League | British League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 19 |
Champions | Coventry Bees |
Knockout Cup | Ipswich Witches |
Individual | Ole Olsen |
Pairs | Cradley Heath & Coventry Bees |
Midland Cup | Coventry Bees |
London Cup | Wimbledon Dons |
Highest average | Malcolm Simmons |
Division/s below | 1978 National League |
The 1978 Gulf British League season was the 44th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 14th season known as the British League. [1]
The list of nineteen teams that competed in the league was identical to the previous season. The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a fourth season. [2]
Coventry Bees won their second title and their first for ten years. Belle Vue Aces were runners-up for the fourth time in five seasons and would receive a double blow when losing in the final of the Knockout Cup. Two time world champion Ole Olsen was in sensational form for Coventry and made the difference throughout the season. Olsen would also seal his third world individual crown by the end of the season. The Coventry side consisted of an array of overseas riders including Olsen and fellow Dane Alf Busk, New Zealander Mitch Shirra, Australian Gary Guglielmi and Jiří Štancl from Czechoslovakia. [3]
Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 27 | 0 | 9 | 54 |
2 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 26 | 0 | 10 | 52 |
3 | Hull Vikings | 36 | 22 | 2 | 12 | 46 |
4 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 45 |
5 | Cradley Heathens | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 43 |
6 | Ipswich Witches | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 43 |
7 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 20 | 1 | 15 | 41 |
8 | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 40 |
9 | Bristol Bulldogs | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 38 |
10 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 17 | 3 | 16 | 37 |
11 | Leicester Lions | 36 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 34 |
12 | Halifax Dukes | 36 | 14 | 3 | 19 | 31 |
13 | King's Lynn Stars | 36 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 30 |
14 | Reading Racers | 36 | 13 | 3 | 20 | 29 |
15 | White City Rebels | 36 | 12 | 3 | 21 | 27 |
16 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 12 | 3 | 21 | 27 |
17 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 11 | 1 | 24 | 23 |
18 | Birmingham Brummies | 36 | 11 | 1 | 24 | 23 |
19 | Hackney Hawks | 36 | 10 | 1 | 25 | 21 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Malcolm Simmons | ![]() | Poole | 10.78 |
2 | Ole Olsen | ![]() | Coventry | 10.71 |
3 | Scott Autrey | ![]() | Exeter | 10.45 |
4 | Peter Collins | ![]() | Belle Vue | 10.44 |
5 | Michael Lee | ![]() | King's Lynn | 10.40 |
6 | Chris Morton | ![]() | Belle Vue | 10.31 |
7 | Dave Jessup | ![]() | Reading | 10.24 |
8 | Billy Sanders | ![]() | Ipswich | 10.23 |
9 | Phil Crump | ![]() | Bristol | 9.99 |
10 | Ivan Mauger | ![]() | Hull | 9.91 |
The 1978 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 40th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners. [4]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
29/04 | Kings Lynn | 40-38 | Hull |
26/04 | Hull | 39-39 | Kings Lynn |
10/04 | Exeter | 44-34 | Coventry |
08/04 | Coventry | 44-34 | Exeter |
17/04 | Birmingham | 37-41 | Poole |
12/04 | Poole | 48-30 | Birmingham |
15/06 | Coventry | 37.5-40.5 | Exeter |
01/06 | Exeter | 48-30 | Coventry |
Second round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
19/07 | Poole | 49-29 | Swindon |
15/07 | Swindon | 37-41 | Poole |
09/06 | Hackney | 51-26 | Kings Lynn |
03/06 | Kings Lynn | 31-46 | Hackney |
06/07 | Sheffield | 45-33 | Exeter |
Exeter | 52-26 | Sheffield | |
10/06 | Swindon | 36-42 | Poole |
21/06 | Poole | 36-42 | Swindon |
03/06 | Belle Vue | 44-34 | Wimbledon |
08/06 | Wimbledon | 41-37 | Belle Vue |
23/06 | Bristol | 35-43 | Leicester |
06/06 | Leicester | 39-39 | Bristol |
10/06 | Cradley Heath | 38-40 | Reading |
05/06 | Reading | 37-41 | Cradley Heath |
13/06 | White City | 52-26 | Halifax |
10/06 | Halifax | 43-34 | White City |
09/06 | Wolverhampton | 40-38 | Ipswich |
08/06 | Ipswich | 43-34 | Wolverhampton |
Quarter-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
09/08 | White City | 23-54 | Ipswich |
05/08 | Belle Vue | 44-34 | Poole |
04/08 | Poole | 34-43 | Belle Vue |
29/07 | Cradley Heath | 48-30 | Leicester |
27/07 | Ipswich | 52-26 | White City |
21/07 | Hackney | 34-44 | Exeter |
11/07 | Leicester | 39-39 | Cradley Heath |
17/07 | Exeter | 58-20 | Hackney |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
14/09 | Ipswich | 44-34 | Cradley Heath |
13/09 | Cradley Heath | 40-38 | Ipswich |
26/08 | Belle Vue | 57-21 | Exeter |
25/08 | Exeter | 51-27 | Belle Vue |
First leg
Belle Vue Aces Peter Collins 15 Chris Morton 14 Les Collins 5 Chris Turner 2 Steve Finch 1 Jim Brett 1 Uno Johansson 1 | 39 - 39 | Ipswich Witches Mike Lanham 9 John Louis 8 Tony Davey 7 Colin Cook 6 Kevin Jolly 5 Billy Sanders 4 Tim Hunt 0 |
---|---|---|
Second leg
Ipswich Witches Georg Hack 10 Billy Sanders 9 John Louis 9 Tony Davey 9 Mike Lanham 7 Kevin Jolly 6 Colin Cook 4 | 53 - 25 | Belle Vue Aces Peter Collins 10 Chris Morton 8 Les Collins 4 Chris Turner 1 Eric Dugard (guest) 1 Derek Richardson 1 Uno Johansson 0 |
---|---|---|
Ipswich were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92-64.
Ole Olsen won the British League Riders' Championship for the fourth time (and third in a row), it was held at Hyde Road on 21 October and sponsored by British Leyland Cars. [5]
Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 1 3 3 3 3 | 13 |
2 | ![]() | 2 2 3 3 2 | 12+3 |
3 | ![]() | 3 2 3 3 1 | 12+2 |
4 | ![]() | 1 3 3 1 3 | 11 |
5 | ![]() | 2 3 2 2 1 | 10 |
6 | ![]() | 3 3 0 1 3 | 10 |
7 | ![]() | 2 1 1 2 3 | 9 |
8 | ![]() | 3 1 2 3 0 | 9 |
9 | ![]() | 0 2 1 2 2 | 7 |
10 | ![]() | 0 2 2 1 2 | 7 |
11 | ![]() | 3 0 1 1 2 | 7 |
12 | ![]() | 2 1 0 2 EF | 5 |
13 | ![]() | 0 0 2 R 1 | 3 |
14 | ![]() | 0 1 F R 0 1 0 | 2 |
15 | ![]() | 1 R - - - | 1 |
16 | ![]() | FX 1 0 0 - | 1 |
17 | ![]() | R - - - - | 0 |
The British League Pairs Championship sponsored by Gauloises, was held at Foxhall Stadium on 12 October and was jointly won by Cradley Heath Heathens and Coventry Bees. The meeting was abandoned after 14 heats due to fog but the result stood. [6] [7]
Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Cradley Heath | 18 | Steve Bastable 10, Bruce Penhall 8 |
1 | Coventry | 18 | Ole Olsen 10, Mitch Shirra 8 |
3 | Belle Vue | 12 | Peter Collins 10, Chris Morton 2 |
4 | Ipswich | 11 | Billy Sanders 8, Tony Davey 3 |
5 | Exeter | 10 | Scott Autrey 5, Reidar Eide 5 |
6 | Reading | 8 | Dave Jessup 5, John Davis 3 |
7 | King's Lynn | 7 | Terry Betts 4, Michael Lee 3 |
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Malcolm Simmons | ![]() | Poole | 10.77 |
2 | Ole Olsen | ![]() | Coventry | 10.56 |
3 | Peter Collins | ![]() | Belle Vue | 10.41 |
4 | Scott Autrey | ![]() | Exeter | 10.40 |
5 | Michael Lee | ![]() | King's Lynn | 10.23 |
6 | Dave Jessup | ![]() | Reading | 10.20 |
7 | Chris Morton | ![]() | Belle Vue | 10.11 |
8 | Billy Sanders | ![]() | Ipswich | 9.94 |
9 | Phil Crump | ![]() | Bristol | 9.92 |
10 | Ivan Mauger | ![]() | Hull | 9.77 |
Coventry won the Midland Cup for the third consecutive year. The competition consisted of six teams. [8]
First round
Team one | Team two | Score |
---|---|---|
Swindon | Leicester | 16–26, 27–51 |
Wolverhampton | Birmimgham | 38–40, 47–30 |
Semi final round
Team one | Team two | Score |
---|---|---|
Cradley | Leicester | 44–34, 26–52 |
Wolverhampton | Coventry | 36–42, 36–42 |
First leg
Leicester John Boulger 10 John Titman 9 Ila Teromaa 9 John McNeill 5 Jerzy Rembas 2 Tom Godal 2 Chris Sully 0 | 37–41 | Coventry Mitch Shirra 10 Ole Olsen 9 Mick Bell 6 Gary Guglielmi 6 Alf Buck 4 Martin Yeates (guest) 4 Alan Molyneux 2 |
---|---|---|
Second leg
Coventry Ole Olsen 12 Mitch Shirra 12 Jiri Stancl 9 Alan Molyneux 8 Alf Buck 5 Mick Bell 5 Stuart Cope 1 | 52–26 | Leicester John Titman 7 Jerzy Rembas 7 John Boulger 5 John McNeill 4 Tom Godal 2 Chris Sully 1 Ila Teromaa r/r |
---|---|---|
Coventry won on aggregate 93–63
Wimbledon won the London Cup but White City did not compete and therefore the competition consisted of just two teams. [9]
Results
Team | Score | Team |
---|---|---|
Hackney | 39–38 | Wimbledon |
Wimbledon | 55–23 | Hackney |
Belle Vue
Birmingham
Bristol
Coventry
Cradley Heath
Exeter
Hackney
Halifax
Hull
Ipswich
King's Lynn
Leicester
Poole
Reading
Sheffield
Swindon
White City
Wimbledon
Wolverhampton
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