1991 British League season
League | British League |
---|---|
Champions | Wolverhampton Wolves |
No. of competitors | 13 |
Knockout Cup | Bradford Dukes |
Individual | Sam Ermolenko |
Highest average | Sam Ermolenko |
Division/s below | British League (Div 2) |
The 1991 British League season was the 57th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 27th known as the British League.[1][2]
Summary[]
Wolverhampton Wolves won the league for the first time in their history. The club which was first founded in 1928 had only ever won the Provincial Midland League in 1962 and the Provincial League in 1963. They were led by their American star Sam Ermolenko, who became the first rider to push Hans Nielsen from the top of the averages after eight consecutive years at the top. The Wolves team relied on two more American riders, Ronnie Correy and Sam's younger brother Charles Ermolenko, in addition to Englishman Graham Jones to seal the title from Bradford. Bradford gained consolation by winning the Knockout Cup, led by English international pair Simon Wigg and Gary Havelock.[3][4]
Final table[]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | BP | Pts |
1 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 24 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 49 |
2 | Bradford Dukes | 24 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 43 |
3 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 41 |
4 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 33 |
5 | Berwick Bandits | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 32 |
6 | Ipswich Witches | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 32 |
7 | Coventry Bees | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 30 |
8 | King's Lynn Stars | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 30 |
9 | Oxford Cheetahs | 24 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 25 |
10 | Poole Pirates | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 23 |
11 | Reading Racers | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 21 |
12 | Eastbourne Eagles | 24 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 18 |
13 | Swindon Robins | 24 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 13 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Leading averages[]
Rider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
Sam Ermolenko | Wolverhampton | 10.74 |
Hans Nielsen | Oxford | 10.50 |
Kelvin Tatum | Berwick | 9.92 |
Gary Havelock | Bradford | 9.89 |
Jimmy Nilsen | Berwick | 9.63 |
Ronnie Correy | Wolverhampton | 9.58 |
Jan O. Pedersen | Cradley Heath | 9.54 |
Andy Grahame | Eastbourne | 9.44 |
Martin Dugard | Oxford | 9.12 |
Henrik Gustafsson | Kings Lynn | 9.06 |
British League Knockout Cup[]
The 1991 British League Knockout Cup was the 53rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Bradford Dukes were the winners.[5][4]
First Round[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
25/05 | Cradley Heath | 50-39 | Ipswich |
22/05 | Wimbledon | 52-38 | Kings Lynn |
20/05 | Reading | 48-42 | Poole |
16/05 | Ipswich | 46-44 | Cradley Heath |
13/05 | Wolverhampton | 50-40 | Oxford |
10/05 | Oxford | 49-41 | Wolverhampton |
30/04 | Poole | 47-43 | Reading |
27/04 | Kings Lynn | 40-50 | Wimbledon |
27/04 | Swindon | 46-44 | Belle Vue |
26/04 | Belle Vue | 55-35 | Swindon |
26/04 | Berwick | 47-43 | Coventry |
20/04 | Coventry | 46-44 | Berwick |
Quarter Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
07/09 | Cradley Heath | 50-39 | Reading |
02/09 | Reading | 46-43 | Cradley Heath |
02/08 | Berwick | 43-47 | Bradford |
02/08 | Eastbourne | 50-40 | Reading |
16/07 | Bradford | 50-40 | Berwick |
01/07 | Reading | 56-34 | Eastbourne |
14/06 | Belle Vue | 44-46 | Wolverhampton |
10/06 | Wolverhampton | 42.5-47.5 | Belle Vue |
Semi Finals[]
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
02/09 | Reading | 46-43 | Cradley |
07/09 | Cradley | 50-39 | Reading |
05/10 | Bradford | 56-34 | Belle Vue |
11/10 | Belle Vue | 51-39 | Bradford |
Final[]
First leg[]
Bradford Dukes Simon Wigg 14 Gary Havelock 10 Glenn Doyle 10 8 Paul Thorp 7 Sean Wilson 1 0 | 50 - 40 | Cradley Heath Jan O. Pedersen 10 Billy Hamill 8 Alan Grahame 7 Simon Cross 7 Greg Hancock 3 Scott Smith 3 Wayne Garratt 2 |
---|---|---|
Second leg[]
Cradley Heath Jan O. Pedersen 11 Billy Hamill 10 Greg Hancock 9 Wayne Garratt 6 Simon Cross 5 Alan Grahame 2 Scott Smith 0 | 43 - 47 | Bradford Dukes Simon Wigg 14 Gary Havelock 10 Paul Thorp 8 Glenn Doyle 5 4 3 Sean Wilson 3 |
---|---|---|
Bradford Dukes were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 97-83.
Teams[]
Belle Vue Aces[]
- David Bargh
- Neil Collins
- Kelly Moran
- Shawn Moran
- Tony Olsson
- Joe Screen
- Carl Stonehewer
- Darren Sumner
Berwick Bandits[]
- David Blackburn
- Mikael Blixt
- Richard Knight
- Jimmy Nilsen
- Scott Robson
- Frede Schött
- Kelvin Tatum
- David Walsh
Bradford Dukes[]
- Glenn Doyle
- Gary Havelock
- Paul Thorp
- Simon Wigg
- Sean Wilson
Coventry Bees[]
- John Jørgensen
- Tommy Knudsen
- Roman Matoušek
- Rick Miller
- Peter Ravn
Cradley Heath[]
- Simon Cross
- Wayne Garratt
- Alan Grahame
- Billy Hamill
- Greg Hancock
- Gert Handberg
- Jan O. Pedersen
- Scott Smith
Eastbourne Eagles[]
- Armando Castagna
- John Davis
- Andy Grahame
- Gordon Kennett
- Bobby Ott
- Neville Tatum
Ipswich Witches[]
- Lawrence Hare
- Ben Howe
- Chris Louis
- David Norris
- Shane Parker
- Tony Rickardsson
- Neville Tatum
- Zdeněk Tesař
King's Lynn Stars[]
- Bohumil Brhel
- Armando Dal Chiele
- Paul Fry
- Henka Gustaffson
- Michael Lee
- Mark Loram
Oxford Cheetahs[]
- Dean Barker
- Craig Boyce
- Glenn Cunningham
- Martin Dugard
- Hans Nielsen
Poole Pirates[]
- Gary Allan
- Marvyn Cox
- Jason Crump
- Mark Lemon
- Mick Poole
- Alun Rossiter
- Steve Schofield
Reading Racers[]
- Jan Andersson
- Jeremy Doncaster
- Ray Morton
- Phil Morris
- Dave Mullett
- Mitch Shirra
- Todd Wiltshire
Swindon Robins[]
- Leigh Adams
- John Davis
- Brian Karger
- Peter Nahlin
- Andrew Silver
- Andy Smith
Wimbledon Dons[]
(Eastbourne took over Wimbledon's fixtures mid-season)
- John Davis
- Andy Grahame
- Bobby Ott
- Neville Tatum
Wolverhampton Wolves[]
- Ronnie Correy
- Charles Ermolenko
- Sam Ermolenko
- Graham Jones
- Andy Phillips
See also[]
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References[]
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "1991 league tables". Speedway GB.
- ^ a b "1991 Season Review". Cradley Speedway.
- ^ "1991 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- British League
- 1991 in British motorsport