1982 British League season

1982 British League season
LeagueBritish League
No. of competitors15
ChampionsBelle Vue Aces
Knockout CupCradley Heath Heathens
League CupCradley Heath Heathens
IndividualKenny Carter
Midland CupCoventry Bees
Highest averageKenny Carter
Division/s below1982 National League

The 1982 British League season was the 48th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 18th known as the British League.[1][2]

Summary

Hull Vikings had disbanded following the loss of their home at the Boulevard.[3]

After a ten-year drought Belle Vue Aces won the league pushing defending champions Cradley Heath into second place. A special performance was going to be needed to finish ahead of the star-studded Cradley Heath team and it was the consistency of the support riders which helped Belle Vue achieve this. England international Chris Morton was the heat leader but he was supported by a group of consistent scorers throughout the season that included Larry Ross (a former 5 times New Zealand champion), the former world champion Peter Collins, the Carr brothers Louis and Peter, Dane Peter Ravn and Scot Jim McMillan.[4][5] Cradley Heath went on to win their third Knockout Cup in four years and the League Cup. The Midlands' club had been in position to take the league title, but their heat leader Bruce Penhall quit speedway immediately after winning his second world title in September to pursue an acting career (specifically for a role in CHiPs).[6]

Hackney Wick Stadium was subject to a second fatal accident within three years when American Denny Pyeatt lost his life in a league match on 16 July. Pyeatt riding for Reading Racers crashed into a lamp standard.[7][8] Swindon rider Martin Hewlett suffered a stroke after the Swindon versus Birmingham fixture in September and died four days later on 15 September.[9]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Belle Vue Aces 28 23 0 5 46
2 Cradley Heath Heathens 28 20 0 8 40
3 Ipswich Witches 28 16 2 10 34
4 Coventry Bees 28 16 2 10 34
5 Sheffield Tigers 28 14 3 11 31
6 Birmingham Brummies 28 13 1 14 27
7 Hackney Hawks 28 12 3 13 27
8 Swindon Robins 28 13 1 14 27
9 Reading Racers 28 12 2 14 26
10 Leicester Lions 28 13 0 15 26
11 Wimbledon Dons 28 12 2 14 26
12 Eastbourne Eagles 28 11 3 14 25
13 Halifax Dukes 28 10 1 17 21
14 King's Lynn Stars 28 9 3 16 21
15 Poole Pirates 28 3 3 22 9

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

Fixtures and results

Home \ Away BV BIR COV CH EAS HAC HAL IPS KL LEI PP RR SHE SWI WIM
Belle Vue 45–33 45–33 48–30 48–30 53–25 52–26 37–41 50–28 53–25 44–34 52–26 40–38 56–21 53–25
Birmingham 38–40 37–41 35–43 41–37 42–36 48–30 41–37 49–29 47–31 46–31 45–32 42–36 43–35 41–37
Coventry 38–40 33–45 40–38 46–32 42–36 46–32 40–38 43–35 47–31 49–29 45–33 46–32 41–37 49–29
Cradley Heath 46–32 45–32 45–33 49–29 48–30 46–32 40–37 46–32 47–31 45–33 40–38 50–28 49–29 48–29
Eastbourne 35–43 46–32 49–29 39–38 38–40 43–35 39–39 45–33 50–28 54–24 45–33 39–39 44–34 51–27
Hackney 35–43 36–41 34–4 40–38 43–34 49–29 42–36 45–33 41–37 42.5–35.5 42–36 47–31 47–31 39–39
Halifax 38–39 40–38 37–40 42–36 54–24 49–28 38–40 51–27 54–24 45–33 46–32 39–39 36–41 56–22
Ipswich 36–42 42–36 37–41 40–38 40–38 38–40 46–32 47–30 43–35 47–31 39–39 49–29 54–24 51.5–26.5
King's Lynn 35–42 44–34 39–39 30–48 42–36 39–39 44–34 41–37 40–38 43–35 45–33 46–32 37–41 46–32
Leicester 41–37 49–29 42–36 41–37 48–30 43–35 38–40 38–40 45–32 43–35 40–38 40–38 38–40 50–28
Poole 36–42 39–39 41–37 32–46 39–39 39–39 50–28 36–42 43–35 38–40 38–40 38–40 35–43 37–41
Reading 38–40 42–36 47–30 32–46 41–37 43–35 49–29 37–41 44–34 41–37 55–23 42–36 40–38 42–36
Sheffield 50–28 44–34 39–39 43–35 46–31 52–26 48–30 40–38 45–33 47–31 51–27 50–28 41–37 47–31
Swindon 36–42 41–37 42–36 33–45 30–48 41–37 41–37 41–37 44–34 42–36 46–32 39–39 44–34 36–42
Wimbledon 40–38 43–35 40–38 32–46 41–37 48–30 41–37 31–47 39–39 37–41 42–36 40–37 49–29 43–35
Source: [10]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top ten riders (league averages)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Kenny Carter England Halifax Dukes 11.05
2 Erik Gundersen Denmark Cradley Heathens 10.75
3 Hans Nielsen Denmark Birmingham Brummies 10.49
4 Bruce Penhall United States Cradley Heathens 10.39
5 Dennis Sigalos United States Ipswich Witches 10.26
6 Bobby Schwartz United States Reading Racers 10.11
7 Chris Morton England Belle Vue 9.98
8 Shawn Moran United States Sheffield Tigers 9.98
9 Kelly Moran United States Eastbourne Eagles 9.97
10 Billy Sanders Australia King's Lynn Stars 9.93

British League Knockout Cup

The 1982 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 44th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath Heathens were the winners.[11]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
08/06Leicester45-33Kings Lynn
06/06Eastbourne46-32Swindon
05/06Kings Lynn48-30Leicester
29/05Halifax45-33Hackney
28/05Hackney38-40Halifax
28/05Ipswich46-31Coventry
27/05Sheffield42-36Cradley Heath
22/05Coventry40-38Ipswich
22/05Cradley Heath43-35Sheffield
22/05Swindon38-40Eastbourne
17/05Reading38-40Belle Vue
15/05Belle Vue57-18Reading
12/05Poole44-34Birmingham
30/04Birmingham48-30Poole

Quarter-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
19/08Wimbledon40-38Eastbourne
09/08Cradley Heath41-37Ipswich
01/08Eastbourne43-35Wimbledon
29/07Ipswich38.5-39.5Cradley Heath
19/07Birmingham43-35Kings Lynn
17/07Kings Lynn43-35Birmingham
11/07Halifax41-37Belle Vue
10/07Belle Vue44-34Halifax
25/09Kings Lynn42-36Birmingham
13/09Birmingham40-38Kings Lynn

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
03/10Kings Lynn36-42Belle Vue
02/10Belle Vue49-29Kings Lynn
19/09Eastbourne41-36Cradley Heath
18/09Cradley Heath48-30Eastbourne

Final

First leg

Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 15
Lance King 13
Phil Collins 7
Simon Wigg 5
Andy Reid 3
Alan Grahame 3
Wayne Jackson 0		46 - 32Belle Vue Aces
Chris Morton 12
Peter Collins 6
Peter Ravn 6
Larry Ross 4
Louis Carr 2
Peter Carr 1
Jim McMillan 1
[12]

Second leg

Belle Vue Aces
Chris Morton 10
Peter Collins 7
Peter Ravn 7
Larry Ross 6
Rod Hunter 6
Louis Carr 5
Andy Smith 2		43 - 35Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 15
Lance King 8
Alan Grahame 8
Simon Wigg 2
Phil Collins 1
Andy Reid 1
[12]

Cradley were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 81-75.

League Cup

The League Cup was split into North and South sections. The two-legged final was won by Cradley Heath Heathens beating Ipswich Witches in the final 83–73 on aggregate.

Final

Date Team one Score Team two
19/06Cradley Heath42–36Ipswich
24/06Ipswich37–41Cradley Heath

Riders' Championship

Kenny Carter won the British League Riders' Championship for the second consecutive year, held at Hyde Road on 16 October.[15]

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1England Kenny Carter3 3 3 3 315
2United States Shawn Moran2 3 3 3 314
3Denmark Hans Nielsen3 2 3 2 313
4Denmark Erik Gundersen2 3 2 0 310
5United States Bobby Schwartz3 1 2 2 19
6England Les Collins0 1 3 3 29
7Sweden Jan Andersson3 0 2 1 28
8England Steve Bastable2 3 1 1 07
9Australia Billy Sanders0 2 2 1 27
10Denmark Ole Olsen0 1 1 3 16
11England Chris Morton1 2 1 2 06
12Denmark Finn Thomsen1 1 0 2 15
13United States Dennis Sigalos2 0 r -4
14England Dave Jessup1 0 1 0 13
15England Gordon Kennett1 0 0 0 23
16England John Davis0 - - - -0
17England Andy Smith (res)0 0 1 0 -1
18England Lee Edwards (res)0 0 - - -0
  • ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired

Final leading averages

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Kenny Carter England Halifax 11.03
2 Bruce Penhall United States Cradley 10.74
=3 Erik Gundersen Denmark Cradley 10.18
=3 Chris Morton England Belle Vue 10.18
5 Dennis Sigalos United States Ipswich 10.10
6 Jan Andersson Sweden Reading 9.96
7 Hans Nielsen Denmark Birmingham 9.89
8 Bobby Schwartz United States Reading 9.83
9 Gordon Kennett England Eastbourne 9.72
10 Michael Lee England King's Lynn 9.65

Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup for the second consecutive year. The competition consisted of five teams.[16]

First round

Team one Team two Score
SwindonBirmingham44–34, 41–37

Semi final round

Team one Team two Score
CoventryLeicester37–41, 44–34
CradleySwindon49–29, 54–24

Final

First leg

Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 15
Phil Collins 7
Lance King 6
Simon Wigg 6
Alan Grahame 5
Andy Reid 4
Bruce Penhall r/r		43–35Coventry
Tommy Knudsen 13
Gary Guglielmi 9
Ole Olsen 5
Mitch Shirra 3
Kevin Hawkins 2
Alf Busk 2
Charlie McKinna 1

Second leg

Coventry
Mitch Shirra 12
Tommy Knudsen 11
Ole Olsen 11
Gary Guglielmi 5
Alf Busk 3
Kevin Hawkins 2
Charlie McKinna 0		44–34Cradley Heath
Erik Gundersen 9
Simon Wigg 7
Lance King 5
Alan Grahame 5
Andy Reid 5
Phil Collins 3
Bruce Penhall r/r

Coventry won on aggregate 79–77

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Eastbourne

Hackney

Halifax

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. ↑ "Speedway battle is destined for courts". Hull Daily Mail. 17 October 1981. Retrieved 21 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ↑ "1982 league tables". Speedway GB.
  5. ↑ "1982 FactFile" (PDF). Retro Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Penhall must keep world crown". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 4 September 1982. Retrieved 21 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Denny Pyeatt". Speedway Bikes. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  8. ↑ "Speedway Star Cover Men". wwosbackup. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  9. ↑ "Speedway ace dies". Sandwell Evening Mail. 16 September 1982. Retrieved 21 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "1982 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  11. ↑ "1982 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  12. 1 2 "Coventry Bees 1982 season". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "1982 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  14. ↑ "1982 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "Carter's maximum". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 17 October 1982. Retrieved 4 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ↑ "Heathens Misery". Sandwell Evening Mail. 12 October 1982. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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