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1970 British League season
British motorcycle speedway season
British motorcycle speedway season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| competition | British League |
| competitors | 19 |
| domesticcup1 | Champions |
| domesticcup1 winners | Belle Vue Aces |
| domesticcup2 | Knockout Cup |
| domesticcup2 winners | Wimbledon Dons |
| domesticcup3 | Individual |
| domesticcup3 winners | Barry Briggs |
| domesticcup4 | London Cup |
| domesticcup4 winners | Wimbledon Dons |
| domesticcup5 | Midland Cup |
| domesticcup5 winners | Coventry Bees |
| highest average | Ivan Mauger |
| leagues below | British League (Div 2) |
| prevseason | 1969 |
| nextseason | 1971 |
The 1970 British League season was the 36th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the sixth season known as the British League.
Summary
Wembley Lions under the promotion of Trevor Redmond and Bernard Cottrel entered the British league having bought the licence – and inherited the riders – from the Coatbridge Monarchs. It was the first time since 1956 that Wembley would compete in the league.
Belle Vue Aces secured their first British League title. The Manchester team were once again led by the brilliant Ivan Mauger who would secure a third consecutive world champion title before the end of the season. He topped the averages with 11.18 as the team finished ten points ahead of their nearest rivals Wimbledon Dons. The Dons found some consolation when winning their third consecutive British League Knockout Cup.
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 56 |
| 2 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 22 | 2 | 12 | 46 |
| 3 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 45 |
| 4 | Leicester Lions | 36 | 21 | 0 | 15 | 42 |
| 5 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
| 6 | Halifax Dukes | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 39 |
| 7 | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 18 | 3 | 15 | 39 |
| 8 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 34 |
| 10 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 16 | 1 | 19 | 34 |
| 11 | Hackney Hawks | 36 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 33 |
| 12 | King's Lynn Stars | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
| 13 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
| 14 | Wembley Lions | 36 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 32 |
| 15 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 36 | 15 | 1 | 20 | 31 |
| 16 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 30 |
| 17 | Newcastle Diamonds | 36 | 15 | 0 | 21 | 30 |
| 18 | West Ham Hammers | 36 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 30 |
| 19 | Newport Wasps | 36 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 24 |
Fixtures and results
Top ten riders (league averages)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Mauger | NZL | Belle Vue |
| 2 | Anders Michanek | SWE | Newcastle |
| 3 | Jim Airey | AUS | Sheffield |
| 4 | Ray Wilson | ENG | Leicester |
| 5 | Nigel Boocock | ENG | Coventry |
| 6 | Eric Boocock | ENG | Halifax |
| 7 | Barry Briggs | NZL | Swindon |
| 8 | Ole Olsen | DEN | Wolverhampton |
| 9 | Jim McMillan | SCO | Glasgow |
| 10 | Martin Ashby | ENG | Exeter |
British League Knockout Cup
The 1970 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 32nd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Wimbledon Dons were the winners for the third consecutive year. It was the first time that the competition was sponsored by the Speedway Star.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/04 | Wimbledon | 44–34 | Hackney |
| 21/04 | Exeter | 51–27 | King's Lynn |
| 21/04 | West Ham | 29–49 | Belle Vue |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/06 | Halifax | 43–35 | Coventry |
| 06/06 | Swindon | 44–34 | Wolverhampton |
| 05/06 | Newport | 35–43 | Leicester |
| 01/06 | Newcastle | 41–37 | Wembley |
| 28/05 | Oxford | 38–40 | Poole |
| 28/05 | Sheffield | 44–34 | Glasgow |
| 28/05 | Wimbledon | 49–29 | Cradley Heath |
| 23/05 | Belle Vue | 49–29 | Exeter |
| 07/05 | Romford | 48–30 | Reading |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/07 | Belle Vue | 56–22 | Poole |
| 22/07 | Swindon | 46–32 | Leicester |
| 02/07 | Sheffield | 41–37 | Halifax |
| 25/06 | Wimbledon | 46–32 | Newcastle |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24/09 | Wimbledon | 44–34 | Swindon |
| 23/09 | Belle Vue | 40–38 | Sheffield |
Final
First leg Trevor Hedge 12 Ronnie Moore 11 Cyril Maidment 6 Jim Tebby 6 Reg Luckhurst 5 Bob Dugard 4 Peter Murray 4 Tommy Roper 10 Ivan Mauger 8 Chris Pusey 6 Sören Sjösten 4 Ken Eyre 2 Steve Waplington 1 Mike Hiftle 0
Second leg Ivan Mauger 12 Sören Sjösten 10 Tommy Roper 6 Mike Hiftle 6 Dave Hemus 4 Chris Pusey 3 Ken Eyre 3 Ronnie Moore 13 Trevor Hedge 10 Reg Luckhurst 5 Cyril Maidment 2 Jim Tebby 2 Bob Dugard 1 Peter Murray 1
Wimbledon Dons were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 80-75.
Riders' Championship
Barry Briggs won the British League Riders' Championship for the sixth consecutive year, held at Hyde Road on 17 October. He won a three way run off for the title.
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- ef=engine failure, f=fell, exc=excluded
Final leading averages
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Mauger | NZL | Belle Vue |
| 2 | Anders Michanek | SWE | Newcastle |
| 3 | Jim Airey | AUS | Sheffield |
| 4 | Ray Wilson | ENG | Leicester |
| 5 | Nigel Boocock | ENG | Coventry |
| 6 | Eric Boocock | ENG | Halifax |
| 7 | Barry Briggs | NZL | Swindon |
| 8 | Jim McMillan | SCO | Glasgow |
| 9 | Ole Olsen | DEN | Wolverhampton |
| 10 | Martin Ashby | ENG | Exeter |
| 11 | Trevor Hedge | ENG | Wimbledon |
| 12 | Ronnie Moore | NZL | Wimbledon |
| 13 | Bob Kilby | ENG | Swindon |
| 14 | Sören Sjösten | SWE | Belle Vue |
| 15 | Bengt Jansson | SWE | Hackney |
| 16 | Bruce Cribb | NZL | Exeter |
| 17 | Olle Nygren | SWE | West Ham |
| 18 | John Boulger | AUS | Leicester |
| 19 | Bernt Persson | SWE | Cradley Heath |
| 20 | Terry Betts | ENG | King's Lynn |
London Cup
Wimbledon won the London Cup for the third consecutive year.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wimbledon Dons | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 178 | 133 | 6 |
| 2 | Hackney Hawks | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 174 | 138 | 4 |
| 3 | West Ham Hammers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 129 | 182 | 2 |
Midland Cup
Coventry won the Midland Cup for the second consecutive year. The competition consisted of six teams.
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Wolverhampton | Cradley | 42–36, 35–43 |
| Oxford | Swindon | 37–41, 32–46 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cradley | Coventry | 43–35, 29–49 |
| Swindon | Leicester | 36–41, 33–45 |
Final
First leg Nigel Boocock 10 Ken McKinlay 9 Rick France 9 Col Cottrell 8 Les Owen 6 Roger Hill 2 Tony Lomas 2 Ray Wilson 10 John Boulger 9 Graham Plant 6 John Hart 6 Norman Storer 1 Malcolm Brown 0 Alan Cowland 0
Second leg John Boulger 12 Ray Wilson 11 Graham Plant 6 John Hart 5 Malcolm Brown 4 Norman Storer 3 Alan Cowland 0 Tony Lomas 10 Ken McKinlay 8 Nigel Boocock 7 Les Owen 5 Col Cottrell 5 Roger Hill 2 John Harrhy 0
Coventry won on aggregate 83–73
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
- 11.18
- 9.66
- 7.91
- 7.31
- 5.79
- 5.33
- 5.33
- 4.25
- 3.52
Coventry
- 10.66
- 8.50
- 7.78
- 6.08
- 5.91
- 5.90
- 5.66
- 1.58
Cradley Heath
- 9.29
- 8.45
- 7.75
- 7.51
- 4.38
- 4.09
- 3.50
- 2.65
Exeter
- 10.09
- 9.47
- 6.81
- 6.09
- 5.30
- 5.21
- 4.81
- 4.62
Glasgow
- 10.27
- 8.53
- 7.79
- 5.36
- 5.33
- 5.33
- 3.64
- 1.85
- 1.64
Hackney
- 9.49
- 8.20
- 6.08
- 6.01
- 5.96
- 4.83
- 4.71
- 3.59
Halifax
- 10.54
- 8.21
- 7.80
- 7.04
- 5.95
- 5.80
- 4.27
King's Lynn
- 9.22
- (Kid Bodie) 8.49
- 7.58
- 5.05
- 4.97
- 4.44
- 4.36
- 4.32
- 3.31
Leicester
- 10.80
- 9.34
- 6.72
- 5.71
- 5.04
- 4.76
- 4.51
- 3.43
Newcastle
- 10.88
- 7.88
- 6.62
- 5.15
- 4.30
- 4.06
- 3.91
Newport
- 8.45
- 7.78
- 6.38
- 4.57
- 4.34
- 4.09
- 3.91
- 3.77
- 2.24
Oxford
- 9.10
- 7.03
- 6.66
- 6.48
- 6.38
- 5.89
- 4.76
- 2.82
Poole
- 7.93
- 7.72
- 7.39
- 7.29
- 5.84
- 4.76
- 4.70
- 2.36
Sheffield
- 10.86
- 8.88
- 7.03
- 5.32
- 5.20
- 4.27
- 3.23
- 2.54
Swindon
- 10.53
- 9.68
- 5.58
- 5.26
- 4.57
- 4.34
- 3.45
Wembley
- 9.10
- 7.93
- 7.31
- 5.85
- 4.76
- 4.17
- 3.82
- 3.26
- 2.43
West Ham
- 9.36
- 7.82
- 7.45
- 5.62
- 5.38
- 4.63
- 4.61
- 4.25
- 4.15
- 3.56
Wimbledon
- 9.97
- 9.95
- 7.74
- 6.67
- 6.34
- 5.93
- 4.25
- 3.78
- 2.33
Wolverhampton
- 10.25
- 7.33
- 6.62
- 5.31
- 5.29
- 5.23
- 5.12
- 4.07
References
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- Oakes, Peter. (1981). "1981 Speedway Yearbook". Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
- Rogers, Martin. (1978). "The Illustrated History of Speedway". Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
- Jacobs, Norman (2001). ''Speedway in London''. {{ISBN. 0-7524-2221-9
- "HISTORY ARCHIVE".
- "1970 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher.
- "1970 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- "Season 1970".
- (18 October 1970). "Briggs keeps the Crown". Sunday Mirror.
- "Wimbledon 1970".
- "1970 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher.
- (14 October 1970). "Boulger on form for Lions". Nottingham Evening Post.
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