1981 National League season

British motorcycle speedway season October 2023 October 2023 National League 19 Champions Middlesbrough Tigers Knockout Cup Edinburgh Monarchs Individual Mike Ferreira Pairs Canterbury Crusaders Fours Edinburgh Monarchs Mike Ferreira 1981 British League 1980 1982 The 1981 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/p/compet.html Historic league tables Speedway Archive Summary The league started with 20 teams with Nottingham Outlaws dropping out after the BSPA refused an application by promoter Maurice Jones to run during 1981.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002508/19810219/023/0023 Hopes of racing at Long Eaton dim to flicker Long Eaton Advertiser 19 February 1981 British Newspaper Archive subscription 22 September 2024 However, Wolverhampton Wolves joined having moved down from the British League. Wolves promoter Mike Parker was replaced by Dan McCormick for the 1981 season.Parker is back - now he needs a team Birmingham Mail 10 December 1981 8 May 2024 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002139/19811210/051/0051 British Newspaper Archive subscription Berwick Bandits were forced to quit after 26 league meetings, their record being expunged. Middlesbrough Tigers comfortably won their first ever title.https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/history/leaguetables1965-1990 BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990) Official British Speedway website 11 September 2021Oakes Peter 1981 Speedway Yearbook 1981 101 Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd 0-86215-017-5 Exeter Falcons rider Tony Sanford died following an accident at the County Ground Stadium on 7 September. He was racing in a match against Milton Keynes when he hit a barrier near the final bend.http://motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ms&n=3095 Tony Sanford Motorsport memorial 30 July 2021 A memorial trophy was held in subsequent years in his memory.http://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/news.php?extend.22562 PLYMOUTH: TONY SANFORD MEMORIAL TROPHY - PREVIEW Speedway GB 30 July 2021 Final table http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speedwayyears/1981.html About - Exeter Speedway 1981 2012-08-21 2012-10-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20121023035032/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speedwayyears/1981.html dead Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Middlesbrough Tigers 36 30 1 5 612 Weymouth Wildcats 36 26 1 9 533 Newcastle Diamonds 36 25 1 10 514 Edinburgh Monarchs 36 25 0 11 505 Glasgow Tigers 36 24 0 12 486 Boston Barracudas 36 22 0 14 447 Exeter Falcons 36 22 0 14 448 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 36 20 0 16 409 Peterborough Panthers 36 19 1 16 3910 Crayford Kestrels 36 19 0 17 3811 Ellesmere Port Gunners 36 18 1 17 3712 Oxford Cheetahs 36 18 1 17 3713 Wolverhampton Wolves 36 14 1 21 2914 Canterbury Crusaders 36 14 1 21 2915 Stoke Potters 36 14 0 22 2816 Rye House Rockets 36 11 0 25 2217 Scunthorpe Stags 36 6 1 29 1318 Workington Comets 36 6 1 29 1319 Milton Keynes Knights 36 4 0 32 8 Fixtures and results main FBR grey BER BOS CAN CRY ED EP EX GLA MID MIL MK NEW OX PET RH SCU STO WEY WOL WOR Berwick n/a n/a 44–34 n/a n/a 44–34 n/a n/a n/a 46–32 37–41 n/a 46–31 55–23 57–21 n/a 37–41 n/a n/a Boston 45–33 47–30 57–21 47–31 51–27 48–30 53–25 40–38 50–28 53–25 43–35 51–27 42–36 47–31 52–26 51–27 51–27 40–38 55–23 Canterbury 38–40 36–42 40–38 39–38 35–43 43–35 41–37 31–46 35–43 43–35 34–44 41–37 44–34 45–33 53–25 36–42 35–43 32–45 60–18 Crayford 42–36 44–34 47–31 37–40 47–30 54–24 40–38 25–52 50–28 44–34 39–38 42–36 43–35 55–23 60–18 39–38 40–37 51.5–26.5 63–15 Edinburgh 42–36 50.5–27.5 41–35 47–30 49–29 47–31 48–29 37–41 58–20 53–13 36–42 42–36 51–27 50–27 43–30 41–37 46–32 49–29 62–16 Ellesmere Port 44–34 40–38 48–30 56–22 45–33 51–26 37–41 30–48 55–23 60–18 50–8 39–39 43–34 51–27 57–21 52–26 37–41 55–22 63–14 Exeter 47–31 44–34 48–30 62–16 45–33 43–35 47–31 49–29 47–31 58–20 44–34 51–27 53–25 57–21 59–19 40–35 43–35 51–27 52–26 Glasgow 46–32 44–34 46–32 58–20 52–25 58–20 50–28 40–38 41–34 47–31 41–35 41–37 47–30 46–32 55–23 55–22 40–38 54.5–23.5 55–23 Middlesbrough 48–30 57–21 55–23 51–27 51–27 55–22 45–33 48–29 42–36 58–19 43–35 54–24 55–23 44–34 59–19 41–37 46–32 55–23 63–15 Mildenhall 42–36 38–40 41–37 50–28 34–44 44–34 46–32 53–25 38–40 45–33 38.5–39.5 40–38 48–28 41–37 47–31 48–30 53–25 57–20 48–30 Milton Keynes 43–35 38–40 41–37 35–43 34–44 37–41 38–40 38–40 32–46 34–44 36–42 37–41 33–45 40–38 34–41 37–40 27–51 36–42 52–26 Newcastle 45–32 45–32 44–34 55–23 44–34 58–20 50–27 51–27 39–39 60–18 53–24 49–29 50–28 52–26 54–24 47–31 44–34 42–36 53–25 Oxford 44–34 42–36 37–40 44–34 43–35 46–30 41–37 42–36 33–45 35–43 49–29 36–42 42–36 43–35 43–35 44–34 34–43 44–34 62–15 Peterborough 40–38 52–26 44–33 54–24 34–44 44–34 43–35 48–30 48–29 44–34 56–22 43–35 52–26 42–36 47–31 54–24 45–33 44–33 58–20 Rye House 42–36 42–35 48–30 43–35 33–44 45–33 34–44 31–46 37–41 38–39 51–27 45–33 37–41 59–19 55–22 41–36 34–44 37–41 63–15 Scunthorpe n/a 24–54 38–40 36–42 35–43 42–36 35–43 44–34 31–47 40–38 49–29 38–40 34–43 39–39 28–49 31–47 26–52 33–45 44–33 Stoke 42–36 43–35 38–40 35–39 38–40 37–41 40–37 37–41 23–54 28–50 48–30 40–38 41–37 37–4` 48–30 56–22 37–41 45–33 57–21 Weymouth 42–36 49–29 44–34 43–35 40–38 52–26 50–28 51–27 45–33 54–24 56–22 48–30 44–34 47–31 54–24 47–31 53–25 39–39 63–15 Wolverhampton 45–32 42–36 36–42 48–29 35–43 44–34 46–32 32–45 28–50 48–30 41–37 31–46 36–39 44–34 55–23 60–18 38–40 37–41 51–27 Workington 32–45 46–32 39–39 41–35 29–49 36–42 36–42 28–49 24–54 33–45 36–42 36–40 37–41 42–36 49–29 47–31 34–44 36–42 41–36 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1981.html Speedway Researcher 1981 fixtures & results 25 March 2025 National League Knockout Cup The 1981 National League Knockout Cup was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Edinburgh Monarchs were the winners of the competition.https://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2013/07/national-league-ko-cup-1981.html 1981 National League Knockout Cup Speedway archive First round Date Team one Score Team two29/03 Mildenhall 58-38 Canterbury04/04 Canterbury 52-44 Mildenhall17/04 Ellesmere Port 47-49 Wolverhampton19/04 Wolverhampton 43-53 Ellesmere Port23/04 Middlesbrough 69-27 Glasgow29/05 Glasgow 55-40 Middlesbrough11/04 Stoke 51-45 Milton Keynes07/04 Milton Keynes 38-58 Stoke Second round Date Team one Score Team two29/05 Edinburgh 65-31 Exeter01/06 Exeter 56-40 Edinburgh04/06 Oxford 59-34 Scunthorpe01/06 Scunthorpe 46-49 Oxford07/06 Mildenhall 76-20 Ellesmere Port29/05 Ellesmere Port 30-64 Mildenhall29/05 Peterborough 70-26 Rye House07/06 Rye House 32-64 Peterborough06/06 Berwick 53-42 Newcastle08/06 Newcastle 52-44 Berwick09/06 Weymouth 74-20 Workington29/05 Workington 31-59 Weymouth07/06 Boston 69-27 Crayford02/06 Crayford 42-51 Boston07/06 Middlesbrough 55-41 Stoke06/06 Stoke 48-48 Middlesbrough Quarter-finals Date Team one Score Team two14/08 Edinburgh 65-31 Oxford13/08 Oxford 41-54 Edinburgh05/07 Mildenhall 61-35 Peterborough26/06 Peterborough 49-47 Mildenhall17/07 Berwick 51-45 Weymouth14/07 Weymouth 48-48 Berwick02/08 Boston 57-39 Middlesbrough?Middlesbrough 45-51 Boston Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two27/09 Edinburgh 64-32 Mildenhall11/09 Mildenhall 46-50 Edinburgh14/10 Berwick 64-32 Boston27/09 Boston 58½-37½ Berwick Final First leg 21 October 1981 Berwick BanditsSteve McDermott 13Wayne Brown 11Mike Caroline 9Rob Grant 6Brett Saunders 5Brian Collins 3Jim Beaton 2 49 – 46 https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1980record-4.pdf 1981 KO cup final Speedway Researcher 27 September 2021 28 September 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210928165529/https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1980record-4.pdf dead Edinburgh MonarchsDave Trownson 10Neil Collins 9Ivan Blacka 9Chris Turner 8George Hunter 7Scott Robson 3Ian Westwell 0 Brough Park Second leg 6 November 1980 Edinburgh MonarchsGeorge Hunter 13Dave Trownson 11Ivan Blacka 11Neil Collins 7Chris Turner 7Roger Lambert 6Ian Westwell 0 55 – 40 Berwick BanditsCharlie McKinna (guest) 14Steve McDermott 9Mike Caroline 7Rob Grant 5Brett Saunders 3Brian Collins 2Jim Beaton 0 Powderhall Stadium Edinburgh were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 101–89. Riders' Championship Mike Ferreira won the Riders' Championship, held at Wimbledon Stadium on 26 September 1981.Tigers crash out Cambridge Daily News 28 September 1981 20 June 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003740/19810928/012/0012 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos. Rider Pts Total1 ZIM Mike Ferreira 3 3 3 3 3 152 ENG Simon Wigg 1 3 3 3 3 133 NZL Bruce Cribb 3 3 2 0 3 114 ENG Dave Perks 3 1 2 2 2 105 ENG Neil Collins 2 3 2 2 1 10 6 ENG Steve Wilcock 2 2 1 2 2 9 7 ENG Steve Lawson 2 0 3 3 8 8 ENG Barry Thomas 2 0 3 2 1 8 9ENG Kelvin Mullarkey 0 2 1 3 2 8 10 ENG Steve Finch 0 2 2 1 6 11 NZL Wayne Brown 3 2 5 12 ENG Ian Gledhill 0 2 1 1 4 13 ENG Rob Maxfield 1 1 1 1 0 4 14 ENG David Gagen 2 0 1 0 3 15 NZL David Bargh 1 1 1 0 3 16 AUS Bob Humphreys 1 0 0 1 17 ENG John Barclay 1 118 ENG Neville Moore 0 0 f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure Pairs The National League Pairs was held at The Shay on 18 July and was won by Canterbury Crusaders.https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1980record-1.pdf 1981 season results Speedway Researcher 22 May 2023 Group APosTeamPtsRiders1Mildenhall 13Gledhill 9Bales 42Middlesbrough 11Wilcock 8Dixon 33Rye House6Mullarkey 6Naylor 04Edinburgh 5Turner 4Collins N 1 Group BPosTeamPtsRiders1Wolverhampton13Cribb 8Evitts 52Glasgow10Lawson 8McKinna 23Oxford7Perks 5Harrison 24Peterborough6Greer 6Buck 0 Group CPosTeamPtsRiders1Berwick 11Brown 9McDermott 22Newcastle11Hunter 7Bargh 43Weymouth8Yeates 5Wigg 34Exeter6Maxfield 6Hewlett 0 Group DPosTeamPtsRiders1Canterbury12Ferreira 9Kent 52Crayford12Thomas 7Sage 53Boston7Gagen 4Lomas 34Ellesmere P3Jackson 2Finch 1 Semi finals Canterbury bt Wolverhampton Berwick bt Mildenhall Final Canterbury bt Berwick Fours Edinburgh Monarchs won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 26 July.Tigers miss the boat in four teams final Cambridge Daily News 27 July 1981 23 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003740/19810727/015/0015 British Newspaper Archive subscription https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1980record-1.pdf 1981 full season results Speedway Researcher 23 May 2023 Semi finals SF1 = Wolverhampton 16, Edinburgh 16, Mildenhall 13, Crayford 3 SF2 = Middlesbrough 16, Newcastle 16, Peterborough 11, Weymouth 4 Final Pos TeamPts Riders1 Edinburgh Monarchs 15 Turner 4, Collins 4, Trownson 4, Blacka 32 Newcastle Diamonds 13 Bargh 5, Emerson 3, Hunter 3, Blackadder 23 Middlesbrough Tigers 11 Courtney 5, Pusey 3, Wilcock 2, Havelock 1 4 Wolverhampton Wolves 9 Burton 5, Evitts 2, Stead 2, Cribb 0 Leading final averages Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Mike Ferreira ZIM Canterbury Crusaders 10.87 2 Steve Lawson ENG Glasgow Tigers 10.55 3 Mark Courtney ENG Middlesbrough Tigers 10.44 4 Les Rumsey ENG Weymouth 10.19 5 Dave Perks ENG Oxford Cheetahs 10.13 Riders & final averages Berwick (withdrew from league) 22em Wayne Brown 9.24 Steve McDermott 8.40 Rob Grant Sr. 6.95 Mike Caroline 5.94 Brian Collins 5.38 Brett Saunders 5.05 Roger Wright 4.92 Graham Jones 4.61 Jim Beaton 4.00 Ian Anderson 1.26 Boston 22em David Gagen 8.84 Steve Lomas 8.84 Steve Regeling 8.47 Rob Hollingworth 8.45 Dennis Mallett 6.35 Mike Spinks 5.95 Michael Holding 5.23 Keven Dye 4.31 Chris Cole 3.45 Canterbury 22em Mike Ferreira 10.87 Denzil Kent 7.75 Barney Kennett 6.81 Mark Martin 4.69 Darryl Simpson 4.43 Kevin Brice 4.21 Brendan Shiletto 4.07 Jamie Luckhurst 3.78 Rob Dolman 3.30 Graham Knowler 2.67 Crayford 22em Barry Thomas 9.02 Alan Sage 7.88 Laurie Etheridge 6.90 Mike Pither 5.72 Trevor Barnwell 5.70 Mike Spinks 4.83 Paul Hollingsbee 4.47 Keith Pritchard 4.15 Paul Bosley 2.24 Edinburgh 22em Neil Collins 9.68 Dave Trownson 8.57 George Hunter 8.45 Chris Turner 7.49 Ivan Blacka 7.07 Benny Rourke 5.85 Roger Lambert 5.27 Guy Robson 2.77 Ian Westwell 2.27 Ellesmere Port 22em Billy Burton 8.63 Steve Finch 8.14 Peter Carr 7.49 John Jackson 7.34 Rob Ashton 6.51 Phil Alderman 5.98 Eric Monaghan 5.98 Paul Embley 4.81 Paul Price 3.11 Andrew Reeves 1.68 Exeter 22em Rob Maxfield 9.07 Bob Coles 8.24 Martin Hewlett 8.10 John Barker 7.85 Les Sawyer 7.68 Andy Campbell 6.53 Keith Wright 6.00 John Williams 5.99 Keith Millard 4.30 Tony Sanford 3.20 Glasgow 22em Steve Lawson 10.55 Charlie McKinna 8.04 Kenny McKinna 7.57 Nigel Close 7.08 Harry Maclean 6.02 Colin Caffrey 5.80 Andy Reid 5.52 Ray Palmer 4.44 Alan Mason 2.74 Middlesbrough 22em Mark Courtney 10.44 Steve Wilcock 9.95 Martin Dixon 8.28 Brian Havelock 7.20 Mike Spink 7.18 Geoff Pusey 6.71 Bernie Collier 5.05 Peter Tarrant 3.60 Alan Armstrong 3.54 Mildenhall 22em Robert Henry 8.59 Ray Bales 8.35 Mick Bates 8.25 Ian Gledhill 7.89 Richard Knight 7.24 Carl Baldwin 4.48 Andy Warne 3.78 Mark Bilner 3.73 Carl Blackbird 2.77 Milton Keynes 22em Bob Humphreys 9.14 Graham Plant 6.38 Andy Hibbs 6.00 Mick Blaynee 4.77 Barry Allaway 4.41 Mark Baldwin 4.36 Steve Payne 4.30 Nigel Davis 4.20 Brett Alderton 4.15 Newcastle 22em David Bargh 9.04 Rod Hunter 8.68 Robbie Blackadder 8.40 Alan Emerson 8.07 Keith Bloxsome 6.87 Glenn MacDonald 5.54 Kym Mauger 2.92 Oxford 22em Dave Perks 10.13 Derek Harrison 9.40 Colin Ackroyd 8.12 Paul Evitts 5.31 Arthur Price 4.51 John Grahame 4.14 Mick Handley .4.04 Mick Fletcher 3.94 Alan MacLean 1.44 Peterborough 22em Richard Greer 8.20 Andy Hines 8.04 Dave Allen 7.69 Mick Hines 7.58 Andy Fisher 6.08 Nigel Couzens 5.97 Andy Buck 5.32 Ian Barney 4.91 Rye House 22em Bobby Garrad 8.85 Kelvin Mullarkey 8.27 Steve Naylor 7.67 Kevin Bowen 5.05 Peter Johns 4.71 Peter Tarrant 4.62 Marvyn Cox 4.57 Garry Monk 4.51 Barry King 4.20 Tony Garard 2.18 Scunthorpe 22em Kevin Teager 7.56 Nicky Allott 7.51 Mark DeKok 5.71 Tony Featherstone 5.33 Rob Woffinden 5.19 Tony Childs 3.62 Graeme Beardsley 3.45 Julian Parr 2.99 Phil Kynman 2.73 Stoke 22em Pete Smith 8.28 Mike Sampson 7.97 Arthur Browning 6.68 Rob Lightfoot 6.55 Mark Collins 6.29 Rod North 6.11 Steve Sant 6.06 Ian Robertson 3.87 Weymouth 22em Les Rumsey 10.19 Martin Yeates 10.12 Simon Wigg 10.07 Brian Woodward 7.11 Malcolm Shakespeare 7.02 Terry Tulloch 5.91 Steve Crockett 5.68 Steve Schofield 5.64 Bob Coles 5.22 Wolverhampton 22em Bruce Cribb 9.99 Les Rumsey 8.77 Neil Evitts 7.80 Billy Burton 6.74 Tony Boyle 5.95 Paul Stead 5.51 Mike Wilding 4.11 Rob Carter 3.55 John Hough 3.49 Steve Crockett 1.41 Workington 22em Terry Kelly 6.97 Wayne Jackson 6.22 Mark Dickinson 5.67 Guy Wilson 4.47 Des Wilson 4.42 Kevin Clapham 3.67 David Blackburn 3.51 John Frankland 2.69 Michael Irving 0.89 See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway) References Category:Speedway British League Division Two / National League