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1976 British League season

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British speedway season

1976 British League season
League	British League
No. of competitors	19
Champions	Ipswich Witches
Knockout Cup	Ipswich Witches
Individual	Ole Olsen
Pairs	Ipswich Witches
Spring Gold Cup	Wimbledon Dons
Midland Cup	Coventry Bees
Northern Trophy	Belle Vue Aces
Highest average	John Louis
Division/s below	1976 National League
←1975 1977 →

The1976 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]

Summary

[edit]

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

Ipswich Witches won their second consecutive title. The Witches team was once again headed byJohn Louis andBilly Sanders but this timeTony 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 championTommy Jansson died during a1976 Individual Speedway World Championship meeting in Stockholm, on 20 May.^[5]

Final table

[edit]

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

Fixtures and results

[edit]

Home \ Away	BV	BIR	COV	CH	EX	HAC	HAL	HV	IPS	KL	LEI	NEW	PP	RR	SHE	SWI	WC	WIM	WOL
Belle Vue		45–33	47–31	48–30	36–42	48–29	44–34	41–37	38–40	47–31	54–24	55–23	43–35	39–39	50–28	47–31	48–30	54–24	49–29
Birmingham	35–43		35–43	33–45	31–47	39–37	39–38	34–44	41–37	34–44	41–37	41–37	37–39	27–51	44–34	42–36	34–44	34–44	37–41
Coventry	40–38	45–33		47–31	41–37	51–37	47–31	41–37	41–37	44–34	50–28	52–26	52–26	46–2	42–35	54–24	47–31	46.5–31.5	53–25
Cradley Heath	48–30	52–26	39–39		40–38	42–36	41–37	39–38	45–33	43–35	44–34	43–35	47–31	40–38	43–35	40–38	41–37	48–30	37–41
Exeter	46–31	45–33	40–36	41–37		45–33	41–37	43–35	45–33	46–32	43–35	45–33	50–28	40–38	47–30	40–38	44–33	45–33	46–32
Hackney	38–40	50–28	41–37	43–35	45–33		44–34	42–35	29–49	41–36	40–38	42–36	46–32	45–30	45–32	41–37	41–36	45–33	43–35
Halifax	35–43	51–27	41.5–35.5	47–31	39–39	48–30		40–38	38–40	44–33	44–34	40–38	45–33	45–33	40–38	47–31	38–40	43–35	46–32
Hull	36–42	52–26	51–27	37–41	45–33	46–32	45–33		36–42	40–38	45–32	40–36	53–25	44–33	43–35	38–40	43–34	46–32	57–21
Ipswich	41–37	45–33	54–24	47–30	46–32	49–29	56–22	49–29		47–31	48–30	46–32	48–30	50–28	46–32	53–25	42–36	42–36	44–34
King's Lynn	39–39	54–24	49–29	47–31	36–39	49–29	43–35	41–37	44–34		50–27	46–32	51–27	40–38	52–26	39–39	42–36	41–37	35–43
Leicester	38–40	42–36	38–40	35–43	38–40	36–42	44–34	32–46	36–42	39–39		50–28	35–43	30–47	41–37	35–43	35–43	43–35	36–41
Newport	45–33	52.5–24.5	44–34	43–35	41–37	44–34	59–19	42–36	47–31	49–29	48–30		50–28	41–36	46–32	45–32	46–32	45–33	54–24
Poole	38–39	42–36	49–29	41–37	43–34	43–35	58–20	41–37	37–41	55–23	59–19	41–37		38–40	44–34	42–36	41–37	46–32	50–27
Reading	40–38	47–31	42–36	48–30	43–35	35–43	56–22	42–36	38–40	41–37	52–26	39–39	52–26		50–28	47–31	39–39	42–36	42–36
Sheffield	48–30	43–35	46–32	42–35	42–36	43–35	45–33	36–42	40–38	40–38	43–35	31–47	43–35	37–41		45–33	44–34	39–39	38–40
Swindon	40–38	52–26	39–39	45–33	39–39	42–35	51–27	45–33	39–39	45–33	44–34	54–24	48–30	41–37	53–25		47–31	52–25	52–26
White City	46–32	51–27	45–33	53–25	46–32	42–36	60–18	33.5–44.5	42–36	38–40	51–27	49–29	39–39	41–37	43–35	35–43		45–33	35–43
Wimbledon	35–43	44–34	38–40	40–38	42–35	38–39	48–30	45–33	34–44	40–37	54–24	47–31	43–35	40–38	52–26	38–40	39–39		39–39
Wolverhampton	31–46	50–26	46–32	40–38	38–40	38–40	49–29	43–35	32–46	40–38	42–36	46–32	37–41	32–46	44–34	41–37	47–31	42–36

Source:^[6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top ten riders (league averages)

[edit]

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

British League Knockout Cup

[edit]

The 1976 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 38th edition of theKnockout Cup for tier one teams.Ipswich Witches were the winners.^[7]

First round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
04/05	Leicester	39–39	Halifax
29/04	Wimbledon	48–30	Birmingham
26/04	Birmingham	38–40	Wimbledon
10/04	Coventry	48–30	Wolverhampton
09/04	Wolverhampton	38–39	Coventry
27/03	Halifax	41–37	Leicester

Second round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
31/07	Belle Vue	49–29	Wimbledon
01/07	Coventry	46–32	White City
27/06	Halifax	46–32	Hull
24/06	Wimbledon	35–43	Belle Vue
21/06	Exeter	46–32	Newport
12/06	Cradley Heath	34–44	Ipswich
10/06	Ipswich	39–38	Cradley Heath
09/06	Hull	44.5-33.5	Halifax
04/06	Hackney	40–38	Reading
04/06	Newport	47–31	Exeter
03/06	Sheffield	36–42	Kings Lynn
02/06	Poole	42–36	Swindon
31/05	Reading	37–41	Hackney
29/05	Swindon	54–24	Poole
26/05	White City	49–29	Coventry
22/05	Kings Lynn	42–36	Sheffield

Quarter-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
18/09	Halifax	47–31	Hackney
03/09	Hackney	41–37	Halifax
26/08	Ipswich	45–33	Swindon
23/08	Belle Vue	45–33	Newport
18/08	White City	38–40	Kings Lynn
14/08	Kings Lynn	44–34	White City
13/08	Newport	40–38	Belle Vue
24/07	Swindon	44–34	Ipswich

Semi-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
03/10	Halifax	42–35	Kings Lynn
02/10	Belle Vue	41–37	Ipswich
30/09	Ipswich	43–35	Belle Vue
29/09	Kings Lynn	46–32	Halifax

Final

[edit]

First leg

17 October 1976

King's Lynn Stars Michael Lee12 Ian Turner 11 Terry Betts 7 David Gagen 3 Ray Bales 3 Richard Hellsen 1 Adi Funk 0	36–41	Ipswich Witches John Louis 11 Dave Gooderham 8 Tony Davey 7 Billy Sanders 6 Mike Lanham 4 Ted Howgego 3 Kevin Jolly 2
	^[8]

King's Lynn Stadium

Second leg

28 October 1976

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

Foxhall Stadium

Ipswich Witches were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate91-63.

Riders' Championship

[edit]

Ole Olsen won theBritish League Riders' Championship for the second time, it was held atHyde Road on 16 October and sponsored by Leyland Cars.^[9]

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Ole Olsen	33333	15
2	Peter Collins	3233 3	14
3	John Louis	33322	13
4	Martin Ashby	32322	12
5	Dave Jessup	23231	11
6	Phil Crump	03113	8
7	Barry Briggs	02220	6
8	Ila Teromaa	123EF-	6
9	Chris Pusey	EF0213	6
10	Doug Wyer	12101	5
11	Gordon Kennett	111EF2	5
12	Ivan Mauger	21EF2-	5
13	Dave Morton	2EF011	4
14	Mick Hines (res)	120--	3
15	Terry Betts	1010EF	2
16	Malcolm Simmons	2FR--	2
17	Jim McMillan	01000	1
18	John Boulger (res)	F----	0

ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded

Pairs

[edit]

TheBritish League Pairs Championship was held atFoxhall Stadium on 19 October and was won by Ipswich Witches.^[10]

Pos	Team	Pts	Riders
1	Ipswich Witches	22	John Louis 12,Billy Sanders 10
2	Coventry Bees	21	Ole Olsen 14,Mitch Shirra 7
2	Belle Vue Aces	21	Peter Collins 15,Chris Morton 6
2	Cradley United	21	John Boulger 11,Bruce Cribb 10
5	Poole Pirates	18	Malcolm Simmons 15,Eric Broadbelt 3
6	Hackney Hawks	12	Dave Morton 6,Zenon Plech 6
7	Sheffield Tigers	8	Doug Wyer 5,Reg Wilson 3

Final leading averages

[edit]

	Rider	Team	C.M.A.
1	John Louis	Ipswich	11.08
2	Peter Collins	Belle Vue	11.06
3	Ole Olsen	Coventry	11.05
4	Ivan Mauger	Exeter	10.86
5	Phil Crump	Newport	10.67
6	Dave Jessup	Reading	10.35
7	Dave Morton	Hackney	10.18
8	Malcolm Simmons	Poole	10.17
9	Martin Ashby	Swindon	9.88
10	John Boulger	Cradley	9.79

Spring Gold Cup

[edit]

East Group

Team	PL	W	L	Pts
Ipswich	8	7	1	14
Reading	8	5	3	10
White City	8	4	4	8
Hackney	8	3	5	6
King's Lynn	8	1	7	2

West Group

Team	PL	W	L	Pts
Wimbledon	6	4	2	8
Poole	6	4	2	8
Newport	6	3	3	6
Exeter	6	1	5	2

East Group

Home \ Away	HAC	IPS	KL	REA	WC
Hackney		23–55	41–37	45–33	41–37
Ipswich	41–37		51–27	40–38	47–31
King's Lynn	45–33	37–41		36–42	37–41
Reading	44–34	45–33	47–31		41–37
White City	42–36	37–41	40–38	48–30

Source:^[11]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

West Group

Home \ Away	EX	NEW	PP	WIM
Exeter		42–35	33–44	36–41
Newport	42–36		44–34	47–31
Poole	45–33	40–38		42–36
Wimbledon	41–36	46–32	46–32

Source:^[12]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final

Team one	Team two	Score
Wimbledon	Ipswich	40–38, 62–42

Midland Cup

[edit]

Coventry won theMidland Cup. The competition consisted of six teams.^[13]

First round

Team one	Team two	Score
Swindon	Leicester	49–29, 44–34
Cradley	Coventry	35–43, 28–50

Semi final round

Team one	Team two	Score
Wolverhampton	Swindon	44–34, 36–42
Birmingham	Coventry	31–47, 28–50

Final

First leg

17 October 1976

Coventry Jiri Stancl 17 Mitch Shirra 11 Ole Olsen 9 Alan Molyneux 7 Frank Smith 4 John Haarhy 2 Nigel Boocock r/r	50–28	Wolverhampton Jim McMillan 10 Bruce Cribb (guest) 7 George Hunter 6 John Jackson 3 Bob Valentine (guest) 2 Leif Berlin 0 Tony Gillias (guest) 0

Brandon Stadium

Second leg

22 October 1976

Wolverhampton Rob Hollingworth 11 Bruce Cribb (guest) 7 Jim McMillan 6 George Hunter 6 John Jackson 5 Steve Bastable (guest) 2 Leif Berlin 2	39–37	Coventry Jiri Stancl 12 Ole Olsen 12 Mitch Shirra 7 Frank Smith 4 Alan Molyneux 2 John Haarhy 0 Nigel Boocock r/r

Monmore Green Stadium

Coventry won on aggregate87–67

Northern Trophy

[edit]

		M	W	D	L	Pts
1	Belle Vue	6	5	1	0	11
2	Sheffield	6	3	0	3	6
3	Halifax	6	2	2	2	6
4	Hull	6	0	1	5	0

Home \ Away	BV	HAL	HUL	SHE
Belle Vue		39–39	48–30	51–27
Halifax	37–41		40–38	40–38
Hull	36–42	39–39		38–40
Sheffield	38–40	55–23	46–32

Source:^[14]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Riders and final averages

[edit]

Belle Vue

Birmingham

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Exeter

Hackney

Halifax

Hull

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Terry Betts 9.71
Michael Lee 9.43
Ian Turner 7.83
David Gagen 5.68
Ray Bales 5.40
Richard Hellsen 4.56
Billy Burton 3.85
Jan Henningsen 3.50
Adi Funk 2.80

Leicester

Newport

Poole

Reading

Sheffield

Swindon

White City

Wimbledon

Wolverhampton

References

[edit]

^Oakes, Peter (1981).1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100.ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
^"Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
^"HISTORY ARCHIVE".British Speedway. Retrieved2 July 2021.
^Rogers, Martin (1978).The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133.ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
^"Legend Who Died Young".Retro Speedway. Retrieved28 July 2021.
^"1976 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved11 March 2025.
^"1976 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
^^a ^b"Season 1976"(PDF).British Speedway. Retrieved25 June 2021.
^"Olsen races to title".Sunday Mirror. 17 October 1976. Retrieved2 June 2023 – viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
^"Speedway".Daily Mirror. 20 October 1976. Retrieved16 May 2023 – viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
^"1976 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved29 September 2025.
^"1976 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved29 September 2025.
^"Muddy Marvel, Ole rubs it in".Coventry Evening Telegraph. 23 October 1976. Retrieved21 October 2023 – viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
^"1976 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved30 September 2025.

v t e Speedway in the United Kingdom
Current leagues	SGB Premiership SGB Championship National Development League List of champions
Former leagues	Elite League Premier League National League (1932–1964) Provincial League (1960–1964) British League British League Division Two/National League Conference League National League Division Two National League Division Three English Dirt Track League/Northern League Southern League (1929–1931) Southern League (1952–1953) Provincial League (1936–1937) Southern Area League
Current team competitions	Knockout Cup League Pairs champions League Fours champions
Former team competitions	London Cup Midland Cup Craven and Young Shields Premiership Shield
Current individual competitions	British Speedway Championship League Riders' champions British U-21 British U-19 Scottish Open
Former individual competitions	London Riders' Midland Riders' Northern Riders' Southern Riders' Olympique Internationale
See also	Speedway British Speedway Promoters' Association Speedway Control Bureau

v t e United Kingdom Speedway Seasons
Tier One League Top division	1929 1929 1930 1930 1931 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Tier Two League Second division	1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Tier Three League Third division	1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1994 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Champions	League champions Cup winners

v t e British League seasons
1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994		Speedway Elite League
Domestic cups:British League Knockout Cup		Speedway Elite League