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1971 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 | Hackney Hawks |
| domesticcup3 | Individual |
| domesticcup3 winners | Ivan Mauger |
| domesticcup4 | London Cup |
| domesticcup4 winners | Hackney Hawks |
| domesticcup5 | Midland Cup |
| domesticcup5 winners | Coventry Bees |
| domesticcup6 | Metropolitan Cup |
| domesticcup6 winners | Hackney Hawks |
| highest average | Ivan Mauger |
| leagues below | British League (Div 2) |
| prevseason | 1970 |
| nextseason | 1972 |
The 1971 British League season was the 37th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the seventh season known as the British League.
Summary
Reading Racers moved up from Division 2 after taking the Newcastle Diamonds division 1 licence. Belle Vue Aces retained their title to become the first team to win the title for the second time. The team included three time world champion Ivan Mauger, Swedish international Sören Sjösten, Tommy Roper, Eric Broadbelt, Chris Pusey and a 17 year old Peter Collins in his debut season.
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 25 | 1 | 10 | 51 |
| 2 | Leicester Lions | 36 | 22 | 3 | 11 | 47 |
| 3 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 46 |
| 4 | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 43 |
| 5 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 19 | 3 | 14 | 40 |
| 6 | Reading Racers | 36 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 41 |
| 7 | Hackney Hawks | 36 | 17 | 4 | 15 | 38 |
| 8 | Newport Wasps | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 37 |
| 9 | Wembley Lions | 36 | 17 | 3 | 16 | 37 |
| 10 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 36 |
| 11 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 35 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 34 |
| 13 | King's Lynn Stars | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 34 |
| 14 | Halifax Dukes | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 32 |
| 15 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 31 |
| 16 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 15 | 1 | 20 | 25 |
| 17 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 12 | 1 | 23 | 20 |
| 18 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 36 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 20 |
| 19 | West Ham Hammers | 36 | 9 | 1 | 26 | 19 |
Fixtures and results
Top Ten Riders (League Averages)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Mauger | NZL | Belle Vue |
| 2 | Ray Wilson | ENG | Leicester |
| 3 | Ole Olsen | DEN | Wolverhampton |
| 4 | Jim Airey | AUS | Sheffield |
| 5 | Barry Briggs | NZL | Swindon |
| 6 | Bengt Jansson | SWE | Hackney |
| 7 | Eric Boocock | ENG | Halifax |
| 8 | Anders Michanek | SWE | Reading |
| 9 | Nigel Boocock | ENG | Coventry |
| 10 | Ronnie Moore | NZL | Wimbledon |
British League Knockout Cup
The 1971 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 33rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Hackney were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08/05 | Halifax | 49–29 | West Ham |
| 08/05 | Swindon | 43–35 | Wimbledon |
| 06/05 | Oxford | 46–32 | Poole |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/06 | Wolverhampton | 43–35 | Belle Vue |
| 21/06 | Reading | 38–40 | Cradley Heath |
| 17/06 | Oxford | 39–38 | Exeter |
| 12/06 | King's Lynn | 46–32 | Newport |
| 11/06 | Glasgow | 43–34 | Leicester |
| 10/06 | Sheffield | 48–30 | Wembley |
| 05/06 | Halifax | 42–36 | Coventry |
| 05/06 | Swindon | 36–42 | Hackney |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14/08 | Halifax | 43–35 | Sheffield |
| 06/08 | Wolverhampton | 45–32 | Oxford |
| 31/07 | King's Lynn | 39–39 | Hackney |
| 31/07 | Cradley Heath | 40–38 | Glasgow |
| 03/09 | Hackney | 49–29 | King's Lynn |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17/09 | Hackney | 50–27 | Halifax |
| 06/09 | Cradley Heath | 50–28 | Wolverhampton |
Final
First leg Bernt Persson 11 Bob Andrews 9 Mick Handley 7 Pete Jarman 6 John Hart 5 Roy Trigg 3 Cyril Francis 0 Bengt Jansson 10 Barry Thomas 8 Hugh Saunders 8 Garry Middleton 7 Laurie Etheridge 2 Geoff Maloney 1 Eddie Reeves 1
Second leg Bengt Jansson 12 Garry Middleton 10 Barry Thomas 9 Dave Kennett 9 Hugh Saunders 6 Eddie Reeves 3 Laurie Etheridge 2 Howard Cole (guest) 13 Bob Andrews 5 Roy Trigg 3 John Hart 3 Pete Jarman 2 Mick Handley 1 Ralph Waller 0
Hackney Hawks were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 88-68.
Riders' Championship
Ivan Mauger won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 16 October.
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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 | Ole Olsen | DEN | Wolverhampton |
| 3 | Ray Wilson | ENG | Leicester |
| 4 | Jim Airey | AUS | Sheffield |
| 5 | Barry Briggs | NZL | Swindon |
| 6 | Bengt Jansson | SWE | Hackney |
| 7 | Eric Boocock | ENG | Halifax |
| 8 | Anders Michanek | SWE | Reading |
| 9 | Nigel Boocock | ENG | Coventry |
| 10 | Ronnie Moore | NZL | Wimbledon |
| 11 | Martin Ashby | ENG | Swindon |
| 12 | Bernt Persson | SWE | Cradley Heath |
| 13 | Terry Betts | ENG | King's Lynn |
| 14 | Malcolm Simmons | ENG | King's Lynn |
| 15 | Trevor Hedge | ENG | Wimbledon |
| 16 | Jim McMillan | SCO | Glasgow |
| 17 | Sören Sjösten | SWE | Belle Vue |
| 18 | Reidar Eide | NOR | Poole |
| 19 | Göte Nordin | SWE | Wembley |
| 20 | John Boulger | AUS | Leicester |
London Cup
Hackney won the London Cup for only the second time, after previously winning it back in 1936.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hackney Hawks | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 177 | 135 | 8 |
| 2 | West Ham Hammers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 156 | 156 | 2 |
| 3 | Wimbledon Dons | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 135 | 177 | 2 |
Midland Cup
Coventry won the Midland Cup for the third consecutive year. The competition consisted of six teams.
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Wolverhampton | Swindon | 41–36, 41–35 |
| Oxford | Cradley | 38–40, 33–45 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Leicester | Wolverhampton | 41–37, 42–36 |
| Cradley | Coventry | 33–45, 27–51 |
Final
First leg Tony Lomas 11 Nigel Boocock 10 Ron Mountford 7 Jan Simensen 7 John Haarhy 5 Roger Hill 4 Les Owen 1 Ray Wilson 12 John Boulger 11 Alan Cowland 3 Graham Plant 2 Norman Storer 2 Tom Leadbitter 2 Malcolm Brown 1
Second leg John Boulger 12 Ray Wilson 8 Graham Plant 6 Malcolm Shakespeare 6 Norman Storer 5 Alan Cowland 4 Malcolm Brown 0 Tony Lomas 8 Ron Mountford 8 Jan Simensen 8 Nigel Boocock 5 Roger Hill 5 Les Owen 3 John Haarhy 0
Coventry won on aggregate 82–74
Metropolitan Gold Cup
| M | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hackney | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| 2 | Reading | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | Wimbledon | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | West Ham | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Riders and final averages
Belle Vue
- 11.33
- 9.11
- 7.14
- 7.01
- 6.97
- 6.36
- 6.30
- 5.27
- 4.74
- 4.50
Coventry
- 9.95
- 7.81
- 7.66
- 6.16
- 5.91
- 5.59
- 5.07
Cradley Heath
- 9.68
- 7.73
- 7.25
- 6.00
- 5.57
- 4.66
- 4.25
- 3.60
- 2.10
- 1.54
Exeter
- 8.92
- 8.87
- 6.42
- 5.94
- 5.28
- 5.10
- 4.42
- 4.10
Glasgow
- 9.18
- 8.29
- 7.27
- 6.99
- 4.80
- 4.69
- 3.46
Hackney
- 10.26
- 8.97
- 7.28
- 5.44
- 4.88
- 4.81
- 4.65
- 4.49
- 4.36
- 4.00
Halifax
- 10.19
- 8.80
- 6.11
- 6.09
- 5.01
- 4.56
- 4.46
- 4.24
- 3.75
King's Lynn
- 9.62
- 9.22
- (Kid Bodie) 8.11
- 5.49
- 5.15
- 4.93
- 4.38
- 3.91
- 3.79
Leicester
- 10.94
- 8.99
- 8.78
- 5.47
- 5.08
- 4.88
- 4.44
- 3.33
Newport
- 8.76
- 8.03
- 7.87
- 7.24
- 4.84
- 4.53
- 4.42
- 4.38
- 2.11
Oxford
- 7.60
- 6.98
- 6.86
- 6.77
- 6.70
- 6.55
- 4.58
- 3.89
- 2.57
Poole
- 9.10
- 7.76
- 7.76
- 6.03
- 6.01
- 4.93
- 3.14
Reading
- 10.05
- 7.74
- 7.23
- 6.74
- 6.13
- 5.25
- 4.75
- 3.30
Sheffield
- 10.74
- 7.58
- 7.04
- 6.60
- 6.03
- 5.92
- 5.11
- 4.60
Swindon
- 10.67
- 9.76
- 6.63
- 4.98
- 4.78
- 3.80
- 3.79
- 3.43
Wembley
- 9.04
- 8.28
- 7.80
- 7.43
- 7.23
- 5.72
- 4.21
- 1.33
West Ham
- 8.73
- 8.14
- 6.51
- 4.93
- 4.44
- 3.82
- 3.66
- 3.13
- 2.98
Wimbledon
- 9.89
- 9.18
- 6.25
- 5.31
- 5.13
- 4.69
- 4.19
Wolverhampton
- 10.99
- 7.61
- 6.87
- 6.56
- 5.06
- .4.97
- 4.80
- 4.75
- 3.43
- 2.67
References
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- Rogers, Martin. (1978). "The Illustrated History of Speedway". Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
- (6 January 1971). "Reading switch".
- Oakes, Peter. (1981). "1981 Speedway Yearbook". Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
- "HISTORY ARCHIVE".
- "1971 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher.
- "1971 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- "Season 1971".
- (9 October 1971). "Cradley crash at Hackney".
- (17 October 1971). "Speedway". Sunday Mirror.
- "Hackney 1971".
- "1971 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher.
- (13 October 1971). "Fifth heat settles Lions". Leicester Daily Mercury.
- "1971 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher.
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