1979 British League season
The 1979 Gulf British League season was the 45th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 15th season known as the British League.[1][2]
League | British League |
---|---|
Champions | Coventry Bees |
No. of competitors | 18 |
Knockout Cup | Cradley Heath Heathens |
Individual | John Louis |
Highest average | Scott Autrey |
Division/s below | 1979 National League |
Summary
The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a fifth season. It comprised 18 teams - one fewer than the previous season.[3] White City Rebels had folded and their riders became Eastbourne Eagles assets as Eastbourne were promoted from the National League. Bristol Bulldogs also dropped out after only two seasons back in the top flight.[4]
Coventry Bees won the league for the second year running. Hull Vikings' second place was their best ever finish. The Coventry Bees team was similar to the previous season with a young 18 year-old Danish newcomer Tommy Knudsen replacing Jiří Štancl from the previous season. Alan Molyneux once again backed up the Coventry overseas contingent with a solid average.[5] Cradley Heath won the Knockout Cup mainly thanks to their USA superstar Bruce Penhall. The Cradley team also had their own young Danish newcomer in 20 year-old Erik Gundersen and 20 year-old Hans Nielsen posted a 10 plus average for the season riding for Wolves. The future looked extremely bright for Denmark.
During the new British League Fours tournament a horrific accident took place at Hackney Wick Stadium on Friday 8 June. In the final heat between Hackney and Eastbourne all four riders were competing when Hackney's Vic Harding and Eastbourne's Steve Weatherley touched and their bikes became locked together. They were both thrown from their bikes into the fence and the metal post supporting one of the track lights. Both riders were taken to hospital but Harding died later that night and Weatherley was left paralysed.[6] Further bad news filtered though in December after the season had finished, when Poole Pirate's Christer Sjösten died following serious injuries sustained in a race in Australia.
Final table
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Coventry Bees | 34 | 26 | 0 | 8 | 52 |
2 | Hull Vikings | 34 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 50 |
3 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 34 | 24 | 0 | 10 | 48 |
4 | King's Lynn Stars | 34 | 22 | 1 | 11 | 45 |
5 | Exeter Falcons | 33 | 20 | 0 | 13 | 40 |
6 | Halifax Dukes | 34 | 18 | 0 | 16 | 36 |
7 | Reading Racers | 34 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 34 |
8 | Swindon Robins | 33 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 33 |
9 | Wimbledon Dons | 34 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 33 |
10 | Belle Vue Aces | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 32 |
11 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 34 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 31 |
12 | Poole Pirates | 34 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 31 |
13 | Sheffield Tigers | 34 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 30 |
14 | Birmingham Brummies | 34 | 13 | 2 | 19 | 28 |
15 | Ipswich Witches | 34 | 12 | 2 | 20 | 26 |
16 | Eastbourne Eagles | 34 | 10 | 2 | 22 | 22 |
17 | Leicester Lions | 34 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 20 |
18 | Hackney Hawks | 34 | 9 | 1 | 24 | 19 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Top Ten Riders
The top ten averages recorded at the end of the season.[7]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Scott Autrey | ![]() |
Exeter Falcons | 10.91 |
2 | Ivan Mauger | ![]() |
Hull Vikings | 10.54 |
3 | Phil Crump | ![]() |
Swindon Robins | 10.36 |
4 | Michael Lee | ![]() |
King's Lynn Stars | 10.29 |
5 | John Davis | ![]() |
Reading Racers | 10.22 |
6 | Hans Nielsen | ![]() |
Wolverhampton Wolves | 10.16 |
7 | Gordon Kennett | ![]() |
Eastbourne Eagles | 10.13 |
8 | Ole Olsen | ![]() |
Coventry Bees | 10.03 |
9 | Bruce Penhall | ![]() |
Cradley Heathens | 10.02 |
10 | Dave Jessup | ![]() |
King's Lynn Stars | 9.80 |
British League Knockout Cup
The 1979 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 41st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath were the winners.[8]
First Round
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
16/06 | Cradley Heath | 66-42 | Leicester |
29/05 | Leicester | 40-68 | Cradley Heath |
20/04 | Eastbourne | 65-43 | Ipswich |
19/04 | Ipswich | 53-54 | Eastbourne |
Second Round
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
10/09 | Cradley Heath | 78-29 | Wimbledon |
09/08 | Wimbledon | 54-53 | Cradley Heath |
06/07 | Eastbourne | 65-43 | Reading |
18/06 | Birmingham | 59-49 | Swindon |
16/06 | Coventry | 74-34 | Poole |
16/06 | King's Lynn | 53-55 | Wolverhampton |
16/06 | Swindon | 62-46 | Birmingham |
15/06 | Poole | 59-48 | Coventry |
15/06 | Wolverhampton | 56-52 | King's Lynn |
11/06 | Reading | 77-31 | Eastbourne |
02/06 | Belle Vue | 61-47 | Exeter |
01/06 | Hull | 81-25 | Sheffield |
31/05 | Exeter | 70-38 | Belle Vue |
31/05 | Sheffield | 60-48 | Hull |
Quarter Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
24/09 | Cradley Heath | 71-37 | Wolverhampton |
21/09 | Wolverhampton | 52-56 | Cradley Heath |
20/08 | Reading | 53-55 | Halifax |
14/07 | Halifax | 79-29 | Reading |
03/08 | Exeter | 56-52 | Swindon |
18/07 | Hull | 75-34 | Coventry |
14/07 | Coventry | 60-48 | Hull |
14/07 | Swindon | 46-62 | Exeter |
Semi Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
07/10 | Halifax | 49-59 | Cradley Heath |
06/10 | Cradley Heath | 43-23 | Halifax |
19/09 | Hull | 70-38 | Exeter |
17/09 | Exeter | 60-48 | Hull |
First leg
Cradley Heath Bruce Penhall 11 Alan Grahame 11 Phil Collins 9 Erik Gundersen 9 Dave Perks 9 Bobby Schwartz 6 Kristian Praestbro 4 John Hack 3 | 62 - 46 | Hull Vikings Ivan Mauger 14 Bobby Beaton 13 Joe Owen 6 Dennis Sigalos 6 Frank Auffret 6 Nigel Close 1 Brian Havelock 0 Graham Drury 0 |
---|---|---|
Second leg
Hull Vikings Dennis Sigalos 13 Kelly Moran 8 Louis Carr 7 Bobby Beaton 6 Joe Owen 5 Frank Auffret 4 Nigel Close 4 Ivan Mauger 3 | 50 - 58 | Cradley Heath Bruce Penhall 13 Bobby Schwartz 11 Kristian Praestbro 9 Phil Collins 9 Alan Grahame 6 Erik Gundersen 5 John Hack 5 Dave Perks 0 |
---|---|---|
Cradley Heath were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 120-96.
Teams
Belle Vue Aces
-
Dave Allen
-
John Barker
-
Keith Bloxsome
-
Les Collins
-
Peter Collins
-
Arnold Haley
-
Pekka Hautamaki
-
Rod Hunter
-
Barney Kennett
-
Karl Maier
-
Rob Maxfield
-
Chris Morton
-
Dave Piddock
-
Derek Richardson
-
Emil Sova
-
Paul Stead
Birmingham Brummies
-
Dave Allen
-
Steve Bastable
-
Robbie Blackadder
-
Mick Blaynee
-
Louis Carr
-
Ian Clark
-
Steve Columbo
-
Alan Emerson
-
Ian Gledhill
-
Andy Grahame
-
Richard Greer
-
Phil Herne
-
Ted Howgego
-
Finn Jensen
-
Ari Koponen
-
Steve Lawson
-
Stuart Mountford
-
Billy Sanders
-
Les Sawyer
-
Terry Tulloch
-
Ray Wilson
Coventry Bees
-
Mick Bell
-
Alf Busk
-
Phil Cain
-
Louis Carr
-
Paul Embley
-
Tony Featherstone
-
Gary Guglielmi
-
Kevin Hawkins
-
Barney Kennett
-
Tommy Knudsen
-
Phil Kynman
-
Alan Molyneux
-
Ole Olsen
-
Mitch Shirra
Cradley Heath
-
Carl Askew
-
Steve Bastable
-
Louis Carr
-
Bob Coles
-
Phil Collins
-
Nigel Couzens
-
Ian Gledhill
-
Alan Grahame
-
Erik Gundersen
-
John Hack
-
Pip Lamb
-
Bruce Penhall
-
Dave Perks
-
Kristian Praestbro
-
Les Rumsey
-
Bobby Schwartz
-
Ila Teromaa
-
John Williams
Eastbourne Eagles
-
Roger Abel
-
John Barker
-
Brian Clark
-
Eric Dugard
-
Ian Fletcher
-
Trevor Geer
-
Dave Kennett
-
Gordon Kennett
-
Kai Niemi
-
Steve Naylor
-
Mike Sanderson
-
Veijo Tuoriniemi
-
Bob Watts
-
Steve Weatherley
-
Paul Woods
Exeter Falcons
-
Scott Autrey
-
Nigel Boocock
-
David Brown
-
Louis Carr
-
Aleš Dryml Sr.
-
Steve Koppe
-
Zdeněk Kudrna
-
Peter Prinsloo
-
Tony Sanford
-
Bob Watts
-
Jan Verner
-
Václav Verner
-
John Williams
Hackney Hawks
-
Simon Aindow
-
Mark Bilner
-
Phil Cain
-
Peter Carr
-
Bob Coles
-
Laurie Etheridge
-
Karl Fiala
-
Ian Gledhill
-
Dave Gooderham
-
Vic Harding
-
Ted Hubbard
-
Bobby McNeil
-
Bo Petersen
-
Zenon Plech
-
Kevin Smith
-
Barry Thomas
-
Finn Thomsen
-
Bob Watts
-
Sean Willmott
-
Keith White
Halifax Dukes
-
Kenny Carter
-
Ian Cartwright
-
Merv Janke
-
Tormod Langli
-
Klaus Lohmann
-
Mike Lohmann
-
Mick McKeon
-
Graham Plant
-
Ian Robertson
-
Paul Sheard
-
Alan Stansfield
-
Robbie Vigus
-
Steve Wilcock
Hull Vikings
-
Frank Auffret
-
Bobby Beaton
-
Robbie Blackadder
-
Louis Carr
-
Graham Clifton
-
Nigel Close
-
Neil Coddington
-
Graham Drury
-
Brian Havelock
-
Rod Hunter
-
Ivan Mauger
-
Kelly Moran
-
Joe Owen
-
Benny Rourke
-
Dennis Sigalos
-
Graeme Stapleton
-
John Williams
Ipswich Witches
-
Steve Bryenton
-
Colin Cook
-
Tony Davey
-
Preben Eriksen
-
Nigel Flatman
-
Georg Hack
-
Andy Hines
-
Ted Howgego
-
Tim Hunt
-
Kevin Jolly
-
Mike Lanham
-
John Louis
-
Anders Michanek
-
Billy Sanders
-
Milan Špinka
-
Kevin Teager
-
Mick Warren
King's Lynn Stars
-
Dave Allen
-
Clive Featherby
-
David Gagen
-
Bob Garrad
-
Derek Harrison
-
Richard Hellsen
-
Rob Hollingworth
-
Dave Jessup
-
Michael Lee
-
Bent Rasmussen
-
Kevin Smith
-
Pete Smith
-
Ian Turner
-
Peter Wordingham
Leicester Lions
-
John Boulger
-
David Coles
-
Colin Cook
-
Mike Farrell
-
Tom Godal
-
Dave Gooderham
-
Robert Henry
-
John McNeil
-
Chris Sully
-
Ila Teromaa
-
John Titman
-
Terry Tulloch
-
Chris Turner
Poole Pirates
-
Kris Berrigan
-
Louis Carr
-
Bob Coles
-
Nigel Crabtree
-
Nigel Davis
-
Danny Kennedy
-
Barney Kennett
-
Neil Middleditch
-
Kelvin Mullarkey
-
Ron Preston
-
Piotr Pyszny
-
Malcolm Simmons
-
Christer Sjösten
-
Peter Spink
-
Paul Stead
-
Andrzej Tkocz
-
Martin Yeates
Reading Racers
-
Jan Andersson
-
Terry Betts
-
Kevin Bowen
-
Nigel Couzens
-
John Davis
-
Reidar Eide
-
Bob Humphreys
-
Bernie Leigh
-
Garry May
-
Sigvart Pedersen
-
Ashley Pullen
-
Malcolm Shakespeare
-
Jiří Štancl
-
Melvyn Taylor
-
Doug Underwood
-
Alois Wiesböck
-
Brian Woodward
Sheffield Tigers
-
Nicky Allott
-
Eric Broadbelt
-
Arthur Browning
-
Neil Collins
-
Laurie Etheridge
-
Keith Evans
-
Steve Finch
-
Paul Harmer
-
Ian Jeffcoate
-
Henny Kroeze
-
Tommy Morley
-
Craig Pendlebury
-
Heinrich Sprenger
-
Terry Tulloch
-
Phil White
-
Reg Wilson
-
Doug Wyer
Swindon Robins
-
Martin Ashby
-
Geoff Bouchard
-
Louis Carr
-
Phil Crump
-
Rolf Gramstad
-
Steve Gresham
-
Martin Hewlett
-
Malcolm Holloway
-
Bob Kilby
-
Steen Mastrup
-
Milan Špinka
Wimbledon Dons
-
Dave Brewer
-
Ian Gledhill
-
Ray Griffiths
-
Bert Harkins
-
Mick Hines
-
Edward Jancarz
-
Roger Johns
-
Richard Knight
-
Rudy Muts
-
Pat Pawson
-
Graham Knowler
-
Colin Richardson
-
Larry Ross
-
Stefan Salomonsso
-
Brendan Shiletto
Wolverhampton Wolves
-
Carl Askew
-
Kris Berrigan
-
Ivan Blacka
-
Wayne Brown
-
Malcolm Corradine
-
Bruce Cribb
-
Steve Crockett
-
Tim Curnock
-
Hasse Danielsson
-
Knud Ellegaard
-
Ian Gledhill
-
John Goodall
-
George Hunter
-
Jimmy McMillan
-
Dave Morton
-
Hans Nielsen
-
Trond Helge Skretting
-
Edgar Stangeland
-
Dave Trownson
-
Terry Tulloch
References
- "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 94. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 80. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- "1979 league tables". Speedway GB.
- "Vic Harding". Speedway Museum Online. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 96. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- "1979 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.