The 1980 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

The league was increased from 19 teams to 20 from the previous season.

Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a speedway team based in the city of Exeter. The Falcons operated from 1947 to 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. History In 1947, the Falcons competed in a league for the first time when they finished four ...

dropped down from 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 ...

to join the 19 incumbent sides.

Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Rye House began life in 1934 hosting open meetings. Whilst at Hackney in ...

who had been pipped to the title in the previous season in the last meeting, won the title by just one point from

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 ...

to win their first

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. Rye House had managed to retain all of their top riders from the previous season and the solid performances of

Bob Garrad Bobby David Garrad (born 18 January 1960 in Chelmsford, Essex) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Garrad spent most of his career with Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye Hous ...

Karl Fiala Karl Fiala (born 30 January 1956 in Harlow), is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Silver Helmet Match Race (September 1979) Silver Helmet Match Race (October 1979) Knock-Out Cup Champions Rye House (1979) National League ...

, Kelvin Mullarkey and

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, ...

for the second year running made up for the disappointment of 1979. Newcastle's second place finish was remarkable bearing in mind that they had lost the league's leading rider Tom Owen to Hull Vikings in the highest division. Despite signing 1979 Riders' champion

Ian Gledhill Ian Gledhill (1958–2015) was a speedway rider from England. Speedway career Gledhill rode in the top two tiers of British Speedway from 1976 to 1982, riding for various clubs. In 1979, he became the National League Riders' Champion. Ref ...

, the defending champions Mildenhall suffered after losing

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 ...

and

Mick Hines Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broade ...

to other teams.

Final table

* Crayford v Weymouth fixture was never ridden.

Top Five Riders

National League Knockout Cup

The 1980 National League Knockout Cup was the 13th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams.

Berwick Bandits The Berwick Bandits are a British speedway club, based in Berwick-upon-Tweed. They currently compete in the SGB Championship, racing at Shielfield Park, with home matches usually taking place on Saturday evenings. They also run a second team ...

were the winners of the competition for the first time, having been runners-up three times in the previous four seasons.

First round

Second round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

First leg Second leg Berwick were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 79–76.

References

{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons Speedway British League Division Two / National League