1981 National League season
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| Champions | Middlesbrough Tigers |
| No. of competitors | 19 |
| Knockout Cup | Edinburgh Monarchs |
| Individual | Mike Ferreira |
| Pairs | Canterbury Crusaders |
| Fours | Edinburgh Monarchs |
| Highest average | Mike Ferreira |
| Division/s above | 1981 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
| 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 | 
|
Canterbury Crusaders | 10.81 |
| 2 | Steve Lawson | 
|
Glasgow Tigers | 10.53 |
| 3 | Mark Courtney |
|
Middlesbrough Tigers | 10.41 |
| 4 | Steve Wilcock |
|
Middlesbrough Tigers | 10.39 |
| 5 | Dave Perks |
|
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 – 46 | Edinburgh 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 – 40 | Berwick 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
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "Tony Sanford". Motorsport memorial. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "PLYMOUTH: TONY SANFORD MEMORIAL TROPHY - PREVIEW". Speedway GB. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "About - Exeter Speedway 1981". Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "1981 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1981 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
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