1986 British League season

British motorcycle speedway season October 2023 October 2023 British League Champions Oxford Cheetahs Knockout Cup Oxford & Cradley (shared) League Cup Oxford & Cradley (shared) Individual Hans Nielsen Pairs Oxford Cheetahs Midland Cup Oxford Cheetahs Hans Nielsen 1986 National League 1985 1987 The 1986 British League season was the 52nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 22nd known as the British League.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/p/compet.html Historic league tables Speedway Archive Summary Oxford Cheetahs won the league for the second consecutive year and the treble by sharing both the Speedway Star Knockout Cup and League Cup with Cradley Heath Heathens. Despite the easy manner of their 1985 league success Oxford made critical changes which ensured domination for a second consecutive season. They were forced to make changes due to the averages points limit that applied to all teams. Hans Nielsen and Simon Wigg were retained, as were Andy Grahame and Marvyn Cox but Jens Ramussen was replaced with Per Sorensen and Nigel De'ath was brought in as full time reserve. Both Sorensen and De'ath maintained good form throughout the season and combined with the heavy scores of the heat leaders the team were able to win the league again.http://www.speedwaygb.co/history/leaguetables1986.php 1986 league tables Speedway GBBamford/Shailes Robert/Glynn The Story of Oxford Speedway 2007 134–136 Tempus Publishing Ltd 978-0-7524-4161-0 Cradley returned to form and provided Oxford with their main challenge, the rivalry between the Nielsen of Oxford and Erik Gundersen of Cradley was memorable. Nielsen also replaced Gundersen as the world champion by the end of the season and the pair were World Pairs and World Cup winners. After being unable to afford the rent for The Shay stadium, Halifax relocated to Odsal Stadium and rebranded as the Bradford Dukes. They were to be led by Yorkshireman and England's leading rider Kenny Carter, but tragedy unfolded on 21 May when Carter shot dead his wife and then took his own life.https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/tragic-life-horrific-death-troubled-20531271 The tragic life and horrific death of troubled Yorkshire speedway legend 'King Kenny' Carter Examiner Live 30 July 2021 It would take several years for the club to find stability. Final table Pos Team PL W D L BP Pts1 Oxford Cheetahs 18 18 0 0 8 442 Cradley Heath Heathens 20 13 3 4 9 383 Wolverhampton Wolves 19 13 0 6 6 324 Sheffield Tigers 19 10 2 7 6 285 Coventry Bees 20 10 1 9 6 276 Bradford Dukes 20 8 1 11 4 217 Reading Racers 20 7 3 10 4 218 Swindon Robins 19 8 1 10 4 219 Ipswich Witches 20 7 1 12 3 1810 Belle Vue Aces 19 5 0 14 2 1211 King's Lynn Stars 20 2 0 18 0 4M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points Fixtures and results main FBR grey BV BRA COV CH IPS KL OX RR SHE SWI WOL Belle Vue 49–29 40–38 35–43 37–41 44–34 33–45 31–47 32–46 – 45–33 Bradford 40–37 33–45 39–39 56–22 53–25 35–43 48–29 43–35 46–32 50–28 Coventry 52–26 42–36 40–38 55–23 54–24 32–46 51–27 40–38 34–44 38–40 Cradley Heath 47–31 42–36 43–35 47–31 46–32 33–45 55–23 45–33 42–36 43–35 Ipswich 42–36 47–31 35–43 32–46 46–32 36–42 40–38 44–34 32–46 37–41 King's Lynn 35–43 32–46 35–43 23–55 36–42 33–45 29–49 35–43 36–42 33–45 Oxford 53–25 58–20 42–36 43–35 46–32 60–18 44–34 – 58–20 – Reading 40–38 54–24 39–39 46–32 39–39 38–40 35–43 39–39 43–35 36–42 Sheffield 47–30 49–29 40–38 39–39 44–34 53–25 29–49 37–41 55–23 47–31 Swindon 44–34 42–35 42–36 39–39 41–37 36–42 21–56 49–28 36–41 36–41 Wolverhampton 49–29 49–29 40–38 33–45 41–37 51–27 33–45 46–32 44–34 49–29 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1986.html Speedway Researcher 1986 fixtures & results 30 April 2025 British League Knockout Cup The 1986 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 48th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Oxford Cheetahs and Cradley Heath Heathens were declared joint winners because the second leg of the final was not held and the first leg had ended 39-39.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2014/04/british-league-ko-cup-1986.html 1986 British League Knockout Cup Speedway archive First round Date Team one Score Team two21/07 Reading 53-25 Kings Lynn19/07 Swindon 47-31 Ipswich17/07 Ipswich 38-40 Swindon05/07Kings Lynn 43-35 Reading21/05 Cradley Heath 46-32 Belle Vue03/05 Belle Vue 45-33 Cradley Heath Quarter-finals Date Team one Score Team two29/09 Reading 45-33 Cradley Heath24/09 Cradley Heath 50-28 Reading17/09 Coventry 43-34 Sheffield17/09 Oxford 48-30 Swindon07/09 Swindon 37-41 Oxford26/06 Sheffield 44-34 Coventry24/06 Bradford 45-33 Wolverhampton02/06 Wolverhampton 38-40 Bradford Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two10/10 Oxford 45-33 Sheffield15/10 Cradley Heath 50-28 Bradford16/10 Sheffield 33-45 Oxford27/10 Bradford + Cradley Heath +2nd leg not held and Bradford conceded tie Final The title was shared after two failed attempts to hold the second leg due to rain.https://www.cradleyspeedway.co.uk/years/1986.htm Cradley Speedway 1986 season Cradley Speedway 25 June 2021 First and only leg 1 November 1986 Cradley HeathJan O. Pedersen 8Phil Collins 8Erik Gundersen 7Nigel Leaver 6Steve Bastable 4Paul Fry 3Simon Cross 3 39 - 39 Speedway Birmingham Mail 3 November 1986 18 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002139/19861103/031/0031 British Newspaper Archive subscription Oxford CheetahsHans Nielsen 14Simon Wigg 9Marvyn Cox 9Nigel De'ath 4Per Sorensen 1Andy Grahame 1Jon Surman 1 Dudley Wood Stadium League Cup The League Cup was contested as a league format. The cup was shared following two failed attempts to stage the second leg of the final at Oxford due to rain. Oxford had won the first leg at Cradley Heath 40–38. Qualifying table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Coventry Bees 20 14 1 5 372 Oxford Cheetahs 20 13 1 6 363 Ipswich Witches 20 12 1 7 304 Cradley Heathens 20 10 2 8 295 Swindon Robins 20 9 3 8 276 Sheffield Tigers 20 10 2 8 277 Bradford Dukes 20 9 3 8 268 Reading Racers 20 10 0 10 249 Wolverhampton Wolves 20 6 1 13 1710 Belle Vue Aces 20 6 2 12 1711 King's Lynn Stars 20 2 2 16 6 Results main FBR grey BV BRA COV CH IPS KL OX RR SHE SWI WOL Belle Vue 38–40 38–39 46–32 32–46 47–31 33–45 46–32 39–39 39–39 49–29 Bradford 41–37 35–43 39–39 39–39 49–29 36–42 50–28 44–34 47–31 52–26 Coventry 44–33 45–33 43–35 44–34 46–32 42–36 46–32 46–32 46–32 44–34 Cradley Heath 44–34 41–37 41–37 41–37 57–20 38–40 42–36 43–35 42–36 44–34 Ipswich 43–35 39–37 44–34 40–38 46–31 39–38 43–35 47–31 40–38 44–34 King's Lynn 47–31 39–39 38–40 39–39 32–46 38–40 37–41 36–42 35–43 40–38 Oxford 36–42 43–35 35–43 40–37 44–34 45–33 42–33 46–32 40–38 43–35 Reading 54–24 41–37 47–31 42–36 40–38 49–29 40–38 31–40 40–38 46–32 Sheffield 35–43 36–42 48–30 40–38 45–33 56–22 38–40 43–35 43–35 41–37 Swindon 52–26 53–25 45–33 41–37 41–37 44–34 39–39 46–32 39–39 49–29 Wolverhampton 53–25 37–41 39–39 34–44 46–32 48–30 40–38 40–38 36–42 43–35 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1986.html Speedway Researcher 1986 fixtures & results 30 April 2025 Semi-finals Team one Team two ScoresCoventryCradley Heath39–39, 37–41Oxford Ipswich40–38, 42–34 Final (First and only leg) 18 October 1986 Cradley HeathErik Gundersen 11Phil Collins 7Simon Cross 6Jan O. Pedersen 5Steve Bastable 5Nigel Leaver 2Paul Fry 2 38 - 40 Speedway Birmingham Mail 20 October 1986 18 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002139/19861020/031/0031 British Newspaper Archive subscription Oxford CheetahsHans Nielsen 11Marvyn Cox 10Simon Wigg 9Per Sorensen 4Nigel De'ath 4 Andy Grahame 2Jon Surman 0 Dudley Wood Stadium Riders' Championship Hans Nielsen won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 12 October.Speedway Western Daily Press 13 October 1986 5 June 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004974/19861013/027/0027 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total1 DEN Hans Nielsen 3 3 3 3 3 152 DEN Erik Gundersen 2 3 3 2 1 11+33 USA Shawn Moran 3 3 1 2 2 11+24 ENG Chris Morton 3 2 3 0 3 11+15 SWE Jan Andersson 2 3 3 1 2 116 ENG Simon Wigg 1 0 2 3 3 97 DEN Tommy Knudsen 0 2 2 3 1 8 8 DEN Jan O. Pedersen 2 2 0 1 3 89 DEN John Jørgensen 3 2 2 1 0 8 10 ENG Jeremy Doncaster 0 1 2 3 2 811 ENG Alan Grahame 1 0 1 2 2 612 ENG John Davis 2 1 1 0 1 513 DEN Preben Eriksen 1 1 0 0 1 314 ENG Andy Campbell 0 1 1 1 0 3 15 ENG Neil Evitts 1 0 0 2 0 3 16 FIN Kai Niemi 0 0 0 0 - 0 17 ENG Lee Edwards (res) 0 - - - - 0 ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired Pairs The British League Pairs Championship was held at Owlerton Stadium on 24 August and was won by Oxford for the second consecutive year.Chris's final warning Manchester Evening News 26 August 1986 18 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004985/19860826/039/0039 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos TeamPts Riders1 Oxford 25 Wigg 15, Nielsen 10 2 Coventry 22 Tatum 13, Jorgensen 93 Sheffield 18 Moran S 11, Collins N 74 Belle Vue 18 Morton 17, Collins P 15 Bradford 16 King 9, Evitts 76 Cradley Heath16 Gundersen 14, Pedersen 27 Ipswich 11 Niemi 8, Doncaster 3 Leading final averages Rider Team Average DEN Hans Nielsen Oxford 11.57 DEN Erik Gundersen Cradley Heath 11.03 ENG Jeremy Doncaster Ipswich 10.38 ENG Simon Wigg Oxford 10.20 ENG Kenny Carter+ Bradford 10.05 USA Sam Ermolenko Wolverhampton 9.72 DEN Tommy Knudsen Coventry 9.68 USA Shawn Moran Sheffield 9.65 ENG Chris Morton Belle Vue 9.34 SWE Jan Andersson Reading 9.34 ENG Neil Evitts Bradford 9.32 USA Bobby Schwartz Kings Lynn 9.06 +rode 10 matches before his death Midland Cup Oxford won the Midland Cup for the second consecutive year. The competition consisted of six teams.Bees:We had fight Coventry Evening Telegraph 30 October 1986 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000769/19861030/048/0048 British Newspaper Archive 21 October 2023 subscription First round Team one Team two ScoreSwindonWolverhampton 39–39, 27–51ReadingCoventry40–38, 26–52 Semi final round Team one Team two ScoreOxfordWolverhampton 42–36, 39–39CradleyCoventry 41–37, 35–43 Final First leg 25 October 1986 CoventryTommy Knudsen 11John Jorgensen 10Kelvin Tatum 8Alun Rossiter 6Rick Miller 5David Bargh 3 David Clarke 1 44–34 OxfordSimon Wigg 13Jeremy Doncaster (guest) 7Per Sorensen 6Marvyn Cox 5Nigel De'ath 2Andy Grahame 1Jon Surman 0 Brandon Stadium Second leg 29 October 1986 OxfordHans Nielsen 11Simon Wigg 10Marvyn Cox 10Per Sorensen 6Nigel De'ath 4Andy Grahame 3Jon Surman 2 46–32 CoventryRick Miller 14Alun Rossiter 9Kelvin Tatum 6David Bargh 1 Tommy Knudsen 1 (ill) David Clarke 1John Jorgensen r/r Oxford Stadium Oxford won on aggregate 80–76 Riders & final averages Belle Vue 22em ENG Chris Morton 9.34 ENG Carl Blackbird 7.37 ENG Peter Collins 6.93 SCO Kenny McKinna 6.48 ENG Andy Smith 6.10 ENG Mark Courtney 5.43 ENG Declan Eccles 4.28 ENG Mark Crang 2.67 ENG Barry Ayres 2.65 ENG Bernie Collier 1.60 ENG Lee Edwards 1.06 Bradford 22em ENG Kenny Carter 10.05 ENG Neil Evitts 9.32 USA Lance King 8.20 ENG Gary Havelock 7.26 ENG Sean Willmott 6.30 NZL Larry Ross 6.01 ENG Gordon Whitaker 4.16 ENG Michael Graves 3.88 Coventry 22em DEN Tommy Knudsen 9.68 DEN John Jørgensen 8.74 ENG Kelvin Tatum 8.69 USA Rick Miller 6.41 NZL David Bargh 5.68 ENG Alun Rossiter 5.60 ENG David Clarke 3.50 ENG Mike Bacon 1.71 Cradley Heath 22em DEN Erik Gundersen 11.03 DEN Jan O. Pedersen 8.58 ENG Phil Collins 7.80 ENG Simon Cross 7.17 ENG Steve Bastable 6.08 ENG Nigel Leaver 3.74 ENG Paul Fry 3.23 ENG Paul Taylor 2.06 Ipswich 22em ENG Jeremy Doncaster 10.38 FIN Kai Niemi 8.00 ENG Richard Knight 7.79 DEN Jens Rasmussen 5.69 ENG Louis Carr 4.90 ENG Paul Woods 4.71 CZE Roman Matoušek 4.57 ENG Robbie Fuller 4.17 ENG Alan Farmer 3.79 King's Lynn 22em USA Bobby Schwartz 9.06 ENG Michael Lee 7.74 ENG Malcolm Simmons 6.73 ENG Andy Campbell 5.38 NOR Einar Kyllingstad 4.91 AUS Steve Regeling 4.70 AUS Stephen Davies 4.60 ENG Ray Morton 4.21 ENG Carl Baldwin 4.15 ENG Adrian Stevens 2.28 ENG John Stokes 1.11 Oxford 22em DEN Hans Nielsen 11.57 ENG Simon Wigg 10.20 ENG Marvyn Cox 8.11 ENG Andy Grahame 6.14 DEN Per Sorensen 6.05 ENG Nigel De'ath 5.34 ENG Kevin Smart 4.33 ENG Jon Surman 2.43 Reading 22em SWE Jan Andersson 9.34 ENG John Davis 8.72 NZL Mitch Shirra 7.90 SWE Per Jonsson 7.36 DEN Peter Glanz 5.89 ENG Malcolm Holloway 5.47 ENG Dave Mullett 5.33 ENG Gary Tagg 1.35 ENG Billy Pinder 1.27 Sheffield 22em USA Shawn Moran 9.65 USA Kelly Moran 8.76 ENG Neil Collins 7.89 ENG Peter Carr 7.53 ENG Les Collins 7.24 ENG Sean Wilson 5.83 ENG Martin Hagon 5.46 ENG David Walsh 4.62 ENG Peter McNamara 3.27 Swindon 22em AUS Phil Crump 8.77 FIN Kai Niemi 8.45 SWE Jimmy Nilsen 7.82 SWE Richard Hellsen 6.79 ENG Alan Grahame 6.64 DEN Finn Thomsen 6.07 DEN Per Sorensen 5.16 DEN Brian Karger 4.58 ENG Rob Fortune 3.16 Wolverhampton 22em USA Sam Ermolenko 9.72 DEN Preben Eriksen 7.70 DEN John Eskildsen 7.04 DEN Sam Nikolajsen 6.18 DEN Jan Stæchmann 5.23 ENG Andy Phillips 2.97 ENG Chris Cobby 1.07 See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway) References Category:British League Category:1986 in speedway Category:1986 in British motorsport