The 1971 British League Division Two season was the second tier/division motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

Summary

The league continued with 17 teams in its fourth season despite

Reading Racers Reading Racers are a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished. In 2016 a ...

moving up to

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

and two teams dropping out because there were three new entrants to the league. Doncaster Dragons disbanded for good, with the promotion and some of the riders moving to Birmingham and reformed the

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of British speedway, during the 1952 Speedway National Lea ...

, who had last raced in 1957. The Crayford Highwayman also dropped out and the Middlesbrough Teessiders changed their name to Teesside Teessiders. Birmingham were one of the new entrants along with

Hull Vikings The Hull Vikings were a speedway team from Hull, England, who operated primarily from The Boulevard (stadium) and Craven Park from 1971 to 2005. History The team originated as the Hull Angels and were based at Hedon Stadium in Hedon on the ...

and

Sunderland Stars The Sunderland Stars were a motorcycle speedway team who raced at the Sunderland Greyhound Stadium from 1971 until 1974 in the Britrish League Division Two when Len Silver acted as promoter on behalf of Allied Presentations Ltd. History Spee ...

. Hull had last seen league speedway in 1949 and Sunderland in 1964.

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England, that raced in the SGB Championship. History Speedway was initially introduced to Eastbourne in 1929. During their first league season th ...

won their first title since their

1959 Southern Area League The 1959 Southern Area League was the final season of the Southern Area League as the regional second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams. With no league in 1958, a set of 6 new teams competed in 1959. Summary ...

success. Despite losing their leading rider

Dave Jessup David John Jessup (born 7 March 1953 in Ipswich, England) is a former speedway rider who finished runner-up the Speedway World Championship in 1980 to fellow countryman Michael Lee.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Spe ...

to division 1, the Eastbourne Eagles triumphed by bringing in new signing Malcolm Ballard to support the Kennett brothers

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

and Dave.

Final table

Top Five Riders (League Averages)

British League Division Two Knockout Cup

The 1971 British League Division Two Knockout Cup (sponsored by the Speedway Express) was the fourth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams.

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 ra ...

were the winners of the competition for the second successive year.

First round

Second round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

+ rained off, tie awarded to Ipswich

Final

First leg Second leg Ipswich were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92–64.

Leading final averages

Riders' Championship

John Louis won the Rider's Championship, held at

Hackney Wick Stadium Hackney Wick Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located at Waterden Road in the London Borough of Hackney. Origins The site chosen for the stadium was on land known as Hackney Marshes west of the River Lea and on the west sid ...

on 2 October. * f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure

Riders' final averages

Berwick *

Doug Wyer Doug Wyer (born 16 August 1947 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England) is a former international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1976. Rode for Young Lions V Great Britain on 6 April 1976 at Leicester ...

9.69 *Maury Robinson 7.97 *Andy Meldrum 7.24 *Alistair Brady 7.03 *Peter Kelly 5.77 *Alan Paynter 5.42 *Bobby Campbell 4.75 *Jim Beaton 4.14 *George Beaton 3.36 Birmingham *

George Major George Major (born 26 October 1939) is a British former motorcycle speedway rider. Biography Born in Donnington, Oxfordshire,Hearn, Dan (2010)Speedway stars hold memorial reunion, ''Banbury Cake'', 9 October 2010, retrieved 2012-03-24 Major' ...

8.90 *Terry Shearer 8.40 *Archie Wilkinson 6.27 *Chris Harrison 6.08 *Malcolm Corradine 5.47 *Cliff Emms 5.45 *Ian Wilson .4.65 *Gunther 'Hec' Haslinger 4.41 Boston *

Arthur Price Arthur Price is a Sheffield-based manufacturer of cutlery and silverware, originally established in Birmingham, England in 1902, and later moving to Sheffield. It opened a subsidiary plant again in Birmingham and by the 1950s was the biggest ...

8.92 *Jim Ryman 8.32 * Carl Glover 7.27 *Russ Osborne 6.65 *Jack Bywater 6.48 *Tony Featherstone 6.04 *Vic Cross 5.39 *

Ray Bales Raymond H. Bales (born 11 June 1951) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Biography Born in Norwich, Bales is the son of former international rider Billy Bales.Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) ''Who's Who in World Speedway'', ...

5.28 * Graham Jones 2.50 Bradford *Alan Knapkin 10.17 *Alf Wells 9.02 *Dave Baugh 8.49 *Dave Schofield 7.54 *Robin Adlington 7.13 *Sid Sheldrick 5.15 *Alan Bridgett 4.82 *Brian Murray 4.43 *Peter Thompson 4.35 *Stan Dewhurst 1.91 Canterbury *

Ross Gilbertson Vernon Walter Ross Gilbertson (2 February 1931 – 8 February 2009) was a motorcycle speedway rider from Scotland. Career Gilbertson started racing in the British leagues during the 1954 Southern Area League, when riding for the California P ...

8.93 *Graham Banks 8.03 *Dave Piddock 6.75 *

Graeme Smith Graeme Craig Smith (born 1 February 1981) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed captain of the national team, taking over from Shaun Pollock. He held th ...

6.32 * Graeme Stapleton 6.29 *Phil Pratt 6.09 *

Ted Hubbard Edward Raymond Hubbard nicknamed "Hurricane Hubbard" (born in Lydden, England) was a motorcycle speedway rider in National League (speedway) and British League. Career Hubbard was a popular sportsman who rode chiefly for Canterbury Crusaders ...

5.44 *Bob Tabet 4.76 *

Barney Kennett Brian 'Barney' Kennett (born 1955) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who raced in the British National League. Born in Orpington, he is part of a speedway family which includes brothers Gordon Kennett and Dave Kennett, and nep ...

4.09 *John Hammond 4.00 *Mike Barkaway 2.84 Crewe *

Phil Crump Philip John Crump (born 9 February 1952) in Mildura, Victoria is a retired Australian Motorcycle speedway riderLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. who attained 3rd place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 Spe ...

8.98 *John Jackson 8.32 *Dai Evans 7.72 *Jack Millen 6.61 *Ian Bottomley 6.48 *Barry Meeks 5.71 *Garry Moore 5.31 *Dave Parry 5.21 Eastbourne *Malcolm Ballard 8.74 *

Gordon Kennett Gordon William Kennett (born 2 September 1953) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. In 1978 he won the World Pairs Championship with Malcolm Simmons. He also finished runner-up to Ole Olsen in the 1978 Speedway World Championship at Wembley. ...

8.70 *Dave Kennett 7.49 *Laurie Sims 7.10 *Reg Trott 6.99 * Roger Johns 6.89 *Bobby McNeil 6.82 *Mac Woolford 6.67 Hull * Reg Wilson 9.69 *Tony Childs 9.22 *George Devonport 7.71 *Colin Tucker 6.20 *Robin Amundson 5.94 *Dennis Wasden 5.14 *Pete Boston 4.47 *Ian Bottomley 4.39 *Peter Baldock 3.29 Ipswich * John Louis 11.31 *

Tony Davey Tony 'Shrimp' Davey (born 15 August 1951) is a former speedway rider from England. Speedway career Davey rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1970-1980, riding for Ipswich Witches for the entire ten year period. He reached the final ...

9.93 *Pete Bailey 8.20 *Peter Prinsloo 5.25 *Clive Noy 5.10 *Ron Bagley 5.01 *Ted Howgego 4.85 *Ted Spittles 4.32 *Stan Pepper 3.70 Long Eaton *

Malcolm Shakespeare Terence Malcolm Shakespeare (born 25 April 1950) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Born in West Bromwich, Shakespeare had a second half ride at Cradley Heath before making his league debut in 1969 with Long Eaton Ranger ...

9.80 *Roger Mills 9.41 *Geoff Bouchard 8.26 *Gil Farmer 4.42 *Peter Wrathall 4.42 *Phil Whittaker 4.36 *Steve Bass 3.77 *Ian Champion 3.45 *Gerry Scott 2.47 Peterborough *Andy Ross 9.02 *Richard Greer 7.95 *Roy Carter 6.73 * John Davis 5.85 *Joe Hughes 5.81 *John Stayte 5.59 *Alan Witt 5.51 *Pete Saunders 5.47 *Brian Clark 5.13 Rayleigh *Hugh Saunders 9.41 *Geoff Maloney 7.38 *Bob Young 6.67 * Allan Emmett 6.44 *Nigel Rackett 6.38 *Dingle Brown 5.93 *Terry Stone 4.65 *Dave "Tiger" Beech 4.33 Rochdale * Alan Wilkinson 10.08 * Peter Collins 9.80 *Paul Tyrer 7.92 *Ken Moss 5.41 *Graham Drury 5.40 *Colin Goad 4.69 *Robbie Gardner 4.66 *Terry Kelly 4.27 *Paul Callaghan 2.51 *Clive Johnson 2.34 Romford *Kevin Holden 8.94 *Bob Coles 8.06 *Brian Foote 8.00 *Stan Stevens 6.60 *Mike Sampson 6.14 *Mike Vernam 6.11 *Colin Sanders 5.78 *Charlie Benham 5.22 *Ian Gills 4.78 *Terry Shearer 4.59 *Bruce Edgar 3.00 Sunderland *Russ Dent 8.16 *George Barclay 7.21 *John Goodall 6.43 *Peter Wrathall 4.92 *Alan Mackie 4.42 *Brian Whaley 4.13 *John Lynch 4.05 *Gerry Richardson 4.00 *John Knock 3.83 Teesside *

Bruce Forrester Bruce Millar Forrester (December 26, 1908 – January 30, 1995) was a judge of the United States Tax Court. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated from Pembroke Country-Day School in 1928. He earned his undergraduate degree from th ...

8.33 *Tim Swales 7.04 *Dave Durham 7.00 *Bob Jameson 6.31 *Terry Lee 6.09 *

Frank Auffret Frank Joseph Auffret (born 23 December 1950) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Born in Middlesbrough, Auffret entered the sport via cycle speedway, and after winning the Tyneside Cycle Speedway Championship in 1967, he ...

5.92 *Pete Reading 5.45 *Tony Swales 4.97 *Dene Davies 4.62 *Mick Moore 4.46 Workington *Malcolm MacKay 9.81 * Taffy Owen 8.60 * Lou Sansom 7.87 *Ken Vale 5.89 *Dave Kumeta 4.92 *Kym Amundson 4.71 *Bernie Hornby 4.32 *Geoff Penniket 4.15 *Chris Blythe 3.93 *Steve Watson 3.57

References

{{Speedway British League Division Two seasons Speedway British League Division Two / National League