Elite League Pairs Championship
The Elite League Pairs Championship is a motorcycle speedway contest between the top two riders from each club competing in the Elite League in the UK, first staged in 2004. The meetings comprise ten teams of two riders drawn into two qualifying groups.
Rules
Gate positions
In the Qualification Heats, riders are allocated starting gates. For the Semi-Finals, the group winners have first choice of gate positions (A&C or B&D). Gate A is on the inside of the track, whilst Gate D is on the outside. For the Final, the gate positions (A&C and B&D) are decided by the toss of a coin.
Points scoring
All heats are scored as follows:
- 1st = 4pts
- 2nd = 3pts
- 3rd = 2pts
- 4th = 0pts
This system is used to encourage team riding. A pair finishing third and second will score five points, whereas a pair finishing first and last will score only four. Race points scored over all Qualification Heats are used to determine the final group placings.
Ties
Where two are tied for a place, the team who scored most points scored in the heat where they met go through. Where more than two teams are tied for a place, the tie is resolved as follows:
- Most wins
- Most second places
- A ballot
Winners
| Year | Winners | 2nd place |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Swindon Robins (Leigh Adams & Charlie Gjedde) |
Belle Vue Aces (Jason Crump & Joe Screen) |
| 2005 | Swindon Robins (Leigh Adams & Lee Richardson) |
Belle Vue Aces (Jason Crump & Joe Screen) |
| 2006 | Belle Vue Aces (Jason Crump & Simon Stead) |
Swindon Robins (Leigh Adams & Sebastian Ułamek) |
| 2007 | Poole Pirates (Jason Crump & Bjarne Pedersen) |
Reading Bulldogs (Greg Hancock & Travis McGowan) |
| 2008[1] | Coventry Bees (Hans Andersen & Chris Harris) |
Swindon Robins (Leigh Adams & Mads Korneliussen) |
| 2009[2] | Poole Pirates (Hans Andersen & Chris Holder) |
Eastbourne Eagles (Lewis Bridger & Davey Watt) |
| 2010[3] | Coventry Bees (Chris Harris & Krzysztof Kasprzak) |
Poole Pirates (Chris Holder & Bjarne Pedersen) |
| 2011 | Poole Pirates (Chris Holder & Darcy Ward) |
Belle Vue Aces (Chris Harris & Rory Schlein) |
See also
References
- ↑ "Bees come good in Pairs", Sky Sports, 18 August 2008, retrieved 29 July 2012
- ↑ "Pirates storm to Pairs title", Sky Sports, 11 August 2009, retrieved 29 July 2012
- ↑ Chard Phil (2010) "Speedway: Middlo wants pairs rules change", Bournemouth Echo, 8 September 2010, retrieved 29 July 2012
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