1971 British League season

The 1971 British League season was the 37th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the seventh season known as the British League.[1][2]

1971 British League season
LeagueBritish League
ChampionsBelle Vue Aces
No. of competitors19
Knockout CupHackney Hawks
IndividualIvan Mauger
Highest averageIvan Mauger
Division/s belowBritish League (Div 2)

Summary

Reading Racers moved up from Division 2 and Newcastle Diamonds dropped out.[3] Belle Vue Aces retained their title to become the first team to win the title for the second time. The team included three time world champion Ivan Mauger, Swedish international Sören Sjösten, Tommy Roper, Eric Broadbelt, Chris Pusey and a 17 year old Peter Collins in his debut season.[4]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Belle Vue Aces 36 25 1 10 51
2 Leicester Lions 36 22 3 11 47
3 Coventry Bees 36 23 0 13 46
4 Sheffield Tigers 36 21 1 14 43
5 Swindon Robins 36 19 3 14 40
6 Reading Racers 36 18 4 14 41
7 Hackney Hawks 36 17 4 15 38
8 Newport Wasps 36 19 0 17 37
9 Wembley Lions 36 17 3 16 37
10 Wimbledon Dons 36 18 1 17 36
11 Poole Pirates 36 17 2 17 35
12 Wolverhampton Wolves 36 17 1 18 34
13 King's Lynn Stars 36 16 2 18 34
14 Halifax Dukes 36 16 2 18 32
15 Exeter Falcons 36 16 0 20 31
16 Glasgow Tigers 36 15 1 20 25
17 Oxford Cheetahs 36 12 1 23 20
18 Cradley Heath Heathens 36 8 4 24 20
19 West Ham Hammers 36 9 1 26 19

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points


Leading riders
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ivan Mauger Belle Vue Aces 11.33
2 Ole Olsen Wolverhampton Wolves 10.99
3 Ray Wilson Leicester Lions 10.94
4 Jim Airey Sheffield Tigers 10.74
5 Barry Briggs Swindon Robins 10.67
6 Bengt Jansson Hackney Hawks 10.26
7 Eric Boocock Halifax Dukes 10.19
8 Anders Michanek Reading Racers 10.05
9 Nigel Boocock Coventry Bees 9.95
10 Ronnie Moore Wimbledon Dons 9.89
11 Martin Ashby Swindon Robins 9.76
12 Bernt Persson Cradley Heathens 9.68
13 Terry Betts King's Lynn Stars 9.62
14 Malcolm Simmons King's Lynn Stars 9.22
15 Trevor Hedge Wimbledon Dons 9.18
16 Jim McMillan Glasgow Tigers 9.18
17 Sören Sjösten Belle Vue Aces 9.11
18 Reidar Eide Poole Pirates 9.10
19 Göte Nordin Wembley Lions 9.04
20 John Boulger Leicester Lions 8.99

British League Knockout Cup

The 1971 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 33rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Hackney were the winners.[5]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
08/05Halifax49-29West Ham
08/05Swindon43-35Wimbledon
06/05Oxford46-32Poole

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
25/06Wolverhampton43-35Belle Vue
21/06Reading38-40Cradley Heath
17/06Oxford39-38Exeter
12/06King's Lynn46-32Newport
11/06Glasgow43-34Leicester
10/06Sheffield48-30Wembley
05/06Halifax42-36Coventry
05/06Swindon36-42Hackney

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
14/08Halifax43-35Sheffield
06/08Wolverhampton45-32Oxford
31/07King's Lynn39-39Hackney
31/07Cradley Heath40-38Glasgow
03/09Hackney49-29King's Lynn

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
17/09Hackney50-27Halifax
06/09Cradley Heath50-28Wolverhampton

First leg
Cradley Heath
Bernt Persson 11
Bob Andrews 9
Mick Handley 7
Pete Jarman 6
John Hart 5
Roy Trigg 3
Cyril Francis 0		41 - 37Hackney Hawks
Bengt Jansson 10
Barry Thomas 8
Hugh Saunders 8
Garry Middleton 7
Laurie Etheridge 2
Geoff Maloney 1
Eddie Reeves 1
[6]

Second leg
Hackney Hawks
Bengt Jansson 12
Garry Middleton 10
Barry Thomas 9
Dave Kennett 9
Hugh Saunders 6
Eddie Reeves 3
Laurie Etheridge 2		51 - 27Cradley Heath
Howard Cole (guest) 13
Bob Andrews 5
Roy Trigg 3
John Hart 3
Pete Jarman 2
Mick Handley 1
Ralph Waller 0
[6]

Hackney Hawks were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 88-68.

Teams

Belle Vue Aces

Coventry Bees

Cradley Heath

Exeter Falcons

Glasgow Tigers

Hackney Hawks

Halifax Dukes

King's Lynn Stars

Leicester Lions

Newport Wasps

Oxford Cheetahs

Poole Pirates

Reading Racers

Sheffield Tigers

Swindon Robins

Wembley Lions

West Ham Hammers

Wimbledon Dons

Wolverhampton Wolves

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  4. "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  5. "1971 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  6. "Season 1971" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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