1973 British League season

British speedway season September 2023 September 2023 British League 18 Champions Reading Racers Knockout Cup Belle Vue Aces Individual Ivan Mauger London Cup Hackney Hawks Midland Cup Wolverhampton Wolves Spring Gold Cup King's Lynn Stars Anders Michanek British League (Div 2) 1972 1974 The 1973 British League season was the 39th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the ninth season of the British League.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/p/compet.html Historic league tables Speedway ArchiveRogers Martin The Illustrated History of Speedway 1978 129–133 Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd 0-904584-45-3 Summary Glasgow Tigers relocated to become Coatbridge Tigers.Oakes Peter 1981 Speedway Yearbook 1981 100 Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd 0-86215-017-5 The Reading Racers won their first title, ending the dominance of Belle Vue Aces who could only finish in sixth place. Swede Anders Michanek was in imperious form, going undefeated at Reading Stadium (which was in its final year as a venue). He finished with an 11.36 average ahead of the four time world champion Ivan Mauger on 11.29. In addition to Michanek the Reading team was boosted by high scoring from Norwegian Dag Lövaas and Australian Geoff Curtis.https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/historyarchive HISTORY ARCHIVE British Speedway 1 July 2021 In a sensational finish to the 1973 Knockout Cup final Reading were beaten by Belle Vue in a run-off for the Cup after an aggregate draw over two legs.http://www.speedwayplus.com/IH1973.shtml 973 – Speedway Ruined My Toffee Apple British Speedway Plus 28 July 2021 Reading's success had a sour note after the season had finished when Geoff Curtis returned to Australia for the Australian season and was killed in a race at the Sydney Showground in December.https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/842/bob-valentine Speedway riders, history and results wwosbackup 28 July 2021 Final table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Reading Racers 34 25 1 8 512 Sheffield Tigers 34 22 3 9 473 King's Lynn Stars 34 20 3 11 434 Leicester Lions 34 21 0 13 425 Ipswich Witches 34 19 2 12 416 Belle Vue Aces 34 19 1 14 397 Wolverhampton Wolves 34 18 1 15 378 Exeter Falcons 34 16 3 15 359 Halifax Dukes 34 16 2 16 3410 Newport Wasps 34 16 0 18 3211 Oxford Rebels 34 14 2 18 3012 Wimbledon Dons 34 14 1 19 2913 Swindon Robins 34 13 3 18 2914 Poole Pirates 34 13 2 19 2815 Coventry Bees 34 13 0 21 2616 Hackney Hawks 34 11 4 19 2617 Coatbridge Tigers 34 12 1 21 2518 Cradley United 34 7 4 23 18M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points Fixtures and results main FBR grey BV COV CH EX GLA HAC HAL IPS KL LEI NW OX PP RR SHE SWI WIM WOL Belle Vue 59–19 50–27 42–36 38–37 55–23 51–27 51–27 51–27 54–22 52–26 53–25 48–30 55–23 38–40 46–32 55–22 44–34 Coventry 42–35 32–46 46–32 52–26 41–37 58–20 36–42 42–36 43–35 40–38 50–28 41–36 30–48 40–38 41–37 42–36 37–41 Cradley 39–39 45–33 36–42 37–41 41–37 42–35 39–39 40–38 33–45 44–34 38–40 35–43 30–48 36–41 48–30 32–45 36–42 Exeter 28–50 55–23 45–32 59–19 56–22 42–36 39–39 39–38 35–43 56–22 49–29 45–33 46–32 49–29 50–28 46–32 41–37 Glasgow/Coatbridge 34–40 42–35 47–31 40–37 52–26 38–40 46–32 41–37 42–36 46–31 49–29 36–42 40–37 39–39 37–41 43–35 38–40 Hackney 41–37 46–31 39–39 44–34 43–35 43–35 39–39 30–48 41–37 45–33 48–30 36–42 28–50 39–39 48–30 38–40 52–26 Halifax 44–34 42–36 44–34 40–38 47–31 49–29 46–32 39–39 43–35 40–38 46–32 36–42 41–37 37–40 45–33 43–35 40–38 Ipswich 45–33 48–30 48–30 46–32 49–29 40–37 53–25 51–27 42–36 48–30 51–27 47–31 44–34 42–34 47–31 55–23 44–34 King's Lynn 45–33 47–31 47–31 58–20 47–31 40–36 37–41 40–38 48–30 39–38 55–23 43–35 36–42 41–37 41–37 54–24 45–33 Leicester 46–32 47–31 52–25 52–26 50–28 49–29 49–29 42–36 36–42 44–33 49–29 51–27 46–32 45–33 42–36 45–33 43–35 Newport 41–37 56–22 54–24 42.5–34.5 43–35 51–27 56–22 49–29 45–33 53–25 43–34 57–21 33–45 44–34 48–30 52–26 40–38 Oxford 40–38 40–38 59–19 45–33 50–28 43–35 48–29 37–41 39–39 44–34 51–26 42–36 30–48 38–40 44–34 47–30 52–26 Poole 29–49 54–24 42–36 37–41 47–31 54–24 48–30 43–35 36–42 38–40 45–33 39–39 36–42 38–40 38–40 44–34 43–35 Reading 46–32 52–26 53–25 58–20 55–22 47–31 59–19 50–28 39–39 44–34 47–31 45–33 41–37 37–41 47–31 54–24 41–37 Sheffield 48–30 46–32 47–31 53–25 59–19 57–21 39–39 56–22 52–26 45–33 57–21 56–22 50–28 43–35 51–27 51–26 51–26 Swindon 42–35 44–34 39–39 39–39 43–35 37–41 42–36 40–38 33–45 35–43 40–38 40–38 39–39 35–43 44–34 42–36 41–37 Wimbledon 46–32 41–37 46–32 42–36 52–26 39–39 41–37 39–38 35–43 35–43 45–33 55–23 45–33 35–43 45–33 46–32 38–40 Wolverhampton 55–23 40–38 43–35 39–39 42–36 45–33 45–33 40–38 45–33 43–35 40–38 41–37 44–34 38–40 42–36 38–40 40–37 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1973.html Speedway Researcher 1973 fixtures & results 3 March 2025 Top ten riders (league averages) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Anders Michanek SWE Reading 11.55 2 Ivan Mauger NZL Exeter 11.30 3 Ole Olsen DEN Wolverhampton 11.10 4 Eric Boocock ENG Halifax 10.52 5 Dag Lövaas NOR Reading 10.37 6 Malcolm Simmons ENG King's Lynn 10.33 7 John Boulger AUS Leicester 10.25 8 Chris Pusey ENG Belle Vue 10.24 9 Martin Ashby ENG Swindon 10.11 10 John Louis ENG Ipswich 10.07 British League Knockout Cup The 1973 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 35th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Belle Vue were the winners after Peter Collins of Belle Vue defeated Anders Michanek of Reading in a race-off because the tie had finished 78–78 on aggregate.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2014/03/british-league-division-one-ko-cup-1973.html 1973 British League Knockout Cup Speedway archive First round Date Team one Score Team two28/04 Belle Vue 48–30 Oxford28/04 Coventry 44–34 Reading27/04 Hackney 43–35 Swindon26/04 Oxford 41–37 Belle Vue Second round Date Team one Score Team two25/06 Reading 56–22 Coatbridge22/06 Coatbridge 41–37 Reading15/06 Wolverhampton 43–35 Exeter14/06 Sheffield 29–49 Belle Vue12/06 Leicester 36–42 Kings Lynn02/06 Belle Vue 43–35 Sheffield02/06 Halifax 49–29 Wimbledon30/05 Poole 40–38 Cradley Heath26/05 Kings Lynn 42–36 Leicester18/05 Newport 45–33 Ipswich17/05 Ipswich 41–37 Newport17/05 Wimbledon 37–41 Halifax12/05 Cradley Heath 37–41 Poole12/05 Swindon 43–35 Hackney07/05 Exeter 37–41 Wolverhampton28/07 Swindon 52–25 Hackney15/06 Hackney 43–35 Swindon Quarter-finals Date Team one Score Team two01/09 Swindon 39–39 Wolverhampton17/08 Newport 45–33 Reading17/08 Wolverhampton 43–35 Swindon13/08 Halifax 41–37 Belle Vue10/08 Poole 39–39 Kings Lynn30/07 Reading 55–23 Newport18/07 Belle Vue 57–21 Halifax23/06 Kings Lynn 47–31 Poole Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two26/09 Belle Vue 48–30 Wolverhampton14/09 Wolverhampton 42–36 Belle Vue05/09 Kings Lynn 40–38 Reading03/09 Reading 52–26 Kings Lynn Final First leg 1 October 1973 Reading RacersAnders Michanek 11Dag Lövaas 11Geoff Curtis 9Mick Bell 7Richard May 4Bobby McNeil 4Bernie Leigh 2 47–31 https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/result-archive/heatdetails/season1973.pdf Season 1973 British Speedway 25 June 2021 Belle Vue AcesPeter Collins 12Paul Tyrer 7Eric Broadbelt 6John Louis (guest) 3Alan Wilkinson 2Sören Sjösten 1Chris Morton 0 Reading Stadium Second leg 24 October 1973 Belle Vue AcesPeter Collins 10Jim McMillan (guest) 8Alan Wilkinson 8Sören Sjösten 8Eric Broadbelt 7Paul Tyrer 6Chris Morton 0 47–31 Reading RacersAnders Michanek 12Dag Lövaas 8Mick Bell 6Mitch Graham 5 Trevor Geer 0Bernie Leigh 0Geoff Curtis R/R Hyde Road Stadium Match finished 78–78 on aggregate. Belle Vue won race-off. Riders' Championship Ivan Mauger won the British League Riders' Championship for the second time, it was held at Hyde Road on 3 October and was sponsored by Player's No.10.Speedway The People 4 November 1973 2 June 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002454/19731104/353/0022 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total1 NZL Ivan Mauger 3 3 3 3 2 14 2 ENG Ray Wilson 1 3 1 3 311 3 SWE Anders Michanek 3 2 EX 3 311 4 DEN Ole Olsen 3 3 3 2 EX 11 5 ENG Arnie Haley 2 1 2 3 3116 ENG Martin Ashby 3 3 3 EX 110 7 SCO Jim McMillan 2 2 1 2 310 8 ENG John Louis 1 1 2 2 28 9 SWE Sören Sjösten 1 2 3 1 F 710 ENG Trevor Hedge 0 2 2 2 EF 6 11 AUS Garry Middleton 2 0 0 1 25 12 ENG Barry Thomas 2 1 0 0 2 5 13 ENG Malcolm Simmons 1 0 2 1 1414 NOR Reidar Eide 0 1 1 0 1 315 WAL Kid Brodie 0 0 1 1 1 316 NZL Bill Andrew (res) 0 0 - - -017 ENG Pete Smith 0 EF - 0 0 0 ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded Leading final averages Both Anders Michanek and Ivan Mauger recorded perfect 12 point average scores at home for the season, meaning they were unbeaten by any opposing rider on their own track in League competition. Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Anders Michanek SWE Reading 11.36 2 Ivan Mauger NZL Exeter 11.29 3 Ole Olsen DEN Wolverhampton 10.82 4 Chris Pusey ENG Belle Vue 10.55 5 Eric Boocock ENG Halifax 10.32 6 Malcolm Simmons ENG King's Lynn 10.26 7 John Boulger AUS Leicester 10.24 8 Martin Ashby ENG Swindon 10.18 9 John Louis ENG Ipswich 10.06 10 Dag Lövaas NOR Reading 10.06 11 Terry Betts ENG King's Lynn 9.95 12 Reidar Eide NOR Newport 977 13 Christer Löfqvist SWE Poole 9.58 14 Ray Wilson ENG Leicester 9.44 15 Bernt Persson SWE Cradley United 9.38 16 Bob Valentine AUS Sheffield 9.30 17 Dave Jessup ENG Leicester 9.24 18 Tommy Jansson SWE Wimbledon 9.19 19 Howard Cole (a.k.a. Kid Brodie) WAL Cradley United 9.12 20 Peter Collins ENG Belle Vue 9.08 London Cup Hackney won the London Cup for just the third time but there were now only two teams remaining in London.https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/hackney1973.pdf Hackney 1973 Speedway Researcher 30 September 2023 Results Team Score TeamWimbledon 40–37HackneyHackney 45–33Wimbledon Midland Cup Wolverhampton won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of six teams.Midland Speedway Cup Leicester Daily Mercury 10 October 1973 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000760/19731010/046/0038 British Newspaper Archive 21 October 2023 subscription First round Team one Team two ScoreSwindonOxford 51–27, 38–40CoventryCradley36–42, 32–46 Semi final round Team one Team two ScoreLeicesterCradley 45–33, 56–22 Wolverhampton Swindon43–35 Final first leg 5 October 1973 WolverhamptonOle Olsen 14George Hunter 9Tony Clarke 8 Gary Peterson 5 Tom Leadbitter 3.5 Ken Eyre 3 Jon Erskine r/r 42.5–35.5 LeicesterRay Wilson 11 John Boulger 9 Dave Jessup 7 Malcolm Shakespeare 6 Norman Storer 1.5 Bruce Forrester 1 Malcolm Brown 0 Monmore Green Stadium Final Second leg 9 October 1973 LeicesterJohn Boulger 11Ray Wilson 10 Norman Storer 7 Malcolm Brown 5 Malcolm Shakespeare 4 Dave Jessup 2 Bruce Forrester 0 39–39 WolverhamptonOle Olsen 14Tony Clarke 8George Hunter 6 Gary Peterson 6 Ken Eyre 3Tom Leadbitter 2 Jon Erskine r/r Leicester Stadium Wolverhampton won on aggregate 81.5–74.5 Spring Gold Cup M W D L Pts 1King's Lynn 10 7 1 2 15 2 Ipswich 10 6 1 3 13 3 Wimbledon 10 6 0 4 12 4 Hackney 10 4 1 5 9 5 Poole 10 2 2 6 6 6 Reading 10 2 1 7 5 main FBR grey HAC IPS KL PP REA WIM Hackney 47–31 33–44 38–38 41–37 45–33 Ipswich 54–23 41–37 47–31 43–35 54–24 King's Lynn 45–33 47–31 50–28 48–30 43–35 Poole 43–35 39–39 37–41 46–32 36–39 Reading 46–32 33–45 39–39 42–36 36–42 Wimbledon 36–42 46–32 40–37 43–35 44–34 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1973fixtures.pdf Speedway Researcher 1973 fixtures & results 17 September 2025 Riders and final averages Belle Vue 22em ENG Chris Pusey 10.55 ENG Peter Collins 9.08 SWE Sören Sjösten 8.73 ENG Eric Broadbelt 7.00 ENG Alan Wilkinson 6.94 ENG Paul Tyrer 6.21 ENG Chris Morton 5.67 ENG Ian Hindle 5.16 ENG Terry Kelly 3.52 ENG Geoff Pusey 3.05 Coatbridge 22em SCO Jimmy McMillan 9.01 SCO Bobby Beaton 8.00 SWE Christer Sjösten 6.38 NZL Dave Gifford 5.03 SCO Jimmy Gallacher 4.82 NZL Robin Adlington 4.55 NOR Kjell Gimre 4.13 SCO Alistair Brady 1.79 Coventry 22em ENG Nigel Boocock 8.59 AUS Garry Middleton 8.33 ENG John Harrhy 8.32 ENG Alan Jay 6.31 ENG Les Owen 5.55 ENG Pete Bailey 4.83 SWE Soren Karlsson 4.65 ENG Roger Hill 3.44 ENG Cliff Emms 3.26 ENG Frank Smith 3.20 GER Gerhard Uhlenbrock 2.53 Cradley Heath 22em SWE Bernt Persson 9.38 WAL Howard Cole (Kid Brodie) 9.12 NOR Ulf Lövaas 6.62 NZL Bruce Cribb 5.77 ENG Colin Gooddy 4.85 ENG Pete Jarman 4.49 ENG Dave Perks 4.46 ENG Malcolm Corradine 4.40 SWE Lars-Inge Hultberg 3.44 ENG Dave Harvey 2.50 Exeter 22em NZL Ivan Mauger 11.29 ENG Tony Lomas 7.57 USA Scott Autrey 6.38 ENG Kevin Holden 6.00 NZL Frank Shuter 5.80 ENG Chris Julian 5.34 ENG Mike Sampson 4.74 ENG Bob Coles 4.48 Hackney 22em SWE Bengt Jansson 8.86 ENG Barry Thomas 7.83 SWE Tommy Nilsson 6.41 ENG Dave Kennett 5.55 ENG Geoff Maloney 5.44 ENG Hugh Saunders 5.40 ENG Laurie Etheridge 5.29 ENG Barney Kennett 4.31 Halifax 22em ENG Eric Boocock 10.32 AUS John Titman 6.92 AUS Charlie Monk 6.31 NZL Bill Andrew 6.25 ENG Mike Hiftle 5.63 AUS Les Sharpe 5.14 ENG Dave Gatenby 4.19 ENG John Jackson 3.28 NOR Per Hansen 2.33 NOR Jan Terje Gravningen 1.22 Ipswich 22em ENG John Louis 10.06 ENG Tony Davey 7.46 AUS Billy Sanders 7.43 ENG Mick Hines 6.09 SWE Olle Nygren 5.87 ENG Alan Sage 5.68 ENG Ted Howgego 3.20 King's Lynn 22em ENG Malcolm Simmons 10.26 ENG Terry Betts 9.95 ENG Ian Turner 6.28 AUS Bob Humphreys 6.07 ENG Barry Crowson 5.44 ENG Eddie Reeves 5.35 ENG Arthur Price 4.82 ENG Ray Bales 4.71 ENG David Gagen 4.22 Leicester 22em AUS John Boulger 10.24 ENG Ray Wilson 9.44 ENG Dave Jessup 9.24 ENG Malcolm Shakespeare 5.80 ENG Malcolm Brown 4.67 ENG Norman Storer 4.37 ENG Bruce Forrester 4.21 ENG Brian Foote 3.09 Newport 22em NOR Reidar Eide 9.77 ENG Graham Plant 7.39 ENG Roy Trigg 7.37 AUS Neil Street 7.28 ENG Peter Ingram 6.01 AUS Geoff Mudge 4.79 ENG Jimm Tebby 3.93 ENG Alan Cowland 3.62 Oxford 22em SWE Hasse Holmqvist 7.77 ENG Bob Kilby 7.32 ENG Gordon Kennett 6.42 ENG John Davis 6.19 ENG Malcolm Ballard 6.09 ENG Tony Lomas 5.81 ENG John Dews 5.72 NZL Rick Timmo 5.38 ENG Roger Johns 4.80 ENG Eddie Reeves 3.24 Poole 22em SWE Christer Löfqvist 9.58 ENG Pete Smith 8.30 NOR Odd Fossengen 7.18 POL Antoni Woryna 6.49 SCO Brian Collins 5.93 SWE Bosse Wirebrand 5.36 AUS Jim Ryman 4.34 ENG Norman Strachan 3.70 ENG Martin Yeates 2.40 ENG Dave Buttigieg 2.10 Reading 22em SWE Anders Michanek 11.36 NOR Dag Lövaas 10.06 AUS Geoff Curtis 8.23 ENG Richard May 6.05 ENG Mick Bell 5.83 ENG Bobby McNeil 5.28 ENG Bernie Leigh 4.46 NZL Jack Millen 3.20 Sheffield 22em AUS Bob Valentine 9.30 ENG Arnold Haley 7.78 ENG Reg Wilson 7.72 ENG Doug Wyer 7.36 SWE Bengt Larsson 7.06 ENG Bob Paulson 6.92 ENG Rick France 6.85 Swindon 22em ENG Martin Ashby 10.18 ENG Norman Hunter 7.34 NOR Edgar Stangeland 6.81 ENG Mike Keen 6.67 ENG Geoff Bouchard 4.90 ENG Brian Leonard 4.25 ENG Clive Hitch 4.18 ENG Mick Handley 3.58 ENG David Ashby 2.48 USA Sumner McKnight 0.94 ENG Billy Wall 0.50 Wimbledon 22em SWE Tommy Jansson 9.19 ENG Trevor Hedge 7.74 SCO Bert Harkins 6.95 NZL Graeme Stapleton 6.75 AUS Neil Cameron 5.09 ENG Tony Clarke 5.09 ENG Reg Luckhurst 4.72 ENG Rob Jones 3.06 ENG Roland Duke 2.09 Wolverhampton 22em DEN Ole Olsen 10.82 SCO George Hunter 7.93 ENG Jon Erskine 6.73 NZL Gary Peterson 5.99 ENG Tom Leadbitter 5.47 ENG Colin 'Spike' Burton 4.67 ENG Dave Baugh 4.63 ENG Tony Clarke 4.55 NZL Dave Gifford 4.33 ENG Ken Eyre 3.82 ENG Tony Freegard 2.95 See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway) References Category:British League Category:1973 in British motorsport Category:1973 in speedway