1989 National League season

1989 National League season

League	National League
No. of competitors	18
Champions	Poole Pirates
Knockout Cup	Berwick Bandits
Individual	Mark Loram
Pairs	Stoke Potters
Fours	Peterborough Panthers
London Cup	Hackney Hawks
Highest average	Steve Schofield
Division/s above	1989 British League
← 1988 1990 →

The National League was the second tier of British speedway racing in 1989. ^[1]

Team changes

Promoter Terry Cheney moved the Milton Keynes Knights out of the Groveway and into the Elfield Park. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Summary

The champions that year were Poole Pirates. ^{[5] [6]}

Paul Muchene lost his life in the fixture between Arena Essex and Hackney at the Hackney Wick Stadium on 30 June 1989. ^[7]

Final table

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Poole Pirates	34	26	1	7	53
2	Wimbledon Dons	34	23	2	9	48
3	Berwick Bandits	34	23	0	11	46
4	Ipswich Witches	34	23	0	11	46
5	Exeter Falcons	34	19	1	14	39
6	Hackney Kestrels	34	19	1	14	39
7	Eastbourne Eagles	34	19	0	15	38
8	Edinburgh Monarchs	34	19	0	15	38
9	Glasgow Tigers	34	17	0	17	34
10	Stoke Potters	34	16	1	17	33
11	Peterborough Panthers	34	16	0	18	32
12	Arena Essex Hammers	34	14	2	18	30
13	Middlesbrough Tigers	34	14	0	20	28
14	Rye House Rockets	34	13	0	21	26
15	Newcastle Diamonds	34	11	2	21	24
16	Mildenhall Fen Tigers	34	10	1	23	21
17	Long Eaton Invaders	34	10	1	23	21
18	Milton Keynes Knights	34	7	2	25	16

Fixtures and results

Home \ Away	AE	BER	EAS	ED	EX	GLA	HAC	IPS	LE	MID	MIL	MK	NEW	PET	PP	RH	STO	WIM
Arena Essex		46–49	50–45	51–45	50–44	52–44	48–48	54–40	43–51	47–48	55–40	67–28	49–46	54–41	56–39	51–45	45–50	48–48
Berwick	70–26		62–32	61–34	78–18	68–28	60–36	61–35	71–25	72–24	65–31	65–31	59–35	57–39	59–37	72–23	66–30	51–44
Eastbourne	62–34	49–47		66–30	67–29	55–39	52–44	55–41	61–35	62–34	47–49	65–30	67–28	43–53	52–44	59–37	59–37	48–47
Edinburgh	43–51	50–45	53–43		62–34	56–39	51–45	47–49	61–34	64–32	69–27	59–36	59–37	51–45	42–54	55–41	68–28	42–53
Exeter	76–20	59–37	72–24	71–25		61–34	57–39	60–36	63–33	76–20	71–25	62–33	61–35	53–42	57–38	59–37	49–47	64–32
Glasgow	64–32	50–46	56–40	52–43	64–32		53–43	43–51	61–35	53–43	68–28	61–35	59–36	58–38	50–45	50–46	59–37	50–46
Hackney	60–36	50–46	67–29	53–43	55–40	62–33		51–44	53–43	59–37	55–41	63–33	64–32	54–41	50–46	61–35	58–38	52–44
Ipswich	65–31	69–27	66–30	49–29	53–43	52–44	64–32		59–37	58–37	53–43	58–38	56–40	51–45	47–48	55–41	49–47	52–44
Long Eaton	63–33	50–46	59–37	42–54	44–42	50–46	46–50	50–45		44–52	48–48	57–39	43–53	51–45	42–53	59–37	38–58	37–59
Middlesbrough	46–47	44–52	45–50	45–50	52–44	54–42	49–47	55–40	57–39		52–44	61–34	57–39	49–47	40–56	51–44	53–43	46–50
Mildenhall	49–47	37–59	43–53	42–53	47–49	48–46	49–47	42–54	65–30	63–33		66–28	41–55	41–54	30–66	50–46	50–46	50–36
Milton Keynes	57–39	49–47	45–51	46–50	48–48	55–41	56–40	37–59	51–44	53–42	53–43		48–48	35–61	38–58	43–52	41–55	44–52
Newcastle	45–51	36–60	49–47	44–52	49–46	42–54	51–45	53–43	50–45	44–51	49–47	50–46		50–44	44–52	50–46	48–48	39–57
Peterborough	55–40	65–30	45–50	60–36	59–37	61–33	55–41	36–57	60–36	59–36	62–34	61–35	56–40		42–54	52–44	58–38	46–47
Poole	71–24	44–52	59–37	61–35	55–41	68–28	51–44	50–46	66–30	66–30	59–37	68–28	59–36	51–45		55–41	58–38	59–37
Rye House	53–42	38–57	51–45	49–46	53–42	52–44	45–50	43.5–50.5	60–35	61–34	55–41	61–34	49–46	52–44	44–51		47–48	51–44
Stoke	68–28	54–42	56–40	47–49	60–36	60–36	52–44	47–49	46–49	64–32	56–40	63–33	53–43	67–29	42–54	56–40		41–55
Wimbledon	68–28	53–43	51–45	67–29	57–39	54–42	57–39	53–43	62–34	71–24	57–39	62–34	70–26	57–39	48–48	51–45	54–42

Source: ^[8]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

National League Knockout Cup

The 1989 National League Knockout Cup was the 22nd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Berwick Bandits were the winners of the competition. ^[9]

First round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
10/04	Exeter	62-34	Rye House
09/04	Rye House	57-39	Exeter
09/04	Newcastle	43-52	Berwick
08/04	Berwick	65-30	Newcastle

Second round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
26/05	Hackney	42-54	Poole
17/05	Wimbledon	59-37	Milton Keynes
16/05	Milton Keynes	43-53	Wimbledon
16/05	Poole	66-33	Hackney
15/05	Exeter	52-44	Stoke
14/05	Eastbourne	64-32	Glasgow
14/05	Mildenhall	45-51	Peterborough
13/05	Berwick	69-27	Long Eaton
13/05	Stoke	51-45	Exeter
12/05	Glasgow	48-48	Eastbourne
12/05	Peterborough	63-33	Mildenhall
10/05	Long Eaton	43-53	Berwick
06/05	Arena Essex	57-39	Edinburgh
05/05	Edinburgh	60-36	Arena Essex
04/05	Middlesbrough	47-49	Ipswich
24/03	Ipswich	60-36	Middlesbrough

Quarter-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
05/07	Wimbledon	52-44	Ipswich
04/07	Poole	60-36	Eastbourne
03/07	Exeter	58-38	Berwick
02/07	Eastbourne	43-53	Poole
02/07	Edinburgh	63-33	Peterborough
01/07	Berwick	58-38	Exeter
30/06	Peterborough	64-32	Edinburgh
22/06	Ipswich	48-48	Wimbledon
24/07 replay	Exeter	52-43	Berwick
22/07 replay	Berwick	58-38	Exeter

Semi-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
15/08	Poole	62-33	Wimbledon
13/08	Peterborough	59-37	Berwick
09/08	Wimbledon	48-48	Poole
05/08	Berwick	61-35	Peterborough

Final

First leg

12 September 1989

Poole Pirates Leigh Adams 14 Alun Rossiter 11 Ali Stevens 8 Tony Langdon 6 Craig Boyce 5 Gary Allan 4 Mike Lewthwaite 2	50 – 46	Berwick Bandits Mark Courtney 14 David Blackburn 14 Andy Campbell 5 David Walsh 4 Rob Grant 4 Scott Robson 3 Sean Courtney 2
	[10]

Wimborne Road

Second leg

16 September 1989

Berwick Bandits David Blackburn 14 Mark Courtney 13 David Walsh 9 Rob Grant 9 Andy Campbell 8 Scott Robson 6 Sean Courtney 4	63 – 33	Poole Pirates Leigh Adams 12 Alun Rossiter 9 Craig Boyce 6 Gary Allan 3 Tony Langdon 3 Ali Stevens 0 Mike Lewthwaite 0
	[10] [11]

Berrington Lough Stadium

Berwick were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 109–83.

Riders' Championship

Mark Loram won the Riders' Championship. The final sponsored by Jawa Moto & Barum was held on 9 September 1989 at Brandon Stadium. ^[12]

Pos.	Rider	Pts	Total
1	Mark Loram	2 3 3 3 3	14
2	Kenny McKinna	3 1 2 3 3	12
3	David Blackburn	1 3 3 3 1	11
4	Martin Goodwin	0 2 3 3 3	10
5	Steve Schofield	2 3 0 3 2	10
6	Richard Hellsen	3 2 1 2 2	10
7	Mick Poole	3 0 3 1 2	9
8	Todd Wiltshire	0 1 2 2 3	8
9	Les Collins	2 2 2 2 0	8
10	Nigel Crabtree	3 2 1 1 0	7
11	Jens Rasmussen	0 3 0 0 2	5
12	Gordon Kennett	2 0 1 1 1	5
13	Steve Regeling	1 1 2 1 0	5
14	Preben Eriksen	1 1 1 0 1	4
15	Rod Hunter	1 0 0 0 1	2
16	Leigh Adams	0 - - - -	0

Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at Hackney Wick Stadium on 19 August. The event was won by Stoke Potters for the second consecutive season. ^[13]

Group A Pos Team Pts Riders 1 Hackney 20 Whittaker 12 Galvin 8 2 Wimbledon 13 Morton 7 Wiltshire 6 3 Poole 12 Boyce 6 Adams 6 4 Newcastle 9 Carr P 6 Hunter 3

Group B Pos Team Pts Riders 1 Edinburgh 20 Collins L 12 Saunders 8 2 Berwick 12 Blackburn 10 Courtney 2 3 Exeter 12 Green 7 Regeling 5 4 Ipswich 10 Standing 6 Loram 4

Group C Pos Team Pts Riders 1 Stoke 18 Monaghan 12 Crabtree 6 2 Rye House 13 Rasmussen 9 Baxter 4 3 Arena Essex 12 Goodwin 8 Tilbury 4 4 Peterborough 9 Poole 9 Jolly 0

Group D Pos Team Pts Riders 1 Mildenhall 18 Eriksen 10 Glanz 8 2 Middlesbrough 13 Sumner 10 Dixon 3 3 Eastbourne 13 Buck 8 Kennett 5 4 Glasgow 8 McKinna 8 Lawson 0

Semi finals

• Stoke bt Edinburgh 6-3
• Mildenhall bt Hackney 6-3

Final

• Stoke bt Mildenhall 6-3

Fours

Peterborough Panthers won the fours championship final for the second successive year, held at the East of England Arena on 23 July. ^[14]

Semi finals

• SF1 = Stoke 22, Eastbourne 11, Edinburgh 10, Hackney 5
• SF2 = Peterborough 21, Exeter 12, Berwick 12, Arena Essex 3

Final

Pos	Team	Pts	Riders
1	Peterborough	15	Barney 5, Jolly 5, Poole 3, Hodgson 2
2	Stoke	14	Monaghan 5, Crabtree 4, Carr L 3, Cobby 2
3	Exeter	12	Andersen 6, Cook 4, Regeling 1, Green 1
4	Eastbourne	7	Buck 3, Norris 2, Kennett 1, Barker 1

Leading averages

Rider	Team	Average
Steve Schofield	Hackney	10.50
Andy Galvin	Hackney	9.95
Todd Wiltshire	Wimbledon	9.94
David Blackburn	Berwick	9.78
Nigel Crabtree	Stoke	9.77
Steve Regeling	Exeter	9.74
Kenny McKinna	Glasgow	9.71
Mark Loram	Ipswich	9.65
Chris Louis	Ipswich	9.65
Gordon Kennett	Eastbourne	9.60
Mark Courtney	Berwick	9.52

London Cup

Hackney won the London Cup but the competition consisted of just Wimbledon and Hackney. ^[15]

Results

Team	Score	Team
Wimbledon	49–47	Hackney
Hackney	54–42	Wimbledon

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

• Martin Goodwin 8.47
• Rob Tilbury 8.11
• Malcolm Simmons 7.68
• Wayne Garratt 5.83
• Simon Wolstenholme 5.09
• Troy Pratt 4.53
• Ian Humphreys 3.56
• Nick Floyd 2.89

Berwick

• David Blackburn 9.78
• Mark Courtney 9.52
• Sean Courtney 7.54
• David Walsh 7.33
• Andy Campbell 7.11
• Rob Grant Sr. 6.97
• Scott Robson 5.61
• Kevin Little 1.93

Eastbourne

• Gordon Kennett 9.60
• Dean Barker 9.02
• Andy Buck 8.21
• David Norris 7.04
• Keith Pritchard 5.83
• Darren Standing 4.67
• Jon Surman 4.34
• Steve Masters 3.13
• Darren Grayling 2.57

Edinburgh

• Les Collins 9.04
• Brett Saunders 8.24
• Michael Coles 6.73
• Mick Powell 6.40
• Scott Lamb 6.16
• Lars Munkedal 5.83
• Peter McNamara 4.20
• Mark Pearce 2.29

Exeter

• Steve Regeling 9.74
• Frank Andersen 7.79
• Richard Green 7.63
• Steve Bishop 7.04
• Peter Jeffery 6.72
• Colin Cook 6.66
• Andy Sell 5.72
• Alan Rivett 5.30
• Wayne Ross 3.27
• Mark Simmonds 2.67

Glasgow

• Kenny McKinna 9.71
• Steve Lawson 8.81
• Shane Bowes 6.32
• Charlie McKinna 5.90
• Phil Jeffrey 5.42
• Martin McKinna 5.09
• Geoff Powell 4.00

Hackney

• Steve Schofield 10.50
• Andy Galvin 9.95
• Paul Whittaker 7.16
• Gary Tagg 5.37
• Barry Thomas 4.34
• Gary Rolls 4.14
• Michael Warren 3.48
• Lee Pavitt 3.13
• Warren Mowat 2.37

Ipswich

• Mark Loram 9.65
• Chris Louis 9.65
• Dean Standing 8.20
• Alan Mogridge 7.53
• Robbie Fuller 4.92
• Pete Chapman 4.90
• Kevin Teager 4.42
• Craig Hyde 2.32

Long Eaton

• Richard Hellsen 8.80
• Keith White 6.76
• Paul Fry 5.95
• Dave Perks 5.95
• Gary O'Hare 5.91
• Nigel Leaver 5.52
• Peter Lloyd 4.70
• Mark Blackbird 3.08
• Jon Roberts 2.86
• Thierry Hilaire 1.37

Middlesbrough

• Daz Sumner 8.00
• Jamie Luckhurst 7.61
• Martin Dixon 7.55
• Paul Bentley 5.67
• Steve Wilcock 5.23
• Nigel Sparshott 4.47
• Peter McNamara 4.29
• Andy Sumner 3.48
• Max Schofield 3.45
• Dave Edwards 3.22

Mildenhall

• Preben Eriksen 8.88
• Peter Glanz 7.98
• Malcolm Holloway 6.56
• Jamie Habbin 6.31
• Dave Jackson 6.30
• Spencer Timmo 4.71
• Derrol Keats 4.14
• Jonathan Cooper 3.07
• Wayne Bridgeford 3.06

Milton Keynes

• Andy Hines 6.75
• Trevor Banks 6.35
• David Clarke 5.96
• Tony Primmer 5.93
• Nigel De'ath 5.88
• Mark Lyndon 5.46
• Paul Evitts 4.82
• Paul Atkins 4.56
• Rob Fortune 4.47
• Carl Baldwin 4.09

Newcastle

• Rod Hunter 9.15
• Peter Carr 8.66
• David Clarke 5.44
• Mark Thorpe 5.17
• Simon Green 4.55
• Derek Richardson 4.37
• Gordon Whitaker 3.39
• Anthony Hulme 3.01
• Steve Wicks 2.42

Peterborough

• Mick Poole 8.81
• Kevin Jolly 8.52
• Craig Hodgson 7.55
• Ian Barney 7.27
• Scott Norman 7.14
• Nigel Flatman 6.03
• Justin Walker 5.38
• Jonathan Cooper 3.76

Poole

• Craig Boyce 9.33
• Leigh Adams 9.21
• Alun Rossiter 7.92
• Alastair Stevens 7.22
• Gary Allan 7.12
• Tony Langdon 6.77
• Kevin Smart 6.00
• Jon Surman 4.27
• Steve Leigh 3.17

Rye House

• Jens Rasmussen 9.29
• Glen Baxter 7.98
• Melvyn Taylor 7.77
• Kelvin Mullarkey 5.63
• Kevin Brice 4.61
• Jamie Fagg 4.15
• Peter Schroeck 4.04
• Carl Chalcraft 3.96
• Trevor O'Brien 3.58

Stoke

• Nigel Crabtree 9.77
• Eric Monaghan 8.75
• Louis Carr 7.29
• Chris Cobby 5.86
• Rob Woffinden 4.83
• Ian M Stead 4.71
• Ian Stead 4.50

Wimbledon

• Todd Wiltshire 9.94
• Ray Morton 8.30
• Neville Tatum 8.07
• Roger Johns 7.52
• Nathan Simpson 7.03
• Nigel Leaver 5.89
• Rodney Payne 5.24
• Scott Humphries 4.68
• Jim Dormer 3.62

See also

• List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
• Knockout Cup (speedway)

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. "Knights call it a day at Groveway" . Buckinghamshire Examiner. 25 November 1988. Retrieved 29 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "Primmer on form" . Milton Keynes Citizen. 12 January 1989. Retrieved 29 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Welcome News" . Milton Keynes Citizen. 16 February 1989. Retrieved 29 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
5. Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. ISBN   0-9552376-1-0
6. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
7. "Paul Dominic Muchene". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
8. "1989 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
9. "1989 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
10. "1989 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
11. "Speedway by Chris Hodgson" . Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 18 September 1989. Retrieved 25 August 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Speedway" . Daily Record. 11 September 1989. Retrieved 22 June 2023– via British Newspaper Archive.
13. Oakes, Peter (1990). Speedway Yearbook 1990. Front Page Books. p. 59. ISBN   0-948882-15-8.
14. Oakes, Peter (1990). Speedway Yearbook 1990. Front Page Books. p. 46. ISBN   0-948882-15-8.
15. "1989 fixtures and results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 October 2023.