1981 British League season

1981 British League season
LeagueBritish League
No. of competitors16
ChampionsCradley Heath Heathens
League CupCoventry Bees
IndividualKenny Carter
Midland CupCoventry Bees
London CupHackney Hawks
Highest averageBruce Penhall
Division/s below1981 National League

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.[1]

Summary

The league comprised 16 teams - one fewer than the previous season. Wolverhampton Wolves had dropped down to the National League.[2]

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.[3]

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.[4]

Final league table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Cradley Heathens 30 26 1 3 53
2 Ipswich Witches 30 21 4 5 46
3 Swindon Robins 30 19 3 8 41
4 Belle Vue Aces 30 19 1 10 39
5 Coventry Bees 30 18 0 12 36
6 Birmingham Brummies 30 13 1 16 27
7 Halifax Dukes 30 13 1 16 27
8 Hackney Hawks 30 12 2 16 26
9 Poole Pirates 30 12 2 16 26
10 Sheffield Tigers 30 13 0 17 26
11 Reading Racers 30 9 7 14 25
12 Hull Vikings 30 10 4 16 24
13 Eastbourne Eagles 30 10 3 17 23
14 King's Lynn Stars 30 10 2 18 22
15 Leicester Lions 30 11 0 19 22
16 Wimbledon Dons 30 7 3 20 17

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Fixtures and results

Home \ Away 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
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top ten riders (league averages)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Bruce Penhall United States Cradley 11.08
2 Kenny Carter England Halifax 10.50
3 Phil Crump Australia Swindon 10.39
4 Michael Lee England King's Lynn 10.34
5 Erik Gundersen Denmark Cradley 10.26
6 Chris Morton England Belle Vue 10.26
7 Jan Andersson Sweden Reading 10.02
8 Gordon Kennett England Eastbourne 9.95
9 Kelly Moran United States Eastbourne 9.83
10 Hans Nielsen Denmark 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.[6]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
04/06Middlesbrough43-53Eastbourne
23/05Berwick39-57Wimbledon
08/05Peterborough50-46Halifax
04/05Newcastle40-56Leicester
08/05Edinburgh49-47Sheffield
12/04Mildenhall38-58Poole
31/05Rye House34-62Birmingham
03/05Boston47-48Hull

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
08/07Poole49-47Leicester
24/06Hull54-42Belle Vue
23/06Leicester51-45Poole
20/06Cradley Heath60-36Eastbourne
14/06Peterborough38-58Birmingham
13/06Belle Vue53-43Hull
11/06Wimbledon40-56Reading
08/06Birmingham63-33Peterborough
08/06Reading55-41Wimbledon
07/06Eastbourne49-47Cradley Heath
30/05Coventry63-33Hackney
30/05Swindon69-27Edinburgh
29/05Hackney37-59Coventry
01/05Kings Lynn47-49Ipswich
21/05Ipswich53-43Kings Lynn
12/06Edinburgh47-49Swindon

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
03/09Swindon74-22Leicester
25/08Leicester45-51Swindon
20/08Ipswich54-42Cradley Heath
12/08Cradley Heath48-48Ipswich
03/08Reading51-45Coventry
24/07Birmingham52-44Hull
22/07Hull49-47Birmingham
11/07Coventry49-45Reading

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
28/09Reading49-47Birmingham
18/09Birmingham54-42Reading
18/09Swindon46-50Ipswich
10/09Ipswich57-39Swindon

Final

First leg

Birmingham Brummies
Hans Nielsen 14
Kai Niemi 13
Andy Grahame 8
Bruce Cribb 8
Neil Evitts 4
Simon Wigg 0
Paul Thorp 0		47 - 49Ipswich Witches
Preben Eriksen 12
John Cook 11
Kevin Jolly 7
Dennis Sigalos 6
Tim Hunt 6
Mike Lanham 5
Nigel Flatman 2

Second leg

Ipswich Witches
Dennis Sigalos 11
John Cook 10
Preben Eriksen 8
Kevin Jolly 7
Mike Lanham 7
Tim Hunt 6
Nigel Flatman 2		51 - 45Birmingham Brummies
Hans Nielsen 17
Andy Grahame 17
Kai Niemi 8
Bruce Cribb 1
Neil Evitts 1
Mike Wilding 1
Paul 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.

Final

Date Team one Score Team two
10/10Coventry68–28King's Lynn
11/10King's Lynn42–54Coventry

Riders' Championship

Kenny Carter won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 17 October and sponsored by the Daily Mirror.[4]

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1England Kenny Carter3 3 3 3 315
2England Chris Morton3 3 2 2 313+3
3United States Shawn Moran3 2 3 2 313+2
4Australia Phil Crump2 3 2 1 210
5England Dave Jessup1 2 1 3 29
6Denmark Hans Nielsen1 3 3 1 08
7United States Dennis Sigalos2 1 0 2 38
8United States Bruce Penhall2 2 1 1 28
9England Les Collins1 0 3 2 17
10England Malcolm Simmons2 0 1 3 17
11England Gordon Kennett1 2 2 0 16
12United States Scott Autrey3 0 1 0 15
13Sweden Jan Andersson0 1 2 0 25
14Denmark Bo Petersen0 1 0 3 04
15Denmark Ole Olsen0 1 0 12
16England Joe Owen0 0 0 0 00
17England 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 United States Cradley 11.01
2 Kenny Carter England Halifax 10.17
=3 Phil Crump Australia Swindon 10.30
=3 Michael Lee England King's Lynn 10.30
5 Jan Andersson Sweden Reading 10.26
6 Hans Nielsen Denmark Birmingham 9.80
7 Chris Morton England Belle Vue 9.75
8 Erik Gundersen Denmark Cradley 9.72
9 John Davis England Poole 9.70
10 Gordon Kennett England Eastbourne 9.67

Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of five teams and was sponsored by the Trustee Savings Bank.[9]

First round

Team one Team two Score
BirminghamSwindon39–39, 37–41

Semi final round

Team one Team two Score
LeicesterCoventry33–44, 34–44
SwindonCradley44–33, 32–46

Final

First leg

Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 12
Bruce Penhall 11
Alan Grahame 9
Phil Collins 3
John McNeill 2
Dave Shields 2
Bent Rasmussen 0		39–39Coventry
Ole Olsen 9
Tommy Knudsen 8
Gary Guglielmi 7
Keith White 6
Kevin Hawkins 5
Steve Wilcock 3
Mitch Shirra 1

Second leg

Coventry
Ole Olsen 12
Tommy Knudsen 8
Mitch Shirra 7
Keith White 7
Gary Guglielmi 6
Kevin Hawkins 4
Rob Hollingworth 1		45–33Cradley Heath
Bruce Penhall 12
Alan Grahame 12
Dave Shields 5
Erik Gundersen 3
Phil Collins 1
Bent Rasmussen 0
John McNeill 0

Coventry won on aggregate 84–72

London Cup

Hackney won the London Cup but the competition consisted of just Wimbledon and Hackney.[10]

Results

Team Score Team
Wimbledon43–36Hackney
Hackney46–32Wimbledon

Riders and final averages

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Eastbourne

Hackney

Halifax

Hull

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Leicester

Poole

Reading

Sheffield

Swindon

Wimbledon

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ↑ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "1981". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Speedway". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 18 October 1981. Retrieved 4 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "1981 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  6. ↑ "1981 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  7. ↑ "1981 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "1981 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  9. ↑ "Heathens Fury". Sandwell Evening Mail. 11 October 1981. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "1981 fixtures and results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
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