1991 British League Division Two season

Last updated

1991 British League Division Two season
League British League Division Two
No. of competitors12
Champions Arena Essex Hammers
Knockout Cup Arena Essex Hammers
Gold Cup Newcastle Diamonds
Fours Arena Essex Hammers
Individual Jan Stæchmann
Highest average Bo Petersen
Division/s above British League (Div 1)

The 1991 British League Division Two season (sponsored by Sunbrite) was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom. The league had been renamed from the National League. [1] The season saw one of the rare occasions that speedway operated a promotion/relegation system.

Contents

Summary

Terry Russell and Ivan Henry purchased Arena Essex Hammers from Chick Woodroffe [2] and they built a new team that were dominant, winning 21 of their 22 league matches, winning the Knockout Cup [3] and claiming the fours championship held at the East of England Arena on 21 July. [4] [5]

Hackney Kestrels reverted to a previous name Hackney Hawks but withdrew in July, ten league matches into the season, although they did complete their Gold Cup fixtures. [6]

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLBPPts
1 Arena Essex Hammers 2221011153
2 Glasgow Tigers 221408836
3 Newcastle Diamonds 221318835
4 Edinburgh Monarchs 2212010731
5 Sheffield Tigers 2212010731
6 Long Eaton Invaders 2211011527
7 Exeter Falcons 229013826
8 Middlesbrough Bears 229013220
9 Rye House Rockets 228014420
10 Stoke Potters 227213218
11 Milton Keynes Knights 227015317
12 Peterborough Panthers 227114116

Fixtures and results

Home \ AwayAEEDEXGLALEMIDMKNEWPETRHSHESTO
Arena Essex47–4368–2257–3354–3664–2663–2652–3862–2857–3363–2760–30
Edinburgh32–5764–2654–3646–4462–2857–3344–4651–3954–3549–4163–27
Exeter44–4651–3959–3157–3359–3157–3344–4555–3461–2957–3358–32
Glasgow43–4756–3453–3753–3760–3049–3946–4448–4260–2951–3949–41
Long Eaton38–5250–4052–3846–4450–4048–4246–4363–2750–4063–2761–29
Middlesbrough37–5338–5254–3648–4250–4055–3540–4761–2949–4149–4151–39
Milton Keynes36–5446–4447–4336–5454–3456–3341–4851–3853–3740–5049–41
Newcastle40–5042–4646–4346–4450–4045–4446–4461–2849–3441–4955–35
Peterborough43–4746–4452–3839–5142–4746–4452–3847–4249–4146–4445–45
Rye House31–5943–4745–4429–6050–3857–3352–3743–4750–4054–3647–41
Sheffield59–3155–3549–4144–4657–3357–3346–4455–3559–3157–2754–36
Stoke39–5152–3851–3848–4256–3443–4765–2545–4550–4044–4652–38
Source: [7]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

British League Division Two Knockout Cup

The 1991 British League Division Two Knockout Cup sponsored by Phonesport, was the 24th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Arena Essex Hammers were the winners of the competition. [8]

First round

Team oneTeam two1st leg2nd leg
Long EatonEdinburgh54–3645–45
StokeRye House54–3635–54
ExeterNewcastle49–4035–54
MiddlesbroughArena Essex51–3936–53

Quarter-finals

Team oneTeam two1st leg2nd leg
GlasgowMilton Keynes61–2845–44
Rye HouseLong Eaton46–4340–50
NewcastleHackney52–3844–46
PeterboroughArena Essex50–4029–61

Semi-finals

Team oneTeam two1st leg2nd leg
Arena EssexLong Eaton65–2547–43
GlasgowNewcastle48–4243–46

Final

First leg

Glasgow Tigers
Jason Lyons 11
Shane Bowes 10
Mick Powell 7
Mark Courtney 6
Steve Lawson 5
Sean Courtney 5
Brian Nixon 2
46 – 44 Arena Essex Hammers
Bo Petersen 16
Brian Karger 8
Alan Mogridge 8
Troy Pratt 6
Paul Hurry 3
Colin White 2
Andy Galvin 1
[9] [10]

Second leg

Arena Essex Hammers
Bo Petersen 12
Brian Karger 10
Troy Pratt 9
Alan Mogridge 6
Andy Galvin 4
Paul Hurry 3
Colin White 2
46 – 44 Glasgow Tigers
Jason Lyons 13
Steve Lawson 12
Shane Bowes 7
Mark Courtney 5
Mick Powell 3
Brian Nixon 3
Sean Courtney 1
[9] [10]

Final tied 90–90, replay required

Final replay

First leg

Arena Essex Hammers
Brian Karger 14
Paul Hurry 10
Alan Mogridge 10
Andy Galvin 8
Bo Petersen 7
Troy Pratt 7

Colin White 4
60 – 30 Glasgow Tigers
Steve Lawson 12
Shane Bowes 7
Jason Lyons 6
Mick Powell 2
Sean Courtney 2
Mark Courtney 1
Brian Nixon 0
[9] [10]

Second leg

Glasgow Tigers
Steve Lawson 14
Sean Courtney 7
Mark Courtney 7
Shane Bowes 6
Brian Nixon 6
Jason Lyons 5
Mick Powell 5
50 – 40 Arena Essex Hammers
Bo Petersen 15
Brian Karger 14
Andy Galvin 5
Paul Hurry 3
Troy Pratt 1
Alan Mogridge 1
Colin White 1
[9] [10]

Arena Essex were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 100–80.

Gold Cup

Final

Team oneTeam two1st leg2nd leg
PeterboroughNewcastle51–3938—52

Newcastle won 91–89 on aggregate.

Riders' Championship

Jan Stæchmann won the Riders' Championship. The final sponsored by Jawa Moto & Barum was held on 14 September at Brandon Stadium. [13]

Pos.RiderPtsTotal
1 Flag of Denmark.svg Jan Stæchmann 3 2 3 3 314+3
2 Flag of New Zealand.svg David Bargh 3 3 3 2 314+2
3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Troy Butler 3 3 3 0 312
4 Flag of England.svg Les Collins 2 3 1 3 211
5 Flag of England.svg Neil Evitts 3 3 2 1 211
6 Flag of New Zealand.svg Mark Thorpe f 2 3 2 29
7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Regeling 2 1 0 3 28
8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Stephen Davies 2 0 2 2 17
9 Flag of Scotland.svg Kenny McKinna 0 2 0 3 16
10 Flag of Denmark.svg Bo Petersen 1 2 2 ef fex5
11 Flag of England.svg Carl Blackbird 1 1 1 1 04
12 Flag of England.svg Eric Monaghan 0 0 1 2 14
13 Flag of England.svg Steve Lawson 1 0 0 1 13
14 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Shane Bowes 2 0 1 tex r3
15 Flag of England.svg Peter Carr 1 1 2 1 05
16 Flag of England.svg Melvyn Taylor 0 1 0 0 34
17 Flag of England.svg Chris Clarence (res)00

Fours

Arena Essex Hammers won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 21 July. [14]

Final

PosTeamPtsRiders
1Arena Essex32Karger 9, Petersen 9
2Edinburgh15+Saunders 6 Collins L 5, Coles 2, Walker 2
3Long Eaton15Blackbird C 4, Steachmann 4, O'Hare
4Milton Keynes10Butler 6 Keats 2

Leading averages

RiderTeamAverage
Bo Petersen Arena Essex10.54
Brian Karger Arena Essex10.23
Mark Thorpe Newcastle9.93
Neil Evitts Sheffield9.79
Mikael Blixt Peterborough9.69
David Bargh Newcastle9.55
Andy Grahame Wimbledon9.44
Jan Stæchmann Long Eaton9.39
Peter Carr Sheffield9.36
Troy Butler Milton Keynes9.26

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex Hammers

Edinburgh

Exeter

Glasgow

Hackney (withdrew from league)

Long Eaton

Middlesbrough

Milton Keynes

Newcastle

Peterborough

Rye House

Sheffield

Stoke

See also

References

  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "Speedway continues" . Brentwood Gazette. 8 February 1991. Retrieved 16 May 2024 via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "1988 to 1993". Cyber Morotcycles. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  4. "Speedway" . Western Daily Press. 22 July 1991. Retrieved 13 May 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  6. "Speedway" . Derby Daily Telegraph. 3 July 1991. Retrieved 28 September 2024 via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "1991 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  8. "1991 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway Great Britain.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "1991 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Glasgow Tigers fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  11. "1991 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  12. "1991 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  13. "Jan is tasting victory" . Nottingham Evening Post. 16 September 1991. Retrieved 22 June 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Speedway" . Western Daily Press. 22 July 1991. Retrieved 13 May 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.