League | British League |
---|---|
Season | 1968 |
No. of competitors | 19 |
Champions | Coventry Bees |
Knockout Cup | Wimbledon Dons |
Individual | Barry Briggs |
London Cup | Wimbledon Dons |
Midland Cup | Swindon Robins |
Highest average | Ivan Mauger |
Division/s below | British League (Div 2) |
The 1968 British League season was the 34th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the fourth season known as the British League. [1] [2]
Edinburgh relocated to become the Coatbridge Monarchs. The Long Eaton team closed its doors, but a new team in Leicester returned to Speedway to join the League. [3]
Coventry Bees secured their first title on points difference and after they scored points in the last heat of their last match away at King's Lynn. The title win came after two consecutive years as being runner-up. Coventry's Nigel Boocock was again one of the league's leading riders with his average going well above ten for the fifth consecutive year. He was well supported by Ron Mountford and Czechoslovakian star Antonín Kasper Sr. [4] Wimbledon Dons who could only manage a mid table finish went on to win the British League Knockout Cup. [5]
M | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
1 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 1436 | 1369 | 44 |
2 | Hackney Hawks | 36 | 21 | 2 | 13 | 1421 | 1383 | 44 |
3 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 20 | 1 | 15 | 1556.5 | 1248.5 | 41 |
4 | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 20 | 1 | 15 | 1463.5 | 1337.5 | 41 |
5 | Newcastle Diamonds | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 1454 | 1350 | 40 |
6 | West Ham Hammers | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 1454 | 1348 | 39 |
7 | Halifax Dukes | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 1424 | 1379 | 39 |
8 | Coatbridge Monarchs | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 1404 | 1397 | 37 |
9 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 1411 | 1384 | 36 |
10 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 1387 | 1417 | 36 |
11 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 1448 | 1353 | 35 |
12 | Leicester Lions | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 1373 | 1430 | 35 |
13 | Newport Wasps | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 1348 | 1457 | 35 |
14 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 36 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 1373 | 1430 | 34 |
15 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 1319 | 1487 | 34 |
16 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 1388 | 1413 | 32 |
17 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 1327 | 1478 | 28 |
18 | King's Lynn Stars | 36 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 1330 | 1473 | 27 |
19 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 1312 | 1495 | 27 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Ivan Mauger | ![]() | Newcastle | 11.40 |
2 | Barry Briggs | ![]() | Swindon | 10.88 |
3 | Nigel Boocock | ![]() | Coventry | 10.79 |
4 | Martin Ashby | ![]() | Exeter | 10.68 |
5 | Charlie Monk | ![]() | Sheffield | 10.14 |
6 | Eric Boocock | ![]() | Halifax | 10.13 |
7 | Anders Michanek | ![]() | Leicester | 10.07 |
8 | Norman Hunter | ![]() | West Ham | 9.94 |
9 | Sverre Harrfeldt | ![]() | West Ham | 9.88 |
10 | Torbjörn Harrysson | ![]() | Newport | 9.82 |
The 1968 British League Knockout Cup was the 30th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Wimbledon were the winners. [6]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
27/04 | Coatbridge | 66-42 | Glasgow |
27/04 | Halifax | 57-51 | Exeter |
16/04 | West Ham | 55-52 | Hackney |
Second round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
01/06 | Belle Vue | 64-44 | West Ham |
14/05 | Leicester | 52-56 | Coventry |
20/05 | Newcastle | 77-30 | Coatbridge |
23/05 | Sheffield | 71-37 | Cradley Heath |
25/05 | Swindon | 58-50 | Oxford |
23/05 | Wimbledon | 60-48 | Kings Lynn |
22/05 | Poole | 56-52 | Newport |
17/05 | Wolverhampton | 60-47 | Halifax |
Third round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
17/08 | Belle Vue | 65-42 | Sheffield |
26/07 | Poole | 54-54 | Swindon |
27/06 | Wimbledon | 64-44 | Newcastle |
28/06 | Wolverhampton | 58-50 | Coventry |
23/08 replay | Swindon | 60-47 | Poole |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
20/09 | Wolverhampton | 67-40 | Belle Vue |
12/09 | Wimbledon | 80-28 | Swindon |
First leg
Wolverhampton Wolves Hasse Holmqvist 15 Jim Airey 14 Peter Vandenberg 8 James Bond 6 Dave Hemus 6 Doug White 3 Mick Handley 1 Pete Jarman 0 | 53 - 55 | Wimbledon Dons Olle Nygren 14 Trevor Hedge 12 Reg Luckhurst 10 Bob Dugard 9 Alan Cowland 4 Jim Tebby 3 Peter Murray 3 Garry Middleton 0 |
---|---|---|
[7] |
Second leg
Wimbledon Dons Trevor Hedge 17 Olle Nygren 14 Reg Luckhurst 12 Garry Middleton 8 Alan Cowland 6 Bob Dugard 2 Jim Tebby 2 Peter Murray 2 | 63 - 45 | Wolverhampton Wolves Hasse Holmqvist 12 James Bond 10 Peter Vandenberg 8 Jim Airey 7 Mick Handley 5 Pete Jarman 3 Dave Hemus 0 Doug White 0 |
---|---|---|
[7] |
Wimbledon Dons were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 118-98.
Barry Briggs won the British League Riders' Championship for the fourth consecutive year, held at Hyde Road on 19 October. Briggs defeated Boocock in a run off for the title. [8]
Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 3 3 3 2 3 | 14 |
2 | ![]() | 3 3 3 3 2 | 14 |
3 | ![]() | 2 3 3 3 2 | 13 |
4 | ![]() | 3 2 3 3 f | 11 |
5 | ![]() | 3 2 2 1 3 | 11 |
6 | ![]() | 1 2 1 3 1 | 8 |
7 | ![]() | 2 r 2 1 3 | 8 |
8 | ![]() | 0 3 1 2 2 | 8 |
9 | ![]() | 2 1 1 2 1 | 7 |
10 | ![]() | 1 1 2 2 1 | 7 |
11 | ![]() | 2 2 0 0 1 | 5 |
12 | ![]() | 1 1 ef 0 3 | 5 |
13 | ![]() | ef 0 2 1 2 | 5 |
14 | ![]() | 0 1 ef 1 0 | 2 |
15 | ![]() | 1 ef 1 0 0 | 2 |
16 | ![]() | ef ns 0 0 0 | 0 |
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Ivan Mauger | ![]() | Newcastle | 11.37 |
2 | Barry Briggs | ![]() | Swindon | 10.87 |
3 | Nigel Boocock | ![]() | Coventry | 10.74 |
4 | Martin Ashby | ![]() | Exeter | 10.72 |
5 | Anders Michanek | ![]() | Leicester | 10.19 |
6 | Eric Boocock | ![]() | Halifax | 10.17 |
7 | Charlie Monk | ![]() | Sheffield | 10.07 |
8 | Sverre Harrfeldt | ![]() | West Ham | 9.78 |
9 | Torbjörn Harrysson | ![]() | Newport | 9.82 |
10 | Norman Hunter | ![]() | West Ham | 9.71 |
11 | Ron Mountford | ![]() | Coventry | 9.62 |
12 | Hasse Holmqvist | ![]() | Wolverhampton | 9.58 |
13 | Colin Pratt | ![]() | Hackney | 9.58 |
14 | Terry Betts | ![]() | King's Lynn | 9.45 |
15 | Malcolm Simmons | ![]() | King's Lynn | 9.40 |
16 | Ole Olsen | ![]() | Newcastle | 9.39 |
17 | Ray Wilson | ![]() | Leicester | 9.37 |
18 | Olle Nygren | ![]() | Wimbledon | 9.39 |
19 | Bernt Persson | ![]() | Edinburgh | 9.28 |
20 | Jim Airey | ![]() | Wolverhampton | 9.24 |
Wimbledon won the London Cup. [9]
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wimbledon Dons | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 233 | 198 | 6 |
2 | West Ham Hammers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 225 | 207 | 5 |
3 | Hackney Hawks | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 189 | 242 | 1 |
Results
Team | Score | Team |
---|---|---|
West Ham | 59–49 | Hackney |
Wimbledon | 56–22 | West Ham |
West Ham | 60–48 | Wimbledon |
Wimbledon | 63–44 | Hackney |
Hackney | 42–66 | Wimbledon |
Hackney | 54–54 | West Ham |
Swindon won the Midland Cup for the second consecutive season. The competition consisted of six teams. [10]
First round
Team one | Team two | Score |
---|---|---|
Oxford | Wolverhampton | 42–36, 41–37 |
Leicester | Cradley | 45–32, 41–37 |
Semi final round
Team one | Team two | Score |
---|---|---|
Leicester | Cradley | 45–32, 36–42 |
Swindon | Oxford | 46–32, 39–38 |
First leg
Swindon Barry Briggs 11 Bob Kilby 10 Clive Hitch 6 Pete Munday 5 Frank Shuter 5 Mike Keen 5 Mike Broadbank 0 | 42–35 | Leicester Anders Michanek 10 John Boulger 9 Ray Wilson 9 John Hart 5 Graham Plant 2 George Major 0 Norman Storer 0 |
---|---|---|
Second leg
Leicester Ray Wilson 12 Anders Michanek 10 Norman Storer 6 John Boulger 6 John Hart 3 Graham Plant 3 George Major 2 | 42–36 | Swindon Barry Briggs 9 Frank Shuter 7 Clive Hitch 6 Mike Broadbank 6 Mike Keen 3 Bob Kilby 3 Pete Munday 2 |
---|---|---|
Swindon won on aggregate 78–77
Belle Vue
Coatbridge
Coventry
Cradley Heath
Exeter
Glasgow
Hackney
Halifax
King's Lynn
Leicester
Newcastle'
Newport
Oxford
Poole
Sheffield
Swindon
West Ham
Wimbledon
Wolverhampton
The 1965 British League season was the 31st season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was also the first known as the new British League which was formed in 1965, along with the British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA). The league was an amalgamation of the National League and the Provincial League.
The 1966 British League season was the 32nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the second season known as the British League. Halifax Dukes won the league and then secured the league and cup double.
The 1967 British League season was the 33rd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the third season known as the British League.
The 1969 British League season was the 35th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the fifth season known as the British League.
The 1970 British League season was the 36th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the sixth season known as the British League.
The 1971 British League season was the 37th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the seventh season known as the British League.
The 1972 British League season was the 38th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the eighth season of the British League.
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The 1974 British League season was the 40th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the tenth season known as the British League.
The 1975 Gulf Oil British League season was the 41st season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 11th season known as the British League.
The 1976 Gulf British League season was the 42nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 12th season known as the British League.
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The 1980 British League season was the 46th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 16th season known as the British League.
The 1957 National League was the 23rd season and the twelfth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
The 1958 National League was the 24th season and the thirteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
The 1959 National League was the 25th season and the fourteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
The 1960 National League was the 26th season and the fifteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
The 1961 National League was the 27th season and the sixteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
The 1962 National League was the 28th season and the seventeenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
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