The 1957 Southern Area League was the fourth season of the Southern Area League but the first as the regional second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams.[1]
| League | Southern Area League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 4 |
| Champions | Rayleigh II/Southern Rovers |
| Riders' Championship | Leo McAuliffe |
| Division/s above | National League |
Summary
California Poppies were no longer competitors with the promotion and nickname moving to Aldershot. The Southern Rovers team who had been without a track in the previous season had found a new home at Rayleigh and were also referred to as Rayleigh II.
Southern Rovers were the champions.[2]
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Rayleigh II/Southern Rovers | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
| 2 | Eastbourne Eagles | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| 3 | Rye House Roosters | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 4 | Aldershot Poppies | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
Leading Averages
| Rider | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Gerry King | Rye House | 10.30 |
| 2 | Jim Heard | Eastbourne | 10.27 |
| 3 | Frank Bettis | Eastbourne | 9.50 |
| 4 | Colin Gooddy | Rayleigh/Southern Rovers | 9.33 |
| 5 | Ross Gilbertson | Aldershot | 9.30 |
Riders' Championship
Leo McAuliffe won the Riders' Championship for the second successive season. The final was held at Arlington Stadium on 29 September. Remarkably McAuliffe and Maury Conway dead heated in the run off to decide the champion after both riders finished on 13 points. A second run off was required in which McAuliffe won by a wheel. The winning trophy was presented by Barry Briggs.[4][5]
| Pos. | Rider | Club | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo McAuliffe | Rayleigh/Southern Rovers | 13+3 |
| 2 | Maury Conway | Eastbourne | 13+2 |
| 3 | Jim Heard | Eastbourne | 12 |
| 4 | Ross Gilbertson | Aldershot | 11 |
| 5 | Noel Conway | Eastbourne | 10 |
| 6 | Pat Flanagan | Aldershot | 9 |
| 7 | Ron Walton | Aldershot | 8 |
| 8 | Tommy Sweetman | Rayleigh/Southern Rovers | 8 |
| 9 | Bobby Croombs | Rye House | 8 |
| 10 | Bryan Meredith | Rayleigh/Southern Rovers | 6 |
| 11 | Alan Brett | Rye House | 5 |
| 12 | Ronnie Rolfe | Rye House | 5 |
| 13 | Alan Lunn | Rye House | 4 |
| 14 | Dave Still | Rye House | 4 |
| 15 | Pete Mould | Aldershot | 3 |
| 16 | Les Searle (res) | Eastbourne | 1 |
| 17 | Dave Slater (res) | Rye House | 1 |
Riders & final averages
Aldershot
- Ross Gilbertson 8.57
- Ron Walton 8.30
- Pete Mold 8.00
- Jimmy Gleed 7.00
- Pat Flanagan 6.86
- Ron Webb 5.91
- Phil Sheppard 5.50
- John Day 5.45
- Ted Spittles 3.20
Eastbourne
- Frank Bettis 10.67
- Jimmy Heard 7.00
- Leo McAuliffe 6.00
- Reg Davies 5.71
- Dave Collett 5.60
- John Dugard 4.00
- Jim Preddy 1.67
- Les Searle 1.33
- Bob Warner 1.00
Rye House
- Gerry King 10.75
- Bobby Croombs 10.00
- Dave Still 8.33
- Jim Chalkley 7.20
- Dave Slater 4.60
- Alan Lunn 4.33
- Ronnie Rolfe 3.64
- Brian Brett 3.29
- Ernie Baker 3.20
- Ivan Mauger 2.22
- Colin Pratt 1.33
Rayleigh II/Southern Rovers
- Colin Gooddy 9.00
- Leo McAuliffe 9.00
- Stan Clark 8.46
- Vic Hall 8.40
- Brian Meredith 7.50
- Tommy Sweetman 7.17
- Eric Ebbs 7.45
- Eric Eadon 5.00
- Alan Pearce 5.00
- Mike Lawrence 5.00
- Pat McKenzie 4.80
- Neil Roberts 4.00
- Tony Eadon 1.60