# 1970 British League season

The 1970 British League season was the 36th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the sixth season known as the British League.

## Summary

Wembley Lions under the promotion of Trevor Redmond and Bernard Cottrel entered the British league having bought the licence – and inherited the riders – from the Coatbridge Monarchs. It was the first time since 1956 that Wembley would compete in the league.
Belle Vue Aces secured their first British League title. The Manchester team were once again led by the brilliant Ivan Mauger who would secure a third consecutive world champion title before the end of the season. He topped the averages with 11.18 as the team finished ten points ahead of their nearest rivals Wimbledon Dons. The Dons found some consolation when winning their third consecutive British League Knockout Cup.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 56 |
| 2 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 22 | 2 | 12 | 46 |
| 3 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 45 |
| 4 | Leicester Lions | 36 | 21 | 0 | 15 | 42 |
| 5 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
| 6 | Halifax Dukes | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 39 |
| 7 | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 18 | 3 | 15 | 39 |
| 8 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 34 |
| 10 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 16 | 1 | 19 | 34 |
| 11 | Hackney Hawks | 36 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 33 |
| 12 | King's Lynn Stars | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
| 13 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
| 14 | Wembley Lions | 36 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 32 |
| 15 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 36 | 15 | 1 | 20 | 31 |
| 16 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 30 |
| 17 | Newcastle Diamonds | 36 | 15 | 0 | 21 | 30 |
| 18 | West Ham Hammers | 36 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 30 |
| 19 | Newport Wasps | 36 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 24 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

## Fixtures and results

| Home \ Away | BV | CRA | COV | EX | GLA | HAC | HAL | KL | LEI | ND | NW | OX | PP | SHE | SWI | WEM | WH | WIM | WOL |
| Belle Vue | | 54–23 | 49–29 | 50–28 | 48–30 | 44.5–33.5 | 51–27 | 41–37 | 40–38 | 54–24 | 55–22 | 49–29 | 53–25 | 44–34 | 43–35 | 48–28 | 54–24 | 54–24 | 51–27 |
| Cradley | 34–44 | | 40.5–37.5 | 42–35 | 47–31 | 47–31 | 37–40 | 41–36 | 33–44 | 40–38 | 42–36 | 49–29 | 46–32 | 37–41 | 51–27 | 37–40 | 42–36 | 44–34 | 37–38 |
| Coventry | 40–37 | 51–27 | | 54–24 | 53–25 | 44–33 | 39–39 | 59–19 | 45–33 | 47–31 | 52–26 | 50–28 | 41–37 | 53–25 | 46–32 | 47–31 | 55–23 | 48–29 | 56–22 |
| Exeter | 39–39 | 42–36 | 54–24 | | 44–34 | 54–24 | 45–33 | 57–21 | 51–27 | 41–37 | 42–36 | 37–41 | 43–35 | 43–35 | 46–32 | 47–31 | 46–32 | 41–37 | 49–29 |
| Glasgow | 43–34 | 44–34 | 45–33 | 43–35 | | 53–24 | 45–33 | 47–31 | 41–37 | 48–30 | 59–19 | 44–34 | 48–30 | 44–34 | 39–39 | 45–33 | 43–35 | 43–35 | 58–20 |
| Hackney | 44–34 | 48–30 | 52–26 | 48–30 | 47–30 | | 40–38 | 40–38 | 40–38 | 42–36 | 47–31 | 40–38 | 36–42 | 42–36 | 42–36 | 52–26 | 38–40 | 39–39 | 41–37 |
| Halifax | 37–41 | 45–33 | 49–29 | 52–26 | 42–36 | 43–35 | | 46–32 | 42–36 | 47–31 | 55–23 | 54–24 | 56–22 | 46–32 | 49–28 | 47.5–30.5 | 51–27 | 44–34 | 50–28 |
| King's Lynn | 35–43 | 43–35 | 34–44 | 46–32 | 46–32 | 46–32 | 40–38 | | 37–41 | 40–38 | 51–27 | 48–30 | 42–35 | 41–37 | 42–36 | 49–29 | 56–22 | 37–41 | 41–37 |
| Leicester | 41–37 | 44–34 | 38–40 | 42–35 | 41–37 | 47–31 | 40–38 | 34–43 | | 48–30 | 52–26 | 40–38 | 42–36 | 46–32 | 40–38 | 45–33 | 48–30 | 43–35 | 40–38 |
| Newcastle | 32–46 | 40–38 | 40–38 | 52–26 | 55–23 | 40–38 | 38–40 | 56–22 | 44–34 | | 45–33 | 37–41 | 40–38 | 48–30 | 42–36 | 42–36 | 50–28 | 48–30 | 45–33 |
| Newport | 37–41 | 34–44 | 34–44 | 41–37 | 37–41 | 41–37 | 42–36 | 40–38 | 35–43 | 43–35 | | 49–28 | 37–41 | 38–40 | 44–34 | 45–33 | 45–33 | 34–44 | 42–36 |
| Oxford | 37–41 | 38–40 | 41–37 | 46–32 | 43–35 | 50–28 | 40–38 | 42–36 | 48–30 | 46–32 | 36–42 | | 50–28 | 51–27 | 49–29 | 42–36 | 39.5–38.5 | 32–46 | 42–36 |
| Poole | 40–38 | 49–29 | 42–36 | 44–33 | 41–37 | 51–27 | 43–35 | 39–38 | 45–32 | 48–30 | 35–43 | 51–27 | | 43–34 | 48–30 | 37–41 | 44–34 | 41–37 | 44–34 |
| Sheffield | 40–38 | 39–39 | 34–44 | 44.5–33.5 | 44–34 | 47–31 | 47–31 | 46–32 | 45–33 | 51–27 | 51–27 | 50–28 | 38–40 | | 46–32 | 43–35 | 39–39 | 48–30 | 45–33 |
| Swindon | 38–40 | 33–45 | 42–36 | 57–21 | 40–38 | 41–37 | 41–37 | 40–37 | 43–35 | 51–27 | 56–22 | 43–34 | 37–41 | 39–39 | | 48–29 | 43–35 | 38–40 | 48–30 |
| Wembley | 39–39 | 42–36 | 41–37 | 45–33 | 42–36 | 41–37 | 40–38 | 38–40 | 37–41 | 40–38 | 45–33 | 42–36 | 40–38 | 38–39 | 41–37 | | 47–31 | 41–37 | 39–39 |
| West Ham | 35–43 | 55–23 | 37–41 | 41–36 | 41–37 | 42–36 | 41–37 | 48–30 | 44–34 | 51–27 | 46–32 | 40–38 | 47–30 | 37–41 | 37–41 | 47–31 | | 39–39 | 45–33 |
| Wimbledon | 44–33 | 44–33 | 51–27 | 61–17 | 45–33 | 40–38 | 48–30 | 48–29 | 42–36 | 50–28 | 54–24 | 49–29 | 50–28 | 50–28 | 44–34 | 43–34 | 48–30 | | 48–30 |
| Wolverhampton | 33–45 | 52–26 | 43–35 | 43–35 | 41–37 | 39–39 | 49–29 | 52–26 | 38–40 | 47–31 | 40–38 | 42–36 | 48–30 | 45–33 | 46–32 | 45–33 | 46–31 | 42–36 | |

## Top ten riders (league averages)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ivan Mauger | Belle Vue | 11.23 |
| 2 | Anders Michanek | Newcastle | 10.91 |
| 3 | Jim Airey | Sheffield | 10.82 |
| 4 | Ray Wilson | Leicester | 10.77 |
| 5 | Nigel Boocock | Coventry | 10.67 |
| 6 | Eric Boocock | Halifax | 10.59 |
| 7 | Barry Briggs | Swindon | 10.56 |
| 8 | Ole Olsen | Wolverhampton | 10.27 |
| 9 | Jim McMillan | Glasgow | 10.26 |
| 10 | Martin Ashby | Exeter | 10.14 |

## British League Knockout Cup

The 1970 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 32nd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Wimbledon Dons were the winners for the third consecutive year. It was the first time that the competition was sponsored by the Speedway Star.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 23/04 | Wimbledon | 44–34 | Hackney |
| 21/04 | Exeter | 51–27 | King's Lynn |
| 21/04 | West Ham | 29–49 | Belle Vue |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 06/06 | Halifax | 43–35 | Coventry |
| 06/06 | Swindon | 44–34 | Wolverhampton |
| 05/06 | Newport | 35–43 | Leicester |
| 01/06 | Newcastle | 41–37 | Wembley |
| 28/05 | Oxford | 38–40 | Poole |
| 28/05 | Sheffield | 44–34 | Glasgow |
| 28/05 | Wimbledon | 49–29 | Cradley Heath |
| 23/05 | Belle Vue | 49–29 | Exeter |
| 07/05 | Romford | 48–30 | Reading |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 25/07 | Belle Vue | 56–22 | Poole |
| 22/07 | Swindon | 46–32 | Leicester |
| 02/07 | Sheffield | 41–37 | Halifax |
| 25/06 | Wimbledon | 46–32 | Newcastle |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 24/09 | Wimbledon | 44–34 | Swindon |
| 23/09 | Belle Vue | 40–38 | Sheffield |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Wimbledon Dons were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 80-75.

## Riders' Championship

Barry Briggs won the British League Riders' Championship for the sixth consecutive year, held at Hyde Road on 17 October. He won a three way run off for the title.
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
| 1 | Barry Briggs | 3 3 1 3 3 | 13+3 |
| 2 | Anders Michanek | 3 2 3 3 2 | 13+2 |
| 3 | Eric Boocock | 2 3 2 3 3 | 13+1 |
| 4 | Ronnie Moore | 3 2 3 3 1 | 12 |
| 5 | Ivan Mauger | 3 1 3 ex 3 | 10 |
| 6 | Nigel Boocock | 2 3 1 2 2 | 10 |
| 7 | Jim Airey | 2 3 2 1 1 | 9 |
| 8 | Martin Ashby | 0 1 1 2 3 | 7 |
| 9 | Reidar Eide | 2 1 2 1 1 | 7 |
| 10 | Ray Wilson | 0 2 0 2 1 | 5 |
| 11 | Bernt Persson | 1 1 0 1 2 | 5 |
| 12 | Ole Olsen | 1 2 2 0 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Terry Betts | 0 0 0 2 2 | 4 |
| 14 | Charlie Monk | 1 0 3 0 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Olle Nygren | 0 0 1 0 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Hasse Holmqvist | 1 0 0 0 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Sándor Lévai (res) | 1 - - - - | 1 |
* ef=engine failure, f=fell, exc=excluded

## Final leading averages

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ivan Mauger | Belle Vue | 11.18 |
| 2 | Anders Michanek | Newcastle | 10.88 |
| 3 | Jim Airey | Sheffield | 10.86 |
| 4 | Ray Wilson | Leicester | 10.80 |
| 5 | Nigel Boocock | Coventry | 10.66 |
| 6 | Eric Boocock | Halifax | 10.54 |
| 7 | Barry Briggs | Swindon | 10.53 |
| 8 | Jim McMillan | Glasgow | 10.27 |
| 9 | Ole Olsen | Wolverhampton | 10.25 |
| 10 | Martin Ashby | Exeter | 10.09 |
| 11 | Trevor Hedge | Wimbledon | 9.97 |
| 12 | Ronnie Moore | Wimbledon | 9.95 |
| 13 | Bob Kilby | Swindon | 9.68 |
| 14 | Sören Sjösten | Belle Vue | 9.66 |
| 15 | Bengt Jansson | Hackney | 9.49 |
| 16 | Bruce Cribb | Exeter | 9.47 |
| 17 | Olle Nygren | West Ham | 9.36 |
| 18 | John Boulger | Leicester | 9.34 |
| 19 | Bernt Persson | Cradley Heath | 9.29 |
| 20 | Terry Betts | King's Lynn | 922 |

## London Cup

Wimbledon won the London Cup for the third consecutive year.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Wimbledon Dons | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 178 | 133 | 6 |
| 2 | Hackney Hawks | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 174 | 138 | 4 |
| 3 | West Ham Hammers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 129 | 182 | 2 |
Results
| Team | Score | Team |
| Hackney | 56–22 | West Ham |
| Hackney | 37–41 | Wimbledon |
| West Ham | 33–45 | Hackney |
| West Ham | 32–46 | Wimbledon |
| Wimbledon | 35–42 | West Ham |
| Wimbledon | 42–36 | Hackney |

## Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup for the second consecutive year. The competition consisted of six teams.
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Wolverhampton | Cradley | 42–36, 35–43 |
| Oxford | Swindon | 37–41, 32–46 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Cradley | Coventry | 43–35, 29–49 |
| Swindon | Leicester | 36–41, 33–45 |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Coventry won on aggregate 83–73

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Ivan Mauger 11.18
* Sören Sjösten 9.66
* Tommy Roper 7.91
* Chris Pusey 7.31
* Dave Hemus 5.79
* Eric Broadbelt 5.33
* Ken Eyre 5.33
* Mike Hiftle 4.25
* Steve Waplington 3.52
Coventry
* Nigel Boocock 10.66
* Ken McKinlay 8.50
* Rick France 7.78
* Les Owen 6.08
* Tony Lomas 5.91
* Roger Hill 5.90
* Col Cottrell 5.66
* Ron Mountford 1.58
Cradley Heath
* Bernt Persson 9.29
* Roy Trigg 8.45
* Colin Pratt 7.75
* Jan Simensen 7.51
* Chris Bass 4.38
* Jimmy Squibb 4.09
* Mike Gardner 3.50
* Ken Wakefield 2.65
Exeter
* Martin Ashby 10.09
* Bruce Cribb 9.47
* Jan Holub I 6.81
* Chris Julian 6.09
* Neil Street 5.30
* Bengt Andersson 5.21
* Bob Coles 4.81
* Phil Woodcock 4.62
Glasgow
* Jimmy McMillan 10.27
* Charlie Monk 8.53
* Oyvind Berg 7.79
* Doug Templeton 5.36
* Willie Templeton 5.33
* Bobby Beaton 5.33
* Bill McMillan 3.64
* Alistair Brady 1.85
* Brian Murray 1.64
Hackney
* Bengt Jansson 9.49
* Garry Middleton 8.20
* Jack Biggs 6.08
* Bob Andrews 6.01
* Jimmy Gooch 5.96
* Laurie Etheridge 4.83
* Les McGillivray 4.71
* Barry Thomas 3.59
Halifax
* Eric Boocock 10.54
* Les Sharpe 8.21
* Dave Younghusband 7.80
* Alan Jay 7.04
* Colin McKee 5.95
* Greg Kentwell 5.80
* Terry Lee 4.27
King's Lynn
* Terry Betts 9.22
* Howard Cole (Kid Bodie) 8.49
* Malcolm Simmons 7.58
* Allan Brown 5.05
* Alan Bellham 4.97
* Clive Featherby 4.44
* Ian Turner 4.36
* Arthur Price 4.32
* David Crane 3.31
Leicester
* Ray Wilson 10.80
* John Boulger 9.34
* Graham Plant 6.72
* Norman Storer 5.71
* John Hart 5.04
* Malcolm Brown 4.76
* Alan Cowland 4.51
* Tom Leadbitter 3.43
Newcastle
* Anders Michanek 10.88
* George Hunter 7.88
* Dave Gifford 6.62
* Geoff Curtis 5.15
* Mike Watkin 4.30
* Russ Dent 4.06
* Dag Lövaas 3.91
Newport
* Sándor Lévai 8.45
* Bill Andrew 7.78
* Edgar Stangeland 6.38
* Bengt Brannefors 4.57
* Bob Hughes 4.34
* Jon Erskine 4.09
* Norman Strachan 3.91
* Brian Leonard 3.77
* Ross Gilbertson 2.24
Oxford
* Hasse Holmqvist 9.10
* Ronnie Genz 7.03
* Colin Gooddy 6.66
* Pete Jarman 6.48
* Rick Timmo 6.38
* Eddie Reeves 5.89
* Mick Bell 4.76
* Peter Seaton 2.82
Poole
* Geoff Mudge 7.93
* Gordon Guasco 7.72
* Odd Fossengen 7.39
* Pete Smith 7.29
* Mike Cake 5.84
* Ted Laessing 4.76
* Frank Shuter 4.70
* Mike Vernam 2.36
Sheffield
* Jim Airey 10.86
* Arnold Haley 8.88
* Bengt Larsson 7.03
* Bob Paulson 5.32
* John Dews 5.20
* Brian Maxted 4.27
* Dave Baugh 3.23
* Doug Wyer 2.54
Swindon
* Barry Briggs 10.53
* Bob Kilby 9.68
* Clive Hitch 5.58
* Barry Duke 5.26
* Pete Munday 4.57
* Mike Keen 4.34
* John Bishop 3.45
Wembley
* Reidar Eide 9.10
* Ove Fundin 7.93
* Bert Harkins 7.31
* Wayne Briggs 5.85
* Dave Jessup 4.76
* Brian Leonard 4.17
* Des Lukehurst 3.82
* Tim Bungay 3.26
* Bengt Andersson 2.43
West Ham
* Olle Nygren 9.36
* Christer Löfqvist 7.82
* Tony Clarke 7.45
* Peter Bradshaw 5.62
* Stan Stevens 5.38
* Sverre Harrfeldt 4.63
* Martyn Piddock 4.61
* Garry Hay 4.25
* Antonín Kasper Sr. 4.15
* Barry Crowson 3.56
Wimbledon
* Trevor Hedge 9.97
* Ronnie Moore 9.95
* Reg Luckhurst 7.74
* Cyril Maidment 6.67
* Jim Tebby 6.34
* Gary Everett 5.93
* Peter Murray 4.25
* Bob Dugard 3.78
* Nigel Rackett 2.33
Wolverhampton
* Ole Olsen 10.25
* Norman Hunter 7.33
* Peter Vandenberg 6.62
* James Bond 5.31
* Mick Handley 5.29
* Geoff Ambrose 5.23
* Jon Erskine 5.12
* Peter Jackson 4.07