1969 British League Division Two season

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1969 British League Division Two season
League British League Division Two
No. of competitors16
Champions Belle Vue Colts
Knockout Cup Belle Vue Colts
Individual Geoff Ambrose
Highest average Des Lukehurst
Division/s above British League (Div 1)

The 1969 British League Division Two season was the second season of second tier motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. [1] [2]

Contents

Summary

The league expanded from 10 to 16 teams in its second season. Weymouth Eagles dropped out after just one season. The seven new entrants included three newly created teams called the Crewe Kings, Doncaster Stallions and the Rochester Bombers. The King's Lynn Starlets who were the reserve side of the Stars also entered, along with Ipswich Witches who returned to league action (their first since 1962), [3] the Long Eaton Rangers (formerly the Archers), and the Eastbourne Eagles (first since 1959). [4] The Rochester Bombers team moved to Romford from 10 May, after the local council refused to give permission for racing and became known as the Romford Bombers. [5]

Belle Vue Colts completed the league and cup double, which included retaining their league title. [6] [7] Ken Eyre and Eric Broadbelt were once again instrumental in helping the Colts win again and they were backed up well by Chris Bailey and Bill Moulin. [8]

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1 Belle Vue Colts 30231647
2 Reading Racers 301911039
3 Rochester/Romford Bombers 301911039
4 Crayford Highwaymen 301901138
5 Rayleigh Rockets 301621234
6 Canterbury Crusaders 301521332
7 Crewe Kings 301501530
8 Eastbourne Eagles 301421430
9 Middlesbrough Teessiders 301411529
10 Long Eaton Rangers 301411529
11 Ipswich Witches 301311627
12 Doncaster Stallions 301201824
13 Nelson Admirals 301121724
14 Berwick Bandits 301111823
15 Plymouth Devils 30902118
16 King's Lynn Starlets 30812117

British League Division Two Knockout Cup

The 1969 British League Division Two Knockout Cup was the second edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Belle Vue Colts were the winners of the competition. [9]

First round

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
12/06Ipswich55-23Plymouth
11/06Belle Vue55-22King's Lynn
08/06Eastbourne37-40Rayleigh
12/06Middlesbrough49-29Nelson
09/06Crewe49-29Doncaster
14/06Canterbury51-26Crayford
12/06Long Eaton48-29Berwick
12/06Romford38-38Reading
07/07Reading44-34Romford

Quarter-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
16/07Belle Vue58-20Ipswich
19/07Rayleigh43-34Middlesbrough
14/07Crewe44-33Canterbury
17/07Long Eaton42-35Reading

Semi-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
06/08Belle Vue55-23Rayleigh
08/09Crewe58-20Long Eaton

Final

First leg

Crewe Kings
Geoff Curtis 10
Colin Tucker 9
Barry Meeks 8
Ian Bottomley 8
Paul O'Neil 6
Pete Saunders 1
Dave Parry 0
42 – 36 Belle Vue Colts
Ken Moss 10
Chris Bailey 10
Steve Waplington 5
Mike Hiftle 4
Taffy Owen 4
Eric Broadbelt 3
Ken Eyre R/R
[10]
British Railways Sports Ground

Second leg

Belle Vue Colts
Eric Broadbelt 14
Chris Bailey 11
Mike Hiftle 11
Ken Moss 8
Steve Waplington 6
Taffy Owen 5
Ken Eyre R/R
55 – 23 Crewe Kings
Geoff Curtis 9
Paul O'Neil 9
Dave Parry 2
Colin Tucker 1
Ian Bottomley 1
Pete Saunders 1
Barry Meeks 0
[10]

Belle Vue Colts were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 91–65.

Riders' Championship

Geoff Ambrose won the Rider's Championship, held at Hackney Wick Stadium on 26 September. [11]

Pos.RiderPtsTotal
1 Flag of England.svg Geoff Ambrose 2 3 3 3 314
2 Flag of England.svg Mick Bell 2 3 2 3 313
3 Flag of Scotland.svg Ross Gilbertson 3 3 3 2 213
4 Flag of England.svg Maury Robinson 3 2 3 1 211
5 Flag of England.svg Reg Trott 3 1 2 2 19
6 Flag of England.svg Peter Murray 3 2 1 3 ef9
7 Flag of England.svg Martyn Piddock (res)1 3 1 38
8 Flag of England.svg Phil Woodcock (res)1 2 1 3 ef7
9 Flag of New Zealand.svg Paul O'Neil (res)0 ef 2 2 26
10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Geoff Curtis ex 3 0 0 36
11 Flag of England.svg Colin Sanders 1 1 1 2 05
12 Flag of England.svg Pete Wrathall f 1 2 1 15
13 Flag of England.svg Dave Schofield ex 1 1 0 24
14 Flag of England.svg Ted Spittles 2 0 0 1 14
15 Flag of England.svg Ian Turner 1 2 r 0 03
16 Flag of England.svg Terry Lee 2 fex2
17 Flag of England.svg Eric Broadbelt fex0
18 Flag of England.svg Dingle Brown 0 0 0 ex 00
19 Flag of England.svg George Devonport 0 f0

Final leading averages

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1 Des Lukehurst Flag of England.svg Romford/Rochester11.52
2 Graeme Smith Flag of New Zealand.svg Rayleigh10.74
3 Tony Lomas Flag of England.svg Long Eaton10.49
4 Peter Murray Flag of England.svg Canterbury10.35
5 Ross Gilbertson Flag of Scotland.svg Romford/Rochester10.10
5 Geoff Curtis Flag of Australia (converted).svg Crewe10.10
7 Geoff Ambrose Flag of England.svg Crayford10.03

Riders' final averages

Belle Vue Colts

Berwick

Canterbury

Crayford

Crewe

Doncaster

Eastbourne

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Long Eaton

Middlesbrough

Nelson

Plymouth

Rayleigh

Reading

Rochester/Romford

See also

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References

  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN   0-904584-45-3.
  3. "Ranger's Fingers Crossed as Speedway Returns" . Stapleford & Sandiacre News. 11 April 1969. Retrieved 15 September 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  5. "Romford Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  6. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN   0-86215-017-5.
  7. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. "Belle Vue Colts". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  9. "1969 British League Division Two Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  10. 1 2 "Season 1969" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  11. "Speedway" . Daily Mirror. 27 September 1969. Retrieved 14 June 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.