# 2012 National League speedway season

The 2012 season of the National League was the third tier/division of British speedway and was contested by eight teams.

## Summary

Newport and Belle Vue did not return from 2011, and Hackney opted to run at Rye House only, renaming the team Rye House Raiders.
Mildenhall Fen Tigers beat Dudley Heathens in the play-off final to become champions.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Dudley Heathens | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 42 |
| 2 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 38 |
| 3 | Isle of Wight Islanders | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| 4 | Stoke Potters | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 20 |
| 5 | Rye House Raiders | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 20 |
| 6 | Scunthorpe Saints | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 17 |
| 7 | Buxton Hitmen | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 11 |
| 8 | King's Lynn Young Stars | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 9 |
PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; 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 | BUX | DH | IOW | KL | MIL | RYE | SCU | STO |
| Buxton Hitmen | | 27–65 | 40–50 | 56–37 | 43–43 | 60–33 | 43–46 | 50–38 |
| Dudley Heathens | 69–23 | | 68–22 | 66–24 | 54–40 | 55–16 | 58–33 | 58–35 |
| Isle of Wight Islanders | 49–44 | 29–61 | | 53–40 | 41–49 | 51–42 | 55–37 | 48–42 |
| King's Lynn Young Stars | 50–43 | 42–47 | 40–50 | | 38–54 | 52–42 | 49–46 | 42–48 |
| Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 53–40 | 53–36 | 63–30 | 55–36 | | 49–38 | 62–29 | 45–47 |
| Rye House Raiders | 53–42 | 38–53 | 50–40 | 51–39 | 40–50 | | 52–39 | 49–41 |
| Scunthorpe Saints | 44–36 | 43–46 | 50–40 | 48–42 | 35–56 | 47–44 | | 50–43 |
| Stoke Potters | 56–39 | 43–47 | 58–37 | 53–36 | 45–45 | 41–48 | 57–37 | |

## Play Offs

Top four teams race off in two-legged semi-finals and final to decide championship. Mildenhall Fen Tigers defeated Dudley Heathens in the final.
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 30/09 | Mildenhall | 58-36 | Isle of Wight |
| 16/10 | Isle of Wight | 45-44 | Mildenhall |
| 09/10 | Dudley | 44-43 | Stoke |
| 10/10 | Stoke | 41-54 | Dudley |

### Final

| 23 October | Dudley Heathens Ashley Morris 15 Darryl Ritchings 14 Adam Roynon 12 James White-Williams 6 Daniel Greenwood 5 Tom Perry 0 Byron Bekker R/R | 51–37 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers Joe Jacobs 13 Jason Garrity 8 Daniel Halsey 7 Stefan Nielsen 7 Josh Bates 5 Ryan Terry-Daley 5 Lewis Blackbird R/R | Monmore Green Stadium |
| 24 October | Mildenhall Fen Tigers Joe Jacobs 11 Lewis Blackbird 9 Stefan Nielsen 9 Josh Bates 8 Daniel Halsey 8 Jason Garrity 7 Ryan Terry-Daley 3 | 54–39 | Dudley Heathens Adam Roynon 16 Ashley Morris 8 Darryl Ritchings 7 Daniel Greenwood 6 James White-Williams 3 Adam Kirby 3 Sean Phillips 0 Tom Perry R/R | Mildenhall Stadium |

## Final Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Adam Roynton | Dudley | 11.64 |
| Tom Perry | Dudley | 9.88 |
| Ashley Birks | Stoke | 9.66 |

## National League Knockout Cup

The 2012 National League Knockout Cup was the 15th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. Mildenhall Fen Tigers were the winners for the second successive year.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 13/05 | Stoke | 49-40 | Scunthorpe Saints |
| 08/05 | Dudley | 65-28 | Buxton |
| 07/05 | Scunthorpe Saints | 47-42 | Stoke |
| 06/05 | Buxton | 36-54 | Dudley |
| 02/05 | King's Lynn | 39-51 | Mildenhall |
| 01/05 | Isle Of Wight | 58-31 | Rye House Raiders |
| 15/04 | Mildenhall | 55-40 | King's Lynn |
| 06/04 | Rye House Raiders | 49-46 | Isle Of Wight |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 15/09 | Stoke | 44-50 | Mildenhall |
| 27/08 | Mildenhall | 55-39 | Stoke |
| 09/08 | Isle of Wight | 15-21 | Dudley |
| 12/06 | Dudley | 60-32 | Isle Of Wight |

### Final

| 7 October | Mildenhall Fen Tigers Jason Garrity 14 Joe Jacobs 14 Daniel Halsey 11 Josh Bates 10 Stefan Nielsen 7 Ryan Terry-Daley 5 Lewis Blackbird r/r | 61–33 | Dudley Heathens Joe Haines 13 Tom Perry 10 Darryl Ritchings 5 Daniel Greenwood 3 James White-Williams 2 Byron Bekker 0 Ashley Morris r/r | Mildenhall Stadium |
| 23 October | Dudley Heathens Adam Roynon 12 Ashley Morris 11 James White-Williams 9 Darryl Ritchings 7 Sean Phillips 1 Daniel Greenwood 1 Tom Perry r/r | 41–32 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers Joe Jacobs 13 Josh Bates 6 Stefan Nielsen 4 Jason Garrity 4 Daniel Halsey 3 Ryan Terry-Daley 2 Lewis Blackbird r/r | Monmore Green Stadium |

## Riders' Championship

Ashley Birks won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 29 September at Rye House Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Total |
| 1 | Ashley Birks | Stoke | 14+3 |
| 2 | Jason Garrity | Rye House | 14+2 |
| 3 | Gary Irving | Scunthorpe | 13 |
| 4 | Tom Perry | Dudley | 11 |
| 5 | Charles Wright | Buxton | 8 |
| 6 | Lewis Kerr | Kings Lynn | 8 |
| 7 | Lewis Blackbird | Mildenhall | 8 |
| 8 | Stefan Nielsen | Mildenhall | 7 |
| 9 | James Sarjeant | Rye House | 6 |
| 10 | Ben Morley | Rye House | 5 |
| 11 | Ashley Morris | Dudley | 5 |
| 12 | Ben Reade | Stoke | 5 |
| 13 | Danny Warwick | Isle of Wight | 4 |
| 14 | Ben Hopwood | Isle of Wight | 4 |
| 15 | Adam Mckinna | Buxton | 4 |
| 16 | Joe Jacobs | Mildenhall | 3 |

## Pairs

The National League Pairs Championship, was held at Mildenhall Stadium, on 22 July 2012. The event was won by Cameron Heeps and Lewis Blackbird of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Mildenhall | 20 | Blackbird 11, Heeps 9 |
| 2 | Buxton | 17 | Wright 10, Branford 7 |
| 3 | Isle of Wight | 11 | Warwick 6, Hughes 5 |
| 4 | Rye House | 6 | Morley 4, Sarjeant 2 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Scunthorpe | 20 | Irving 12, Young 8 |
| 2 | Dudley | 13 | Bekker 9, Perry 4 |
| 3 | King's Lynn | 12 | Kerr 10, Cockle 2 |
| 4 | Stoke | 9 | Lambert 9, Reade 0 |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Mildenhall | 20 | Heeps 11, Blackbird 6 |
| 2 | Buxton | 14 | Branford 8, Wright 6 |
| 3 | Dudley | 12 | Perry 10, Bekker 2 |
| 4 | Scunthorpe | 11 | Irving 8, Young 3 |

## Fours

Mildenhall won the National League Fours, held on 26 August 2012 at Loomer Road Stadium.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Dudley | 21 | Roynon 6, Morris 6, Ritchings 5, Bekker 4 |
| 2 | Stoke | 13 | Birks 5, Cockle 5, Atkin 2, Carr 1 |
| 3 | Rye House | 9 | Morley 4, Sarjeant 3, Chessell 2, Coles 0 |
| 4 | Isle of Wight | 5 | Starke 2, Stoneman 2, Walter 1, Hopwood 0 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Mildenhall | 23 | Blackbird 6, Nielsen 6, Jacobs 6, Halsey 5 |
| 2 | Buxton | 12 | Wright 5, McKinna 4, Felton 2, Priest 1 |
| 3 | King's Lynn | 6 | Kerr 3, Knight 2, Stokes 1, Johnson 0 |
| 4 | Scunthorpe | 5 | Greenwood 3, Phillips 2, Fenwick 0, Young 0 |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Mildenhall | 17 | Nielsen 6, Jacobs 6, Halsey 3, Blackbird 2 |
| 2 | Buxton | 13 | Wright 4, Priest 4, Felton 3, McKinna 2 |
| 3 | Dudley | 10 | Morris 5, Roynon 2, Ritchings 2, Bekker 1 |
| 4 | Stoke | 7 | Birks 3, Cockle 2, Atkin 1, Carr 1 |

## Development Leagues
### Midland Development League

| Pos | team | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Milton Keynes Knights | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Colts | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| 3 | Coventry-Mercia Vikings | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Long Eaton | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| 5 | Stoke | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 6 | Scunthorpe | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | Sheffield | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 6 |
Milton Keynes won grand final 21–15

### Anglian Development League

| Pos | team | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | King's Lynn | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 2 | Lakeside | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 3 | Mildenhall | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| 4 | Rye House | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| 5 | Peterborough | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| 6 | Ipswich | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 |

### Northern Development League

| Pos | team | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Edinburgh | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Redcar | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | Berwick | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 4 | Workington | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |