League | British League |
---|---|
Champions | Cradley Heathens |
Knockout Cup | Cradley Heathens |
League Cup | Belle Vue Aces |
Individual | Erik Gundersen |
Midland Cup | Cradley Heathens |
London Cup | Wimbledon Dons |
Highest average | Hans Nielsen |
Division/s below | 1983 National League |
The 1983 British League season was the 49th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 19th known as the British League. [1]
Cradley Heath Heathens won the league and cup double. [2] Despite losing their double world champion Bruce Penhall to retirement the Cradley side performed just as well. Erik Gundersen, Simon Wigg and Lance King were now some of the world's leading riders and backed up by Phil Collins, Alan Grahame and Peter Ravn they were a formidable team. Even Penhall's replacement, a new signing from Denmark Jan O. Pedersen was already showing signs of a bright future. [3]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 28 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 52 |
2 | Ipswich Witches | 28 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 45 |
3 | Coventry Bees | 28 | 19 | 0 | 9 | 38 |
4 | Reading Racers | 28 | 17 | 0 | 11 | 34 |
5 | Belle Vue Aces | 28 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 33 |
6 | Wimbledon Dons | 28 | 15 | 1 | 12 | 31 |
7 | Hackney Hawks | 28 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
8 | King's Lynn Stars | 28 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 25 |
9 | Birmingham Brummies | 28 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 24 |
10 | Sheffield Tigers | 28 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 22 |
11 | Halifax Dukes | 28 | 10 | 1 | 17 | 21 |
12 | Leicester Lions | 28 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 20 |
13 | Poole Pirates | 28 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 18 |
14 | Eastbourne Eagles | 28 | 7 | 1 | 20 | 15 |
15 | Swindon Robins | 28 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 14 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Dennis Sigalos | ![]() | Ipswich Witches | 10.99 |
2 | Hans Nielsen | ![]() | Birmingham Brummies | 10.77 |
3 | Erik Gundersen | ![]() | Cradley Heathens | 10.59 |
4 | Mitch Shirra | ![]() | Reading Racers | 10.38 |
5 | Michael Lee | ![]() | Poole Pirates | 10.36 |
6 | Kenny Carter | ![]() | Halifax Dukes | 10.34 |
7 | Billy Sanders | ![]() | Ipswich Witches | 10.27 |
8 | Chris Morton | ![]() | Belle Vue Aces | 10.17 |
9 | Phil Crump | ![]() | Swindon Robins | 9.88 |
10 | Jan Andersson | ![]() | Reading Racers | 9.61 |
The 1983 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 45th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath Heathens were the winners. [4]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
09/07 | Belle Vue | 56-22 | Halifax |
30/06 | Wimbledon | 46-32 | Swindon |
25/06 | Halifax | 41-37 | Belle Vue |
25/06 | Swindon | 34-44 | Wimbledon |
19/06 | Eastbourne | 34-43 | Kings Lynn |
11/06 | Coventry | 45-33 | Sheffield |
11/06 | Cradley Heath | 46-32 | Hackney |
11/06 | Kings Lynn | 47-31 | Eastbourne |
09/06 | Sheffield | 37-41 | Coventry |
30/05 | Birmingham | 43-35 | Reading |
30/05 | Reading | 44-34 | Birmingham |
27/05 | Hackney | 35-43 | Cradley Heath |
24/05 | Leicester | 40-38 | Ipswich |
19/05 | Ipswich | 43-34 | Leicester |
Quarter-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
21/08 | Kings Lynn | 45-33 | Belle Vue |
20/08 | Belle Vue | 58-20 | Kings Lynn |
23/07 | Coventry | 44-34 | Wimbledon |
21/07 | Wimbledon | 38-40 | Coventry |
18/07 | Reading | 40-38 | Ipswich |
13/07 | Poole | 35-43 | Cradley Heath |
09/07 | Cradley Heath | 53-25 | Poole |
07/07 | Ipswich | 39-39 | Reading |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
09/10 | Belle Vue | 38-40 | Coventry |
08/10 | Coventry | 44-34 | Belle Vue |
24/09 | Cradley Heath | 47-31 | Reading |
19/09 | Reading | 32-46 | Cradley Heath |
Final
First leg=
Coventry Bees Ole Olsen 10 Gary Guglielmi 8 Sam Nikolajsen 7 Steve Bastable 5 Rick Miller4 Finn Thomsen (guest) 3 Kevin Hawkins 2 | 39 - 39 | Cradley Heath Erik Gundersen 13 Simon Wigg 11 Phil Collins 8 Alan Grahame 3 Peter Ravn 2 Jan O. Pedersen 2 Lance King R/R |
---|---|---|
[5] |
Second leg
Cradley Heath Erik Gundersen 13 Alan Grahame 9 Peter Ravn 7 Simon Wigg 7 Phil Collins 6 Jan O. Pedersen 5 Lance King R/R | 47 - 31 | Coventry Bees Ole Olsen 10 Gary Guglielmi 10 Bo Petersen (guest) 7 Steve Bastable 2 Rick Miller 1 Kevin Hawkins 1 Sam Nikolajsen 0 |
---|---|---|
[5] |
Cradley Heath were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 86-70.
The League Cup was split into North and South sections. The two-legged final was won by Belle Vue Aces beating Coventry Bees in the final 86-70 on aggregate.
South Group
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Wimbledon Dons | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
2 | Ipswich Witches | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 18 |
3 | Reading Racers | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
4 | Poole Pirates | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
5 | Hackney Hawks | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
6 | King's Lynn Stars | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
7 | Eastbourne Eagles | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 |
8 | Swindon Robins | 13 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
North Group
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Coventry Bees | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
2 | Belle Vue Aces | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
3 | Cradley Heathens | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
4 | Halifax Dukes | 11 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
5 | Leicester Lions | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
6 | Sheffield Tigers | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
7 | Birmingham Brummies | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
22/10 | Coventry | 39–39 | Belle Vue |
23/10 | Belle Vue | 47–31 | Coventry |
Rider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
![]() | Birmingham | 10.82 |
![]() | Ipswich | 10.75 |
![]() | Belle Vue | 10.30 |
![]() | Halifax | 10.28 |
![]() | Cradley Heath | 10.23 |
![]() | Poole | 10.16 |
![]() | Swindon | 10.03 |
![]() | Reading | 10.02 |
![]() | Coventry | 9.87 |
![]() | Ipswich | 9.70 |
![]() | Coventry | 9.56 |
Erik Gundersen won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 15 October. [6]
Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 3 3 3 2 3 | 14 |
2 | ![]() | 0 3 3 3 3 | 12 |
3 | ![]() | 2 3 3 2 2 | 12 |
4 | ![]() | 1 1 2 3 3 | 10 |
5 | ![]() | 0 3 1 2 3 | 9 |
6 | ![]() | 3 1 1 3 1 | 9 |
7 | ![]() | 2 2 0 3 1 | 8 |
8 | ![]() | 3 2 1 0 2 | 8 |
9 | ![]() | 3 0 2 2 1 | 8 |
10 | ![]() | 1 2 2 0 2 | 7 |
11 | ![]() | 2 1 2 1 1 | 7 |
12 | ![]() | 2 2 0 1 0 | 5 |
13 | ![]() | 1 0 1 1 2 | 5 |
14 | ![]() | 1 1 3 0 0 | 5 |
15 | ![]() | 0 0 0 1 0 | 1 |
16 | ![]() | 0 0 0 - - | 0 |
17 | ![]() | 0 - - - - | 0 |
18 | ![]() | 0 - - - - | 0 |
Cradley Heath won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of five teams. [7]
First round
Team one | Team two | Score |
---|---|---|
Leicester | Swindon | 38–40, 32–46 |
Semi final round
Team one | Team two | Score |
---|---|---|
Coventry | Birmingham | 48–30, 38–40 |
Cradley | Swindon | 60–18, 40–38 |
First leg
Coventry Seve Bastable 11 Rick Miller 7 Kevin Hawkins 6 Sam Nikolajsen 5 Gary Guglielmi 4 John Davis (guest) 4 Keith White 1 | 38–40 | Cradley Heath Erik Gundersen 11 Simon Wigg 6 Alan Grahame 6 Phil Collins 6 Peter Ravn 5 Jan O Pedersen 3 Simon Cross 3 |
---|---|---|
Second leg
Cradley Heath Lance King 11 Erik Gundersen 10 Alan Grahame 9 Phil Collins 9 Peter Ravn 7 Simon Wigg 6 Jan O Pedersen 4 | 56–22 | Coventry Jan Andersson (guest) 12 Rick Miller 4 Gary Guglielmi 3 Seve Bastable 1 Kevin Hawkins 1 Sam Nikolajsen 1 Keith White 0 |
---|---|---|
Cradley won on aggregate 96–60
Wimbledon won the London Cup but the competition consisted of just Wimbledon and Hackney. [8]
Results
Team | Score | Team |
---|---|---|
Wimbledon | 50–28 | Hackney |
Hackney | 43–35 | Wimbledon |
Belle Vue
Birmingham
Coventry
Cradley Heath
Eastbourne
Hackney
Halifax
Ipswich
King's Lynn
Leicester
Poole
Reading
Sheffield
Swindon
Wimbledon
Erik Gundersen is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time, having won the Speedway World Champion on three occasions, the Long Track World Championship twice and the World Pairs Championship five times. In addition he is a seven time World Team Cup winner with Denmark and earned 91 international caps for the Denmark.
Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National League, reverting to the Cradley Heathens name in 2013. It ceased operating after the 2019 season, although a team bearing the Heathens name has operated under the NORA umbrella on the Isle of Wight in 2021 and 2022 and in 2022 won The Michael Richardson Trophy.
Philip David Collins is a former motorcycle speedway rider. He finished runner-up with England in the World Team Cup final in 1984 and third in 1985. He was British Under-21 Champion in 1978. His transfer from Ellesmere Port to Cradley Heath in 1978 for £15,000 was a record transfer fee at the time.
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