1970 British League Division Two season

The 1970 British League Division Two season was the third season of second tier motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]

1970 British League Division Two season
LeagueBritish League Division Two
ChampionsCanterbury Crusaders
No. of competitors17
Knockout CupIpswich Witches
IndividualDave Jessup
Highest averageGary Peterson
Division/s aboveBritish League (Div 1)

Team changes

The league expanded from 16 to 17 teams in its third season. Plymouth Devils dropped out but two new teams had been created and joined the league, they were the Workington Comets and Peterborough Panthers. Before the season got underway the 1968 and 1969 champions Belle Vue Colts disbanded with most of their riders and the promotion team moving to Rochdale and becoming the Rochdale Hornets.[3] Doncaster changed their nickname from Stallions to Dragons.

Summary

Two teams changed venue during the season. In July, the Nelson Admirals moved Bradford to become Bradford Northern and in August, the King's Lynn Starlets promotion moved to Boston and became the Boston Barracudas.[4][5]

Canterbury Crusaders won their first title.[6][7] New Zealander Graeme Smith averaged 10.49 for the Crusaders and was well backed up by Barry Crowson (9.17) and Barry Thomas (9.11).[8] Another New Zealander Gary Peterson topped the averages riding initially for the Nelson Admirals and then Bradford Northern.

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Canterbury Crusaders 32 23 1 8 47
2 Eastbourne Eagles 32 22 1 9 45
3 Rochdale Hornets 32 21 2 9 44
4 Bradford Northern 32 21 2 9 37
5 Middlesbrough Teessiders 32 18 0 14 36
6 Ipswich Witches 32 17 2 13 36
7 Crewe Kings 32 17 1 14 35
8 Romford Bombers 32 17 1 14 35
9 Reading Racers 32 17 0 15 34
10 Peterborough Panthers 32 14 2 16 30
11 Workington Comets 32 13 1 18 27
12 Rayleigh Rockets 32 13 1 18 27
13 Boston Barracudas 32 12 2 18 26
14 Crayford Highwaymen 32 11 1 20 23
15 Doncaster Dragons 32 11 1 20 23
16 Berwick Bandits 32 10 0 22 20
17 Long Eaton Rangers 32 8 3 21 19

Top Five Riders
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Gary Peterson Bradford Northern/Nelson Admirals 10.79
2 Graeme Smith Canterbury Crusaders 10.41
3 Eric Broadbelt Rochdale Hornets 10.08
4 Paul O'Neil Crewe Kings 9.91
5 Archie Wilkinson Crayford Highwaymen 9.85

British League Division Two Knockout Cup

The 1970 British League Division Two Knockout Cup was the third edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners of the competition defeating Berwick Bandits in the final. The Bandits were surprise finalists given their final league placing which was second from bottom of the table.[9]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
11/04Rayleigh48-30Peterborough
19/04Rochdale43-35Long Eaton
20/04Crewe49-29Nelson
26/04Eastbourne34-44Canterbury
30/04Ipswich51-27+Crayford
02/05Berwick53-25Doncaster
07/05Teesside54-24King's Lynn
07/05Romford48-30Reading

+ first match abandoned with score at 25-17

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
17/05Rochdale48-30Romford
21/05Ipswich46-31Rayleigh
23/05Berwick40-36Teesside
06/06Canterbury52-26Crewe

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
07/07Berwick44-34Canterbury
27/08Ipswich42-36Rochdale

Final

First leg

Ipswich Witches
John Louis 12
John Harrhy 11
Pete Bailey 9
Ron Bagley 6
Stan Pepper 5
Ted Spittles 4
Tony Davey 0		47 – 31Berwick Bandits
Doug Wyer 11
Maury Robinson 6
Peter Kelly 6
Lex Milloy 4
Alistair Brady 2
Ken Ormand 1
Roy Williams 1
[10]

Second leg

Berwick Bandits
Doug Wyer 10
Maury Robinson 9
Alistair Brady 7
Peter Kelly 5
Lex Milloy 5
Roy Williams 5
Ken Ormand 2		43 – 35Ipswich Witches
John Louis 15
Pete Bailey 12
Stan Pepper 4
Ron Bagley 2
Ted Spittles 2
Tony Davey 0
John Harrhy R/R
[10]

Ipswich were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 82–74.

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  2. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  4. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  5. "Nelson Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  6. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  7. "Canterbury Crusaders 1968-1987". Canterbury Crusaders. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. "Canterbury". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  9. "1970 British League Division Two Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  10. "1970 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
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