1978 British League season

The 1978 Gulf British League season was the 44th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 14th season known as the British League.[1]

1978 British League season
LeagueBritish League
ChampionsCoventry Bees
No. of competitors19
Knockout CupIpswich Witches
IndividualOle Olsen
PairsCradley Heath &
Coventry Bees
Highest averageMalcolm Simmons
Division/s below1978 National League

Summary

The list of nineteen teams that competed in the league was identical to the previous season. The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a fourth season.[2]

Coventry Bees won their second title and their first for ten years. Belle Vue Aces were runners-up for the fourth time in five seasons and would receive a double blow when losing in the final of the Knockout Cup. Two time world champion Ole Olsen was in sensational form for Coventry and made the difference throughout the season. Olsen would also seal his third world individual crown by the end of the season. The Coventry side consisted of an array of overseas riders including Olsen and fellow Dane Alf Busk, New Zealander Mitch Shirra, Australian Gary Guglielmi and Jiří Štancl from Czechoslovakia.[3]

League table
Pos Team M W D L Pts
1 Coventry Bees 36270954
2 Belle Vue Aces 362601052
3 Hull Vikings 362221246
4 Wimbledon Dons 362211345
5 Cradley Heathens 362111443
6 Ipswich Witches 362111443
7 Exeter Falcons 362011541
8 Sheffield Tigers 361921540
9 Bristol Bulldogs 361901738
10 Poole Pirates 361731637
11 Leicester Lions 361701934
12 Halifax Dukes 361431931
13 King's Lynn Stars 361422030
14 Reading Racers 361332029
15 White City Rebels 361232127
16 Swindon Robins 361232127
17 Wolverhampton Wolves 361112423
18 Birmingham Brummies 361112423
19 Hackney Hawks 361012521

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

Top Ten Riders
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Malcolm Simmons Poole Pirates 10.78
2 Ole Olsen Coventry Bees 10.71
3 Scott Autrey Exeter Falcons 10.45
4 Peter Collins Belle Vue Aces 10.44
5 Michael Lee King's Lynn Stars 10.40
6 Chris Morton Belle Vue Aces 10.31
7 Dave Jessup Reading Racers 10.24
8 Billy Sanders Ipswich Witches 10.23
9 Phil Crump Bristol Bulldogs 9.99
10 Ivan Mauger Hull Vikings 9.91


British League Knockout Cup

The 1978 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 40th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners.[4]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
29/04Kings Lynn40-38Hull
26/04Hull39-39Kings Lynn
10/04Exeter44-34Coventry
08/04Coventry44-34Exeter
17/04Birmingham37-41Poole
12/04Poole48-30Birmingham
15/06Coventry37.5-40.5Exeter
01/06Exeter48-30Coventry

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
19/07Poole49-29Swindon
15/07Swindon37-41Poole
09/06Hackney51-26Kings Lynn
03/06Kings Lynn31-46Hackney
06/07Sheffield45-33Exeter#
Exeter52-26Sheffield
10/06Swindon36-42Poole
21/06Poole36-42Swindon
03/06Belle Vue44-34Wimbledon
08/06Wimbledon41-37Belle Vue
23/06Bristol35-43Leicester
06/06Leicester39-39Bristol
10/06Cradley Heath38-40Reading
05/06Reading37-41Cradley Heath
13/06White City52-26Halifax
10/06Halifax43-34White City
09/06Wolverhampton40-38Ipswich
08/06Ipswich43-34Wolverhampton

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
09/08White City23-54Ipswich
05/08Belle Vue44-34Poole
04/08Poole34-43Belle Vue
29/07Cradley Heath48-30Leicester
27/07Ipswich52-26White City
21/07Hackney34-44Exeter
11/07Leicester39-39Cradley Heath
17/07Exeter58-20Hackney

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
14/09Ipswich44-34Cradley Heath
13/09Cradley Heath40-38Ipswich
26/08Belle Vue57-21Exeter
25/08Exeter51-27Belle Vue

First leg
Belle Vue Aces
Peter Collins 15
Chris Morton 14
Les Collins 5
Chris Turner 2
Steve Finch 1
Jim Brett 1
Uno Johansson 1		39 - 39Ipswich Witches
Mike Lanham 9
John Louis 8
Tony Davey 7
Colin Cook 6
Kevin Jolly 5
Billy Sanders 4
Tim Hunt 0

Second leg
Ipswich Witches
Georg Hack 10
Billy Sanders 9
John Louis 9
Tony Davey 9
Mike Lanham 7
Kevin Jolly 6
Colin Cook 4		53 - 25Belle Vue Aces
Peter Collins 10
Chris Morton 8
Les Collins 4
Chris Turner 1
Eric Dugard (guest) 1
Derek Richardson 1
Uno Johansson 0

Ipswich were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92-64.

Teams

Belle Vue Aces

1978

Birmingham Brummies

Bristol Bulldogs

Coventry Bees

Cradley Heath

Exeter Falcons

Hackney Hawks

Halifax Dukes

Hull Vikings

Ipswich Witches

King's Lynn Stars

Leicester Lions

Poole Pirates

Reading Racers

Sheffield Tigers

Swindon Robins

White City Rebels

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. 80. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  3. "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  4. "1978 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
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