1981 British League season

British speedway season October 2023 October 2023 British League 16 Champions Cradley Heath Heathens Knockout Cup Ipswich Witches League Cup Coventry Bees Individual Kenny Carter Midland Cup Coventry Bees London Cup Hackney Hawks Bruce Penhall 1981 National League 1980 1982 The 1981 British League season was the 47th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 17th known as the British League.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/p/compet.html Historic league tables Speedway Archive Summary The league comprised 16 teams - one fewer than the previous season. Wolverhampton Wolves had dropped down to the National League.https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/historyarchive HISTORY ARCHIVE British Speedway 3 July 2021 American Bruce Penhall (who would be crowned world champion by the end of the season) topped the averages and helped Cradley Heathens win their first title. The Cradley team included Penhall, rising Danish star Erik Gundersen and British internationals Alan Grahame and Phil Collins. The league runner-up Ipswich Witches gained some consolation by winning the Knockout Cup.http://www.cradleyspeedway.co.uk/years/1981.htm 1981 Cradley Speedway 30 July 2021 The year saw a changing of the guard as a number of young riders broke through as heat leaders. American duo Penhall and Dennis Sigalos led Cradley Heath and Ipswich respectively, Danish trio Gundersen, Hans Nielsen and Tommy Knudsen all qualified for the World Final, and Kenny Carter finished as top Englishman in the World Final and won the League Riders' Championship.Speedway Sunday Sun (Newcastle) 18 October 1981 4 June 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001723/19811018/036/0036 British Newspaper Archive subscription Final league table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Cradley Heathens 30 26 1 3 532 Ipswich Witches 30 21 4 5 463 Swindon Robins 30 19 3 8 414 Belle Vue Aces 30 19 1 10 395 Coventry Bees 30 18 0 12 366 Birmingham Brummies 30 13 1 16 277 Halifax Dukes 30 13 1 16 278 Hackney Hawks 30 12 2 16 269 Poole Pirates 30 12 2 16 2610 Sheffield Tigers 30 13 0 17 2611 Reading Racers 30 9 7 14 2512 Hull Vikings 30 10 4 16 2413 Eastbourne Eagles 30 10 3 17 2314 King's Lynn Stars 30 10 2 18 2215 Leicester Lions 30 11 0 19 2216 Wimbledon Dons 30 7 3 20 17M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points Fixtures and results main FBR grey BV BIR COV CH EAS HAC HAL HV IPS KL LEI PP RR SHE SWI WIM Belle Vue 51–27 43–35 29–49 52–26 41–37 40–38 44–33 50–28 46–32 44–34 47–31 45–33 43–35 38–40 58–20 Birmingham 44–34 42–36 34–44 44–34 46–32 51–27 47–30 38–40 40–38 44–34 42–36 39–39 53–25 42–36 48–30 Coventry 47–31 53–25 26–52 45–33 45–33 48–30 51–27 42–36 42–36 44–34 44–34 42–35 50–28 37–41 43–35 Cradley Heath 40–26 47–31 44–33 58–20 40–38 48–30 52–26 47–30 46–32 49–29 52–26 50–28 47–30 43–35 47–31 Eastbourne 39–39 40–38 38–40 35–43 43–35 50–28 48–30 39–39 38–40 40–38 41–37 44–34 46–32 38–39 48–30 Hackney 43–34 47–31 41–37 38–40 42–36 43–35 55–23 38–40 43–35 38–40 36–42 46–32 49–29 38–40 42–36 Halifax 37–41 45–33 41–36 41–37 47–30 42–36 46–32 48–30 42–36 41–37 46–32 37–41 54–24 42–35 49–29 Hull 42–36 42–36 43–35 34–44 46–32 45–33 39–39 39–39 42–36 47–31 45–33 45–33 47–30 39–39 39–39 Ipswich 41–37 39–38 42–35 44–34 54–24 44–34 51–27 52–26 40–38 48–30 53–25 41–37 52–24 39–39 43–35 King's Lynn 29–49 47–31 34–44 37–41 36–42 42–36 46–32 49–29 38–40 35–43 53–25 39–39 49–29 34–44 54–24 Leicester 40–38 40–38 35–43 37–41 43–35 44–34 41–37 41–37 35–43 37–41 45–33 47–31 33–45 38–40 46–32 Poole 38–40 45–33 29–49 36–41 44–34 37–41 46–32 45–33 34–44 41–37 44.5–33.5 39–39 46–32 42–35 50–28 Reading 38–40 40–37 40–38 38–40 39–39 39–39 40–38 47–31 37–41 39–39 40–38 39–39 48–30 34–44 43–35 Sheffield 38–40 43–35 49–29 29–49 56–22 42–36 50–28 49–29 41–37 40–38 47–31 35–42 38–40 41–37 58–20 Swindon 41–37 46–32 42–36 42–36 51–27 38–40 42–36 40–14 39–39 43–35 49–29 42–36 41–36 47–30 38–40 Wimbledon 31–46 34–44 30–47 38–38 45–33 39–39 44–34 44–34 37–41 31–47 43–34 37–41 47–31 37–41 41–37 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1981.html Speedway Researcher 1981 fixtures & results 24 March 2025 Top ten riders (league averages) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Bruce Penhall USA Cradley 11.08 2 Kenny Carter ENG Halifax 10.50 3 Phil Crump AUS Swindon 10.39 4 Michael Lee ENG King's Lynn 10.34 5 Erik Gundersen DEN Cradley 10.26 6 Chris Morton ENG Belle Vue 10.26 7 Jan Andersson SWE Reading 10.02 8 Gordon Kennett ENG Eastbourne 9.95 9 Kelly Moran USA Eastbourne 9.83 10 Hans Nielsen DEN Birmingham 9.83 British League Knockout Cup The 1981 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 43rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2014/04/british-league-ko-cup-1981.html 1981 British League Knockout Cup Speedway archive First round Date Team one Score Team two04/06 Middlesbrough 43-53 Eastbourne23/05 Berwick 39-57 Wimbledon08/05 Peterborough 50-46 Halifax04/05 Newcastle 40-56 Leicester08/05 Edinburgh 49-47 Sheffield12/04 Mildenhall 38-58 Poole31/05 Rye House 34-62 Birmingham03/05 Boston 47-48 Hull Second round Date Team one Score Team two08/07 Poole 49-47 Leicester24/06 Hull 54-42 Belle Vue23/06 Leicester 51-45 Poole20/06 Cradley Heath 60-36 Eastbourne14/06 Peterborough 38-58 Birmingham13/06 Belle Vue 53-43 Hull11/06 Wimbledon 40-56 Reading08/06 Birmingham 63-33 Peterborough08/06 Reading 55-41 Wimbledon07/06 Eastbourne 49-47 Cradley Heath30/05 Coventry 63-33 Hackney30/05 Swindon 69-27 Edinburgh29/05 Hackney 37-59 Coventry01/05 Kings Lynn 47-49 Ipswich21/05 Ipswich 53-43 Kings Lynn12/06 Edinburgh 47-49 Swindon Quarter-finals Date Team one Score Team two03/09 Swindon 74-22 Leicester25/08 Leicester 45-51 Swindon20/08 Ipswich 54-42 Cradley Heath12/08 Cradley Heath 48-48 Ipswich03/08 Reading 51-45 Coventry24/07 Birmingham 52-44 Hull22/07 Hull 49-47 Birmingham11/07 Coventry 49-45 Reading Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two28/09 Reading 49-47 Birmingham18/09 Birmingham 54-42 Reading18/09 Swindon 46-50 Ipswich10/09 Ipswich 57-39 Swindon Final First leg 16 October 1981 Birmingham BrummiesHans Nielsen 14Kai Niemi 13Andy Grahame 8Bruce Cribb 8Neil Evitts 4Simon Wigg 0Paul Thorp 0 47 - 49 Ipswich WitchesPreben Eriksen 12John Cook 11Kevin Jolly 7Dennis Sigalos 6Tim Hunt 6Mike Lanham 5Nigel Flatman 2 Second leg 25 October 1981 Ipswich WitchesDennis Sigalos 11John Cook 10Preben Eriksen 8Kevin Jolly 7Mike Lanham 7Tim Hunt 6Nigel Flatman 2 51 - 45 Birmingham BrummiesHans Nielsen 17Andy Grahame 17Kai Niemi 8Bruce Cribb 1Neil Evitts 1Mike Wilding 1Paul Thorp 0 The Ipswich Witches were declared Knockout Cup champions, winning on aggregate 100-92. League Cup The League Cup was inaugurated in 1981 with the 16 teams split into North and South sections comprising 8 teams each that met each other home and away. The winners of each section qualified for the two-legged final with Coventry Bees beating King's Lynn Stars in the final 120–70 on aggregate. North Group main FBR grey BV BIR COV CH HAL HUL LEI SHE Belle Vue 54–42 47–49 51–45 50–45 51–45 51–45 46.5–49.5 Birmingham 51–45 42–54 35–61 66–30 51–5 49–47 68–28 Coventry 69–27 59–36 65–31 59–37 53–43 50–46 53–45 Cradley 55–41 58–38 57–39 65–31 63–33 53–43 54–42 Halifax 47–48 50–46 32–64 42–54 60–36 52–42 58–38 Hull 50–46 55–41 43–53 44–52 54–42 68–28 53–43 Leicester 54–42 42–54 47–49 42–54 60–36 59–37 54–42 Sheffield 47–49 49–47 57–39 51–45 50–46 49–47 53–43 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1981fixtures.pdf Speedway Researcher 1981 fixtures & results 7 October 2025 South Group main FBR grey EAS HAC IPS KL PP REA SWI WIM Eastbourne 50–45 39–56 38–57 55–41 47–49 50–46 59–37 Hackney 52–44 51–45 48–48 51–43 48–47 41–55 59–37 Ipswich 61–35 63–33 65–31 53–42 47–49 59–37 71–24 King's Lynn 53–43 52–44 58–38 50–46 50–46 55–40 66–29 Poole 55–41 64–32 53–43 48.5–47.5 56–40 54–42 62–34 Reading 55–40 59–37 57–38 54.5–41.5 63–33 64–32 55–41 Swindon 57–39 62–34 42–54 56–40 47–49 50–46 52–44 Wimbledon 40–56 49.5–46.5 44–52 46–50 52–44 40–56 46–49 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1981fixtures.pdf Speedway Researcher 1981 fixtures & results 7 October 2025 North Group Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Coventry Bees 14 12 0 2 242 Cradley Heathens 14 11 0 3 223 Belle Vue Aces 14 7 0 7 144 Sheffield Tigers 14 7 0 7 145 Birmingham Brummies 14 6 0 8 126 Hull Vikings 14 5 0 9 107 Leicester Lions 14 4 0 10 88 Halifax Dukes 14 4 0 10 8 South Group Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 King's Lynn Stars 14 10 1 3 212 Reading Racers 14 10 0 4 203 Ipswich Witches 14 9 0 5 184 Poole Pirates 14 7 0 7 145 Swindon Robins 14 7 0 7 146 Hackney Hawks 14 5 1 8 117 Eastbourne Eagles 14 5 0 9 108 Wimbledon Dons 14 2 0 12 4 Final Date Team one Score Team two10/10 Coventry 68–28 King's Lynn11/10 King's Lynn 42–54 Coventry Riders' Championship Kenny Carter won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 17 October and sponsored by the Daily Mirror. Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total1 ENG Kenny Carter 3 3 3 3 3 152 ENG Chris Morton 3 3 2 2 3 13+33 USA Shawn Moran 3 2 3 2 3 13+24 AUS Phil Crump 2 3 2 1 2 105 ENG Dave Jessup 1 2 1 3 2 9 6 DEN Hans Nielsen 1 3 3 1 0 87 USA Dennis Sigalos 2 1 0 2 3 8 8 USA Bruce Penhall 2 2 1 1 2 89 ENG Les Collins 1 0 3 2 1 710 ENG Malcolm Simmons 2 0 1 3 1 7 11 ENG Gordon Kennett 1 2 2 0 1 6 12 USA Scott Autrey 3 0 1 0 1 513 SWE Jan Andersson 0 1 2 0 2 514 DEN Bo Petersen 0 1 0 3 0 415 DEN Ole Olsen 0 1 0 1 2 16 ENG Joe Owen 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 ENG Gary O'Hare (res)0 - - - - 0 ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired Final leading averages Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Bruce Penhall USA Cradley 11.01 2 Kenny Carter ENG Halifax 10.17 =3 Phil Crump AUS Swindon 10.30 =3 Michael Lee ENG King's Lynn 10.30 5 Jan Andersson SWE Reading 10.26 6 Hans Nielsen DEN Birmingham 9.80 7 Chris Morton ENG Belle Vue 9.75 8 Erik Gundersen DEN Cradley 9.72 9 John Davis ENG Poole 9.70 10 Gordon Kennett ENG Eastbourne 9.67 Midland Cup Coventry won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of five teams and was sponsored by the Trustee Savings Bank.Heathens Fury Sandwell Evening Mail 11 October 1981 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002487/19811016/047/0047 British Newspaper Archive 21 October 2023 subscription First round Team one Team two ScoreBirmingham Swindon 39–39, 37–41 Semi final round Team one Team two ScoreLeicester Coventry33–44, 34–44Swindon Cradley44–33, 32–46 Final First leg 14 October 1981 Cradley HeathErik Gundersen 12 Bruce Penhall 11 Alan Grahame 9 Phil Collins 3 John McNeill 2 Dave Shields 2 Bent Rasmussen 0 39–39 CoventryOle Olsen 9 Tommy Knudsen 8 Gary Guglielmi 7 Keith White 6 Kevin Hawkins 5 Steve Wilcock 3 Mitch Shirra 1 Dudley Wood Stadium Second leg 15 October 1981 CoventryOle Olsen 12Tommy Knudsen 8Mitch Shirra 7 Keith White 7Gary Guglielmi 6 Kevin Hawkins 4Rob Hollingworth 1 45–33 Cradley Heath Bruce Penhall 12 Alan Grahame 12 Dave Shields 5 Erik Gundersen 3 Phil Collins 1Bent Rasmussen 0John McNeill 0 Brandon Stadium Coventry won on aggregate 84–72 London Cup Hackney won the London Cup but the competition consisted of just Wimbledon and Hackney.https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1980record-1.pdf 1981 fixtures and results Speedway Researcher 1 October 2023 Results Team Score TeamWimbledon 43–36 HackneyHackney 46–32 Wimbledon Riders and final averages Belle Vue 22em ENG Chris Morton 9.75 NZL Larry Ross 9.08 ENG Peter Collins 7.33 (3 matches only) ENG Neil Collins 7.00 AUS Rob Maxfield 6.95 SCO Jimmy McMillan 6.02 ENG Louis Carr 5.60 DEN Mike Lohmann 5.58 USA Larry Kosta 5.51 DEN Peter Ravn 4.74 Birmingham 22em DEN Hans Nielsen 9.80 ENG Andy Grahame 8.64 FIN Kai Niemi 7.44 FIN Ari Koponen 6.41 DEN Finn Jensen 5.89 USA Keith Chrisco 5.13 NZL Bruce Cribb 5.06 ENG Neil Evitts 4.93 SWE Hasse Danielsson 4.90 ENG Paul Thorp 2.14 Coventry 22em DEN Ole Olsen 9.42 DEN Tommy Knudsen 9.41 NZL Mitch Shirra 8.13 AUS Gary Guglielmi 6.61 ENG Kevin Hawkins 6.58 DEN Alf Busk 6.17 ENG Keith White 5.55 ENG Rob Hollingworth 5.46 ENG Steve Wilcock 3.29 Cradley Heath 22em USA Bruce Penhall 11.01 DEN Erik Gundersen 9.72 ENG Alan Grahame 9.11 ENG Phil Collins 7.58 AUS David Shields 5.23 DEN Bent Rasmussen 5.00 AUS John McNeill 3.86 ENG Arnold Haley 0.70 Eastbourne 22em ENG Gordon Kennett 9.67 USA Kelly Moran 9.28 ENG Paul Woods 6.96 ENG Richard Greer 4.44 ENG Trevor Geer 4.24 ENG Dave Kennett 3.92 FIN Olli Tyrväinen 3.75 POL Robert Słaboń 2.89 ENG Eric Dugard 2.80 Hackney 22em DEN Bo Petersen 9.58 DEN Finn Thomsen 7.83 ENG Sean Willmott 7.04 POL Zenon Plech 6.28 ENG Barry Thomas 5.52 POL Roman Jankowski 5.19 ENG Bob Garrad 4.94 ENG Ted Hubbard 3.58 ENG Ian Clark 3.13 ENG Simon Aindow 1.06 Halifax 22em ENG Kenny Carter 10.17 ENG John Louis 7.82 ENG Ian Cartwright 7.80 ENG Craig Pendlebury 6.38 POL Piotr Pyszny 5.30 ENG Doug Wyer 5.16 ENG Dave Trownson 4.65 AUS Steve Baker 3.55 AUS Rob Ashton 2.98 ENG Ian Westwell 0.92 Hull 22em AUS Billy Sanders 9.18 NZL Ivan Mauger 8.67 ENG Joe Owen 7.28 SCO Bobby Beaton 5.56 WAL Graham Drury 5.36 ENG Frank Auffret 4.83 AUS Rod Hunter 4.67 DEN John Eskildsen 4.62 NZL David Bargh 4.11 Ipswich 22em USA Dennis Sigalos 8.92 USA John Cook 8.63 ENG Kevin Jolly 8.07 DEN Preben Eriksen 6.98 ENG Mike Lanham 6.62 ENG Nigel Flatman 6.16 ENG Tim Hunt 6.12 King's Lynn 22em ENG Michael Lee 10.30 ENG Dave Jessup 9.56 SWE Richard Hellsen 7.34 ENG Melvyn Taylor 6.93 ENG David Gagen 4.51 ENG Craig Featherby 4.13 ENG Nigel Sparshott 3.65 SWE Pierre Brannefors 3.16 SWE Hasse Danielsson 2.96 ENG Dennis Mallett 2.42 Leicester 22em ENG Les Collins 8.55 AUS John Titman 7.44 NOR Rolf Gramstad 7.03 AUS Phil Herne 5.96 ENG Colin Cook 5.83 DEN Finn Jensen 5.76 ENG Pete Smith 4.90 ENG Ian Clark 4.52 AUS Steve Regeling 3.33 Poole 22em ENG John Davis 9.70 USA Scott Autrey 8.42 USA Ron Preston 7.68 ENG Kevin Smith 7.48 AUS Danny Kennedy 7.41 ZIM Peter Prinsloo 6.56 ENG Neil Middleditch 6.10 AUS Les Sawyer 3.09 ENG Pete Ellams 2.52 AUS Malc Bedkober 1.28 DEN Claes Jensen 0.14 Reading 22em SWE Jan Andersson 10.26 ENG John Davis 9.66 USA Bobby Schwartz 9.31 ENG Bernie Leigh 5.30 ENG Tony Briggs 5.00 USA Denny Pyeatt 4.86 ENG Ashley Pullen 4.55 ENG Ian Gledhill 3.82 GER Peter Wurterle 1.52 Sheffield 22em USA Shawn Moran 8.27 ENG Dave Morton 8.02 ENG Eric Broadbelt 6.64 ENG Phil White 5.78 ENG Alan Molyneux 5.69 ENG Reg Wilson 5.62 NZL Wayne Brown 5.20 AUS Mark Fiora 4.54 ENG Paul Stead 2.33 ENG Rob Carter 1.29 Swindon 22em AUS Phil Crump 10.30 ENG Steve Bastable 8.55 USA Steve Gresham 7.52 ZIM Mike Ferreira 7.05 ENG Malcolm Holloway 6.88 DEN Steen Mastrup 6.03 ENG Martin Yeates 4.98 SWE Bjorn Andersson 4.70 ENG Martin Satchell 1.78 FIN Veijo Tuoriniemi 0.42 Wimbledon 22em ENG Malcolm Simmons 8.37 POL Edward Jancarz 8.00 ENG Roger Johns 6.92 ENG Colin Richardson 6.84 USA Brad Oxley 5.38 SWE Anders Eriksson 4.38 NED Rudy Muts 4.12 ENG Peter Johns 2.48 ENG Eric Dugard 2.30 ENG Alan Mogridge 1.80 See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway) References Category:British League Category:1981 in British motorsport Category:1981 in speedway