1996 Speedway Conference League

1996 Speedway Conference League
Competition Conference League
Season 1996
No. of competitors 13
Champion Linlithgow Lightning

The 1996 season of the Conference League, the third tier of British speedway, was the first to promoted under that name, and was an entirely amateur competition contested by thirteen teams. The league expanded from the eight that had begun the previous season's British 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.

1996 Teams

Arena Essex Hammers CMA[1]
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
Vaclav 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

Sittingbourne Crusaders CMA
Scott Peglar 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

Final table

Team PL W D L Pts %
Linlithgow 23 18 0 5 36 78
Devon 11 7 1 3 15 68
Berwick 12 8 0 4 16 66
Ryde 19 12 1 6 25 65
Swindon 12 7 0 5 14 58
Arena Essex 27 14 1 12 29 53
Mildenhall 19 10 0 9 20 52
Buxton 21 10 2 9 22 52
Peterborough 13 5 1 7 11 42
Owlerton 12 5 0 7 10 41
Reading 13 5 0 8 10 38
Eastbourne 16 1 2 13 4 12
Sittingbourne 18 1 2 15 4 11

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

Notes

  1. Total points scored, plus bonus points, divided by total number of races, multiplied by 4