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1974 British League Season
The 1974 British League season was the 40th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the tenth season known as the British League. Summary The 1973 Champions Reading didn't compete as they no longer had a stadium, following the closure of Reading Stadium and Hull Vikings replaced them. The league was reduced to seventeen teams when the Coatbridge Tigers dropped down to Division Two. Overseas riders that rode in other leagues abroad were banned which meant that top Swedish riders such as Anders Michanek, Bernt Persson, Tommy Jansson and Christer Löfqvist didn't compete. The Exeter Falcons won their first title. They were headed by the legendary four time world champion Ivan Mauger and backed up well by Scott Autrey (8.32), Tony Lomas (7.29) and Kevin Holden (7.26). At the end of the season Oxford Rebels finished four points above the Hull Vikings courtesy of a protest over Hull's victory against the Rebels. Hull were later re-awarded the points aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British League
The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a second division starting in 1968 (which was renamed the New National League in 1975 and subsequently the National League). The British League was formed in 1965 following the merger of the National League and the Provincial League. Matches were held over a series of races, with two riders from each team taking part in each race. In 1995 it was replaced by the Premier League for two years before the sport was restructured into three tiers with the formation of the Elite League in 1997. The Championship was decided on a league table basis. Champions See also * List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions * List of United Kingdom Speedway League Riders' champions *British League Riders' Championship The British League Riders Championship was an individual motorcycle speedway contest be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anders Michanek
Anders Michanek (born 30 May 1943 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Speedway rider. In 1974 he won the Speedway World Championship in his Swedish homeland with a maximum score of 15 points. Career Michanek had a very successful career riding in the British League. He initially signed for the Long Eaton Archers in 1967 before going on to ride for various clubs including Leicester Lions, Newcastle Diamonds, Reading Racers, Ipswich Witches and Cradley Heathens. Michanek won the World Final in 1974 at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, and won the Swedish Individual Championship several times."Swedish Champion", ''Speedway Star'', 9 September 1978, p. 8 He won the World Long Track Final in 1977 at Aalborg in Denmark."World Long Track", ''Speedway Star'', 9 September 1978, p. 8 When Michanek finished second behind Denmark's Ole Olsen in the 1975 World Final at London's Wembley Stadium, it was reported that he was relieved to have relinquished his world title as he had not enjoyed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halifax Dukes
The Halifax Dukes were a Motorcycle speedway, Speedway team which operated from 1949–1951 and again from 1965 until their closure in 1985 at The Shay Stadium in Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. The team were nicknamed the "Dukes" after the local Duke of Wellington's Regiment, whose training depot, Wellesley Barracks, was in Halifax, and used the Regiments elephant symbol on their race jacket.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History A team called Halifax Speedway originally staged at Thrum Hall between 1928 and 1930 and another team called Halifax Nomads operated racing a few fixtures in 1948. On 8 February 1949 construction began on a new speedway track at The Shay. The team enjoyed good support during the opening season with a crowd of over 18,000 attending one meeting in September. They finished in 4th place. In 1950, the team won their first silverware winning the 1950 Speedway National League Division Two#National Trophy Stage Two, National ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Newport Wasps
Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Newport, South Wales from 1964 to 2012. They were the 1999 Conference League champions. The Wasp logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City of Newport. History 1964–1977 Newport Wasps first competed in the 1964 Provincial Speedway League (division 2), they finished a creditable fourth and also won the division 2 version of the Knockout Cup, when winning the Provincial League Knockout Cup during their debut season. The following season they joined the inaugural British League season (the top division) and would remain in the top division until 1977. The team weas based at the now-defunct Somerton Park stadium, which was also the home of football and greyhound racing. The tight speedway track meant that turf had to be brought on to make the corner flag area for football matches and removed once the match had finished. The 'Wasps' nickname was dropped after 1972 with the team simp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King's Lynn Stars
King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when King's Lynn failed to have a team competing in the British league system. History 1966–1995 The team's inaugural season was the 1966 British League season, where they finished 16th. They managed to finish in third place during the 1972 and 1973 seasons with their strongest riders being Terry Betts and Malcolm Simmons. The first silverware won by the team was the Knockout Cup in 1977. They won the final by the small margin of two points on aggregate, thanks largely to Michael Lee and Betts. The team continued to compete in the highest division until the end of the 1995 season but failed to finish any higher than 4th place. The team has operated with a few different nicknames, including: the Knights; Silver Machine (as an additional nick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ipswich Witches
The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first race 7.45pm). The Witches are currently promoted by former Ipswich riders Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins. Chris Louis is the son of former rider and promoter John Louis History Early history Foxhall Stadium was purpose-built for speedway in 1950, and meetings were held there from 1951 to 1965 when the track was resurfaced for stock car racing. Attendances approached 20,000 and made stars of riders such as Syd Clarke, Junior Bainbridge, Tich Read and Peter Moore. The inaugural league season was the 1952 Speedway Southern League, where the team finished 8th. After 10 seasons of league speedway the team withdrew from the 1962 Speedway National League mid-season. Their best placing to that date had been a third place finish in 1953. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, with home matches usually taking place on Monday evenings. They also run a second team in the National Development League, known as the Belle Vue Colts. History Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshulme Lane before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there until 1987 when the stadium was demolished. The club moved to a new track at its original home and remained there before moving to the National Speedway Stadium in 2016. Hyde Road Stadium Hyde Road had a 40,000 capacity with a track length of , and was built around an existing athletics and cycling track. It is alleged that Britain's first open grass-track event took place here on 25 Februa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford Cheetahs
The Oxford Cheetahs are a British speedway teamLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 2001. The club folded in 2007 but in 2021, it was announced that the Oxford Cheetahs will make a long-awaited return to racing, participating in the SGB Championship 2022. Throughout their history they ran under two other names, from 1972 to 1975, they were known as Oxford Rebels and from 2003 to 2005, they were known as Oxford Silver Machine. They also ran junior sides known as the Oxford Cubs, Oxford Silver Machine Academy, Oxford Lions and the Oxford Chargers. History 1939-1948 The Oxford Motorcycle Speedway Club moved to Oxford Stadium in 1939 from a grass circuit in Sandford-on-Thames. The Secretary Ted Mander orchestrated the move and the first individual meeting was held on Easter Saturday 8 April 1939 won by Roy Duke. The club conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kevin Holden
Kevin Holden (30 July 1950 – 27 April 1977) was a speedway rider from England. Speedway career Kevin Holden was the nephew of Poole, Southampton and England rider Bill Holden and cousin to Paul Holden, who later rode for Weymouth juniors. Kevin rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1972 to 1977, riding for various clubs. Kevin signed for Romford Bombers on 26 March 1970. In his first season he achieved an average of 4.65 and won the Best Pairs Gold Trophy with his race-partner Barry Crowson. In his second season with the 'Bombers' Holden emerged as their number one rider securing and end of season average of 8.95 along with winning the Skol Lager Trophy at Rye House and the Spring Cup Classic at Romford, both in April with 15 and 13 points respectively. On 26 June he made his Young England debut at Ipswich, contributing 8+3 points in a resounding victory over Young Sweden. Again individual honours went his way in June first winning the Carnival Rosebowl at Romford ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Lomas
Anthony Carl Lomas (born 10 May 1943) is a former motorcycle speedway rider From England. Biography Born in Coventry, Lomas took up speedway at a Coventry training school in 1967 and after being signed by Coventry Bees was loaned out to Weymouth Eagles in Division Two of the British League in 1968, also riding for his parent club in one league match that year.Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) ''Who's Who of World Speedway'', Studio Publications, , p. 76 He averaged over 9 points in his first season, in which he also finished eighth in the Second Division Riders Championship, and in 1969, riding for Long Eaton Rangers, his average rose to almost 10.5 in division two and over 4.7 for Coventry in division one. By 1971, he had improved further and made his debut for England against Scotland, and for the British Lions against Australia, and was also reserve in the World Final. In 1972 he averaged over 8 points per match for Coventry and rode in further test matches for England. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scott Autrey
Scott Brian Autrey (born July 9, 1953) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider. In 1976, he became the first American rider to reach a speedway world final since Ernie Roccio in 1951. __TOC__ Motorcycle racing career Born in Maywood, California, Autrey began his motorcycle racing career in 1964 by competing in flat track racing at Perris Auto Speedway. In 1968, he had a major off-road racing victory when he won the 100cc class in the Rosarita Grand Prix in Mexico. He also competed in road racing, placing second in the novice road race class held before the 1971 Daytona 200. In 1972, Autrey finished second in the United States Speedway National Championship. After witnessing the 1972 Individual Speedway World Championship in Wembley Stadium, he made the decision to concentrate fully on speedway racing. In 1973, Autrey was recommended by Ivan Mauger to join the Exeter Falcons – with whom he won the British League title in 1974 – Swindon Robins, and the Poo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan Mauger
Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson of Sweden who won one World Final and five GP Championships. Mauger rode for several British teams – Wimbledon Dons, Newcastle Diamonds, Belle Vue Aces, Exeter Falcons, and the Hull Vikings. In 2010, Mauger was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements. Mauger and his wife of over 60 years, Raye, lived on Australia's Gold Coast. He was an active supporter of speedway, attending many meetings throughout the Australian season, as well as the Speedway Grand Prix of New Zealand, held at the Western Springs Stadium in Auckland. Career Wimbledon Mauger first arrived in the UK as a 17-year-old aboard the SS ''Rangitoto'', which docked at Tilbury in 1957, with his teenage bride Raye, renting a one-bedroom flat in Wimbledon a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
