The 1985 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.
Team changes
A new team called the
Barrow Blackhawks entered the league but only staged a handful of fixtures. The team failed to meet the minimum points limit resulting in the league authorities stopping their participation.
Scunthorpe Stags withdrew from the league in May.
Summary
The title was won by the
Ellesmere Port Gunners
Ellesmere Port Gunners were an English Motorcycle speedway, speedway team in Ellesmere Port, Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, which operated at the Ellesmere Port Stadium from 1972 until their closure in 1985.
History
The inaugural league season for th ...
. Barrow Blackhawks withdrew in May and had their results expunged.
Final table
National League Knockout Cup
The 1985 National League Knockout Cup was the 18th 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.
First round
Abandoned
Second round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
First leg
Second leg
Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–73.
Riders' Championship
Neil Middleditch
Neil Middleditch (born 7 January 1957 in Wimborne, Dorset) is a former speedway rider and the team manager of the Poole Pirates. His father Ken was a former rider with the Poole Pirates. He was the team manager of the Great Britain national spee ...
won the
Riders' Championship. The final was held on 10 August at
Brandon Stadium
Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Satur ...
.
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure
Pairs
The
National League Pairs was 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 15 September and was won by Ellesmere Port Gunners.
Semi finals
*Poole bt Wimbledon
*Ellesmere Port bt Peterborough
Final
*Ellesmere Port bt Poole
Fours
Middlesbrough Tigers won the fours championship final, held at the
East of England Arena
The East of England Showground is a large showground area (667,731sqm) located on East of England Way in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The Showground is owned by Bellway as of around 2019 and the site currently includes the East of Engla ...
on 21 July.
Semi finals
*SF1 = Hackney 18, Stoke 12, Berwick 10, Wimbledon 8
*SF2 = Middlesbrough 17, Peterborough 12, Poole 11, Arena Essex 8
Final
Leading averages
Riders & final averages
Arena Essex
*
Neil Middleditch
Neil Middleditch (born 7 January 1957 in Wimborne, Dorset) is a former speedway rider and the team manager of the Poole Pirates. His father Ken was a former rider with the Poole Pirates. He was the team manager of the Great Britain national spee ...
9.47
*
Martin Goodwin 7.42
*
Bob Humphreys 6.96
*
David Cheshire 6.90
*David Smart 6.29
*Alan Sage 5.63
*Gary Chessell 4.77
*Ian Humphreys 2.44
*Sean Barker 2.12
Barrow (withrew from the league)
*Paul Price 4.40
*Kevin Armitage 4.00
*Gary O'Hare 3.76
*Eric Broadbelt 3.37
*Terry Kelly 1.87
*Bob Coles 1.71
*Gary Clegg 1.33
*Wayne Jackson 1.00
Berwick
*
Jimmy McMillan
James McMillan III (born December 1, 1946) is an American political activist, perennial candidate, and Vietnam War veteran.
McMillan is best known as the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, a New York-based political party. McMillan ha ...
8.24
*
Steve McDermott 7.70
*
Bruce Cribb
Bruce Brian Hoani Cribb (born 27 June 1946) is a former speedway rider from New Zealand, who rode in the United Kingdom for several teams in a career spanning over twenty years.
Career
Cribb was born in Palmerston North, where he began riding, ...
7.56
*Charlie McKinna 7.56
*Rob Grant Sr. 7.06
*Sean Courtney 5.87
*Phil Kynman 5.27
*Jacko Irving 4.00
Birmingham
*
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 ...
8.57
*
Reg Wilson 7.50
*Phil White 7.39
*Paul Evitts 6.03
*Paul Stead 5.90
*Linden Warner 4.50
*Mark Stevenson 4.43
*Ian M Stead 3.45
*Julian Parr 2.80
Canterbury
*
Dave Mullett 8.78
*Mike Spink 7.97
*Rob Tilbury 6.44
*
Neville Tatum
Neville Tatum (born 21 July 1965) is a former speedway rider from England.
Speedway career
Tatum reached the final of the British Speedway Championship in 1997. He rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1984 to 2003, riding for variou ...
5.72
*Bill Barrett 5.64
*Steve Bryenton 5.16
*Lawrie Bloomfield 4.26
*Mark Terry 2.13
Eastbourne
*
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 Wemble ...
10.47
*
Colin Richardson
Colin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer. He has worked on over 100 albums and is most frequently associated with heavy metal and its subgenres.
Career
Some of the bands he has worked for include:
* 3 In ...
8.66
*Andy Buck 7.26
*
Martin Dugard 5.69
*Keith Pritchard 5.63
*Paul Clarke 5.49
*Chris Mulvihill 4.38
*Derek Harrison 3.18
*
Dean Standing 1.21
Edinburgh
*Brett Saunders 7.46
*
Bobby Beaton 7.39
*Steve Finch 7.02
*Dave Trownson 6.13
*Phil Jeffrey 5.70
*Billy Burton 5.04
*Mark Burrows 4.18
*Alan Mason 3.76
*Gordon Whitaker 3.24
*Roger Lambert 2.97
*Scott Lamb 1.92
Ellesmere Port
*
Joe Owen
Joseph William Owen (born 13 September 1956) is a British former motorcycle speedway rider from England.
Career
Born in Ormskirk, Owen took up speedway at the age of fourteen at the training school at Belle Vue and made his competitive debut ...
10.47
*
Louis Carr 9.37
*
Dave Morton 8.03
*
David Walsh 6.73
*Gary O'Hare 6.00
*Miles Evans 5.76
*Phil Alderman 5.37
*Richie Owen 4.78
Exeter
*
Colin Cook 7.74
*Rob Maxfield 7.74
*
Nigel Sparshott 7.39
*Steve Bishop 7.14
*Kevin Price 6.91
*
Michael Coles 6.28
*Mike Semmonds 5.30
*Dave Roberts 2.42
Glasgow
*
Steve Lawson 9.39
*Martin McKinna 6.60
*Andy Reid 5.99
*Kenny Brailsford 4.50
*David Cassels 4.23
*Jim Beaton 4.21
*
Brian Collins 4.05
*Geoff Powell 4.00
*Colin Caffrey 3.65
Hackney
*
Andy Galvin 8.02
*Paul Whittaker 7.76
*
Alan Mogridge
Alan John Mogridge (born 6 November 1963) is a former speedway rider from England.
Speedway career
Mogridge reached the final of the British Speedway Championship
The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competiti ...
7.32
*
Barry Thomas 7.29
*Richard Pettman 4.98
Long Eaton
*Chris Pidcock 8.14
*
Dave Perks
David Ernest Perks (born 16 December 1951) known as Dave Perks is a former speedway rider from England.
Speedway career
Perks rode in the top two tiers of British Speedway from 1972 to 1987, riding for various clubs.
He began a cycle speedw ...
8.09
*David Tyler 7.06
*Paul Stead 6.54
*Graham Drury 5.97
*
Alan Molyneux 5.91
*Gerald Short 5.85
*Pete Smith 4.78
*John Proctor 4.54
*John Frankland 4.44
*Mark Stevenson 4.00
*Derek Cooper 2.70
Middlesbrough
*
Steve Wilcock
Steve Wilcock (born 24 January 1954) is a former motorcycle speedway from England.
Speedway career
Wilcock rode in the top two tiers of British Speedway from 1974 to 1991, riding for various clubs.
In 1979, he finished runner-up in the Nati ...
9.23
*
Martin Dixon 8.93
*
Mark Fiora
Mark Fiora (born 16 May 1962 in Mount Barker, South Australia) is a retired Australian international Motorcycle speedway rider. He is a four time South Australian Champion, and winner of the Australian Best Pairs championship in 1988 with Cr ...
8.57
*
Gary Havelock
Robert Gary Havelock (born 4 November 1968, in Eaglescliffe, County Durham, England) is a former speedway rider who was World Champion in 1992. For several years he captained the Redcar Bears in the Premier League. He is the son of former speed ...
7.33
*Jim Burdfield 6.72
*Geoff Pusey 6.04
*Mark Crang 3.83
*Ian Wedgwood 3.02
*Roland Tebbs 1.54
Mildenhall
*
Carl Blackbird 9.64
*
Melvyn Taylor
Melvyn Roy Taylor (born 26 April 1961) is a former speedway rider from England.
Speedway career
Taylor started his career at Mildenhall Fen Tigers in 1977 before riding in the top tier of British Speedway for King's Lynn Stars and Reading Ra ...
7.84
*Carl Baldwin 7.82
*Robert Henry 7.46
*
Andy Hines
Andy Hines (born March 22, 1962) is an American futurist, head of graduate studies in Foresight at the University of Houston, and author of several books on strategic foresight.
Hines is a professional futurist, co-creator of the framework fores ...
7.20
*Rob Hollingworth 5.84
*Dave Jackson 5.45
*Richard Green 3.92
*Rob Parish 3.26
*Wally Hill 2.54
Milton Keynes
*
Keith White 8.55
*
Nigel De'ath 8.48
*
David Blackburn 6.28
*Derek Richardson 5.94
*Kevin Smart 5.70
*Mark Chessell .55
*Ashley Pullen 4.00
*Rob Wall 3.58
*Peter McNamara 3.53
*Rob Price 1.94
Peterborough
*
Kevin Hawkins 9.12
*
Mick Poole
Michael David Poole (born 23 April 1955) is an English retired football goalkeeper who played professionally in The Football League, North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League.
Poole began his career with Rochdale A.F.C. ...
7.52
*Dave Allen 7.27
*
Ian Clark 6.73
*
Ian Barney
Ian John Barney (born 15 February 1961) is a former speedway rider from England.
Speedway career
Barney rode in the top two tiers of British Speedway from 1980 to 2003, riding for various clubs.
In 1984, he became the National League Ride ...
6.00
*Keith Bloxsome 5.92
*Adrian Hume 4.81
*Pete Chapman 2.82
Poole
*Stan Bear 9.79
*
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...
9.32
*
Martin Yeates
Martin Yeates (born 24 November 1953 in Salisbury, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider who most prominently rode for the Poole Pirates, Weymouth Wildcats and Oxford Cheetahs.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World ...
8.40
*David Biles 6.39
*Marcus Bisson 6.09
*Guy Wilson 5.98
*Ray Dole 5.96
*Dave Gibbs 3.95
Rye House
*
Andrew Silver 8.61
*Alastair Stevens 7.37
*Rob Woffinden 6.84
*
Bobby Garrad 6.34
*
Kelvin Mullarkey
Kelvin John Mullarkey (29 March 1951 – 12 June 2018) was a motorcycle speedway rider from England.
Career
Mullarkey spent most of his career with Rye House Rockets
The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, ...
5.91
*Kevin Brice 4.41
*Neil Cotton 4.33
*
Keith Millard
Keith Joseph Millard (born March 18, 1962) is an American former professional football player who played as a defensive tackle for nine seasons for the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles f ...
3.11
*Gary Rolls 3.11
*Nigel Leaver 2.10
Scunthorpe
*Andy Buck 9.64
*Rob Woffinden 7.54
*
Steve Finch
Steve Finch (born 8 January 1958) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.
Career
Finch started his British leagues career during the 1974 British League Division Two season, where he rode for Long Eaton Invaders. He rode for Berw ...
7.50
*Derek Richardson 5.78
*Julian Parr 4.57
*Mark Burrows 4.40
*Peter McNamara 1.93
Stoke
*
Nigel Crabtree
Nigel Crabtree (born 15 March 1960) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.
Speedway career
Crabtree rode in the top two tiers of British Speedway from 1977 to 1996, riding for various clubs.
In 1984, he won the National Leagu ...
8.69
*
Tom Owen 8.36
*
Paul Thorp
Paul Thorp (born 9 September 1964 in Macclesfield, Cheshire,) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.
Career
Thorp began his racing career with the Birmingham Brummies in 1980 and spent four seasons with the club.
He was a six time ...
7.38
*
Graham Jones 5.70
*Mike Wilding 5.53
*Ian Stead 5.33
*
Daz Sumner 4.82
*Nigel Harrhy 3.45
Wimbledon
*
Mike Ferreira
Michaal John Ferreira (1955–2014) was a motorcycle speedway rider from Zimbabwe.
Speedway career
Ferreira rode in the top two tiers of British Speedway from 1974 to 1985, riding for various clubs.
During the 1981 National League season h ...
9.82
*
Roger Johns 9.64
*
Jamie Luckhurst 8.34
*Kevin Teager 6.45
*Peter Johns 5.09
*Jeremy Luckhurst 4.94
*Mark Baldwin 4.73
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