1976 British League season

The 1976 Gulf British League season was the 42nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom[1] and the 12th season known as the British League.[2]

1976 British League season
LeagueBritish League
ChampionsIpswich Witches
No. of competitors19
Knockout CupIpswich Witches
IndividualOle Olsen
PairsIpswich Witches
Highest averageJohn Louis
Division/s below1976 National League

Summary

The White City Rebels made their debut as did 1975 National League champions Birmingham Brummies.[3] Oxford Cheetahs dropped down a division with White City inheriting both their riders and their nickname. The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a second season.

Ipswich Witches won their second consecutive title. The Witches team was once again headed by John Louis and Billy Sanders but this time Tony Davey also scored well with an average of 8.37, resulting in a comfortable league title success for the Suffolk team. The team then went on to claim the double on 28 October by winning the Knockout Cup.[4]

Wimbledon Dons had the worst possible start to a season when their leading rider and the man touted to be a world champion Tommy Jansson died during a 1976 Individual Speedway World Championship meeting in Stockholm, on 20 May.[5]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Ipswich Witches 36 27 1 8 55
2 Belle Vue Aces 36 23 2 11 48
3 Exeter Falcons 36 23 2 11 48
4 Coventry Bees 36 21 2 13 44
5 Swindon Robins 36 19 4 13 42
6 Reading Racers 36 19 3 14 41
7 Hackney Hawks 36 20 0 16 40
8 Newport 36 19 1 16 39
9 Cradley United 36 19 1 16 39
10 Poole Pirates 36 18 1 17 37
11 Wolverhampton Wolves 36 18 1 17 37
12 Hull Vikings 36 18 0 18 36
13 White City Rebels 36 16 3 17 35
14 King's Lynn Stars 36 16 3 17 35
15 Halifax Dukes 36 14 1 21 29
16 Wimbledon Dons 36 12 3 21 27
17 Sheffield Tigers 36 13 1 22 27
18 Birmingham Brummies 36 7 0 29 14
19 Leicester Lions 36 5 1 30 11

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

Top Ten Riders
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 John Louis Ipswich Witches 11.10
2= Ivan Mauger Exeter Falcons 11.00
2= Ole Olsen Coventry Bees 11.00
4 Peter Collins Belle Vue Aces 10.98
5 Phil Crump Newport 10.68
6 Dave Jessup Reading Racers 10.42
7 Malcolm Simmons Poole Pirates 10.30
8 Dave Morton Hackney Hawks 10.28
9 John Boulger Cradley United 9.93
10 Martin Ashby Swindon Robins 9.89

British League Knockout Cup

The 1976 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 38th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners.[6]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
04/05Leicester39-39Halifax
29/04Wimbledon48-30Birmingham
26/04Birmingham38-40Wimbledon
10/04Coventry48-30Wolverhampton
09/04Wolverhampton38-39Coventry
27/03Halifax41-37Leicester

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
31/07Belle Vue49-29Wimbledon
01/07Coventry46-32White City
27/06Halifax46-32Hull
24/06Wimbledon35-43Belle Vue
21/06Exeter46-32Newport
12/06Cradley Heath34-44Ipswich
10/06Ipswich39-38Cradley Heath
09/06Hull44.5-33.5Halifax
04/06Hackney40-38Reading
04/06Newport47-31Exeter
03/06Sheffield36-42Kings Lynn
02/06Poole42-36Swindon
31/05Reading37-41Hackney
29/05Swindon54-24Poole
26/05White City49-29Coventry
22/05Kings Lynn42-36Sheffield

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
18/09Halifax47-31Hackney
03/09Hackney41-37Halifax
26/08Ipswich45-33Swindon
23/08Belle Vue45-33Newport
18/08White City38-40Kings Lynn
14/08Kings Lynn44-34White City
13/08Newport40-38Belle Vue
24/07Swindon44-34Ipswich

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
03/10Halifax42-35Kings Lynn
02/10Belle Vue41-37Ipswich
30/09Ipswich43-35Belle Vue
29/09Kings Lynn46-32Halifax

First leg
King's Lynn Stars
Michael Lee 12
Ian Turner 11
Terry Betts 7
David Gagen 3
Ray Bales 3
Richard Hellsen 1
Adi Funk 0		36 - 41Ipswich Witches
John Louis 11
Dave Gooderham 8
Tony Davey 7
Billy Sanders 6
Mike Lanham 4
Ted Howgego 3
Kevin Jolly 2
[7]

Second leg
Ipswich Witches
John Louis 12
Billy Sanders 10
Tony Davey 8
Dave Gooderham 7
Mike Lanham 7
Ted Howgego 3
Kevin Jolly 3		50 - 27King's Lynn Stars
Terry Betts 10
Michael Lee 9
Ian Turner 5
Richard Hellsen 2
Billy Spiers 1
Pete Smith 0
David Gagen 0
[7]

Ipswich Witches were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 91-63.

Teams

Belle Vue Aces

Birmingham Brummies

Coventry Bees

Cradley United

Exeter Falcons

Hackney Hawks

Halifax Dukes

Hull Vikings

Ipswich Witches

King's Lynn Stars

Leicester Lions

Newport

Poole Pirates

Reading Racers

Sheffield Tigers

Swindon Robins

White City Rebels

Wimbledon Dons

Wolverhampton Wolves

See also

References
  1. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  2. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  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. "Legend Who Died Young". Retro Speedway. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  6. "1976 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  7. "Season 1976" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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