1981 British League season

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]

1981 British League season
LeagueBritish League
ChampionsCradley Heath Heathens
No. of competitors16
Knockout CupIpswich Witches
League CupCoventry Bees
IndividualKenny Carter
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
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 (League Averages)
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Bruce Penhall United States Cradley Heathens 11.08
2 Kenny Carter England Halifax Dukes 10.50
3 Phil Crump Australia Swindon Robins 10.39
4 Michael Lee England King's Lynn Stars 10.34
5 Erik Gundersen Denmark Cradley Heathens 10.26
6 Chris Morton England Belle Vue Aces 10.26
7 Jan Andersson Sweden Reading Racers 10.02
8 Gordon Kennett England Eastbourne Eagles 9.95
9 Kelly Moran United States Eastbourne Eagles 9.83
10 Hans Nielsen Denmark 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
04/06Middlesbrough43-53Eastbourne
23/05Berwick39-57Wimbledon
08/05Peterborough50-46Halifax
04/05Newcastle40-56Leicester
08/05Edinburgh49-47Sheffield
12/04Mildenhall38-58Poole
31/05Rye House34-62Birmingham
03/05Boston47-48Hull

Second round
Date Team one Score Team 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
Date Team one Score Team 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
Date Team one Score Team 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

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

Final leading averages
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Bruce Penhall United States Cradley Heathens 11.01
2 Kenny Carter England Halifax Dukes 10.17
=3 Phil Crump Australia Swindon Robins 10.30
=3 Michael Lee England King's Lynn Stars 10.30
5 Jan Andersson Sweden Reading Racers 10.26
6 Hans Nielsen Denmark Birmingham Brummies 9.80
7 Chris Morton England Belle Vue Aces 9.75
8 Erik Gundersen Denmark Cradley Heathens 9.72
9 John Davis England Poole Pirates 9.70
10 Gordon Kennett England Eastbourne Eagles 9.67

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
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  3. "1981". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  4. "1981 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
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