# 2011 National League speedway season

The 2011 season of the National League, the third tier of British speedway was contested by ten teams, with Scunthorpe & Sheffield Saints winning the play-offs to become champions.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Stoke Potters | 18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 43 |
| 2 | Scunthorpe & Sheffield Saints | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 36 |
| 3 | Belle Vue Colts | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 35 |
| 4 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 35 |
| 5 | Hackney Hawks | 18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 28 |
| 6 | King's Lynn Young Stars | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 26 |
| 7 | Dudley Heathens | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 25 |
| 8 | Buxton Hitmen | 18 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 21 |
| 9 | Isle of Wight Islanders | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 16 |
| 10 | Newport Hornets | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 15 |
PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; BP = Bonus Pts Pts = Total Points
SCORING SYSTEM Home loss by any number of points = 0 Home draw = 1 Home win by between 1 and 6 points = 2 Home win by 7 points or more = 3 Away loss by 7 points or more = 0 Away loss by 6 points or less = 1 Away draw = 2 Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3 Away win by 7 points or more = 4

## Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | BV | BUX | DH | HH | IOW | KL | MIL | NEW | SCU | STO |
| Belle Vue Colts | | 38–33 | 53–15 | 46–44 | 50–37 | 59–33 | 59–32 | 57–35 | 60–31 | 55–37 |
| Buxton Hitmen | 40–50 | | 44–47 | 40–50 | 57–36 | 46–47 | 45–44 | 61–31 | 55–33 | 51–39 |
| Dudley Heathens | 46–44 | 40–55 | | 49–41 | 59–34 | 57–39 | 38–51 | 52–43 | 47–43 | 27–64 |
| Hackney Hawks | 48–39 | 54–41 | 42–48 | | 58–35 | 49–41 | 42–48 | 59–35 | 52–39 | 53–41 |
| Isle of Wight Islanders | 53–39 | 49–44 | 42–33 | 47–43 | | 46–44 | 45–45 | 47–43 | 43–50 | 42–48 |
| King's Lynn Young Stars | 59–34 | 53–40 | 48–41 | 47–45 | 61–31 | | 45–45 | 61–32 | 34–58 | 41–49 |
| Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 47–42 | 47–43 | 45–44 | 57–35 | 61–33 | 56–37 | | 60–36 | 47–43 | 49–43 |
| Newport Hornets | 35–55 | 56–37 | 36–36 | 54–39 | 47–43 | 43–46 | 47–46 | | 50–37 | 43–50 |
| Scunthorpe & Sheffield Saints | 59–35 | 50–43 | 63–28 | 64–26 | 61–32 | 48–42 | 51–39 | 54–39 | | 50–39 |
| Stoke Potters | 53–40 | 50–39 | 61–34 | 59–33 | 61–34 | 56–37 | 57–36 | 41–30 | 49–41 | |

## Play Offs

Top four teams race off in two-legged semi-finals and final to decide championship. The winner was Scunthorpe & Sheffield Saints who defeated the Mildenhall Fen Tigers in the final.
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 14/10 | Scunthorpe/Sheffield | 51-42 | Belle Vue |
| 02/10 | Mildenhall | 51-40 | Stoke |
| 01/10 | Stoke | 44-46 | Mildenhall |
| 28/10 | Belle Vue | 46-41 | Scunthorpe/Sheffield |

### Final

| 21 October | Scunthorpe & Sheffield Saints Steven Worrall 12 Richie Worrall 12 Adam Wrathall 11 Stefan Nielsen 10 Ashley Birks 8 Gary Irving 6 Lee Smethills 3 | 62–33 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers Cameron Heeps 15 Lewis Blackbird 8 Daniel Halsey 6 Jack Hargreaves 2 Aaron Baseby 2 Joe Jacobs 0 Mark Baseby r/r | Eddie Wright Raceway |
| 23 October | Mildenhall Fen Tigers Cameron Heeps 13 Daniel Halsey 13 Lewis Blackbird 12 Mark Baseby 10 Aaron Baseby 8 Joe Jacobs 3 Jack Hargreaves r/r | 59–31 | Scunthorpe & Sheffield Saints Richie Worrall 13 Ashley Birks 9 Adam Wrathall 3 Steven Worrall 2 Lee Smethills 2 Stefan Nielsen 2 Gary Irving r/r | Mildenhall Stadium |

## Final Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Kyle Howarth | Belle Vue | 9.86 |
| Todd Kurtz | Newport | 9.78 |
| Simon Lambert | Stoke | 9.45 |

## National League Knockout Cup

The 2011 National League Knockout Cup was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. Mildenhall Fen Tigers were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 11/06 | Hackney | 42-50 | Mildenhall |
| 05/06 | Mildenhall | 60-32 | Hackney |
| 04/06 | Stoke | 57-35 | Buxton |
| 01/06 | Belle Vue Colts | 39-52 | Dudley |
| 17/05 | Dudley | 45-39 | Belle Vue Colts |
| 14/05 | Newport Hornets | 53-40 | Isle Of Wight |
| 10/05 | Isle Of Wight | 56-38 | Newport Hornets |
| 01/05 | Buxton | 45-44 | Stoke |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 13/09 | Isle Of Wight | 44-46 | Mildenhall |
| 28/08 | Mildenhall | 57-37 | Isle Of Wight |
| 28/06 | Dudley | 47-43 | Stoke |
| 26/06 | Stoke | 62-32 | Dudley |

### Final

| 22 October | Stoke Potters James Sarjeant 11 Tim Webster 8 Jason Garrity (guest) 6 Jamie Pickard 6 Ben Reade 5 Tony Atkin 4 Oliver Greenwood (guest) 0 | 40–52 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers Dan Halsey 12 Mark Baseby 9 Cameron Heeps 8 Joe Jacobs 7 Lewis Blackbird 7 Aaron Baseby 4 Jack Hargreaves 2 | Loomer Road Stadium |
| 25 October | Mildenhall Fen Tigers Dan Halsey 12 Lewis Blackbird 10 Cameron Heeps 9 Aaron Baseby 7 Mark Baseby 6 Jack Hargreaves 4 Joe Jacobs 3 | 51–43 | Stoke Potters Simon Lambert 18 James Sarjeant 11 Tim Webster 6 Jamie Pickard 4 Gareth Isherwood 2 Tony Atkin 1 Tim Nobes 1 | Mildenhall Stadium |

## Riders' Championship

Jason Garrity won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 3 September at Rye House Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Total |
| 1 | Jason Garrity | Belle Vue | 12 |
| 2 | Kyle Howarth | Belle Vue | 11 |
| 3 | Jay Herne | Newport | 10 |
| 4 | Robert Branford | Buxton | 10 |
| 5 | Richie Worrall | Scunthorpe/Sheffield | 9 |
| 6 | Todd Kurtz | Newport | 9 |
| 7 | Ashley Morris | Dudley | 9 |
| 8 | Simon Lambert | Stoke | 8 |
| 9 | Steve Worrall | Scunthorpe/Sheffield | 7 |
| 10 | David Mason | Hackney | 7 |
| 11 | Jack Hargreaves | Mildenhall | 6 |
| 12 | James Cockle | King's Lynn | 6 |
| 13 | Adam Allott | Buxton | 5 |
| 14 | Tim Webster | Stoke | 5 |
| 15 | Nick Simmons | Isle of Wight | 4 |
| 16 | Barrie Evans | Hackney | 1 |

## Pairs

The National League Pairs Championship, was held at Hayley Stadium, on 18 June 2011. The event was won by Tim Webster and Simon Lambert of the Stoke Potters.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Newport | 26 | Kurtz 15, Herne 11 |
| 2 | Scunthorpe/Sheffield | 22 | Worrall R 14 Worrall S 8 |
| 3 | Belle Vue | 17 | Garrity 9, McKinna 8 |
| 4 | Hackney | 15 | Evans 8, Hazelden 7 |
| 5 | King's Lynn | 10 | Knight 7, Kerr 3 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Stoke | 23 | Lambert 14, Webster 9 |
| 2 | Mildenhall | 21 | Hargreaves 12, Blackbird 9 |
| 3 | Dudley | 20 | Newman 11, Armstrong 9 |
| 4 | Isle of Wight | 13 | Simmons 9, Smith 4 |
| 5 | Byxton | 13 | Allott 8, Luke Priest 5 |
Final
* Stoke bt Newport 5–4

## Fours

Dudley won the National League Fours, held on 30 July 2011 at Loomer Road Stadium.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Mildenhall | 22 | Hargreaves 5, Blackbird 5, Heeps 5, Jacobs 3 |
| 2 | Dudley | 16 | Franklin 5, Morris 4, Armstrong 4, Roynon 3 |
| 3 | Isle of Wight | 11 | Starke 6, Simmons 1, Smith 1, Warwick 0 |
| 4 | Hackney | 6 | Morley 2, Owen 2, Reade 1, Hopwood 1 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Stoke | 14 | Lambert 6, Atkin 4, Pickard 3, Webster 1 |
| 2 | Belle Vue | 13 | Bekker 4, Garrity 4, Mason 4, McKinna 3 |
| 3 | Buxton | 10 | Taylor 3, Allott 3, Priest 2, Branford 2 |
| 4 | Newport | 3 | Herne 2, Johnson 1, Jones 0, Andrews 0 |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Dudley | 15 | Roynon 6, Morris 4, Armstrong 3, Franklin 2 |
| 2 | Belle Vue | 12 | Bekker 4, McKinna 4, Garrity 4, Mason 0 |
| 3 | Stoke | 12 | Atkin 4, Lambert 3, Webster 3, Pickard 2 |
| 4 | Mildenhall | 9 | Heeps 3, Jacobs 3, Hargreaves 2, Blackbird 1 |

## Midland Development League

| Pos | team | P | W | D | L | B | Pts |
| 1 | Long Eaton Invaders | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| 2 | Team Viking Academy | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| 3 | Halifax Dukes | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 4 | Sheffield Cubs | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | Scunthorpe Stags | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
Long Eaton won grand final 40–32 on aggregate