1975 British League season

The 1975 Gulf Oil British League season was the 41st season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 11th season known as the British League.[1]

1975 British League season
LeagueBritish League
ChampionsIpswich Witches
No. of competitors18
Knockout CupBelle Vue Aces
IndividualPeter Collins
Highest averageIvan Mauger
Division/s below1975 National League

Summary

The league was sponsored for the first time by Gulf Oil. Reading Racers returned after a one-season absence to increase the size of the league back to eighteen teams and the ban on Overseas riders that rode in other leagues abroad was lifted.[2]

The Ipswich Witches won their first title, defeating Belle Vue Aces by a solitary point. John Louis and Billy Sanders scored heavily throughout the season for Ipswich. Belle Vue found consolation by winning the Knockout Cup.[3][4]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Ipswich Witches 34 26 1 7 53
2 Belle Vue Aces 34 25 2 7 52
3 Newport 34 24 1 9 49
4 Exeter Falcons 34 20 3 11 45
5 Sheffield Tigers 34 21 0 13 42
6 Reading Racers 34 21 0 13 42
7 Oxford Rebels 34 18 0 16 36
8 Leicester Lions 34 16 4 14 36
9 Wimbledon Dons 34 16 2 16 34
10 Halifax Dukes 34 15 3 16 33
11 Cradley United 34 15 2 17 32
12 King's Lynn Stars 34 14 3 17 31
13 Wolverhampton Wolves 34 13 1 20 27
14 Hull Vikings 34 10 4 20 24
15 Poole Pirates 34 10 3 21 23
16 Coventry Bees 34 9 2 23 20
17 Hackney Hawks 34 9 1 24 19
18 Swindon Robins 34 8 0 26 16

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

Leading riders
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ivan Mauger Exeter Falcons 11.52
2 Phil Crump Newport 11.15
3 Peter Collins Belle Vue Aces 11.13
4 Anders Michanek Reading Racers 10.90
5 Ole Olsen Wolverhampton Wolves 10.79
6 John Louis Ipswich Witches 10.58
7 Dave Jessup Leicester Lions 10.41
8 Malcolm Simmons Poole Pirates 10.41
9 Martin Ashby Swindon Robins 10.13
10 Tommy Jansson Wimbledon Dons 10.12
11 Dag Lövaas Oxford Rebels 10.04
12 Ray Wilson Wolverhampton Wolves 9.90
13 Reg Wilson Sheffield Tigers 9.79
14 Jim McMillan Hull Vikings 9.69
15 Billy Sanders Ipswich Witches 9.58
16 Doug Wyer Sheffield Tigers 9.37
17 Chris Morton Belle Vue Aces 9.27
18 Barry Briggs Wimbledon Dons 9.23
19 Scott Autrey Exeter Falcons 9.19
20 Reidar Eide Newport 8.98

British League Knockout Cup

The 1975 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 37th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Belle Vue Aces were the winners.[5]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
22/05Sheffield44-34Exeter
19/04Belle Vue49-29Wolverhampton
18/04Wolverhampton37-41Belle Vue
14/04Exeter47-31Sheffield

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
01/07Leicester47-31Hackney
27/06Hackney40-38Leicester
23/06Cradley Heath46-32Kings Lynn
21/06Kings Lynn42-36Cradley Heath
19/06Oxford60-18Coventry
19/06Ipswich42-36Belle Vue
16/06Exeter43-35Poole
16/06Reading38-40Newport
14/06Swindon47-31Hull
14/06Coventry33-45Oxford
11/06Poole41-37Exeter
11/06Hull46-32Swindon
07/06Halifax58-20Wimbledon
06/06Newport46-32Reading
05/06Wimbledon49-29Halifax
04/06Belle Vue49-28Ipswich

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
09/08Cradley Heath51-27Newport
09/08Belle Vue45-33Oxford
08/08Newport49-29Cradley Heath
07/08Oxford36-42Belle Vue
02/08Swindon32-46Leicester
29/07Leicester42-36Swindon
17/07Exeter43-35Halifax
05/07Halifax47-31Exeter

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
05/10Belle Vue44-34Cradley Heath
27/09Halifax37-40Leicester
26/09Leicester47-31Halifax
22/09Cradley Heath32-45Belle Vue

First leg
Leicester Lions
Dave Jessup 11
Ila Teromaa 10
Ray Wilson 9
Frank Auffret 6
Doug Underwood 2
Tony Lomas 0
Keith White 0		38 - 40Belle Vue Aces
Peter Collins 12
Chris Morton 9
Sören Sjösten 7
Geoff Pusey 4
Alan Wilkinson 4
Russ Hodgson 3
Paul Tyrer 1
[6]

Second leg
Belle Vue Aces
Peter Collins 12
Sören Sjösten 8
Paul Tyrer 8
Alan Wilkinson 8
Chris Morton 7
Russ Hodgson 2
Geoff Pusey 1		46 - 32Leicester Lions
Dave Jessup 8
Ray Wilson 7
Frank Auffret 6
Doug Underwood 6
Tony Lomas 3
Ila Teromaa 1
Keith White 1
[6]

Belle Vue Aces were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 86-70.

Teams

Belle Vue Aces

Coventry Bees

Cradley United

Exeter Falcons

Hackney Hawks

Halifax Dukes

Hull Vikings

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. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  3. "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  4. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  5. "1975 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  6. "Season 1975" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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