 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(November 2018) |
| Sport | Speedway |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1932 |
| Ceased | 1964 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Most titles | Wembley Lions (8) |
The National League was the main speedway league in the United Kingdom from 1932 until 1964, after which it merged with the Provincial League to form the British League. [1] Prior to 1932 there were only small regional leagues competing within the sport in the UK, with the Northern League and the Southern League merging for the inaugural 1932 season.
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines which use only one gear and have no brakes; racing takes place on a flat oval track usually consisting of dirt, loosely packed shale, or crushed rock. Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways, powersliding or broadsiding into the bends. On the straight sections of the track the motorcycles reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).
The United Kingdom (UK), officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.
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Initially a single division, in 1936 a second division was created, initially named the Provincial League, but becoming National League Division Two in 1938. [1] When league racing resumed after World War II, there was initially a single division. Six clubs started a new grass roots Northern League that year, and with more tracks opening up, the National League expanded to three divisions in 1947. [1] For several reasons, including the levels of Entertainment tax and competition for audiences from television, a number of teams ceased to be profitable and the league reverted to two divisions in 1954. [1] Further withdrawals led to a reduction to a single eleven-team division in 1957. [1]
The National League Division Two was the second tier of Speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, the second division of the National League. The competition was founded in 1938 following a competition named "The National Provincial League". Following World War II the second tier of racing was titled "The Northern League" in 1946 before evolving into National League Division Two in 1947.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
Entertainment tax is any tax on entertainment activities, such as cinema and theatre.
Continuing reduction in spectator numbers, and dissatisfaction with the way speedway was structured and managed led several promoters (including Mike Parker, Reg Fearman, and Johnnie Hoskins) to create the breakaway Provincial League in 1960. [1] Working within tighter budgets, they were nevertheless more successful commercially than the National League promotions. After relations between the two leagues broke down in 1963, an RAC commission led to the two leagues merging in 1965 to form the British League. [1]
Reg Fearman is a former international speedway rider and promoter.
Johnnie S. Hoskins MBE was the most significant promoter of speedway and stock car racing in the United Kingdom, he is considered by some to have invented motorcycle speedway.
The Royal Automobile Club is a British private club and is not to be confused with RAC, an automotive services company, which it formerly owned.
The National League name was revived in 1975 when the British League Division Two was renamed, initially to the New National League. The name was reused again for the third tier of British speedway from 2009.
