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1982 British League season

The 1982 British League season was the 48th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 18th known as the British League.[1][2]

1982 British League season
LeagueBritish League
No. of competitors15
ChampionsBelle Vue Aces
Knockout CupCradley Heath Heathens
League CupCradley Heath Heathens
IndividualKenny Carter
Midland CupCoventry Bees
Highest averageKenny Carter
Division/s below1982 National League

Summary

After a ten-year drought Belle Vue Aces won the league pushing defending champions Cradley Heath into second place. A special performance was going to be needed to finish ahead of the star-studded Cradley Heath team and it was the consistency of the support riders which helped Belle Vue achieve this. England international Chris Morton was the heat leader but he was supported by a group of consistent scorers throughout the season that included Larry Ross (a former 5 times New Zealand champion), the former world champion Peter Collins, the Carr brothers Louis and Peter, Dane Peter Ravn and Scot Jim McMillan.[3][4] Cradley Heath went on to win their third Knockout Cup in four years and the League Cup.

Hackney Wick Stadium was subject to a second fatal accident within two years when American Denny Pyeatt lost his life in a league match on 16 July. Pyeatt riding for Reading Racers crashed into a lamp standard.[5][6] Swindon rider Martin Hewlett suffered a stroke after the Swindon v Birmingham fixture in September and died four days later.

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Belle Vue Aces28230546
2Cradley Heath Heathens28200840
3Ipswich Witches281621034
4Coventry Bees281621034
5Sheffield Tigers281431131
6Birmingham Brummies281311427
7Hackney Hawks281231327
8Swindon Robins281311427
9Reading Racers281221426
10Leicester Lions281301526
11Wimbledon Dons281221426
12Eastbourne Eagles281131425
13Halifax Dukes281011721
14King's Lynn Stars28931621
15Poole Pirates2833229

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

Top Ten Riders (League Averages)

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Kenny Carter Halifax Dukes11.05
2Erik Gundersen Cradley Heathens10.75
3Hans Nielsen Birmingham Brummies10.49
4Bruce Penhall Cradley Heathens10.39
5Dennis Sigalos Ipswich Witches10.26
6Bobby Schwartz Reading Racers10.11
7Chris Morton Belle Vue9.98
8Shawn Moran Sheffield Tigers9.98
9Kelly Moran Eastbourne Eagles9.97
10Billy Sanders King's Lynn Stars9.93

British League Knockout Cup

The 1982 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 44th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath Heathens were the winners.[7]

First round

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
08/06Leicester45-33Kings Lynn
06/06Eastbourne46-32Swindon
05/06Kings Lynn48-30Leicester
29/05Halifax45-33Hackney
28/05Hackney38-40Halifax
28/05Ipswich46-31Coventry
27/05Sheffield42-36Cradley Heath
22/05Coventry40-38Ipswich
22/05Cradley Heath43-35Sheffield
22/05Swindon38-40Eastbourne
17/05Reading38-40Belle Vue
15/05Belle Vue57-18Reading
12/05Poole44-34Birmingham
30/04Birmingham48-30Poole

Quarter-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
19/08Wimbledon40-38Eastbourne
09/08Cradley Heath41-37Ipswich
01/08Eastbourne43-35Wimbledon
29/07Ipswich38.5-39.5Cradley Heath
19/07Birmingham43-35Kings Lynn
17/07Kings Lynn43-35Birmingham
11/07Halifax41-37Belle Vue
10/07Belle Vue44-34Halifax
25/09Kings Lynn42-36Birmingham
13/09Birmingham40-38Kings Lynn

Semi-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
03/10Kings Lynn36-42Belle Vue
02/10Belle Vue49-29Kings Lynn
19/09Eastbourne41-36Cradley Heath
18/09Cradley Heath48-30Eastbourne

Final

First leg

Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 15
Lance King 13
Phil Collins 7
Simon Wigg 5
Andy Reid 3
Alan Grahame 3
Wayne Jackson 0		46 - 32Belle Vue Aces
Chris Morton 12
Peter Collins 6
Peter Ravn 6
Larry Ross 4
Louis Carr 2
Peter Carr 1
Jim McMillan 1
[8]

Second leg

Belle Vue Aces
Chris Morton 10
Peter Collins 7
Peter Ravn 7
Larry Ross 6
Rod Hunter 6
Louis Carr 5
Andy Smith 2		43 - 35Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 15
Lance King 8
Alan Grahame 8
Simon Wigg 2
Phil Collins 1
Andy Reid 1
[8]

Cradley were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 81-75.

League Cup

The League Cup was split into North and South sections. The two-legged final was won by Cradley Heath Heathens beating Ipswich Witches in the final 83–73 on aggregate.

South Group

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Ipswich Witches14120224
2Eastbourne Eagles1482418
3Wimbledon Dons1481517
4Poole Pirates1460812
5Hackney Hawks1460812
6Reading Racers1460812
7King's Lynn Stars1450910
8Swindon Robins1431107

North Group

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Cradley Heathens1282218
2Coventry Bees1290318
3Belle Vue Aces1262414
4Halifax Dukes1161413
5Birmingham Brummies123187
6Leicester Lions113177
7Sheffield Tigers122195

Final

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
19/06Cradley Heath42–36Ipswich
24/06Ipswich37–41Cradley Heath

Riders' Championship

Kenny Carter won the British League Riders' Championship for the second consecutive year, held at Hyde Road on 16 October.[9]

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1 Kenny Carter3333315
2 Shawn Moran2333314
3 Hans Nielsen3232313
4 Erik Gundersen2320310
5 Bobby Schwartz312219
6 Les Collins013329
7 Jan Andersson302128
8 Steve Bastable231107
9 Billy Sanders022127
10 Ole Olsen011316
11 Chris Morton121206
12 Finn Thomsen110215
13 Dennis Sigalos20r-4
14 Dave Jessup101013
15 Gordon Kennett100023
16 John Davis0----0
17 Andy Smith (res)0010-1
18 Lee Edwards (res)00---0
  • ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired

Final leading averages

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Kenny Carter Halifax11.03
2Bruce Penhall Cradley10.74
=3Erik Gundersen Cradley10.18
=3Chris Morton Belle Vue10.18
5Dennis Sigalos Ipswich10.10
6Jan Andersson Reading9.96
7Hans Nielsen Birmingham9.89
8Bobby Schwartz Reading9.83
9Gordon Kennett Eastbourne9.72
10Michael Lee King's Lynn9.65

Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup for the second consecutive year. The competition consisted of five teams.[10]

First round

Team oneTeam twoScore
SwindonBirmingham44–34, 41–37

Semi final round

Team oneTeam twoScore
CoventryLeicester37–41, 44–34
CradleySwindon49–29, 54–24

Final

First leg

Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 15
Phil Collins 7
Lance King 6
Simon Wigg 6
Alan Grahame 5
Andy Reid 4
Bruce Penhall r/r		43–35Coventry
Tommy Knudsen 13
Gary Guglielmi 9
Ole Olsen 5
Mitch Shirra 3
Kevin Hawkins 2
Alf Busk 2
Charlie McKinna 1

Second leg

Coventry
Mitch Shirra 12
Tommy Knudsen 11
Ole Olsen 11
Gary Guglielmi 5
Alf Busk 3
Kevin Hawkins 2
Charlie McKinna 0		44–34Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 9
Simon Wigg 7
Lance King 5
Alan Grahame 5
Andy Reid 5
Phil Collins 3
Bruce Penhall r/r

Coventry won on aggregate 79–77

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Eastbourne

Hackney

Halifax

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Leicester

Poole

Reading

Sheffield

Swindon

Wimbledon

See also

References

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