The 1978 National League was contested as the second division of
Speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
in the United Kingdom.
Summary
Newport Dragons dropped out of the league after just one season of second tier racing, however two new entrants -
Milton Keynes Knights and
Barrow Furness Flyers - saw the league expanded to twenty teams.
Weymouth changed their nickname from Wizards to Wildcats.
Canterbury Crusaders
The Crusaders (formerly Canterbury Crusaders and BNZ Crusaders due to sponsorship by the Bank of New Zealand) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They are the mos ...
won the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
title. Although equal on points with
Newcastle Diamonds
Newcastle Diamonds were a motorcycle speedway team that raced in the SGB Championship, every Sunday night during the season (March–October) from their home at the Newcastle Stadium on the Fossway, Byker. The Stadium, previously known as Broug ...
they won by virtue of the fact that their race points difference was greater than their rival. It was Canterbury's second title win in eight years, previously winning in 1970. The Crusaders were led by heavy scoring from
Les Rumsey and Riders' Champion
Steve Koppe, while Newcastle's
Tom Owen topped the averages for the second consecutive year.
Earlier in the season 18 year-old junior rider Chris Prime was representing Newcastle when he was killed in the National League match against Mildenhall on 3 April.
Final table
Top Five Riders
National League Knockout Cup
The 1978 National League Knockout Cup was the 11th edition of the
Knockout Cup for tier two teams.
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 ...
were the winners of the competition for the second successive year.
First round
Second round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
First leg
Second leg
Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–73.
See also
*
List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
*
Knockout Cup (speedway)
Knockout Cup (sometimes referred to as the KO Cup) is a type of British motorcycle speedway competition, examples of which have run annually since 1929.
Each tier of British Speedway has its own respective Knockout Cup. The current Knockout Cup c ...
References
{{Speedway British League Division Two seasons
Speedway British League Division Two / National League