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1981 National League season

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1981 National League season
LeagueNational League
ChampionsMiddlesbrough Tigers
No. of competitors19
Knockout CupEdinburgh Monarchs
IndividualMike Ferreira
PairsCanterbury Crusaders
FoursEdinburgh Monarchs
Highest averageMike Ferreira
Division/s above1981 British League

The 1981 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.[1]

Summary

The league started with 20 teams with Nottingham Outlaws dropping out and Wolverhampton Wolves joining up, having moved down from the British League.

Berwick Bandits were forced to quit after 26 league meetings, their record being expunged. Middlesbrough Tigers comfortably won their first ever title.[2][3]

Exeter Falcons rider Tony Sanford died following an accident at the County Ground Stadium on 7 September. He was racing in a match against Milton Keynes when he hit a barrier near the final bend.[4] A memorial trophy was held in subsequent years in his memory.[5]

Final table

[6]

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Middlesbrough Tigers 36 30 1 5 61
2 Weymouth Wildcats 36 26 1 9 53
3 Newcastle Diamonds 36 25 1 10 51
4 Edinburgh Monarchs 36 25 0 11 50
5 Glasgow Tigers 36 24 0 12 48
6 Boston Barracudas 36 22 0 14 44
7 Exeter Falcons 36 22 0 14 44
8 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 36 20 0 16 40
9 Peterborough Panthers 36 19 1 16 39
10 Crayford Kestrels 36 19 0 17 38
11 Ellesmere Port Gunners 36 18 1 17 37
12 Oxford Cheetahs 36 18 1 17 37
13 Wolverhampton Wolves 36 14 1 21 29
14 Canterbury Crusaders 36 14 1 21 29
15 Stoke Potters 36 14 0 22 28
16 Rye House Rockets 36 11 0 25 22
17 Scunthorpe Stags 36 6 1 29 13
18 Workington Comets 36 6 1 29 13
19 Milton Keynes Knights 36 4 0 32 8

Top Five Riders

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Mike Ferreira Zimbabwe Canterbury Crusaders 10.81
2 Steve Lawson England Glasgow Tigers 10.53
3 Mark Courtney England Middlesbrough Tigers 10.41
4 Steve Wilcock England Middlesbrough Tigers 10.39
5 Dave Perks England Oxford Cheetahs 10.26

National League Knockout Cup

The 1981 National League Knockout Cup was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Edinburgh Monarchs were the winners of the competition.[7]

First Round

Date Team One Score Team Two
29/03 Mildenhall 58-38 Canterbury
04/04 Canterbury 52-44 Mildenhall
17/04 Ellesmere Port 47-49 Wolverhampton
19/04 Wolverhampton 43-53 Ellesmere Port
23/04 Middlesbrough 69-27 Glasgow
29/05 Glasgow 55-40 Middlesbrough
11/04 Stoke 51-45 Milton Keynes
07/04 Milton Keynes 38-58 Stoke

Second Round

Date Team One Score Team Two
29/05 Edinburgh 65-31 Exeter
01/06 Exeter 56-40 Edinburgh
04/06 Oxford 59-34 Scunthorpe
01/06 Scunthorpe 46-49 Oxford
07/06 Mildenhall 76-20 Ellesmere Port
29/05 Ellesmere Port 30-64 Mildenhall
29/05 Peterborough 70-26 Rye House
07/06 Rye House 32-64 Peterborough
06/06 Berwick 53-42 Newcastle
08/06 Newcastle 52-44 Berwick
09/06 Weymouth 74-20 Workington
29/05 Workington 31-59 Weymouth
07/06 Boston 69-27 Crayford
02/06 Crayford 42-51 Boston
07/06 Middlesbrough 55-41 Stoke
06/06 Stoke 48-48 Middlesbrough

Quarter Finals

Date Team One Score Team Two
14/08 Edinburgh 65-31 Oxford
13/08 Oxford 41-54 Edinburgh
05/07 Mildenhall 61-35 Peterborough
26/06 Peterborough 49-47 Mildenhall
17/07 Berwick 51-45 Weymouth
14/07 Weymouth 48-48 Berwick
02/08 Boston 57-39 Middlesbrough
? Middlesbrough 45-51 Boston

Semi Finals

Date Team One Score Team Two
27/09 Edinburgh 64-32 Mildenhall
11/09 Mildenhall 46-50 Edinburgh
14/10 Berwick 64-32 Boston
27/09 Boston 58½-37½ Berwick

Final

First leg

Berwick Bandits
Steve McDermott 13
Wayne Brown 11
Mike Caroline 9
Rob Grant 6
Brett Saunders 5
Brian Collins 3
Jim Beaton 2		49 – 46Edinburgh Monarchs
Dave Trownson 10
Neil Collins 9
Ivan Blacka 9
Chris Turner 8
George Hunter 7
Scott Robson 3
Ian Westwell 0
[8]

Second leg

Edinburgh Monarchs
George Hunter 13
Dave Trownson 11
Ivan Blacka 11
Neil Collins 7
Chris Turner 7
Roger Lambert 6
Ian Westwell 0		55 – 40Berwick Bandits
Charlie McKinna (guest) 14
Steve McDermott 9
Mike Caroline 7
Rob Grant 5
Brett Saunders 3
Brian Collins 2
Jim Beaton 0
[8]

Edinburgh were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 101–89.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  3. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  4. ^ "Tony Sanford". Motorsport memorial. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  5. ^ "PLYMOUTH: TONY SANFORD MEMORIAL TROPHY - PREVIEW". Speedway GB. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  6. ^ "About - Exeter Speedway 1981". Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  7. ^ "1981 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  8. ^ a b "1981 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
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