1985 British League season
League | British League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 11 |
Champions | Oxford Cheetahs |
Knockout Cup | Oxford Cheetahs |
League Cup | Coventry Bees |
Individual | Erik Gundersen |
Pairs | Oxford Cheetahs |
Midland Cup | Oxford Cheetahs |
Highest average | Hans Nielsen |
Division/s below | 1985 National League |
The 1985 British League season was the 51st season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 21st known as the British League.[1][2]
Team changes
[edit]Wimbledon Dons dropped to the National league, this was the first time that Wimbledon would not compete in the top tier of speedway.
Summary
[edit]Oxford Cheetahs won the league and cup double.[3] The Oxford team, financed by the Oxford Stadium owners Northern Sports and headed by David Hawkins was the most expensive team assembled in the history of the league. The team included Danish international Hans Nielsen (signed for a record £30,000) in 1984. Nielsen had topped the previous season's averages on Oxford's return to the league and was imperious during 1985, finishing with an exceptional average, way ahead of any other rider. The team eased to the league title by a clear ten points, with Simon Wigg, Andy Grahame, Marvyn Cox, Jens Rasmussen and Melvyn Taylor all riding over 50 matches each during the season.[4][5]
Defending champions Ipswich Witches finished mid-table which was not surprising taking into account that just three matches into the season their leading rider Billy Sanders committed suicide on 23 April. The news shocked the club and the wider speedway world at the time.[6]
Final table
[edit]Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | BP | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oxford Cheetahs | 20 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 43 |
2 | Sheffield Tigers | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 33 |
3 | Coventry Bees | 20 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
4 | Halifax Dukes | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 24 |
5 | Ipswich Witches | 20 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 24 |
6 | Belle Vue Aces | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 24 |
7 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 19 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 24 |
8 | Swindon Robins | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 23 |
9 | Reading Racers | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 22 |
10 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 14 |
11 | King's Lynn Stars | 20 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 10 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
British League Knockout Cup
[edit]The 1985 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 47th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Oxford Cheetahs were the winners.[7]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
19/07 | Oxford | 43-35 | Coventry |
29/06 | Swindon | 36-42 | Ipswich |
24/06 | Wolverhampton | 49-29 | Halifax |
15/06 | Coventry | 35-43 | Oxford |
30/05 | Ipswich | 45-33 | Swindon |
25/05 | Halifax | 48-30 | Wolverhampton |
Quarter-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
23/09 | Reading | 43-34 | Sheffield |
22/08 | Sheffield | 39-39 | Reading |
29/08 | Ipswich | 43-34 | Wolverhampton |
19/08 | Wolverhampton | 39-39 | Ipswich |
31/07 | Oxford | 47-31 | Belle Vue |
20/07 | Belle Vue | 40-38 | Oxford |
11/07 | Sheffield | 46-32 | Reading |
08/07 | Reading | 46-32 | Sheffield |
07/07 | Cradley Heath | 53-25 | Kings Lynn |
06/07 | Kings Lynn | 39-39 | Cradley Heath |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
22/10 | Reading | 38-40 | Oxford |
16/10 | Oxford | 41-36 | Reading |
11/09 | Cradley Heath | 36-42 | Ipswich |
19/09 | Ipswich | 43-35 | Cradley Heath |
Final
[edit]First leg
Ipswich Witches John Cook Jeremy Doncaster Richard Knight Dennis Sigalos | 41–37 | Oxford Cheetahs Hans Nielsen 14 Simon Wigg 10 Jens Rasmussen Troy Butler |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Second leg
Oxford Cheetahs Hans Nielsen 15 Simon Wigg 12 Troy Butler Jens Rasmussen | 42–35 | Ipswich Witches John Cook 12 Richard Knight 9 Jeremy Doncaster Dennis Sigalos |
---|---|---|
Oxford Cheetahs were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 79-76.
League Cup
[edit]The League Cup was contested as a league format. Coventry Bees won the final over two legs defeating Oxford Cheetahs 86-70 on aggregrate.[9][10][11]
Qualifying table
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cradley Heathens | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 34 |
2 | Oxford Cheetahs | 20 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 32 |
3 | Ipswich Witches | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 32 |
4 | Coventry Bees | 20 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 30 |
5 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 27 |
6 | Swindon Robins | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 26 |
7 | Belle Vue Aces | 20 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 24 |
8 | Reading Racers | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 21 |
9 | Halifax Dukes | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 20 |
10 | Sheffield Tigers | 20 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 19 |
11 | King's Lynn Stars | 20 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 10 |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
15/08 | Ipswich | 37–41 | Oxford |
25/09 | Cradley Heath | 40–38 | Coventry |
27/09 | Oxford | 39–39 | Ipswich |
02/10 | Coventry | 46–32 | Cradley Heath |
Final
[edit]First leg
Oxford Cheetahs Simon Wigg 14 Hans Nielsen 13 Marvyn Cox 9 Nigel De'ath 3 Jens Rasmussen 2 Troy Butler 1 Andy Grahame r/r | 42–36 | Coventry Bees Tommy Knudsen 11 Kelvin Tatum 9 Rick Miller 5 David Bargh 4 Steve Bastable 3 Frank Andersen 3 John Jorgensen 1 |
---|---|---|
Second leg
Coventry Bees Kelvin Tatum 12 Rick Miller 10 Tommy Knudsen 9 John Jorgensen 6 Steve Bastable 5 David Bargh 4 Frank Andersen 4 | 50–28 | Oxford Cheetahs Hans Nielsen 14 Simon Wigg 6 Jens Rasmussen 4 Troy Butler 2 Marvyn Cox 1 Melvyn Taylor 1 Andy Grahame r/r |
---|---|---|
Riders' Championship
[edit]Erik Gundersen won the British League Riders' Championship for the second time, the final was held at Hyde Road on 20 October.[12]
Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 3 3 2 3 | 14 |
2 | ![]() |
3 3 1 2 3 | 12+3 |
3 | ![]() |
2 2 3 3 2 | 12+2 |
4 | ![]() |
0 3 3 3 2 | 11 |
5 | ![]() |
3 3 2 1 2 | 11 |
6 | ![]() |
2 1 2 3 3 | 11 |
7 | ![]() |
1 2 3 2 3 | 11 |
8 | ![]() |
3 2 1 1 1 | 8 |
9 | ![]() |
1 1 2 1 1 | 6 |
10 | ![]() |
0 0 1 3 1 | 5 |
11 | ![]() |
1 2 0 2 0 | 5 |
12 | ![]() |
2 1 1 1 0 | 5 |
13 | ![]() |
0 1 2 0 0 | 3 |
14 | ![]() |
2 0 0 0 0 | 2 |
15 | ![]() |
0 0 0 0 2 | 2 |
16 | ![]() |
1 0 0 0 1 | 2 |
- ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired
Pairs
[edit]The British League Pairs Championship was held at Monmore Green Stadium on 30 June and was won by Oxford.[13]
Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Oxford | 35 | Nielsen 23, Wigg 12 |
2 | Reading | 34 | Davis 20, Shirra 14 |
3 | Cradley | 33 | Gundersen 18, Collins P 15 |
4 | Sheffield | 26 | Moran S 20, Collins N 6 |
5 | Belle Vue | 23 | Morton 17, Collins P 6 |
6 | Coventry | 17 | Tatum 11, Knudsen 6 |
7 | Swindon | 15 | Petersen 15, Simmons 0 |
Leading final averages
[edit]Rider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
![]() |
Oxford | 11.35 |
![]() |
Sheffield | 10.39 |
![]() |
Cradley Heath | 10.38 |
![]() |
Halifax | 10.13 |
![]() |
Coventry | 10.13 |
![]() |
Wolverhampton | 9.80 |
![]() |
Belle Vue | 9.77 |
![]() |
Reading | 9.43 |
![]() |
Swindon | 9.35 |
![]() |
Ipswich | 9.33 |
Midland Cup
[edit]Oxford won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of six teams.[14]
First round
Team one | Team two | Score |
---|---|---|
Wolverhampton | Oxford | 32–46, 31–47 |
Coventry | Reading | 38–40, 34–44 |
Semi final round
Team one | Team two | Score |
---|---|---|
Cradley | Reading | 44–34, 37–41 |
Oxford | Swindon | 42–36, 39–39 |
Final
[edit]First leg
Oxford Simon Wigg 12 Andy Grahame 9 Jens Rasmussen 8 Marvyn Cox 6 Hans Nielsen 4 Troy Butler 4 Nigel De'ath 2 | 45–33 | Cradley Heath Alan Grahame 10 Erik Gundersen 8 Jan O Pedersen 5 Phil Collins 5 Simon Cross 2 Finn Jensen 2 Nigel Leaver 1 |
---|---|---|
Second leg
Cradley Heath Phil Collins 10 Erik Gundersen 8 Simon Cross 7 Jan O Pedersen 5 Alan Grahame 5 Finn Jensen 3 Nigel Leaver 0 | 38–40 | Oxford Andy Grahame 10 Simon Wigg 9 Hans Nielsen 8 Marvyn Cox 6 Troy Butler 5 Nigel De'ath 1 Alastair Stevens 1 |
---|---|---|
Oxford won on aggregate 85–71
Riders & final averages
[edit]Belle Vue
-
Chris Morton 9.77
-
Peter Collins 8.92
-
Andy Smith 7.59
-
Carl Blackbird 6.16
-
Kenny McKinna 5.83
-
Andy Campbell 4.90
-
Martin Scarisbrick 4.36
-
Eddie Ingels 3.33
-
Bernie Collier 1.33
-
Mark Crang 1.10
Coventry
-
Tommy Knudsen 10.13
-
Kelvin Tatum 9.09
-
John Jørgensen 6.68
-
Rick Miller 6.12
-
Steve Bastable 5.93
-
David Bargh 5.76
-
Frank Andersen 4.11
-
Kevin Hawkins 3.41
Cradley Heath
-
Erik Gundersen 10.38
-
Phil Collins 7.93
-
Jan O. Pedersen 7.91
-
Alan Grahame 7.37
-
Simon Cross 6.21
-
Finn Jensen 5.41
-
Kevin Smith 4.26
-
Steve Collins 1.23
-
Nigel Leaver 1.20
Halifax
-
Kenny Carter 10.13
-
Neil Evitts 7.26
-
Larry Ross 6.62
-
Rod Hunter 6.17
-
Sean Willmott 5.41
-
Eric Monaghan 5.40
-
Kurt Hansen 5.16
-
Doug Wyer 4.19
Ipswich
-
John Cook 9.33
-
Jeremy Doncaster 9.12
-
Richard Knight 8.12
-
Kai Niemi 6.14
-
Louis Carr 5.47
-
Dennis Sigalos 5.16
-
Nigel Flatman 5.10
-
Alan Farmer 3.07
-
Andy Hines 2.38
King's Lynn
-
Dave Jessup 7.80
-
Michael Lee 7.20
-
Steve Regeling 6.19
-
Kevin Jolly 6.12
-
Mark Courtney 5.91
-
Richard Hellsen 5.76
-
Steve Baker 4.84
-
Paul Woods 4.54
Oxford
-
Hans Nielsen 11.35
-
Simon Wigg 9.10
-
Andy Grahame 7.18
-
Marvyn Cox 6.07
-
Jens Rasmussen 6.07
-
Melvyn Taylor 4.87
-
Klaus Lausch 4.78
-
Troy Butler 2.22
Reading
-
Jan Andersson 9.43
-
John Davis 9.01
-
Mitch Shirra 6.79
-
Martin Goodwin 6.33
-
Per Jonsson 6.33
-
Tim Hunt 5.59
-
Peter Glanz 5.57
-
Malcolm Holloway 4.72
-
Neil Middleditch 4.67
-
Mark Chessell 2.05
Sheffield
-
Shawn Moran 10.39
-
Neil Collins 7.33
-
Les Collins 6.91
-
Peter Carr 6.81
-
Sam Nikolajsen 6.33
-
Martin Hagon 5.85
-
Alf Busk 5.50
-
Steve Baker 4.22
-
Gerald Short 3.34
Swindon
-
Bo Petersen 9.35
-
Phil Crump 8.92
-
Malcolm Simmons 7.90
-
Jimmy Nilsen 6.54
-
Gordon Kennett 6.31
-
Per Sorensen 5.54
-
Alf Busk 5.40
-
Ari Koponen 5.02
-
Alun Rossiter 3.69
-
Martin Yeates 1.71
Wolverhampton
-
Bobby Schwartz 9.80
-
Peter Ravn 7.72
-
Preben Eriksen 7.69
-
John Eskildsen 7.42
-
Steve Schofield 4.97
-
Martin Scarisbrick 4.89
-
Brian Jakobsen 4.79
-
Gerd Riss 3.88
-
Jan Stæchmann 2.00
See also
[edit]- Speedway in the United Kingdom
- List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
- Knockout Cup (speedway)
References
[edit]- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "1985 league tables". Speedway GB.
- ^ "SPEEDWAY: Nielsen regret at Oxford". Oxford Mail.
- ^ Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The Story of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. 128–135. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
- ^ "NOT FORGOTTEN – BILLY SANDERS". AMCN. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "1985 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ "Hans takes a grip". Daily Mirror. 28 October 1985. Retrieved 18 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The Story of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
- ^ "Coventry Bees results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "League Cup table". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "Ace Erik is King of the track". Daily Mirror. 21 October 1985. Retrieved 4 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Racers are edged out by Oxford pair". Reading Evening Post. 1 July 1985. Retrieved 17 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Grahame's glory". Birmingham Mail. 1 November 1985. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.