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1970 British League Division Two season

The 1970 British League Division Two season was the third season of second tier motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]

Team changes

The league expanded from 16 to 17 teams in its third season. Plymouth Devils dropped out and were replaced by Peterborough Panthers. Peterborough promoted by Allied Presentations (headed by Maurice Littlechild) were to race at the East of England Showground.[3][4]

Workington Comets under the promotion of Ian Thomas and Jeff Brownhut also joined the league and raced at Derwent Park.[5][6]

Before the season got underway the 1968 and 1969 champions Belle Vue Colts disbanded with most of their riders and the promotion team moving to Rochdale and becoming the Rochdale Hornets.[7] Doncaster changed their nickname from Stallions to Dragons.

Summary

Two teams changed venue during the season. In July, the Nelson Admirals moved to Bradford to become Bradford Northern and in August, the King's Lynn Starlets promotion moved to Boston and became the Boston Barracudas.[8][9]

Canterbury Crusaders won their first title.[10][11] New Zealander Graeme Smith averaged 10.49 for the Crusaders and was well backed up by Barry Crowson (9.17) and Barry Thomas (9.11).[12] Another New Zealander Gary Peterson topped the averages riding initially for the Nelson Admirals and then Bradford Northern.

Final table

Top Five Riders (League Averages)

Knockout Cup

The 1970 British League Division Two Knockout Cup was the third edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners of the competition defeating Berwick Bandits in the final. The Bandits were surprise finalists given their final league placing which was second from bottom of the table.[13]

First round

+ first match abandoned with score at 25-17

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

First leg

Foxhall Stadium

Second leg

Shielfield Park

Ipswich were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 82–74.

Riders' Championship

Dave Jessup won the Rider's Championship, held at Hackney Wick Stadium on 25 September. Jessup was aged just 17 at the time.[15]

Final leading averages

Riders' final averages

Berwick

Boston/King's Lynn (Boston took over fixtures mid-season)

Bradford (Bradford took over Nelson's fixtures mid-season)

Canterbury

Crayford

Crewe

Doncaster

Eastbourne

Ipswich

Long Eaton

Middlesbrough

Peterborough

Rayleigh

Reading

Rochdale

Romford

Workington

See also

References

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  2. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. ^ "Boost for Long Eaton Rangers". Derby Daily Telegraph. 13 January 1970. Retrieved 4 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "fans decide future". Derby Daily Telegraph. 10 April 1970. Retrieved 4 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "New Track". Sports Argus. 4 October 1969. Retrieved 3 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Speedway". Derby Daily Telegraph. 21 November 1969. Retrieved 3 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  9. ^ "Nelson Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  10. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  11. ^ "Canterbury Crusaders 1968-1987". Canterbury Crusaders. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Canterbury". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  13. ^ "1970 British League Division Two Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  14. ^ a b "1970 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Jessup roars in". Daily Mirror. 26 September 1970. Retrieved 14 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.