# 1981 British League season

The 1981 British League season was the 47th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 17th known as the British League.

## Summary

The league comprised 16 teams - one fewer than the previous season. Wolverhampton Wolves had dropped down to the National League.
American Bruce Penhall (who would be crowned world champion by the end of the season) topped the averages and helped Cradley Heathens win their first title. The Cradley team included Penhall, rising Danish star Erik Gundersen and British internationals Alan Grahame and Phil Collins. The league runner-up Ipswich Witches gained some consolation by winning the Knockout Cup.
The year saw a changing of the guard as a number of young riders broke through as heat leaders. American duo Penhall and Dennis Sigalos led Cradley Heath and Ipswich respectively, Danish trio Gundersen, Hans Nielsen and Tommy Knudsen all qualified for the World Final, and Kenny Carter finished as top Englishman in the World Final and won the League Riders' Championship.

## Final league table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Cradley Heathens | 30 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 53 |
| 2 | Ipswich Witches | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 46 |
| 3 | Swindon Robins | 30 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 41 |
| 4 | Belle Vue Aces | 30 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 39 |
| 5 | Coventry Bees | 30 | 18 | 0 | 12 | 36 |
| 6 | Birmingham Brummies | 30 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 27 |
| 7 | Halifax Dukes | 30 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 27 |
| 8 | Hackney Hawks | 30 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 26 |
| 9 | Poole Pirates | 30 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 26 |
| 10 | Sheffield Tigers | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 26 |
| 11 | Reading Racers | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 25 |
| 12 | Hull Vikings | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 24 |
| 13 | Eastbourne Eagles | 30 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 23 |
| 14 | King's Lynn Stars | 30 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 22 |
| 15 | Leicester Lions | 30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 22 |
| 16 | Wimbledon Dons | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 17 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

## Top Ten Riders (League Averages)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Bruce Penhall | Cradley Heathens | 11.08 |
| 2 | Kenny Carter | Halifax Dukes | 10.50 |
| 3 | Phil Crump | Swindon Robins | 10.39 |
| 4 | Michael Lee | King's Lynn Stars | 10.34 |
| 5 | Erik Gundersen | Cradley Heathens | 10.26 |
| 6 | Chris Morton | Belle Vue Aces | 10.26 |
| 7 | Jan Andersson | Reading Racers | 10.02 |
| 8 | Gordon Kennett | Eastbourne Eagles | 9.95 |
| 9 | Kelly Moran | Eastbourne Eagles | 9.83 |
| 10 | Hans Nielsen | Birmingham Brummies | 9.83 |

## British League Knockout Cup

The 1981 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 43rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 04/06 | Middlesbrough | 43-53 | Eastbourne |
| 23/05 | Berwick | 39-57 | Wimbledon |
| 08/05 | Peterborough | 50-46 | Halifax |
| 04/05 | Newcastle | 40-56 | Leicester |
| 08/05 | Edinburgh | 49-47 | Sheffield |
| 12/04 | Mildenhall | 38-58 | Poole |
| 31/05 | Rye House | 34-62 | Birmingham |
| 03/05 | Boston | 47-48 | Hull |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 08/07 | Poole | 49-47 | Leicester |
| 24/06 | Hull | 54-42 | Belle Vue |
| 23/06 | Leicester | 51-45 | Poole |
| 20/06 | Cradley Heath | 60-36 | Eastbourne |
| 14/06 | Peterborough | 38-58 | Birmingham |
| 13/06 | Belle Vue | 53-43 | Hull |
| 11/06 | Wimbledon | 40-56 | Reading |
| 08/06 | Birmingham | 63-33 | Peterborough |
| 08/06 | Reading | 55-41 | Wimbledon |
| 07/06 | Eastbourne | 49-47 | Cradley Heath |
| 30/05 | Coventry | 63-33 | Hackney |
| 30/05 | Swindon | 69-27 | Edinburgh |
| 29/05 | Hackney | 37-59 | Coventry |
| 01/05 | Kings Lynn | 47-49 | Ipswich |
| 21/05 | Ipswich | 53-43 | Kings Lynn |
| 12/06 | Edinburgh | 47-49 | Swindon |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 03/09 | Swindon | 74-22 | Leicester |
| 25/08 | Leicester | 45-51 | Swindon |
| 20/08 | Ipswich | 54-42 | Cradley Heath |
| 12/08 | Cradley Heath | 48-48 | Ipswich |
| 03/08 | Reading | 51-45 | Coventry |
| 24/07 | Birmingham | 52-44 | Hull |
| 22/07 | Hull | 49-47 | Birmingham |
| 11/07 | Coventry | 49-45 | Reading |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 28/09 | Reading | 49-47 | Birmingham |
| 18/09 | Birmingham | 54-42 | Reading |
| 18/09 | Swindon | 46-50 | Ipswich |
| 10/09 | Ipswich | 57-39 | Swindon |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
The Ipswich Witches were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 100-92.

## League Cup

The League Cup was inaugurated in 1981 with the 16 teams split into North and South sections comprising 8 teams each that met each other home and away. The winners of each section qualified for the two-legged final with Coventry Bees beating King's Lynn Stars in the final 120–70 on aggregate.
North Group
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Coventry Bees | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
| 2 | Cradley Heathens | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
| 3 | Belle Vue Aces | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 4 | Sheffield Tigers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 5 | Birmingham Brummies | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| 6 | Hull Vikings | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| 7 | Leicester Lions | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 8 |
| 8 | Halifax Dukes | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 8 |
South Group
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | King's Lynn Stars | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 21 |
| 2 | Reading Racers | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 20 |
| 3 | Ipswich Witches | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 18 |
| 4 | Poole Pirates | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 5 | Swindon Robins | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 6 | Hackney Hawks | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| 7 | Eastbourne Eagles | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| 8 | Wimbledon Dons | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 |

### Final

| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 10/10 | Coventry | 68–28 | King's Lynn |
| 11/10 | King's Lynn | 42–54 | Coventry |

## Riders' Championship

Kenny Carter won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 17 October and sponsored by the Daily Mirror.
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
| 1 | Kenny Carter | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Chris Morton | 3 3 2 2 3 | 13+3 |
| 3 | Shawn Moran | 3 2 3 2 3 | 13+2 |
| 4 | Phil Crump | 2 3 2 1 2 | 10 |
| 5 | Dave Jessup | 1 2 1 3 2 | 9 |
| 6 | Hans Nielsen | 1 3 3 1 0 | 8 |
| 7 | Dennis Sigalos | 2 1 0 2 3 | 8 |
| 8 | Bruce Penhall | 2 2 1 1 2 | 8 |
| 9 | Les Collins | 1 0 3 2 1 | 7 |
| 10 | Malcolm Simmons | 2 0 1 3 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Gordon Kennett | 1 2 2 0 1 | 6 |
| 12 | Scott Autrey | 3 0 1 0 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Jan Andersson | 0 1 2 0 2 | 5 |
| 14 | Bo Petersen | 0 1 0 3 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Ole Olsen | 0 1 0 1 | 2 |
| 16 | Joe Owen | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Gary O'Hare (res) | 0 - - - - | 0 |
* ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired

## Final leading averages

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Bruce Penhall | Cradley | 11.01 |
| 2 | Kenny Carter | Halifax | 10.17 |
| =3 | Phil Crump | Swindon | 10.30 |
| =3 | Michael Lee | King's Lynn | 10.30 |
| 5 | Jan Andersson | Reading | 10.26 |
| 6 | Hans Nielsen | Birmingham | 9.80 |
| 7 | Chris Morton | Belle Vue | 9.75 |
| 8 | Erik Gundersen | Cradley | 9.72 |
| 9 | John Davis | Poole | 9.70 |
| 10 | Gordon Kennett | Eastbourne | 9.67 |

## Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of five teams and was sponsored by the Trustee Savings Bank.
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Birmingham | Swindon | 39–39, 37–41 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Leicester | Coventry | 33–44, 34–44 |
| Swindon | Cradley | 44–33, 32–46 |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Coventry won on aggregate 84–72

## London Cup

Hackney won the London Cup but the competition consisted of just Wimbledon and Hackney.
Results
| Team | Score | Team |
| Wimbledon | 43–36 | Hackney |
| Hackney | 46–32 | Wimbledon |

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Chris Morton 9.75
* Larry Ross 9.08
* Peter Collins 7.33 (3 matches only)
* Neil Collins 7.00
* Rob Maxfield 6.95
* Jimmy McMillan 6.02
* Louis Carr 5.60
* Mike Lohmann 5.58
* Larry Kosta 5.51
* Peter Ravn 4.74
Birmingham
* Hans Nielsen 9.80
* Andy Grahame 8.64
* Kai Niemi 7.44
* Ari Koponen 6.41
* Finn Jensen 5.89
* Keith Chrisco 5.13
* Bruce Cribb 5.06
* Neil Evitts 4.93
* Hasse Danielsson 4.90
* Paul Thorp 2.14
Coventry
* Ole Olsen 9.42
* Tommy Knudsen 9.41
* Mitch Shirra 8.13
* Gary Guglielmi 6.61
* Kevin Hawkins 6.58
* Alf Busk 6.17
* Keith White 5.55
* Rob Hollingworth 5.46
* Steve Wilcock 3.29
Cradley Heath
* Bruce Penhall 11.01
* Erik Gundersen 9.72
* Alan Grahame 9.11
* Phil Collins 7.58
* David Shields 5.23
* Bent Rasmussen 5.00
* John McNeill 3.86
* Arnold Haley 0.70
Eastbourne
* Gordon Kennett 9.67
* Kelly Moran 9.28
* Paul Woods 6.96
* Richard Greer 4.44
* Trevor Geer 4.24
* Dave Kennett 3.92
* Olli Tyrväinen 3.75
* Robert Słaboń 2.89
* Eric Dugard 2.80
Hackney
* Bo Petersen 9.58
* Finn Thomsen 7.83
* Sean Willmott 7.04
* Zenon Plech 6.28
* Barry Thomas 5.52
* Roman Jankowski 5.19
* Bob Garrad 4.94
* Ted Hubbard 3.58
* Ian Clark 3.13
* Simon Aindow 1.06
Halifax
* Kenny Carter 10.17
* John Louis 7.82
* Ian Cartwright 7.80
* Craig Pendlebury 6.38
* Piotr Pyszny 5.30
* Doug Wyer 5.16
* Dave Trownson 4.65
* Steve Baker 3.55
* Rob Ashton 2.98
* Ian Westwell 0.92
Hull
* Billy Sanders 9.18
* Ivan Mauger 8.67
* Joe Owen 7.28
* Bobby Beaton 5.56
* Graham Drury 5.36
* Frank Auffret 4.83
* Rod Hunter 4.67
* John Eskildsen 4.62
* David Bargh 4.11
Ipswich
* Dennis Sigalos 8.92
* John Cook 8.63
* Kevin Jolly 8.07
* Preben Eriksen 6.98
* Mike Lanham 6.62
* Nigel Flatman 6.16
* Tim Hunt 6.12
King's Lynn
* Michael Lee 10.30
* Dave Jessup 9.56
* Richard Hellsen 7.34
* Melvyn Taylor 6.93
* David Gagen 4.51
* Craig Featherby 4.13
* Nigel Sparshott 3.65
* Pierre Brannefors 3.16
* Hasse Danielsson 2.96
* Dennis Mallett 2.42
Leicester
* Les Collins 8.55
* John Titman 7.44
* Rolf Gramstad 7.03
* Phil Herne 5.96
* Colin Cook 5.83
* Finn Jensen 5.76
* Pete Smith 4.90
* Ian Clark 4.52
* Steve Regeling 3.33
Poole
* John Davis 9.70
* Scott Autrey 8.42
* Ron Preston 7.68
* Kevin Smith 7.48
* Danny Kennedy 7.41
* Peter Prinsloo 6.56
* Neil Middleditch 6.10
* Les Sawyer 3.09
* Pete Ellams 2.52
* Malc Bedkober 1.28
* Claes Jensen 0.14
Reading
* Jan Andersson 10.26
* John Davis 9.66
* Bobby Schwartz 9.31
* Bernie Leigh 5.30
* Tony Briggs 5.00
* Denny Pyeatt 4.86
* Ashley Pullen 4.55
* Ian Gledhill 3.82
* Peter Wurterle 1.52
Sheffield
* Shawn Moran 8.27
* Dave Morton 8.02
* Eric Broadbelt 6.64
* Phil White 5.78
* Alan Molyneux 5.69
* Reg Wilson 5.62
* Wayne Brown 5.20
* Mark Fiora 4.54
* Paul Stead 2.33
* Rob Carter 1.29
Swindon
* Phil Crump 10.30
* Steve Bastable 8.55
* Steve Gresham 7.52
* Mike Ferreira 7.05
* Malcolm Holloway 6.88
* Steen Mastrup 6.03
* Martin Yeates 4.98
* Bjorn Andersson 4.70
* Martin Satchell 1.78
* Veijo Tuoriniemi 0.42
Wimbledon
* Malcolm Simmons 8.37
* Edward Jancarz 8.00
* Roger Johns 6.92
* Colin Richardson 6.84
* Brad Oxley 5.38
* Anders Eriksson 4.38
* Rudy Muts 4.12
* Peter Johns 2.48
* Eric Dugard 2.30
* Alan Mogridge 1.80