The 1976 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom having been renamed from the previous season's moniker of New National League.

Summary

The league was reduced from 20 teams down to 18, following the loss of three teams and gain of one.

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British Motorcycle speedway, speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League (1929–31), Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of Britis ...

moved up to 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 British League Division Two, second division starting i ...

and Bradford Barons and

Crewe Kings The Crewe Kings was a British Motorcycle speedway, Speedway team which operated in Crewe, Cheshire from 1969 until its closure in 1975. History Origins A speedway track operated for a short time in the late 1920s / early 1930s, at the Londo ...

both closed down. Sadly for Crewe the team would never return. The additional team was the

Oxford Cheetahs The Oxford Cheetahs are a British Motorcycle speedway, 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 Speed ...

, who had returned to their traditional name following a three year period known as the Oxford Rebels. The Rebels team and promoters had moved to White City during the winter but Oxford were saved by new promoters Harry Bastable and Tony Allsop after a committee of fans had created a "Save Our Stadium" campaign over the previous winter.

Newcastle Diamonds Newcastle Diamonds were a motorcycle speedway team that raced in the British speedway leagues from 1929 to 2022. They were based at Newcastle Stadium on the Fossway, Byker. The Stadium was previously known as Brough Park. History Origins and ...

comfortably won their first

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

title, completing a cup double, and dropping only seven points. The Owen brothers

Joe Owen Joseph William Owen (born 13 September 1956) is a British former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned three international caps for the England national speedway team. Career Born in Ormskirk, Owen took up speedway at the age of f ...

and Tom Owen topped the averages for the second consecutive year. Joe finished with an 11+ average and won the

British League Division Two Riders Championship The British League Division Two Riders Championship was a motorcycle speedway contest between the top riders from each club (with the highest average points) competing in the second tier of British speedway. History The championship was inaug ...

and Newcastle completed the league and cup double.

Final table

Fixtures and results

+Oxford/Scunthorpe refused to ride

Top five riders (league averages)

National League Knockout Cup

The 1976 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the ninth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams.

were the winners of the competition. First round Second round Quarter-finals Semi-finals

Final

First leg Second leg Newcastle were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–72.

Riders' Championship

won the Riders' Championship, sponsored by

Gauloises Gauloises (, "Gaulish" eminine pluralin French; ''cigarette'' is a feminine noun in French) is a brand of cigarette of France, French origin. It is produced by the company Imperial Tobacco following its acquisition of Altadis in January 2008 ...

and held at

Wimbledon Stadium Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, was a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosted stock car and other small circuit motor racing events, and until 2005 hosted motorc ...

on 2 October. * f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure

Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at Hyde Road on 5 June and was won by Ellesmere Port Gunners. Semi finals *Ellesmere Port bt Workington *Newcastle bt Mildenhall Final *Ellesmere Port bt Newcastle

Fours

Newcastle won the fours championship final, held at

King's Lynn Stadium King's Lynn Stadium, also known as the Adrian Flux Arena and previously as the Norfolk Arena, is a short oval stadium situated to the south of King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. It currently hosts BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Car Racing, Banger racing, ...

on 17 July. Semi finals *SF1 = Ellesmere Port 17, Workington 15, Rye House 10, Peterborough 5 *SF2 = Newcastle 17, Eastbourne 13, Coatbridge 9, Boston 9 Final

Leading final averages

Riders & final averages

Berwick * Graham Jones 8.12 * Dave Gifford 7.91 *Mike Hiftle 7.17 *Robin Adlington 6.84 * Willie Templeton 6.63 *Eddie Argall 6.54 *Keith Williams 2.00 *Peter Waite 1.80 * Wayne Brown 1.71 Boston * Rob Hollingworth 9.63 *Billy Burton 8.26 *Paul Gilbert 6.58 *Stuart Cope 5.82 *Trevor Whiting 5.57 *Chris Emery 5.56 *Steve Clarke 5.28 *Ron Cooper 5.00 *Dave Allen 3.46 Canterbury * Graham Banks 8.06 * Steve Koppe 7.85 *

Les Rumsey Leslie John Rumsey (born 27 July 1955) is a former speedway rider from England. Speedway career Rumsey rode in the top two tiers of British Speedway from 1972 to 1983, riding for various clubs. Rumsey signed for Canterbury Crusaders in 1972 ...

7.50 *

Barney Kennett Brian Kennett better known as Barney Kennett (born 1955) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who raced in the British National League (speedway), National League. Born in Orpington, he is part of a speedway family which includes ...

6.84 *Graham Clifton 6.55 * Reg Luckhurst 6.51 *Bob Spelta 5.47 *Terry Casserley 5.13 Coatbridge * Brian Collins 9.09 *Grahame Dawson 7.91 * Mick McKeon 6.79 *Jimmy Gallacher 5.68 *Derek Richardson 5.65 *Max Brown 5.18 * Doug Templeton 5.18 *Rob Maxfield 5.02 *Benny Rourke 4.83 * John Wilson 2.93 Crayford * Laurie Etheridge 9.87 *Alan Sage 8.78 * Mike Broadbank 7.33 *Pete Wigley 7.22 *Alan Johns 6.54 *Trevor Barnwell 5.71 *Bill Archer 5.45 *Richard Davey 4.71 *Gary Spencer 4.10 *John Hooper 3.09 *Dave Shepherd 2.77 Eastbourne * Steve Weatherley 10.35 *Eric Dugard 7.03 *

Pete Jarman Peterson Bryant ″Pete″ Jarman (October 31, 1892 – February 17, 1955) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama. Early life Born in Greensboro, Alabama, Jarman attended the public schools, the Normal College, Livingston, Alabama, and Souther ...

6.75 *

Colin Richardson Colin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound source ...

6.50 * Mike Sampson 6.49 * Ian Gledhill 6.43 *Steve Naylor 5.45 * Roger Abel 5.27 *Ian Fletcher 4.32 Ellesmere Port * John Jackson 10.08 * Chris Turner 9.35 * Steve Finch 8.07 *Robbie Gardner 7.45 *Duncan Meredith 6.09 * Gerald Smitherman 5.80 *

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

4.33 *Geoff Jones 3.71 * Louis Carr 2.78 Mildenhall * Bob Coles 9.21 *

Kevin Jolly Kevin Jolly is a retired male badminton player from England. Career He represented England and won a gold medal in the team event, at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ...

8.41 *Trevor Jones 7.88 * Alan Cowland 6.24 *Fred Mills 5.67 *John Gibbons 5.54 *Stan Stevens 5.13 * Robert Henry 4.93 *Mick Bates 4.81 *Neil Leeks 3.54 Newcastle *

11.54 * Tom Owen 10.43 * Ron Henderson 8.33 *Phil Micheledies 7.54 * Brian Havelock 7.51 *Andy Cusworth 7.40 * Robbie Blackadder 6.20 * Tim Swales 5.91 Oxford * Carl Askew 8.03 *

Brian Leonard Brian Leonard (born February 3, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL).He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and was selected by the St. Louis Ram ...

7.33 * Phil Bass 7.14 * Mick Handley 7.02 *Malcolm Corradine 6.10 * Roy Sizmore 5.91 * Jim Wells 5.88 *Kevin Young 5.47 * Steve Holden 3.69 Paisley *Colin Farquharson 8.22 *Mick Fishwick 6.99 *Stuart Mountford 6.79 *Mike Fullerton 5.37 *Alan Bridgett 5.17 *Sid Sheldrick 5.10 *Malcolm Chambers 3.96 *Chris Roynon 3.91 *Mick Sheldrick 3.83 *Colin Caffrey 3.16 *Tom Davie 2.34 Peterborough * Brian Clark 9.37 *Tony Featherstone 8.11 * Ian Clark 6.93 *Roy Carter 6.85 *Ken Matthews 6.53 *Steve Taylor 6.42 * Kevin Hawkins 5.33 *Nigel Couzens 5.11 * Alan Cowland 4.24 *Paul Cooper 4.19 *Russ Osborne 4.15 Rye House * Ted Hubbard 9.17 * Kelvin Mullarkey 7.55 *

Hugh Saunders Hugh Saunders may refer to: * Hugh Saunders (RAF officer) (1894–1987), South African aviator and Royal Air Force officer * Hugh Saunders (academic) (died 1537), English clergyman and academic * Hugh Saunders (speedway rider) (born 1944), Engli ...

7.47 * Brian Foote 7.03 * Karl Fiala 6.73 * Bobby Garrad 6.13 * Bob Cooper 5.11 * Ashley Pullen 4.91 Scunthorpe *Keith Evans 9.27 *Andy Hines 6.77 *Tony Boyle 5.97 *Phil Kynman 5.72 * Colin Cook 5.34 *Sid Sheldrick 5.10 *Ray Watkins 4.98 *Tony Gillias 4.75 Stoke *

Les Collins Leslie Collins (born 24 May 1958) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He finished runner-up in the 1982 Speedway World Championship as well as winning the Intercontinental Final in 1982, the British Under-21 Championship in 197 ...

9.31 *Jack Millen 7.90 *Malcolm Corradine 7.35 *Ricky Day 6.07 *Jim Brett 5.74 *Mick Newton 5.69 * Steve McDermott 5.33 *Tim Nunan 5.01 * Colin Meredith 4.82 Teesside * Alan Emerson 8.41 *

Tom Leadbitter Thomas William Leadbitter (8 September 1945 – May 1995) was a British scrambles, motorcycle speedway and grasstrack rider. He earned two international caps for the England national speedway team. Biography Born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, ...

7.67 * Steve Wilcock 5.85 * Pete Reading 5.54 *Andy Cowan 5.27 * Pete Smith 4.92 *Nigel Close 4.78 *John Robson 2.95 *Martyn Cusworth 2.50 Weymouth *

Martin Yeates Martin Yeates (born 24 November 1953 in Salisbury, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Yeates prominently rode for the Poole Pirates, Weymouth Wildcats and Oxford Cheetahs. In 1980 he signed for Weymouth ...

8.69 * Vic Harding 7.18 * Chris Robins 7.07 *Gerald Purkiss 6.25 * Danny Kennedy 5.82 *Billy Spiers 5.32 *Garry May 3.51 *Trevor Vincent/Charley 3.94 *Jack Walker 3.54 *Roger Stratton 3.47 Workington * Lou Sansom 8.77 * Steve Lawson 8.72 * Taffy Owen 8.07 *Colin Goad 7.67 * Brian Havelock 7.67 * Roger Wright 6.54 *Terry Kelly 5.57 *Chris Bevan 3.80 *Stewart Collin 3.16

References

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