1975 British League season
League | British League |
---|---|
Champions | Ipswich Witches |
No. of competitors | 18 |
Knockout Cup | Belle Vue Aces |
Individual | Peter Collins |
Highest average | Ivan Mauger |
Division/s below | 1975 National League |
The 1975 Gulf Oil British League season was the 41st season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 11th season known as the British League.[1]
Summary[]
The league was sponsored for the first time by Gulf Oil. Reading Racers returned after a one-season absence to increase the size of the league back to eighteen teams and the ban on Overseas riders that rode in other leagues abroad was lifted.[2]
The Ipswich Witches won their first title, defeating Belle Vue Aces by a solitary point. John Louis and Billy Sanders scored heavily throughout the season for Ipswich. Belle Vue found consolation by winning the Knockout Cup.[3][4]
Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Ipswich Witches | 34 | 26 | 1 | 7 | 53 |
2 | Belle Vue Aces | 34 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 52 |
3 | Newport | 34 | 24 | 1 | 9 | 49 |
4 | Exeter Falcons | 34 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 45 |
5 | Sheffield Tigers | 34 | 21 | 0 | 13 | 42 |
6 | Reading Racers | 34 | 21 | 0 | 13 | 42 |
7 | Oxford Rebels | 34 | 18 | 0 | 16 | 36 |
8 | Leicester Lions | 34 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 36 |
9 | Wimbledon Dons | 34 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 34 |
10 | Halifax Dukes | 34 | 15 | 3 | 16 | 33 |
11 | Cradley United | 34 | 15 | 2 | 17 | 32 |
12 | King's Lynn Stars | 34 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 31 |
13 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 34 | 13 | 1 | 20 | 27 |
14 | Hull Vikings | 34 | 10 | 4 | 20 | 24 |
15 | Poole Pirates | 34 | 10 | 3 | 21 | 23 |
16 | Coventry Bees | 34 | 9 | 2 | 23 | 20 |
17 | Hackney Hawks | 34 | 9 | 1 | 24 | 19 |
18 | Swindon Robins | 34 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 16 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Leading riders[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Ivan Mauger | Exeter Falcons | 11.52 | |
2 | Phil Crump | Newport | 11.15 | |
3 | Peter Collins | Belle Vue Aces | 11.13 | |
4 | Anders Michanek | Reading Racers | 10.90 | |
5 | Ole Olsen | Wolverhampton Wolves | 10.79 | |
6 | John Louis | Ipswich Witches | 10.58 | |
7 | Dave Jessup | Leicester Lions | 10.41 | |
8 | Malcolm Simmons | Poole Pirates | 10.41 | |
9 | Martin Ashby | Swindon Robins | 10.13 | |
10 | Tommy Jansson | Wimbledon Dons | 10.12 | |
11 | Dag Lövaas | Oxford Rebels | 10.04 | |
12 | Ray Wilson | Wolverhampton Wolves | 9.90 | |
13 | Reg Wilson | Sheffield Tigers | 9.79 | |
14 | Jim McMillan | Hull Vikings | 9.69 | |
15 | Billy Sanders | Ipswich Witches | 9.58 | |
16 | Doug Wyer | Sheffield Tigers | 9.37 | |
17 | Chris Morton | Belle Vue Aces | 9.27 | |
18 | Barry Briggs | Wimbledon Dons | 9.23 | |
19 | Scott Autrey | Exeter Falcons | 9.19 | |
20 | Reidar Eide | Newport | 8.98 |
British League Knockout Cup[]
The 1975 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 37th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Belle Vue Aces were the winners.[5]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
22/05 | Sheffield | 44-34 | Exeter |
19/04 | Belle Vue | 49-29 | Wolverhampton |
18/04 | Wolverhampton | 37-41 | Belle Vue |
14/04 | Exeter | 47-31 | Sheffield |
Second Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
01/07 | Leicester | 47-31 | Hackney |
27/06 | Hackney | 40-38 | Leicester |
23/06 | Cradley Heath | 46-32 | Kings Lynn |
21/06 | Kings Lynn | 42-36 | Cradley Heath |
19/06 | Oxford | 60-18 | Coventry |
19/06 | Ipswich | 42-36 | Belle Vue |
16/06 | Exeter | 43-35 | Poole |
16/06 | Reading | 38-40 | Newport |
14/06 | Swindon | 47-31 | Hull |
14/06 | Coventry | 33-45 | Oxford |
11/06 | Poole | 41-37 | Exeter |
11/06 | Hull | 46-32 | Swindon |
07/06 | Halifax | 58-20 | Wimbledon |
06/06 | Newport | 46-32 | Reading |
05/06 | Wimbledon | 49-29 | Halifax |
04/06 | Belle Vue | 49-28 | Ipswich |
Quarter Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
09/08 | Cradley Heath | 51-27 | Newport |
09/08 | Belle Vue | 45-33 | Oxford |
08/08 | Newport | 49-29 | Cradley Heath |
07/08 | Oxford | 36-42 | Belle Vue |
02/08 | Swindon | 32-46 | Leicester |
29/07 | Leicester | 42-36 | Swindon |
17/07 | Exeter | 43-35 | Halifax |
05/07 | Halifax | 47-31 | Exeter |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
05/10 | Belle Vue | 44-34 | Cradley Heath |
27/09 | Halifax | 37-40 | Leicester |
26/09 | Leicester | 47-31 | Halifax |
22/09 | Cradley Heath | 32-45 | Belle Vue |
Final[]
First leg[]
Leicester Lions Dave Jessup 11 Ila Teromaa 10 Ray Wilson 9 Frank Auffret 6 Doug Underwood 2 Tony Lomas 0 Keith White 0 | 38 - 40 | Belle Vue Aces Peter Collins 12 Chris Morton 9 Sören Sjösten 7 4 Alan Wilkinson 4 3 1 |
---|---|---|
[6] |
Second leg[]
Belle Vue Aces Peter Collins 12 Sören Sjösten 8 8 Alan Wilkinson 8 Chris Morton 7 2 1 | 46 - 32 | Leicester Lions Dave Jessup 8 Ray Wilson 7 Frank Auffret 6 Doug Underwood 6 Tony Lomas 3 Ila Teromaa 1 Keith White 1 |
---|---|---|
[6] |
Belle Vue Aces were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 86-70.
Teams[]
Belle Vue Aces[]
- Les Collins
- Peter Collins
- Chris Morton
- Sören Sjösten
- Chris Turner
- Alan Wilkinson
Coventry Bees[]
- Nigel Boocock
- Alan Molyneux
- Tommy Nilsson
- Pepe Teromaa
- Mitch Shirra
- Bob Valentine
Cradley United[]
- Carl Askew
- Steve Bastable
- John Boulger
- Bruce Cribb
- Steve Holden
- Sándor Lévai
- Kelvin Mullarkey
- Dave Perks
- Bernt Persson
- Arthur Price
- Chris Turner
- Steve Weatherley
Exeter Falcons[]
- Scott Autrey
- Mike Farrell
- Vic Harding
- Kevin Holden
- Chris Julian
- Ivan Mauger
- Geoff Mudge
- Les Rumsey
- Mike Sampson
- John Titman
Hackney Hawks[]
- Mike Broadbank
- Laurie Etheridge
- Barney Kennett
- Christer Löfqvist
- Dave Morton
- Joe Owen
- Zenon Plech
- Kelvin Mullarkey
- Barry Thomas
Halifax Dukes[]
- Ian Cartwright
- Rick France
- John Jackson
- Henny Kroeze
- Charlie Monk
- Graham Plant
- Chris Pusey
Hull Vikings[]
- Bobby Beaton
- Arthur Browning
- Alan Cowland
- Alan Grahame
- Vic Harding
- Brian Havelock
- Tommy Johansson
- Jimmy McMillan
- Joe Owen
- Tom Owen
- Colin Richardson
- Mike Sampson
- Lou Sansom
- Steve Weatherley
Ipswich Witches[]
- Tony Davey
- Mike Lanham
- John Louis
- Billy Sanders
King's Lynn Stars[]
- Ray Bales
- Terry Betts
- Billy Burton
- David Gagen
- Trevor Hedge
- Jan Henningsen
- Michael Lee
- Garry Middleton
- Olle Nygren
- Pete Smith
- Ian Turner
Leicester Lions[]
- Frank Auffret
- Bob Cooper
- Alan Emerson
- Dave Jessup
- Brian Leonard
- Tony Lomas
- Norman Storer
- Ila Teromaa
- Doug Underwood
- Keith White
- Ray Wilson
Newport[]
- Arthur Browning
- Phil Crump
- Reidar Eide
- Phil Herne
- Barney Kennett
- Joe Owen
- Tom Owen
- Mike Sampson
- Neil Street
- Brian Woodward
Oxford Rebels[]
- John Dews
- Paul Gachet
- Trevor Geer
- Richard Greer
- Richard Hellsen
- Hasse Holmqvist
- Barney Kennett
- Gordon Kennett
- Dag Lövaas
- Steve Weatherley
Poole Pirates[]
- Christoph Betzl
- Eric Broadbelt
- Colin Gooddy
- Alan Grahame
- Neil Middleditch
- Malcolm Simmons
- Christer Sjösten
- Pete Smith
- Steve Weatherley
- Martin Yeates
Reading Racers[]
- Mick Bell
- John Davis
- Bengt Jansson
- Richard May
- Anders Michanek
- Colin Richardson
Sheffield Tigers[]
- Carl Askew
- Carl Glover
- Arnold Haley
- Reg Wilson
- Doug Wyer
Swindon Robins[]
- Jan Andersson
- David Ashby
- Martin Ashby
- Geoff Bouchard
- Alan Grahame
- Mick Handley
- Norman Hunter
- Bob Kilby
- Colin Richardson
- Edgar Stangeland
- Steve Wilcock
Wimbledon Dons[]
- Barry Briggs
- Bert Harkins
- Tommy Jansson
- Roger Johns
- Reg Luckhurst
- Edgar Stangeland
- Larry Ross
Wolverhampton Wolves[]
- Carl Askew
- Arthur Browning
- Alan Emerson
- Alan Grahame
- George Hunter
- Tom Leadbitter
- Colin Meredith
- Ole Olsen
- Gary Peterson
- Malcolm Shakespeare
- Finn Thomsen
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "1975 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "Season 1975" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- British League
- 1975 in British motorsport
- 1975 in speedway