydes-Udings	8.59
Brent Collyer	8.13
Bobby Eldridge	7.16
Steven Colvin	3.38
Richard Watts	2.91
Clive Seaby	2.87
Simon Moon	1.50
Dean Standing	12.00
Jason Bunyan	8.00
Tara O'Callaghan	7.82
Paul Taylor	7.56
Dean Chapman	7.44
David Meldrum	6.67
Justin Elkins	6.00
Scott Donovan	5.18
Mark Thompson	3.60
Nigel Roberts	3.50
Ian Clarke	2.80
Darren Grayling	0.00
Paul Bradford	0.00

Linlithgow Lightning	CMA
Peter Scully	9.81
Barry Campbell	9.43
Blair Scott	8.70
Brian Turner	8.43
Grant McDonald	7.74
Stuart Coleman	6.29
Brian Mercer	6.14
Neil Hewitt	5.76
Ian Milne	0.70
David Stokes	1.43
Mark Thompson	1.33
Andrew Swales	0.00

Mildenhall Fen Tigers	CMA
Geoff Powell	9.29
Jason Gage	9.00
Peter Boast	7.78
Dean Garrod	7.13
Jonathan Swales	6.71
Tony Kingsbury	5.48
Charlie Whitwam	1.64
Steve Knott	8.22
Mark Thompson	4.00
Dave Smith	4.00
Simon Brown	3.27
Richard Watts	1.33
Malcolm Hogg	0.00
Chris Simpson	0.00
Peter Grimwood	0.00
Colin Thorpe	0.00

Owlerton Prowlers	CMA
Derrol Keats	9.16
Lee Dicken	7.92
James Birkinshaw	7.37
Mark Blackwell	4.12
Glen Furniss	4.00
Andy Wilkinson	12.00
Charlie Whitwam	8.00
Philip Knowles	6.00
Neil Painter	5.25
Andy Buck	4.89
Paul Wyer	4.57
Phil Pickering	3.50
Aaron Baker	2.29
Simon Cartwright	1.82

Peterborough Thundercats	CMA
Paul Lee	9.00
Paul Clews	8.56
Jon Underwood	6.53
Gavin Hedge	5.60
Lee Dixon	5.48
Freddie Stephenson	4.42
Jason Newitt	2.10
Tommy Palmer	12.00
David Housley	0.00
Phil Pickering	0.00

Reading Ravens	CMA
Roger Lobb	9.93
Darren Andrews	8.89
Carl Checketts	7.85
Rob Cooling	4.53
Steve Targett	3.79
Mick Hester	3.25
Bill Haynes	0.60
Lee Richardson	11.64
Jason Gage	11.33
Lance Sealey	7.08
Karl Bainbridge	4.80
Patrice Deloubes	3.33
Steve Woolley	3.00
Mike Bowden	2.67
Damian Aplin	0.67
Steve Aston	0.00

Ryde Wizards	CMA
Václav Verner	11.38
Justin Elkins	11.17
Martin Willis	10.35
Mark Chessell	7.87
Colin Crook	5.25
Mike Bowden	4.88
Chris Simpson	2.86
Paul Oughton	2.85
Geoff Batt	2.71
Barry Bishop	1.26
Buck Blair	10.00
Simon Wolstenholme	6.50
Paul Taylor	6.00
Dean Garton	4.67
Ian Milne	4.00
Malcolm Hogg	3.00
Mark Czyz	2.80
Andrew Swales	2.00

Sittingbourne Crusaders	CMA
David Mason	11.38
Dean Chapman	5.68
Mark Czyz	5.37
John Curtis	4.17
Karl Armstrong	3.44
Andy Kerrison	3.33
Martyn Smith	2.67
Simon Wolstenholme	8.80
Gary Laker	8.00
Keith Yorke	7.20
Bobby Eldridge	6.25
Ben Osborn	4.67
Malcolm Smith	3.56
Ramon Majsa	3.27
Chris Simpson	2.67
Dean Norton	2.67
Mike Bowden	2.50
David Stokes	2.40
Karl Bainbridge	2.00
Mark Thompson	2.00
Andy Cooper	0.00

Swindon Sprockets	CMA
Scott Pegler	10.32
Krister Marsh	9.26
Keith Lansley	6.75
Gary Phelps	6.57
Scott Donovan	4.44
Martin Williams	4.11
Simon Paget	3.19
John Jeffries	9.78
Malcolm Holloway	9.33
Alan Spencer	6.00
Wayne Holloway	1.33
Richard Holloway	0.00

References

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

v t e Speedway in the United Kingdom
Current leagues	SGB Premiership SGB Championship National Development League List of champions
Former leagues	Elite League Premier League National League (1932–1964) Provincial League (1960–1964) British League British League Division Two/National League Conference League National League Division Two National League Division Three English Dirt Track League/Northern League Southern League (1929–1931) Southern League (1952–1953) Provincial League (1936–1937) Southern Area League
Current team competitions	Knockout Cup League Pairs champions League Fours champions
Former team competitions	London Cup Midland Cup Craven and Young Shields Premiership Shield
Current individual competitions	British Speedway Championship League Riders' champions British U-21 British U-19 Scottish Open
Former individual competitions	London Riders' Midland Riders' Northern Riders' Southern Riders' Olympique Internationale
See also	Speedway British Speedway Promoters' Association Speedway Control Bureau

v t e United Kingdom Speedway Seasons
Tier One League Top division	1929 1929 1930 1930 1931 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Tier Two League Second division	1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Tier Three League Third division	1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1994 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Champions	League champions Cup winners

Category:

1996 in British motorsport