The 1981 British League season was the 47th season of the top tier 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
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and the 17th known as the
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 ...
.
Summary
The league comprised 16 teams - one fewer than the previous season.
Wolverhampton Wolves
Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 2008 ...
had dropped down to 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 s ...
.
American
Bruce Penhall
Bruce Lee Penhall (born May 10, 1957) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway racer who later starred in television and in film. He was the World Speedway Champion in 1981 and 1982 and rode for the successful Cradley Heath Heathen ...
(who would be crowned world champion by the end of the season) topped the averages and helped
Cradley Heathens
Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National L ...
win their first title. The Cradley team included Penhall, rising Danish star
Erik Gundersen
Erik Gundersen (born 8 October 1959 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider in the late 1970s and 1980s. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time. He was the ...
and British internationals
Alan Grahame
Alan William Grahame (5 February 1954 – 3 October 2021) was a British motorcycle speedway rider.
Career
Grahame was born at Kingstanding, Birmingham, in February 1954. He finished runner-up to his brother Andy Grahame in the 1982 British Sp ...
and
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
. The league runner-up
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 ...
gained some consolation by winning the Knockout Cup.
Final League table
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Top Ten Riders (League Averages)
British League Knockout Cup
The 1981 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 43rd edition of the
Knockout Cup
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
for tier one 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.
First round
Second round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
First leg
Second leg
The Ipswich Witches were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 100-92.
League Cup
The League Cup was inaugurated in 1981 with the 16 teams split into North and South sections comprising 8 teams each that met each other home and away. The winners of each section qualified for the two-legged final with
Coventry Bees
Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England.
History
A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Southern ...
beating
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 Kin ...
in the final 120-70 on aggregate.
North Group
South Group
Final
Final leading averages
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
* 9.75
* 9.08
* 7.33 (3 matches only)
* 7.00
* 6.95
* 6.02
* 5.60
* 5.58
* 5.51
* 4.74
Birmingham
* 9.80
* 8.64
* 7.44
* 6.41
* 5.89
* 5.13
* 5.06
* 4.93
* 4.90
* 2.14
Coventry
* 9.42
* 9.41
* 8.13
* 6.61
* 6.58
* 6.17
* 5.55
* 5.46
* 3.29
Cradley Heath
* 11.01
* 9.72
* 9.11
* 7.58
* 5.23
* 5.00
* 3.86
* 0.70
Eastbourne
* 9.67
* 9.28
* 6.96
* 4.44
* 4.24
* 3.92
* 3.75
* 2.89
* 2.80
Hackney
* 9.58
* 7.83
* 7.04
* 6.28
* 5.52
* 5.19
* 4.94
* 3.58
* 3.13
* 1.06
Halifax
* 10.17
* 7.82
* 7.80
* 6.38
* 5.30
* 5.16
* 4.65
* 3.55
* 2.98
* 0.92
Hull
* 9.18
* 8.67
* 7.28
* 5.56
* 5.36
* 4.83
* 4.67
* 4.62
* 4.11
Ipswich
* 8.92
* 8.63
* 8.07
* 6.98
* 6.62
* 6.16
* 6.12
King's Lynn
* 10.30
* 9.56
* 7.34
* 6.93
* 4.51
* 4.13
* 3.65
* 3.16
* 2.96
* 2.42
Leicester
* 8.55
* 7.44
*R 7.03
* 5.96
* 5.83
* 5.76
* 4.90
* 4.52
* 3.33
Poole
* 9.70
* 8.42
* 7.68
* 7.48
* 7.41
* 6.56
* 6.10
* 3.09
* 2.52
* 1.28
* 0.14
Reading
* 10.26
* 9.66
* 9.31
* 5.30
* 5.00
* 4.86
* 4.55
* 3.82
* 1.52
Sheffield
* 8.27
* 8.02
* 6.64
* 5.78
* 5.69
* 5.62
* 5.20
* 4.54
* 2.33
* 1.29
Swindon
* 10.30
* 8.55
* 7.52
* 7.05
* 6.88
* 6.03
* 4.98
* 4.70
* 1.78
* 0.42
Wimbledon
* 8.37
* 8.00
* 6.92
* 6.84
* 5.38
* 4.38
* 4.12
* 2.48
* 2.30
* 1.80
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 ...
References
{{British Speedway League seasons
British League
1981 in British motorsport
1981 in speedway