1987 British League season

British motorcycle speedway season October 2023 October 2023 British League 12 Champions Coventry Bees Knockout Cup Cradley Heathens League Cup Coventry Bees Individual Hans Nielsen Pairs Oxford Cheetahs Midland Cup Cradley Heathens Hans Nielsen 1987 National League 1986 1988 The 1987 British League season was the 53rd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 23rd known as the British League.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/p/compet.html Historic league tables Speedway Archive Summary Coventry Bees comfortably won the league finishing 16 points clear of Cradley Heath. The same five main riders who made up the 1986 team rode through the 1987 season but crucially four of them improved on their 1986 averages. Tommy Knudsen and Kelvin Tatum both hit over 10, while Rick Miller and David Bargh both improved by about 2 points on average. John Jørgensen also remained consistent for the Bees. Coventry also won the League Cup but lost to Cradley in the final of the Knockout Cup.http://www.speedwaygb.co/history/leaguetables1987.php 1987 league tables Speedway GB The double defending champions Oxford Cheetahs were forced to release Simon Wigg to Hackney and Per Sorensen because of the 45 point limit. They finished second from bottom despite Hans Nielsen topping the averages once again.Bamford/Shailes Robert/Glynn The Story of Oxford Speedway 2007 137–138 Tempus Publishing Ltd 978-0-7524-4161-0 The second leg replay of the League Cup final was the last ever meeting held at Hyde Road. Final table Pos Team PL W D L BP Pts1 Coventry Bees 22 19 3 0 11 522 Cradley Heath Heathens 22 13 1 8 9 363 Swindon Robins 22 12 2 8 7 334 Sheffield Tigers 22 13 0 9 6 325 Bradford Dukes 22 10 3 9 7 306 Ipswich Witches 22 10 3 9 6 297 Reading Racers 22 11 2 9 4 288 Belle Vue Aces 22 10 1 11 5 269 Hackney Kestrels 22 7 3 12 3 2010 Wolverhampton Wolves 22 6 2 14 3 1711 Oxford Cheetahs 22 6 1 15 3 1612 King's Lynn Stars 22 4 1 17 2 11M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points Fixtures and results main FBR grey BV BRA COV CH HAC IPS KL OX RR SHE SWI WOL Belle Vue 46–32 39–39 37–41 45–33 43–35 42–36 42–36 41–37 44–34 41–36 38–40 Bradford 53–25 29–49 42–36 49–29 39–39 46–32 52–26 47–31 47–31 44–34 53–24 Coventry 46–32 53–25 44–34 50–28 44–34 50–28 44–34 42–36 48–30 42–36 45–33 Cradley Heath 47–31 39–39 38–40 43–35 44–34 43–35 43–35 41–37 45–32 50–27 52–26 Hackney 35–43 39–39 34–44 41–36 38–38 43–35 40–38 40–38 37–40 40–38 45–33 Ipswich 38–40 42–36 39–39 41–37 50–28 50–27 42–36 46–32 33–45 37–41 43–35 King's Lynn 46–32 42–36 34–44 29–49 44–34 36–42 43–35 35–43 34–44 23–55 39–39 Oxford 43–35 41–37 35–43 40–38 35–43 38–40 44–34 36–42 40–38 38–40 47–31 Reading 40–38 49–29 39–39 40–38 51–27 41–37 53–25 40–38 40–38 36.5–41.5 41–37 Sheffield 42–36 42–36 36–42 41–37 46–32 46–32 42–36 43–35 40–37 42–36 55–23 Swindon 41–37 48–30 36–42 36–42 39–39 41–37 48–30 42–36 39–39 48–29 40–38 Wolverhampton 42–36 35–42 37–41 34–44 43–35 33–45 44–34 39–39 46–32 42–35 36–42 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1987.html Speedway Researcher 1987 fixtures & results 30 April 2025 British League Knockout Cup The 1987 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 49th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath Heathens were the winners for the second successive year if including the tied 1986 final.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2014/11/british-league-ko-cup-1987.html 1987 British League Knockout Cup Speedway archive First round Date Team one Score Team two10/07 Hackney 48-42 Bradford10/07 Oxford 51-39 Belle Vue04/07 Kings Lynn 41-49 Sheffield13/06 Swindon 47-43 Wolverhampton04/06 Sheffield 51-39 Kings Lynn01/06 Wolverhampton 44-46 Swindon30/05 Belle Vue 47-43 Oxford30/05 Bradford 49-41 Hackney Quarter-finals Date Team one Score Team two15/09 Bradford 41-49 Cradley Heath15/08 Swindon 43-47 Reading07/08 Oxford 48-42 Ipswich06/08 Ipswich 47-43 Oxford05/08 Cradley Heath 55-35 Bradford27/07 Reading 48-41 Swindon13/07 Sheffield 48-42 Coventry11/07 Coventry 51-38 Sheffield Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two30/09 Coventry 48-42 Reading30/09 Oxford 47-43 Cradley Heath16/09 Cradley Heath 39-33 A Oxford07/09 Reading 47-43 Coventry Final First leg 20 October 1987 Coventry BeesTommy Knudsen 17John Jørgensen 8David Bargh 8David Clarke 6Wayne Broadhurst 3Rick Miller 3Kelvin Tatum 0 (inj) 45 - 45 https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/coventry1987.pdf Coventry Bees 1987 season Speedway Researcher 25 June 2021 Cradley HeathDavid Walsh 12Erik Gundersen 11Jan O. Pedersen 11Simon Cross 8Jan Jakobsen 2Paul Fry 1Nigel Leaver 0 Brandon Stadium Second leg 21 October 1987 Cradley HeathErik Gundersen 11Jan O. Pedersen 11David Walsh 11Simon Cross 9Paul Fry 4Jan Jakobsen 2Nigel Leaver 1 49 - 41 Coventry BeesTommy Knudsen 16Kelly Moran (guest) 7David Bargh 7John Jørgensen 5David Clarke 3Rick Miller 3Wayne Broadhurst 3 Dudley Wood Stadium Cradley Heath were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 94-86. League Cup The League Cup was contested as a league format. Coventry Bees won the final over two legs defeating Belle Vue Aces 84–72 on aggregate. It was the last time that the competition was contested.https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/coventry1987.pdf Coventry Bees results Speedway Researcher 3 July 2021 Qualifying table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Coventry Bees 22 16 1 5 432 Oxford Cheetahs 22 14 2 6 393 Belle Vue Aces 22 14 1 7 384 Cradley Heathens 22 14 0 8 365 Sheffield Tigers 22 13 2 7 336 Reading Racers 22 12 1 9 317 Swindon Robins 22 9 2 11 268 Wolverhampton Wolves 22 9 1 12 239 Bradford Dukes 22 8 2 12 2210 Hackney Kestrels 22 6 2 14 1711 King's Lynn Stars 22 5 1 16 1211 Ipswich Witches 22 4 1 17 10 Results main FBR grey BV BRA COV CH HAC IPS KL OX RR SHE SWI WOL Belle Vue 51–27 43–34 41–37 49–29 44–34 50–28 41–37 50–28 39–39 45–33 60–18 Bradford 38–40 41–37 37–41 38–40 48–30 44–34 48–30 37–41 39–39 42–36 42–36 Coventry 43–35 50–28 52–26 47–31 54–24 53–25 44–34 43–35 47–31 40–38 47–31 Cradley Heath 40–38 43–35 38–40 52–26 47–31 44–34 37–41 41–37 44–34 40–38 48–30 Hackney 33–45 39–39 39–39 43–35 39–38 51–27 38–40 38–40 35–43 40–38 43–35 Ipswich 38–40 38–39 40–38 38–40 50–28 38–39 43–35 37–41 38–40 41–37 39–39 King's Lynn 37–41 42–36 36–42 37–41 41–37 43–34 39–39 36–42 27–50 33–45 50–28 Oxford 45–33 42–36 37–41 40–38 43–35 48–30 43–35 44–34 42–36 40–38 44–34 Reading 45–33 45–32 34–44 41–37 43–35 48–30 47–30 33–45 38–40 41–37 51–27 Sheffield 45–31 38–40 44–34 38–40 45–33 45–32 45–33 42–36 43–35 43–35 43–34 Swindon 42–36 45–33 36–42 40–38 44–34 44–34 46–32 39–39 39–39 45–33 45–33 Wolverhampton 42–36 48–30 46–32 37–41 42–35 45–33 51–27 38–40 49–29 45–33 40–38 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1987.html Speedway Researcher 1987 fixtures & results 30 April 2025 Semi-finals Team one Team two ScoresOxford Belle Vue42–36, 34–44 CoventryCradley Heath45–33, 42–36 Final Date Team one Score Team two15/09Coventry41–37 Belle Vue18/10Belle Vue41–37 Coventry Replay first leg 24 October 1987 Coventry BeesTommy Knudsen 11Kelvin Tatum 11Rick Miller 8David Bargh 7John Jørgensen 6David Clarke 3Wayne Broadhurst 0 46 - 32 Belle VuePeter Ravn 11Paul Thorp 7Andy Smith 5Chris Morton 4Kenny McKinna 4Glen Hornby 1David Blackburn 0 Brandon Stadium Replay second leg 1 November 1987 Belle VueChris Morton 14Peter Ravn 11Kenny McKinna 8Richard Knight 4Glen Hornby 2David Blackburn 1Bernie Collier 0 40 - 38 Coventry BeesDavid Bargh 10Tommy Knudsen 8Kelvin Tatum 8Rick Miller 5John Jørgensen 4David Clarke 3Wayne Broadhurst 0 Hyde Road Coventry were declared League Cup winners, winning on aggregate 84-72. Riders' Championship Hans Nielsen won the British League Riders' Championship for the second successive year. It was the held at Hyde Road on 12 October, shortly before the venue closed for good.Nielsen retains title after scare Sandwell Evening Mail 12 October 1987 5 June 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002487/19871012/458/0029 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total1 DEN Hans Nielsen 3 2 3 3 3 142 ENG Chris Morton 3 3 1 3 3 133 USA Kelly Moran 2 2 2 2 3 11+34 ENG Kelvin Tatum 2 3 2 2 2 11+25 DEN Tommy Knudsen TX 2 3 3 2 106 ENG Richard Knight 3 1 1 3 2 10 7 SWE Jan Andersson 1 1 3 2 3 108 NZL Mitch Shirra 1 3 3 0 1 89 ENG Simon Wigg 1 2 2 1 1 710 DEN Jan O. Pedersen 2 3 0 1 0 611 ENG Sean Willmott 2 1 1 1 1 612 SWE Jimmy Nilsen 0 TX 0 2 2 413 DEN Preben Eriksen 1 0 2 1 0 414 DEN Erik Gundersen 3 0 0 0 1 4 15 ENG Bernie Collier (res) 0 0 1 1 0 0 216 ENG Louis Carr 0 - - - - - 0 17 USA Shawn Moran 0 0 0 0 0 0 ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired Pairs The British League Pairs Championship was held at Smallmead Stadium on 12 July and was won by Oxford for the third consecutive year.Oxford Wins Hans Down Reading Evening Post 13 July 1987 18 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002471/19870713/197/0013 British Newspaper Archive subscription Group APosTeamPtsRiders1Cradley 17 Pedersen 9Gundersen 82Belle Vue 14 Thorp 10Morton 43Sheffield 12 Moran S 12Carr 04King's Lynn11Knight 6Regeling 5 Group BPosTeamPtsRiders1Oxford 17Nielsen 12Grahame 52Swindon16Shirra 9Nilsen 73Hackney 14Galvin 8Wigg 64Bradford 5 King 3Evitts 2 Group CPosTeamPtsRiders1Wolves14Eriksen 9Ermolenko 52Coventry 14Tatum 8 Knudsen 63Reading 13Jonsson 7Andersson 64Ipswich 13Doncaster 8Niemi 5 Semi FinalPosTeamPtsRiders1Swindon16Shirra 8, Nilsen 82Oxford 14Nielsen 12 Grahame 23Cradley 13Pedersen 7, Gundersen 64Wolverhampton 11Ermolenko 11, Eriksen 0 Final In the final Nilsen fell and was excluded and Shirra touched the tapes and was excluded, leaving Nielsen and Grahame to complete a 7-0 (pts) uncontested heat. Leading final averages Rider Team Average DEN Hans Nielsen Oxford 11.38 DEN Erik Gundersen Cradley Heath 10.44 DEN Tommy Knudsen Coventry 10.25 ENG Kelvin Tatum Coventry 10.06 USA Sam Ermolenko Wolverhampton 9.86 ENG Jeremy Doncaster Ipswich 9.67 SWE Jimmy Nilsen Swindon 9.61 DEN Jan O. Pedersen Cradley Heath 9.60 USA Shawn Moran Sheffield 9.47 ENG Simon Wigg Hackney 9.38 Midland Cup Cradley Heath won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of six teams.Speedway Daily Mirror 22 October 1987 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19871022/298/0039 British Newspaper Archive 21 October 2023 subscription First round Team one Team two ScoreReading Swindon 38–39, 37–41WolverhamptonCradley38–39, 31–47 Semi final round Team one Team two ScoreCoventrySwindon 48–30, 36–42CradleyOxford 43–35, 40–38 Final Because of cancellations due to bad weather the final of the competition doubled up as the Knockout Cup final (see above for details). Riders & final averages Belle Vue 22em ENG Chris Morton 8.92 ENG Paul Thorp 8.41 DEN Peter Ravn 8.38 ENG Andy Smith 6.35 SCO Kenny McKinna 5.82 ENG Carl Blackbird 5.55 ENG David Blackburn 3.92 ENG Glenn Hornby 2.65 Bradford 22em ENG Neil Evitts 8.58 USA Lance King 8.47 ENG Sean Willmott 7.35 ENG Gary Havelock 7.31 ENG Steve Bastable 5.73 USA Randy Green 5.71 ENG Michael Graves 4.97 ENG Anthony Hulme 1.48 Coventry 22em DEN Tommy Knudsen 10.25 ENG Kelvin Tatum 10.06 USA Rick Miller 8.20 DEN John Jørgensen 7.80 NZL David Bargh 7.46 ENG David Clarke 3.44 ENG Andy Hackett 2.58 ENG Wayne Broadhurst 2.18 ENG Darren Slater 2.13 Cradley Heath 22em DEN Erik Gundersen 10.44 DEN Jan O. Pedersen 9.60 ENG Simon Cross 9.33 ENG David Walsh 5.10 ENG Alan Grahame 4.94 DEN Jan Jakobsen 3.94 ENG Dean Barker 3.79 ENG Paul Fry 3.47 ENG Wayne Garratt 1.18 Hackney 22em ENG Simon Wigg 9.38 SWE Roland Danno 7.03 ENG Andy Galvin 6.10 DEN Allan Johansen 5.60 ENG Malcolm Simmons 5.40 ENG Alan Mogridge 5.22 ENG Barry Thomas 5.20 ENG Mark Loram 5.08 Ipswich 22em ENG Jeremy Doncaster 9.67 ITA Armando Castagna 8.00 FIN Kai Niemi 7.61 GER Gerd Riss 6.39 ENG Andy Hines 5.03 ENG Louis Carr 4.58 ENG Martin Hagon 4.05 ENG Robbie Fuller 3.97 ENG Jamie Luckhurst 2.20 King's Lynn 22em ENG Richard Knight 8.35 USA John Cook 6.67 AUS Steve Regeling 6.42 ENG Ian Barney 6.25 ENG Andy Campbell 5.34 AUS Stephen Davies 5.27 NOR Einar Kyllingstad 4.94 AUS Mick Poole 4.93 ENG Ray Morton 4.39 Oxford 22em DEN Hans Nielsen 11.38 ENG Marvyn Cox 8.53 ENG Andy Grahame 7.87 DEN Jens Rasmussen 5.68 ENG Nigel De'ath 4.39 ENG Kevin Smart 3.72 ENG Alastair Stevens 3.63 ENG Jon Surman 3.04 Reading 22em SWE Per Jonsson 9.34 SWE Jan Andersson 8.99 ENG John Davis 6.95 SWE Tony Olsson 6.60 DEN Peter Glanz 6.45 ENG Malcolm Holloway 6.02 ENG Gary Tagg 2.57 ENG Rodney Payne 1.33 Sheffield 22em USA Shawn Moran 9.47 USA Kelly Moran 9.23 ENG Neil Collins 7.59 ENG Peter Carr 7.26 ENG Sean Wilson 5.50 ENG Ian Stead 4.72 ENG Adrian Stevens 3.88 Swindon 22em SWE Jimmy Nilsen 9.61 NZL Mitch Shirra 9.36 ENG Andrew Silver 7.35 SWE Richard Hellsen 6.73 DEN Brian Karger 6.55 ENG Alun Rossiter 6.37 SWE Conny Ivarsson 5.73 ENG Matthew Cross 1.54 NZL Stephen Rose 0.63 Wolverhampton 22em USA Sam Ermolenko 9.86 DEN Preben Eriksen 7.28 USA Ronnie Correy 6.33 DEN Jan Stæchmann 6.01 DEN Lars Munkedal 5.48 ENG Andy Phillips 4.74 ENG Chris Cobby 3.20 ENG Andy Sumner 1.26 DEN Torben Hansen 0.40 See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway) References Category:British League Category:1987 in British motorsport Category:1987 in speedway