1973 British League season

The 1973 British League season was the 39th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the ninth season known as the British League.[1][2]

1973 British League season
LeagueBritish League
ChampionsReading Racers
No. of competitors18
Knockout CupBelle Vue Aces
IndividualIvan Mauger
Highest averageIvan Mauger
Division/s belowBritish League (Div 2)

Summary

Glasgow Tigers relocated to become Coatbridge Tigers.[3]

The Reading Racers won their first title, ending the dominance of Belle Vue Aces who could only finish in sixth place. Swede Anders Michanek was in imperious form, going undefeated at Reading Stadium (which was in its final year as a venue). He finished with a 11.36 average ahead of the four time world champion Ivan Mauger on 11.29. In addition to Michanek the Reading team was boosted by high scoring from Norwegian Dag Lövaas and Australian Geoff Curtis.[4] In a sensational finish to the 1973 Knockout Cup final Reading were beaten by Belle Vue in a run-off for the Cup after an aggregate draw over two legs.[5]

Reading's success had a sour note after the season had finished when Geoff Curtis returned to Australia for the Australian season and was killed in a race at the Sydney Showground in December.[6]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Reading Racers 34 25 1 8 51
2 Sheffield Tigers 34 22 3 9 47
3 King's Lynn Stars 34 20 3 11 43
4 Leicester Lions 34 21 0 13 42
5 Ipswich Witches 34 19 2 12 41
6 Belle Vue Aces 34 19 1 14 39
7 Wolverhampton Wolves 34 18 1 15 37
8 Exeter Falcons 34 16 3 15 35
9 Halifax Dukes 34 16 2 16 34
10 Newport Wasps 34 16 0 18 32
11 Oxford Rebels 34 14 2 18 30
12 Wimbledon Dons 34 14 1 19 29
13 Swindon Robins 34 13 3 18 29
14 Poole Pirates 34 13 2 19 28
15 Coventry Bees 34 13 0 21 26
16 Hackney Hawks 34 11 4 19 26
17 Coatbridge Tigers 34 12 1 21 25
18 Cradley United 34 7 4 23 18

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

Leading riders

Both Michanek and Mauger recorded perfect 12 point average scores at home for the season, meaning they were unbeaten by any opposing rider on their own track in League competition.

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Anders Michanek Reading Racers 11.36
2 Ivan Mauger Exeter Falcons 11.29
3 Ole Olsen Wolverhampton Wolves 10.82
4 Chris Pusey Belle Vue Aces 10.55
5 Eric Boocock Halifax Dukes 10.32
6 Malcolm Simmons King's Lynn Stars 10.26
7 John Boulger Leicester Lions 10.24
8 Martin Ashby Swindon Robins 10.18
9 John Louis Ipswich Witches 10.06
10 Dag Lövaas Reading Racers 10.06
11 Terry Betts King's Lynn Stars 9.95
12 Reidar Eide Newport Wasps 977
13 Christer Löfqvist Poole Pirates 9.58
14 Ray Wilson Leicester Lions 9.44
15 Bernt Persson Cradley United 9.38
16 Bob Valentine Sheffield Tigers 9.30
17 Dave Jessup Leicester Lions 9.24
18 Tommy Jansson Wimbledon Dons 9.19
19 Howard Cole (a.k.a Kid Brodie) Cradley United 9.12
20 Peter Collins Belle Vue Aces 9.08

British League Knockout Cup

The 1973 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 35th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Belle Vue were the winners after Peter Collins of Belle Vue defeated Anders Michanek of Reading in a race-off because the tie had finished 78-78 on aggregate.[7]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
28/04Belle Vue48-30Oxford
28/04Coventry44-34Reading
27/04Hackney43-35Swindon
26/04Oxford41-37Belle Vue

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
25/06Reading56-22Coatbridge
22/06Coatbridge41-37Reading
15/06Wolverhampton43-35Exeter
14/06Sheffield29-49Belle Vue
12/06Leicester36-42Kings Lynn
02/06Belle Vue43-35Sheffield
02/06Halifax49-29Wimbledon
30/05Poole40-38Cradley Heath
26/05Kings Lynn42-36Leicester
18/05Newport45-33Ipswich
17/05Ipswich41-37Newport
17/05Wimbledon37-41Halifax
12/05Cradley Heath37-41Poole
12/05Swindon43-35Hackney
07/05Exeter37-41Wolverhampton
28/07Swindon52-25Hackney
15/06Hackney43-35Swindon

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
01/09Swindon39-39Wolverhampton
17/08Newport45-33Reading
17/08Wolverhampton43-35Swindon
13/08Halifax41-37Belle Vue
10/08Poole39-39Kings Lynn
30/07Reading55-23Newport
18/07Belle Vue57-21Halifax
23/06Kings Lynn47-31Poole

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
26/09Belle Vue48-30Wolverhampton
14/09Wolverhampton42-36Belle Vue
05/09Kings Lynn40-38Reading
03/09Reading52-26Kings Lynn

First leg
Reading Racers
Anders Michanek 11
Dag Lövaas 11
Geoff Curtis 9
Mick Bell 7
Richard May 4
Bobby McNeil 4
Bernie Leigh 2		47 - 31Belle Vue Aces
Peter Collins 12
Paul Tyrer 7
Eric Broadbelt 6
John Louis (guest) 3
Alan Wilkinson 2
Sören Sjösten 1
Chris Morton 0
[8]

Second leg
Belle Vue Aces
Peter Collins 10
Jimmy McMillan (guest) 8
Alan Wilkinson 8
Sören Sjösten 8
Eric Broadbelt 7
Paul Tyrer 6
Chris Morton 0		47 - 31Reading Racers
Anders Michanek 12
Dag Lövaas 8
Mick Bell 6
Mitch Graham 5
Trevor Geer 0
Bernie Leigh 0
Geoff Curtis R/R
[8]

Match finished 78-78 on aggregate. Belle Vue won race-off.

Teams

Belle Vue Aces

Coatbridge Tigers

Coventry Bees

Cradley United

Exeter Falcons

Hackney Hawks

Halifax Dukes

Ipswich Witches

King's Lynn Stars

Leicester Lions

Newport

Oxford Rebels

Poole Pirates

Reading Racers

Sheffield Tigers

Swindon Robins

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. "973 - Speedway Ruined My Toffee Apple". British Speedway Plus. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  6. "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  7. "1973 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  8. "Season 1973" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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