1981 British League season
League | British League |
---|---|
Champions | Cradley Heath Heathens |
No. of competitors | 16 |
Knockout Cup | Ipswich Witches |
League Cup | Coventry Bees |
Individual | Kenny Carter |
Highest average | Bruce Penhall |
Division/s below | 1981 National League |
The 1981 British League season was the 47th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 17th known as the British League.[1]
Summary[]
The league comprised 16 teams - one fewer than the previous season. Wolverhampton Wolves had dropped down to the National League.[2]
American Bruce Penhall (who would be crowned world champion by the end of the season) topped the averages and helped Cradley Heathens win their first title. The Cradley team included Penhall, rising Danish star Erik Gundersen and British internationals Alan Grahame and Phil Collins. The league runner-up Ipswich Witches gained some consolation by winning the Knockout Cup.[3]
Final League table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Cradley Heathens | 30 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 53 |
2 | Ipswich Witches | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 46 |
3 | Swindon Robins | 30 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 41 |
4 | Belle Vue Aces | 30 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 39 |
5 | Coventry Bees | 30 | 18 | 0 | 12 | 36 |
6 | Birmingham Brummies | 30 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 27 |
7 | Halifax Dukes | 30 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 27 |
8 | Hackney Hawks | 30 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 26 |
9 | Poole Pirates | 30 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 26 |
10 | Sheffield Tigers | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 26 |
11 | Reading Racers | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 25 |
12 | Hull Vikings | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 24 |
13 | Eastbourne Eagles | 30 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 23 |
14 | King's Lynn Stars | 30 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 22 |
15 | Leicester Lions | 30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 22 |
16 | Wimbledon Dons | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 17 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Top ten riders[]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Bruce Penhall | Cradley Heathens | 11.08 | |
2 | Kenny Carter | Halifax Dukes | 10.50 | |
3 | Phil Crump | Swindon Robins | 10.39 | |
4 | Michael Lee | King's Lynn Stars | 10.34 | |
5 | Erik Gundersen | Cradley Heathens | 10.26 | |
6 | Chris Morton | Belle Vue Aces | 10.26 | |
7 | Jan Andersson | Reading Racers | 10.02 | |
8 | Gordon Kennett | Eastbourne Eagles | 9.95 | |
9 | Kelly Moran | Eastbourne Eagles | 9.83 | |
10 | Hans Nielsen | Birmingham Brummies | 9.83 |
British League Knockout Cup[]
The 1981 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 43rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners.[4]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
04/06 | Middlesbrough | 43-53 | Eastbourne |
23/05 | Berwick | 39-57 | Wimbledon |
08/05 | Peterborough | 50-46 | Halifax |
04/05 | Newcastle | 40-56 | Leicester |
08/05 | Edinburgh | 49-47 | Sheffield |
12/04 | Mildenhall | 38-58 | Poole |
31/05 | Rye House | 34-62 | Birmingham |
03/05 | Boston | 47-48 | Hull |
Second Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
08/07 | Poole | 49-47 | Leicester |
24/06 | Hull | 54-42 | Belle Vue |
23/06 | Leicester | 51-45 | Poole |
20/06 | Cradley Heath | 60-36 | Eastbourne |
14/06 | Peterborough | 38-58 | Birmingham |
13/06 | Belle Vue | 53-43 | Hull |
11/06 | Wimbledon | 40-56 | Reading |
08/06 | Birmingham | 63-33 | Peterborough |
08/06 | Reading | 55-41 | Wimbledon |
07/06 | Eastbourne | 49-47 | Cradley Heath |
30/05 | Coventry | 63-33 | Hackney |
30/05 | Swindon | 69-27 | Edinburgh |
29/05 | Hackney | 37-59 | Coventry |
01/05 | Kings Lynn | 47-49 | Ipswich |
21/05 | Ipswich | 53-43 | Kings Lynn |
12/06 | Edinburgh | 47-49 | Swindon |
Quarter Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
03/09 | Swindon | 74-22 | Leicester |
25/08 | Leicester | 45-51 | Swindon |
20/08 | Ipswich | 54-42 | Cradley Heath |
12/08 | Cradley Heath | 48-48 | Ipswich |
03/08 | Reading | 51-45 | Coventry |
24/07 | Birmingham | 52-44 | Hull |
22/07 | Hull | 49-47 | Birmingham |
11/07 | Coventry | 49-45 | Reading |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
28/09 | Reading | 49-47 | Birmingham |
18/09 | Birmingham | 54-42 | Reading |
18/09 | Swindon | 46-50 | Ipswich |
10/09 | Ipswich | 57-39 | Swindon |
Final[]
First leg[]
Birmingham Brummies Hans Nielsen 14 Kai Niemi 13 Andy Grahame 8 Bruce Cribb 8 Neil Evitts 4 Simon Wigg 0 Paul Thorp 0 | 47 - 49 | Ipswich Witches Preben Eriksen 12 John Cook 11 Kevin Jolly 7 Dennis Sigalos 6 Tim Hunt 6 Mike Lanham 5 2 |
---|---|---|
Second leg[]
Ipswich Witches Dennis Sigalos 11 John Cook 10 Preben Eriksen 8 Kevin Jolly 7 Mike Lanham 7 Tim Hunt 6 2 | 51 - 45 | Birmingham Brummies Hans Nielsen 17 Andy Grahame 17 Kai Niemi 8 Bruce Cribb 1 Neil Evitts 1 1 Paul Thorp 0 |
---|---|---|
The Ipswich Witches were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 100-92.
League Cup[]
The League Cup was inaugurated in 1981 with the 16 teams split into North and South sections comprising 8 teams each that met each other home and away. The winners of each section qualified for the two-legged final with Coventry Bees beating King's Lynn Stars in the final 120-70 on aggregate.
North Group[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Coventry Bees | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
2 | Cradley Heathens | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
3 | Belle Vue Aces | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
4 | Sheffield Tigers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
5 | Birmingham Brummies | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
6 | Hull Vikings | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
7 | Leicester Lions | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 8 |
8 | Halifax Dukes | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 8 |
South Group[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | King's Lynn Stars | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 21 |
2 | Reading Racers | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 20 |
3 | Ipswich Witches | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 18 |
4 | Poole Pirates | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
5 | Swindon Robins | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
6 | Hackney Hawks | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
7 | Eastbourne Eagles | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
8 | Wimbledon Dons | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
Final[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
10/10 | Coventry | 68–28 | King's Lynn |
11/10 | King's Lynn | 42–54 | Coventry |
Teams[]
Belle Vue Aces[]
- Louis Carr
- Peter Carr
- Neil Collins
- Peter Collins
- Mike Lohmann
- Jimmy McMillan
- Chris Morton
- Peter Ravn
- Larry Ross
Birmingham Brummies[]
- Arthur Browning
- Billy Burton
- Bruce Cribb
- Martin Dixon
- Neil Evitts
- Ian Gledhill
- Andy Grahame
- Finn Jensen
- Hans Nielsen
- Kai Niemi
- Les Rumsey
- Paul Thorp
- Simon Wigg
Coventry Bees[]
- Alf Busk
- Laurie Etheridge
- Gary Guglielmi
- Brian Havelock
- Tommy Knudsen
- Ole Olsen
- Mitch Shirra
- Keith White
- Steve Wilcock
Cradley Heath[]
- Phil Collins
- Alan Grahame
- Erik Gundersen
- Arnold Haley
- Bruce Penhall
- Dave Perks
- Simon Wigg
Eastbourne Eagles[]
- Trevor Geer
- Richard Greer
- Barney Kennett
- Gordon Kennett
- Kelly Moran
- Kai Niemi
- Robert Słaboń
- Olli Tyrväinen
- Paul Woods
Hackney Hawks[]
- Ian Clark
- Bob Garrad
- Martin Hagon
- Kelvin Mullarkey
- Roman Jankowski
- Bo Petersen
- Zenon Plech
- Jens Rasmussen
- Barry Thomas
- Finn Thomsen
- Sean Willmott
Halifax Dukes[]
- Steve Baker
- Billy Burton
- Kenny Carter
- Ian Cartwright
- Martin Dixon
- John Louis
- Trond Helge Skretting
- Doug Wyer
Hull Vikings[]
- Frank Auffret
- David Bargh
- Bobby Beaton
- Alan Emerson
- Rod Hunter
- Ivan Mauger
- Joe Owen
- Billy Sanders
Ipswich Witches[]
- John Cook
- Preben Eriksen
- Tim Hunt
- Kevin Jolly
- Mike Lanham
- Dennis Sigalos
King's Lynn Stars[]
- Pierre Brannefors
- Wayne Brown
- Arthur Browning
- David Gagen
- Richard Hellsen
- Dave Jessup
- Michael Lee
- Melvyn Taylor
Leicester Lions[]
- Ian Clark
- Les Collins
- Colin Cook
- Mark Courtney
- Finn Jensen
- Ian Gledhill
- Rolf Gramstad
- Phil Herne
- Andrzej Huszcza
- Rob Lightfoot
- Pete Smith
- Steve Regeling
- John Titman
Poole Pirates[]
- Scott Autrey
- Andy Campbell
- John Davis
- Neil Middleditch
- Ron Preston
- Kevin Smith
Reading Racers[]
- Jan Andersson
- John Davis
- Ian Gledhill
- Andrzej Huszcza
- Richard Knight
- Steve McDermott
- Anders Michanek
- Kelvin Mullarkey
- Ashley Pullen
- Bobby Schwartz
Sheffield Tigers[]
- Eric Broadbelt
- Wayne Brown
- Mark Fiora
- Alan Molyneux
- Shawn Moran
- Dave Morton
- Reg Wilson
Swindon Robins[]
- Steve Bastable
- Phil Crump
- Mike Ferreira
- Malcolm Holloway
- Steve Lawson
- Steen Mastrup
- Martin Yeates
Wimbledon Dons[]
- Robert Henry
- Edward Jancarz
- Roger Johns
- Alan Mogridge
- Brad Oxley
- Jerzy Rembas
- Colin Richardson
- Malcolm Simmons
- Simon Wigg
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "1981". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "1981 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- British League
- 1981 in British motorsport
- 1981 in speedway