1970 British League Division Two season
League | British League Division Two |
---|---|
Champions | Canterbury Crusaders |
No. of competitors | 17 |
Knockout Cup | Ipswich Witches |
Individual | Dave Jessup |
Highest average | Gary Peterson |
Division/s above | British League (Div 1) |
The 1970 British League Division Two season was the third season of second tier motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]
Team changes[]
The league expanded from 16 to 17 teams in its third season. Plymouth Devils dropped out but two new teams had been created and joined the league, they were the Workington Comets and Peterborough Panthers. Before the season got underway the 1968 and 1969 champions Belle Vue Colts disbanded with most of their riders and the promotion team moving to Rochdale and becoming the Rochdale Hornets.[3] Doncaster changed their nickname from Stallions to Dragons.
Summary[]
Two teams changed venue during the season. In July, the Nelson Admirals moved Bradford to become Bradford Northern and in August, the King's Lynn Starlets promotion moved to Boston and became the Boston Barracudas.[4][5]
Canterbury Crusaders won their first title.[6][7] New Zealander averaged 10.49 for the Crusaders and was well backed up by Barry Crowson (9.17) and Barry Thomas (9.11).[8] Another New Zealander Gary Peterson topped the averages riding initially for the Nelson Admirals and then Bradford Northern.
Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Canterbury Crusaders | 32 | 23 | 1 | 8 | 47 |
2 | Eastbourne Eagles | 32 | 22 | 1 | 9 | 45 |
3 | Rochdale Hornets | 32 | 21 | 2 | 9 | 44 |
4 | Bradford Northern | 32 | 21 | 2 | 9 | 37 |
5 | Middlesbrough Teessiders | 32 | 18 | 0 | 14 | 36 |
6 | Ipswich Witches | 32 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 36 |
7 | Crewe Kings | 32 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 35 |
8 | Romford Bombers | 32 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 35 |
9 | Reading Racers | 32 | 17 | 0 | 15 | 34 |
10 | Peterborough Panthers | 32 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 30 |
11 | Workington Comets | 32 | 13 | 1 | 18 | 27 |
12 | Rayleigh Rockets | 32 | 13 | 1 | 18 | 27 |
13 | Boston Barracudas | 32 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 26 |
14 | Crayford Highwaymen | 32 | 11 | 1 | 20 | 23 |
15 | Doncaster Dragons | 32 | 11 | 1 | 20 | 23 |
16 | Berwick Bandits | 32 | 10 | 0 | 22 | 20 |
17 | Long Eaton Rangers | 32 | 8 | 3 | 21 | 19 |
Top Five Riders[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Gary Peterson | Bradford Northern/Nelson Admirals | 10.79 | |
2 | Canterbury Crusaders | 10.41 | ||
3 | Eric Broadbelt | Rochdale Hornets | 10.08 | |
4 | Crewe Kings | 9.91 | ||
5 | Crayford Highwaymen | 9.85 |
British League Division Two Knockout Cup[]
The 1970 British League Division Two Knockout Cup was the third edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners of the competition defeating Berwick Bandits in the final. The Bandits were surprise finalists given their final league placing which was second from bottom of the table.[9]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
11/04 | Rayleigh | 48-30 | Peterborough |
19/04 | Rochdale | 43-35 | Long Eaton |
20/04 | Crewe | 49-29 | Nelson |
26/04 | Eastbourne | 34-44 | Canterbury |
30/04 | Ipswich | 51-27+ | Crayford |
02/05 | Berwick | 53-25 | Doncaster |
07/05 | Teesside | 54-24 | King's Lynn |
07/05 | Romford | 48-30 | Reading |
+ first match abandoned with score at 25-17
Quarter Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
17/05 | Rochdale | 48-30 | Romford |
21/05 | Ipswich | 46-31 | Rayleigh |
23/05 | Berwick | 40-36 | Teesside |
06/06 | Canterbury | 52-26 | Crewe |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
07/07 | Berwick | 44-34 | Canterbury |
27/08 | Ipswich | 42-36 | Rochdale |
Final[]
First leg
Ipswich Witches John Louis 12 John Harrhy 11 Pete Bailey 9 Ron Bagley 6 Stan Pepper 5 Ted Spittles 4 Tony Davey 0 | 47 – 31 | Berwick Bandits Doug Wyer 11 Maury Robinson 6 Peter Kelly 6 Lex Milloy 4 Alistair Brady 2 Ken Ormand 1 Roy Williams 1 |
---|---|---|
[10] |
Second leg
Berwick Bandits Doug Wyer 10 Maury Robinson 9 Alistair Brady 7 Peter Kelly 5 Lex Milloy 5 Roy Williams 5 Ken Ormand 2 | 43 – 35 | Ipswich Witches John Louis 15 Pete Bailey 12 Stan Pepper 4 Ron Bagley 2 Ted Spittles 2 Tony Davey 0 John Harrhy R/R |
---|---|---|
[10] |
Ipswich were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 82–74.
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Nelson Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "Canterbury Crusaders 1968-1987". Canterbury Crusaders. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ "Canterbury". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ "1970 British League Division Two Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1970 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- Speedway British League Division Two / National League