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1981 British League season

The 1981 British League season was the 47th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 17th known as the British League.[1]

1981 British League season
LeagueBritish League
No. of competitors16
ChampionsCradley Heath Heathens
Knockout CupIpswich Witches
League CupCoventry Bees
IndividualKenny Carter
Midland CupCoventry Bees
London CupHackney Hawks
Highest averageBruce Penhall
Division/s below1981 National League

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

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Cradley Heathens30261353
2Ipswich Witches30214546
3Swindon Robins30193841
4Belle Vue Aces301911039
5Coventry Bees301801236
6Birmingham Brummies301311627
7Halifax Dukes301311627
8Hackney Hawks301221626
9Poole Pirates301221626
10Sheffield Tigers301301726
11Reading Racers30971425
12Hull Vikings301041624
13Eastbourne Eagles301031723
14King's Lynn Stars301021822
15Leicester Lions301101922
16Wimbledon Dons30732017

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Top Ten Riders (League Averages)

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Bruce Penhall Cradley Heathens11.08
2Kenny Carter Halifax Dukes10.50
3Phil Crump Swindon Robins10.39
4Michael Lee King's Lynn Stars10.34
5Erik Gundersen Cradley Heathens10.26
6Chris Morton Belle Vue Aces10.26
7Jan Andersson Reading Racers10.02
8Gordon Kennett Eastbourne Eagles9.95
9Kelly Moran Eastbourne Eagles9.83
10Hans Nielsen Birmingham Brummies9.83

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

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
04/06Middlesbrough43-53Eastbourne
23/05Berwick39-57Wimbledon
08/05Peterborough50-46Halifax
04/05Newcastle40-56Leicester
08/05Edinburgh49-47Sheffield
12/04Mildenhall38-58Poole
31/05Rye House34-62Birmingham
03/05Boston47-48Hull

Second round

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
08/07Poole49-47Leicester
24/06Hull54-42Belle Vue
23/06Leicester51-45Poole
20/06Cradley Heath60-36Eastbourne
14/06Peterborough38-58Birmingham
13/06Belle Vue53-43Hull
11/06Wimbledon40-56Reading
08/06Birmingham63-33Peterborough
08/06Reading55-41Wimbledon
07/06Eastbourne49-47Cradley Heath
30/05Coventry63-33Hackney
30/05Swindon69-27Edinburgh
29/05Hackney37-59Coventry
01/05Kings Lynn47-49Ipswich
21/05Ipswich53-43Kings Lynn
12/06Edinburgh47-49Swindon

Quarter-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
03/09Swindon74-22Leicester
25/08Leicester45-51Swindon
20/08Ipswich54-42Cradley Heath
12/08Cradley Heath48-48Ipswich
03/08Reading51-45Coventry
24/07Birmingham52-44Hull
22/07Hull49-47Birmingham
11/07Coventry49-45Reading

Semi-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
28/09Reading49-47Birmingham
18/09Birmingham54-42Reading
18/09Swindon46-50Ipswich
10/09Ipswich57-39Swindon

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 - 49Ipswich Witches
Preben Eriksen 12
John Cook 11
Kevin Jolly 7
Dennis Sigalos 6
Tim Hunt 6
Mike Lanham 5
Nigel Flatman 2

Second leg

Ipswich Witches
Dennis Sigalos 11
John Cook 10
Preben Eriksen 8
Kevin Jolly 7
Mike Lanham 7
Tim Hunt 6
Nigel Flatman 2		51 - 45Birmingham Brummies
Hans Nielsen 17
Andy Grahame 17
Kai Niemi 8
Bruce Cribb 1
Neil Evitts 1
Mike Wilding 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

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Coventry Bees14120224
2Cradley Heathens14110322
3Belle Vue Aces1470714
4Sheffield Tigers1470714
5Birmingham Brummies1460812
6Hull Vikings1450910
7Leicester Lions1440108
8Halifax Dukes1440108

South Group

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1King's Lynn Stars14101321
2Reading Racers14100420
3Ipswich Witches1490518
4Poole Pirates1470714
5Swindon Robins1470714
6Hackney Hawks1451811
7Eastbourne Eagles1450910
8Wimbledon Dons1420124

Final

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
10/10Coventry68–28King's Lynn
11/10King's Lynn42–54Coventry

Riders' Championship

Kenny Carter won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 17 October and sponsored by the Daily Mirror.[5]

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1 Kenny Carter3333315
2 Chris Morton3322313+3
3 Shawn Moran3232313+2
4 Phil Crump2321210
5 Dave Jessup121329
6 Hans Nielsen133108
7 Dennis Sigalos210238
8 Bruce Penhall221128
9 Les Collins103217
10 Malcolm Simmons201317
11 Gordon Kennett122016
12 Scott Autrey301015
13 Jan Andersson012025
14 Bo Petersen010304
15 Ole Olsen01012
16 Joe Owen000000
17 Gary O'Hare (res)0----0
  • ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired

Final leading averages

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Bruce Penhall Cradley11.01
2Kenny Carter Halifax10.17
=3Phil Crump Swindon10.30
=3Michael Lee King's Lynn10.30
5Jan Andersson Reading10.26
6Hans Nielsen Birmingham9.80
7Chris Morton Belle Vue9.75
8Erik Gundersen Cradley9.72
9John Davis Poole9.70
10Gordon Kennett Eastbourne9.67

Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of five teams and was sponsored by the Trustee Savings Bank.[6]

First round

Team oneTeam twoScore
BirminghamSwindon39–39, 37–41

Semi final round

Team oneTeam twoScore
LeicesterCoventry33–44, 34–44
SwindonCradley44–33, 32–46

Final

First leg

Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 12
Bruce Penhall 11
Alan Grahame 9
Phil Collins 3
John McNeill 2
Dave Shields 2
Bent Rasmussen 0		39–39Coventry
Ole Olsen 9
Tommy Knudsen 8
Gary Guglielmi 7
Keith White 6
Kevin Hawkins 5
Steve Wilcock 3
Mitch Shirra 1

Second leg

Coventry
Ole Olsen 12
Tommy Knudsen 8
Mitch Shirra 7
Keith White 7
Gary Guglielmi 6
Kevin Hawkins 4
Rob Hollingworth 1		45–33Cradley Heath
Bruce Penhall 12
Alan Grahame 12
Dave Shields 5
Erik Gundersen 3
Phil Collins 1
Bent Rasmussen 0
John McNeill 0

Coventry won on aggregate 84–72

London Cup

Hackney won the London Cup but the competition consisted of just Wimbledon and Hackney.[7]

Results

TeamScoreTeam
Wimbledon43–36Hackney
Hackney46–32Wimbledon

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Eastbourne

Hackney

Halifax

Hull

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Leicester

Poole

Reading

Sheffield

Swindon

Wimbledon

See also

References

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