1982 National League season

In 1982 the National League, also known as British League Division Two, was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom.

Summary

Long Eaton Invaders replaced Workington Comets, after the latter withdrew from the league before the start of the season. Wolverhampton Wolves were unable to form a team and would not race for two seasons.

The league champions were Newcastle Diamonds.

Milton Keynes rider Brett Alderton was killed in an accident during the second half of a league meeting at King's Lynn. The 18-year old Australian sustained a fatal head injury on 17 April.

Final table

Fixtures and results

Top five riders (league averages)

National League Knockout Cup

The 1982 National League Knockout Cup was the 15th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Newcastle Diamonds were the winners of the competition.

First round

Second round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

First leg

Second leg

Newcastle were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 118Ã¢ÂÂ74.

Riders' Championship

Joe Owen won the Riders' Championship, sponsored by the Daily Mirror and held at Wimbledon Stadium on 18 September 1982.

Pairs

The National League Pairs were held in Swindon on 28 August and was won by Weymouth Wildcats.

Semi finals

Weymouth bt Middlesbrough
Long Eaton bt Newcastle

Final

Weymouth bt Long Eaton

Fours

Newcastle Diamonds won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 25 July.

Semi finals

SF1 = Newcastle 16, Middlesbrough 12, Ellesmere Port 10, Peterborough 10
SF2 = Mildenhall 15, Rye House 14, Oxford 12, Exeter 7

Final

Leading final averages

Riders & final averages

Berwick

Steve McDermott 8.83
Bruce Cribb 7.85
Brian Collins 7.24
George Hunter 7.23
Paul Thorp 6.47
Rob Grant Sr. 6.12
Mike Caroline 5.45
Rob Carter 2.75

Boston

Steve Lomas 9.17
David Gagen 9.09
Rob Hollingworth 8.86
Dennis Mallett 5.94
David Blackburn 4.71
Guy Wilson 4.68
Peter Framingham 4.19
Robbie McGregor 3.60
Chris Cole 2.97

Canterbury

Barney Kennett 8.66
Denzil Kent 7.74
Ian Clark 7.64
Darryl Simpson 5.18
Keith Pritchard 4.46
Kevin Brice 4.36
Nigel Couzens 4.36
Mark Martin 3.74

Crayford

Barry Thomas 8.75
Trevor Banks 7.62
Mike Spinks 6.83
Alan Sage 6.48
Alan Mogridge 5.96
Laurie Etheridge 5.67
Paul Bosley 5.22
Mike Pither 5.02
Trevor Barnwell 3.53
Chris Tritton 3.23
Andy Galvin 2.40

Edinburgh

Dave Trownson 9.21
Eric Broadbelt 7.05
Brett Saunders 7.03
Ivan Blacka 6.54
Benny Rourke 6.00
Chris Turner 5.95
Mark Fiora 5.69
Roger Lambert 4.36
Ian Westwell 2.87
Sean Courtney 2.53

Ellesmere Port

John Jackson 9.15
Steve Finch 8.56
Rob Maxfield 7.26
Eric Monaghan 6.97
Phil Alderman 5.98
Billy Burton 5.98
Glen Parrott 4.91
Rob Tate 4.63

Exeter

John Barker 9.07
Les Sawyer 8.56
Andy Campbell 8.38
Keith Millard 8.18
Bob Coles 6.54
Keith Wright 4.67
Steve Bishop 4.37
Mike Semmonds 3.72
Dave Brewer 3.43

Glasgow

Steve Lawson 10.40
Kenny McKinna 8.78
Colin Caffrey 5.92
Harry Maclean 4.53
Rob Carter .86
Kym Mauger 3.67
Alan Mason 3.65
Martin McKinna 2.64
Des Wilson 1.71

Long Eaton

Alan Molyneux 9.35
Paul Stead 8.41
Dave Perks 7.94
Nigel Close 6.63
Paul Evitts 6.46
Nicky Allott 6.20
Mark Summerfield 5.03
David Blackburn 4.56

Middlesbrough

Martin Dixon 9.39
Steve Wilcock 9.27
Mike Spink 7.67
Geoff Pusey 7.34
Paul Price 5.21
Rob Woffinden 4.86
Alan Armstrong 4.33
Peter Spink 3.61
Bernie Collier 1.64

Mildenhall

Derek Harrison 9.33
Ray Bales 8.78
Richard Knight 8.32
Mick Bates 7.65
Robert Henry 7.62
Carl Baldwin 7.59
Andy Warne 4.48
Carl Blackbird 4.44

Milton Keynes

Keith White 8.09
Andy Hibbs 8.00
Craig Featherby 7.25
Nigel Sparshott 7.03
Steve Payne 6.29
Tony Featherstone 5.60
Paul Clarke 4.08

Newcastle

Joe Owen 11.01
Rod Hunter 10.12
Bobby Beaton 9.01
Alan Emerson 7.81
Keith Bloxsome 7.35
Tom Owen 7.12
Robbie Foy 3.65
Barry Shearer 1.47

Oxford

Ashley Pullen 7.73
Graham Drury 7.54
Colin Ackroyd 7.42
Simon Cross 6.88
Kevin Smart 5.13
Wayne Jackson 5.10
Brian Woodward 4.83
John Frankland 4.50
Gary Chessell 3.90
Bill Barrett 3.14
Mick Handley 3.06
Mick Fletcher 2.15

Peterborough

Andy Hines 8.64
Dave Allen 8.26
Mick Hines 7.33
Andy Buck 6.38
Andy Fisher 5.49
Ian Barney 5.38
Neil Cotton 3.06

Rye House

Bobby Garrad 9.85
Marvyn Cox 8.87
Kelvin Mullarkey 7.78
Steve Naylor 7.72
Peter Johns 4.95
Andy Fines 4.68
Steve Bryenton 4.31
Garry Monk 3.04

Scunthorpe

Mike Wilding 7.88
Kevin Teager 7.18
Nigel Crabtree 7.07
Rob Woffinden 5.97
Derek Richardson 5.74
Julian Parr 5.45
Terry Kelly 5.11
Ian Gibson 4.13
Mark DeKok 4.09

Stoke

Rod North 7.24
Pete Smith 6.91
Mark Collins 6.53
Mike Sampson 6.05
Ian Robertson 6.01
Brian Havelock 5.69
Arthur Browning 5.36
Pete Ellams 5.31
Jim Burdfield 4.41
Steve Sant 3.32

Weymouth

Simon Wigg 10.36
Martin Yeates 8.46
Steve Schofield 7.10
Terry Tulloch 6.72
Les Rumsey 6.39
Stan Bear 6.00
John McNeill 5.69
Steve Crockett 3.56
Mark Minett 2.86
Rob Mather 2.85

References