League | National League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 19 |
Champions | Middlesbrough Tigers |
Knockout Cup | Edinburgh Monarchs |
Individual | Mike Ferreira |
Pairs | Canterbury Crusaders |
Fours | Edinburgh Monarchs |
Highest average | Mike Ferreira |
Division/s above | 1981 British League |
The 1981 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom. [1]
The league started with 20 teams with Nottingham Outlaws dropping out and Wolverhampton Wolves joining up, having moved down from the British League. Wolves promoter Mike Parker was replaced by Dan McCormick for the 1981 season. [2]
Berwick Bandits were forced to quit after 26 league meetings, their record being expunged. Middlesbrough Tigers comfortably won their first ever title. [3] [4]
Exeter Falcons rider Tony Sanford died following an accident at the County Ground Stadium on 7 September. He was racing in a match against Milton Keynes when he hit a barrier near the final bend. [5] A memorial trophy was held in subsequent years in his memory. [6]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Middlesbrough Tigers | 36 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 61 |
2 | Weymouth Wildcats | 36 | 26 | 1 | 9 | 53 |
3 | Newcastle Diamonds | 36 | 25 | 1 | 10 | 51 |
4 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 36 | 25 | 0 | 11 | 50 |
5 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 48 |
6 | Boston Barracudas | 36 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 44 |
7 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 44 |
8 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
9 | Peterborough Panthers | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 39 |
10 | Crayford Kestrels | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 38 |
11 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
12 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
13 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
14 | Canterbury Crusaders | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
15 | Stoke Potters | 36 | 14 | 0 | 22 | 28 |
16 | Rye House Rockets | 36 | 11 | 0 | 25 | 22 |
17 | Scunthorpe Stags | 36 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 13 |
18 | Workington Comets | 36 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 13 |
19 | Milton Keynes Knights | 36 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 8 |
The 1981 National League Knockout Cup was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Edinburgh Monarchs were the winners of the competition. [8]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
29/03 | Mildenhall | 58-38 | Canterbury |
04/04 | Canterbury | 52-44 | Mildenhall |
17/04 | Ellesmere Port | 47-49 | Wolverhampton |
19/04 | Wolverhampton | 43-53 | Ellesmere Port |
23/04 | Middlesbrough | 69-27 | Glasgow |
29/05 | Glasgow | 55-40 | Middlesbrough |
11/04 | Stoke | 51-45 | Milton Keynes |
07/04 | Milton Keynes | 38-58 | Stoke |
Second round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
29/05 | Edinburgh | 65-31 | Exeter |
01/06 | Exeter | 56-40 | Edinburgh |
04/06 | Oxford | 59-34 | Scunthorpe |
01/06 | Scunthorpe | 46-49 | Oxford |
07/06 | Mildenhall | 76-20 | Ellesmere Port |
29/05 | Ellesmere Port | 30-64 | Mildenhall |
29/05 | Peterborough | 70-26 | Rye House |
07/06 | Rye House | 32-64 | Peterborough |
06/06 | Berwick | 53-42 | Newcastle |
08/06 | Newcastle | 52-44 | Berwick |
09/06 | Weymouth | 74-20 | Workington |
29/05 | Workington | 31-59 | Weymouth |
07/06 | Boston | 69-27 | Crayford |
02/06 | Crayford | 42-51 | Boston |
07/06 | Middlesbrough | 55-41 | Stoke |
06/06 | Stoke | 48-48 | Middlesbrough |
Quarter-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
14/08 | Edinburgh | 65-31 | Oxford |
13/08 | Oxford | 41-54 | Edinburgh |
05/07 | Mildenhall | 61-35 | Peterborough |
26/06 | Peterborough | 49-47 | Mildenhall |
17/07 | Berwick | 51-45 | Weymouth |
14/07 | Weymouth | 48-48 | Berwick |
02/08 | Boston | 57-39 | Middlesbrough |
? | Middlesbrough | 45-51 | Boston |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
27/09 | Edinburgh | 64-32 | Mildenhall |
11/09 | Mildenhall | 46-50 | Edinburgh |
14/10 | Berwick | 64-32 | Boston |
27/09 | Boston | 58½-37½ | Berwick |
First leg
Berwick Bandits Steve McDermott 13 Wayne Brown 11 Mike Caroline 9 Rob Grant 6 Brett Saunders 5 Brian Collins 3 Jim Beaton 2 | 49 – 46 | Edinburgh Monarchs Dave Trownson 10 Neil Collins 9 Ivan Blacka 9 Chris Turner 8 George Hunter 7 Scott Robson 3 Ian Westwell 0 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Second leg
Edinburgh Monarchs George Hunter 13 Dave Trownson 11 Ivan Blacka 11 Neil Collins 7 Chris Turner 7 Roger Lambert 6 Ian Westwell 0 | 55 – 40 | Berwick Bandits Charlie McKinna (guest) 14 Steve McDermott 9 Mike Caroline 7 Rob Grant 5 Brett Saunders 3 Brian Collins 2 Jim Beaton 0 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Edinburgh were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 101–89.
Mike Ferreira won the Riders' Championship, held at Wimbledon Stadium on 26 September 1981. [10]
Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 |
2 | ![]() | 1 3 3 3 3 | 13 |
3 | ![]() | 3 3 2 0 3 | 11 |
4 | ![]() | 3 1 2 2 2 | 10 |
5 | ![]() | 2 3 2 2 1 | 10 |
6 | ![]() | 2 2 1 2 2 | 9 |
7 | ![]() | 2 0 3 3 | 8 |
8 | ![]() | 2 0 3 2 1 | 8 |
9 | ![]() | 0 2 1 3 2 | 8 |
10 | ![]() | 0 2 2 1 | 6 |
11 | ![]() | 3 2 | 5 |
12 | ![]() | 0 2 1 1 | 4 |
13 | ![]() | 1 1 1 1 0 | 4 |
14 | ![]() | 2 0 1 0 | 3 |
15 | ![]() | 1 1 1 0 | 3 |
16 | ![]() | 1 0 0 | 1 |
17 | ![]() | 1 | 1 |
18 | ![]() | 0 | 0 |
The National League Pairs was held at The Shay on 18 July and was won by Canterbury Crusaders. [11]
|
|
|
|
Semi finals
Final
Edinburgh Monarchs won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 26 July. [12] [13]
Semi finals
Final
Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 15 | Turner 4, Collins 4, Trownson 4, Blacka 3 |
2 | Newcastle Diamonds | 13 | Bargh 5, Emerson 3, Hunter 3, Blackadder 2 |
3 | Middlesbrough Tigers | 11 | Courtney 5, Pusey 3, Wilcock 2, Havelock 1 |
4 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 9 | Burton 5, Evitts 2, Stead 2, Cribb 0 |
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Mike Ferreira | ![]() | Canterbury Crusaders | 10.87 |
2 | Steve Lawson | ![]() | Glasgow Tigers | 10.55 |
3 | Mark Courtney | ![]() | Middlesbrough Tigers | 10.44 |
4 | Les Rumsey | ![]() | Weymouth | 10.19 |
5 | Dave Perks | ![]() | Oxford Cheetahs | 10.13 |
Berwick (withdrew from league)
Boston
Canterbury
Crayford
Edinburgh
Ellesmere Port
Exeter
Glasgow
Middlesbrough
Mildenhall
Milton Keynes
Newcastle
Oxford
Peterborough
Rye House
Scunthorpe
Stoke
Weymouth
Wolverhampton
Workington
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 1973 British League Division Two season was the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
The 1974 British League Division Two season was the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. It was the final season of British League Division Two before it was renamed as the New National League.
The 1993 British League Division Two season was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1992 British League Division Two season was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1990 National League was the 16th since its establishment as a second tier in 1975, a renamed British League Division Two, and the last before it was again renamed British League Division Two.
The 1975 New National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom when British League Division Two was renamed. It was subsequently named the National League.
The 1976 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom having been renamed from the previous season's moniker of New National League.
The 1977 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1978 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1980 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.
In 1982 the National League, also known as British League Division Two, was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom.
The 1983 National League was the second tier of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom.
The 1984 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1985 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1986 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.
In 1987 the National League, also known as British League Division Two, was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom.
In 1988 the National League, also known as British League Division Two, was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom.
The National League was the second tier of British speedway racing in 1989.