The 1987 British League season was the 53rd 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and the 23rd 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
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 Souther ...
comfortably won the league finishing 16 points clear of Cradley Heath. The same five main riders who made up the 1986 team rode through the 1987 season but crucially four of them improved on their 1986 averages.
Tommy Knudsen
Tommy Knudsen (born 9 November 1961 in Roager, Denmark) is a former Motorcycle speedway rider who won eight Speedway World Team Cups, and two World Pairs.
Career
Knudsen first became known when he won the Danish Under-16 ...
and
Kelvin Tatum
Kelvin Martin Tatum MBE (born 8 February 1964, in Epsom, Surrey) is a former British international motorcycle speedway and grasstrack rider.
Career
Tatum attended Brighton College from 1977 to 1980. He started riding speedway bikes at Hackn ...
both hit over 10, while
Rick Miller and
David Bargh
David Andrew Bargh (born 14 March 1962) is a former speedway rider from New Zealand.
Speedway career
Bargh is a four times champion of New Zealand, winning the New Zealand Championship in 1986, 1987, 1991 and 2000. He was runner up in the E ...
both improved by about 2 points on average.
John Jørgensen
John Jørgensen (born 18 July 1962 in Middelfart, Denmark) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. He is not to be confused with Johnny Jørgensen, the 1989 Danish Junior speedway champion.
Career
Jørgensen won the ...
also remained consistent for the Bees. Coventry also won the League Cup but lost to Cradley in the final of the Knockout Cup. The double defending champions
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 200 ...
were forced to release
Simon Wigg
Simon Antony Wigg (15 October 1960 – 15 November 2000) was an English speedway, grasstrack and longtrack rider who won five World Long Track Championships and finished runner-up in the Speedway World Championship in 1989.Rogers, G.(200 ...
to Hackney and
Per Sorensen because of the 45 point limit. They finished second from bottom despite
Hans Nielsen topping the averages once again.
Final table
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
British League Knockout Cup
The 1987 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 49th edition of the
Knockout Cup for tier one teams.
Cradley Heath 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 ...
were the winners for the second successive year if including the tied 1986 final.
First round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
First leg
Second leg
Cradley Heath were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 94-86.
League Cup
The League Cup was contested as a league format.
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 Souther ...
won the final over two legs defeating
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, wi ...
84-72 on aggregrate. It was the last time that the competition was contested.
Qualifying table
Semi-finals
Final
Final replay
Leading final averages
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
* 8.92
* 8.41
* 8.38
* 6.35
* 5.82
* 5.55
* 3.92
* 2.65
Bradford
* 8.58
* 8.47
* 7.35
* 7.31
* 5.73
* 5.71
* 4.97
* 1.48
Coventry
* 10.25
* 10.06
* 8.20
* 7.80
* 7.46
* 3.44
* 2.58
* 2.18
* 2.13
Cradley Heath
* 10.44
* 9.60
* 9.33
* 5.10
*A 4.94
* 3.94
* 3.79
* 3.47
* 1.18
Hackney
* 9.38
* 7.03
* 6.10
* 5.60
* 5.40
* 5.22
* 5.20
* 5.08
Ipswich
* 9.67
* 8.00
* 7.61
* 6.39
* 5.03
* 4.58
* 4.05
* 3.97
* 2.20
King's Lynn
* 8.35
* 6.67
* 6.42
* 6.25
* 5.34
* 5.27
* 4.94
* 4.93
* 4.39
Oxford
* 11.38
* 8.53
* 7.87
* 5.68
* 4.39
* 3.72
* 3.63
* 3.04
Reading
* 9.34
* 8.99
* 6.95
* 6.60
* 6.45
* 6.02
* 2.57
* 1.33
Sheffield
* 9.47
* 9.23
* 7.59
* 7.26
* 5.50
* 4.72
* 3.88
Swindon
* 9.61
* 9.36
* 7.35
* 6.73
* 6.55
* 6.37
* 5.73
* 1.54
* 0.63
Wolverhampton
* 9.86
* 7.28
* 6.33
* 6.01
* 5.48
* 4.74
* 3.20
* 1.26
* 0.40
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
{{British Speedway League seasons
British League
1987 in British motorsport
1987 in speedway