1985 British League season

Last updated

1985 British League season
League British League
No. of competitors11
Champions Oxford Cheetahs
Knockout Cup Oxford Cheetahs
League Cup Coventry Bees
Individual Erik Gundersen
Pairs Oxford Cheetahs
Midland Cup Oxford Cheetahs
Highest average Hans Nielsen
Division/s below 1985 National League

The 1985 British League season was the 51st season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 21st known as the British League. [1] [2]

Contents

Team changes

Wimbledon Dons dropped to the National league, this was the first time that Wimbledon would not compete in the top tier of speedway.

Summary

Oxford Cheetahs won the league and cup double. [3] The Oxford team, financed by the Oxford Stadium owners Northern Sports and headed by David Hawkins was the most expensive team assembled in the history of the league. The team included Danish international Hans Nielsen (signed for a record £30,000) in 1984. Nielsen had topped the previous season's averages on Oxford's return to the league and was imperious during 1985, finishing with an exceptional average, way ahead of any other rider. The team eased to the league title by a clear ten points, with Simon Wigg, Andy Grahame, Marvyn Cox, Jens Rasmussen and Melvyn Taylor all riding over 50 matches each during the season. [4] [5]

Defending champions Ipswich Witches finished mid-table which was not surprising taking into account that just three matches into the season their leading rider Billy Sanders committed suicide on 23 April. The news shocked the club and the wider speedway world at the time. [6]

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLBPPts
1 Oxford Cheetahs 2016131043
2 Sheffield Tigers 201316633
3 Coventry Bees 201127731
4 Halifax Dukes 209110524
5 Ipswich Witches 20929424
6 Belle Vue Aces 2010010424
7 Cradley Heath Heathens 191009424
8 Swindon Robins 208111623
9 Reading Racers 19649622
10 Wolverhampton Wolves 205213214
11 King's Lynn Stars 205015010

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

British League Knockout Cup

The 1985 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 47th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Oxford Cheetahs were the winners. [7]

First round

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
19/07Oxford43-35Coventry
29/06Swindon36-42Ipswich
24/06Wolverhampton49-29Halifax
15/06Coventry35-43Oxford
30/05Ipswich45-33Swindon
25/05Halifax48-30Wolverhampton

Quarter-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
23/09Reading43-34Sheffield
22/08Sheffield39-39Reading
29/08Ipswich43-34Wolverhampton
19/08Wolverhampton39-39Ipswich
31/07Oxford47-31Belle Vue
20/07Belle Vue40-38Oxford
11/07Sheffield46-32Reading
08/07Reading46-32Sheffield
07/07Cradley Heath53-25Kings Lynn
06/07Kings Lynn39-39Cradley Heath

Semi-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
22/10Reading38-40Oxford
16/10Oxford41-36Reading
11/09Cradley Heath36-42Ipswich
19/09Ipswich43-35Cradley Heath

Final

First leg

Ipswich Witches
John Cook
Jeremy Doncaster
Richard Knight
Dennis Sigalos
41–37 Oxford Cheetahs
Hans Nielsen 14
Simon Wigg 10
Jens Rasmussen
Troy Butler
[8]

Second leg

Oxford Cheetahs
Hans Nielsen 15
Simon Wigg 12
Troy Butler
Jens Rasmussen
42–35 Ipswich Witches
John Cook 12
Richard Knight 9
Jeremy Doncaster
Dennis Sigalos

Oxford Cheetahs were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 79-76.

League Cup

The League Cup was contested as a league format. Coventry Bees won the final over two legs defeating Oxford Cheetahs 86-70 on aggregrate. [9] [10] [11]

Qualifying table

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1 Cradley Heathens 20131634
2 Oxford Cheetahs 20112732
3 Ipswich Witches 20121732
4 Coventry Bees 20101730
5 Wolverhampton Wolves 20101927
6 Swindon Robins 20110926
7 Belle Vue Aces 2092924
8 Reading Racers 20821021
9 Halifax Dukes 20801220
10 Sheffield Tigers 20411519
11 King's Lynn Stars 20411510

Semi-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
15/08Ipswich37–41Oxford
25/09Cradley Heath40–38Coventry
27/09Oxford39–39Ipswich
02/10Coventry46–32Cradley Heath

Final

First leg

Oxford Cheetahs
Simon Wigg 14
Hans Nielsen 13
Marvyn Cox 9
Nigel De'ath 3
Jens Rasmussen 2
Troy Butler 1
Andy Grahame r/r
42–36Coventry Bees
Tommy Knudsen 11
Kelvin Tatum 9
Rick Miller 5
David Bargh 4
Steve Bastable 3
Frank Andersen 3
John Jorgensen 1
Oxford Stadium

Second leg

Coventry Bees
Kelvin Tatum 12
Rick Miller 10
Tommy Knudsen 9
John Jorgensen 6
Steve Bastable 5
David Bargh 4
Frank Andersen 4
50–28Oxford Cheetahs
Hans Nielsen 14
Simon Wigg 6
Jens Rasmussen 4
Troy Butler 2
Marvyn Cox 1
Melvyn Taylor 1
Andy Grahame r/r
Brandon Stadium

Riders' Championship

Erik Gundersen won the British League Riders' Championship for the second time, the final was held at Hyde Road on 20 October. [12]

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1 Flag of Denmark.svg Erik Gundersen 3 3 3 2 314
2 Flag of England.svg Peter Collins 3 3 1 2 312+3
3 Flag of England.svg Chris Morton 2 2 3 3 212+2
4 Flag of Denmark.svg Tommy Knudsen 0 3 3 3 211
5 Flag of England.svg Kelvin Tatum 3 3 2 1 211
6 Flag of Denmark.svg Hans Nielsen 2 1 2 3 311
7 Flag of the United States.svg Shawn Moran 1 2 3 2 311
8 Flag of England.svg Neil Evitts 3 2 1 1 18
9 Flag of the United States.svg John Cook 1 1 2 1 16
10 Flag of Denmark.svg Bo Petersen 0 0 1 3 15
11 Flag of Sweden.svg Jan Andersson 1 2 0 2 05
12 Flag of England.svg Simon Wigg 2 1 1 1 05
13 Flag of England.svg Dave Jessup 0 1 2 0 03
14 Flag of England.svg Phil Collins 2 0 0 0 02
15 Flag of England.svg Jeremy Doncaster 0 0 0 0 22
16 Flag of Denmark.svg Peter Ravn 1 0 0 0 12

Pairs

The British League Pairs Championship was held at Monmore Green Stadium on 30 June and was won by Oxford. [13]

PosTeamPtsRiders
1Oxford35Nielsen 23, Wigg 12
2Reading34Davis 20, Shirra 14
3Cradley33Gundersen 18, Collins P 15
4Sheffield26Moran S 20, Collins N 6
5Belle Vue23Morton 17, Collins P 6
6Coventry17Tatum 11, Knudsen 6
7Swindon15Petersen 15, Simmons 0

Leading final averages

RiderTeamAverage
Flag of Denmark.svg Hans Nielsen Oxford11.35
Flag of the United States.svg Shawn Moran Sheffield10.39
Flag of Denmark.svg Erik Gundersen Cradley Heath10.38
Flag of England.svg Kenny Carter Halifax10.13
Flag of Denmark.svg Tommy Knudsen Coventry10.13
Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Schwartz Wolverhampton9.80
Flag of England.svg Chris Morton Belle Vue9.77
Flag of Sweden.svg Jan Andersson Reading9.43
Flag of Denmark.svg Bo Petersen Swindon9.35
Flag of the United States.svg John Cook Ipswich9.33

Midland Cup

Oxford won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of six teams. [14]

First round

Team oneTeam twoScore
WolverhamptonOxford32–46, 31–47
CoventryReading38–40, 34–44

Semi final round

Team oneTeam twoScore
CradleyReading44–34, 37–41
OxfordSwindon42–36, 39–39

Final

First leg

Oxford
Simon Wigg 12
Andy Grahame 9
Jens Rasmussen 8
Marvyn Cox 6
Hans Nielsen 4
Troy Butler 4
Nigel De'ath 2
45–33Cradley Heath
Alan Grahame 10
Erik Gundersen 8
Jan O Pedersen 5
Phil Collins 5
Simon Cross 2
Finn Jensen 2
Nigel Leaver 1

Second leg

Cradley Heath
Phil Collins 10
Erik Gundersen 8
Simon Cross 7
Jan O Pedersen 5
Alan Grahame 5
Finn Jensen 3
Nigel Leaver 0
38–40Oxford
Andy Grahame 10
Simon Wigg 9
Hans Nielsen 8
Marvyn Cox 6
Troy Butler 5
Nigel De'ath 1
Alastair Stevens 1

Oxford won on aggregate 85–71

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Halifax

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Oxford

Reading

Sheffield

Swindon

Wolverhampton

See also

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References

  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  3. "1985 league tables". Speedway GB.
  4. "SPEEDWAY: Nielsen regret at Oxford". Oxford Mail.
  5. Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The Story of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. 128–135. ISBN   978-0-7524-4161-0.
  6. "NOT FORGOTTEN – BILLY SANDERS". AMCN. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  7. "1985 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  8. "Hans takes a grip" . Daily Mirror. 28 October 1985. Retrieved 18 May 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The Story of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 133. ISBN   978-0-7524-4161-0.
  10. "Coventry Bees results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  11. "League Cup table". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  12. "Ace Erik is King of the track" . Daily Mirror. 21 October 1985. Retrieved 4 June 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "Racers are edged out by Oxford pair" . Reading Evening Post. 1 July 1985. Retrieved 17 May 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Grahame's glory" . Birmingham Mail. 1 November 1985. Retrieved 21 October 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.