# 1986 British League season

The 1986 British League season was the 52nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 22nd known as the British League.

## Summary

Oxford Cheetahs won the league for the second consecutive year and the treble by sharing both the Speedway Star Knockout Cup and League Cup with Cradley Heath Heathens. Despite the easy manner of their 1985 league success Oxford made critical changes which ensured domination for a second consecutive season. They were forced to make changes due to the averages points limit that applied to all teams. Hans Nielsen and Simon Wigg were retained, as were Andy Grahame and Marvyn Cox but Jens Ramussen was replaced with Per Sorensen and Nigel De'ath was brought in as full time reserve. Both Sorensen and De'ath maintained good form throughout the season and combined with the heavy scores of the heat leaders the team were able to win the league again. Cradley returned to form and provided Oxford with their main challenge, the rivalry between the Nielsen of Oxford and Erik Gundersen of Cradley was memorable. Nielsen also replaced Gundersen as the world champion by the end of the season and the pair were World Pairs and World Cup winners.
After being unable to afford the rent for The Shay stadium, Halifax relocated to Odsal Stadium and rebranded as the Bradford Dukes. They were to be led by Yorkshireman and England's leading rider Kenny Carter, but tragedy unfolded on 21 May when Carter shot dead his wife and then took his own life. It would take several years for the club to find stability.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Oxford Cheetahs | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 44 |
| 2 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 38 |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 19 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 32 |
| 4 | Sheffield Tigers | 19 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 28 |
| 5 | Coventry Bees | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 27 |
| 6 | Bradford Dukes | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 21 |
| 7 | Reading Racers | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 21 |
| 8 | Swindon Robins | 19 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 21 |
| 9 | Ipswich Witches | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 18 |
| 10 | Belle Vue Aces | 19 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 12 |
| 11 | King's Lynn Stars | 20 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 4 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

## British League Knockout Cup

The 1986 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 48th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Oxford Cheetahs and Cradley Heath Heathens were declared joint winners because the second leg of the final was not held and the first leg had ended 39-39.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 21/07 | Reading | 53-25 | Kings Lynn |
| 19/07 | Swindon | 47-31 | Ipswich |
| 17/07 | Ipswich | 38-40 | Swindon |
| 05/07 | Kings Lynn | 43-35 | Reading |
| 21/05 | Cradley Heath | 46-32 | Belle Vue |
| 03/05 | Belle Vue | 45-33 | Cradley Heath |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 29/09 | Reading | 45-33 | Cradley Heath |
| 24/09 | Cradley Heath | 50-28 | Reading |
| 17/09 | Coventry | 43-34 | Sheffield |
| 17/09 | Oxford | 48-30 | Swindon |
| 07/09 | Swindon | 37-41 | Oxford |
| 26/06 | Sheffield | 44-34 | Coventry |
| 24/06 | Bradford | 45-33 | Wolverhampton |
| 02/06 | Wolverhampton | 38-40 | Bradford |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 10/10 | Oxford | 45-33 | Sheffield |
| 15/10 | Cradley Heath | 50-28 | Bradford |
| 16/10 | Sheffield | 33-45 | Oxford |
| 27/10 | Bradford | + | Cradley Heath |
+2nd leg not held and Bradford conceded tie

### Final

The title was shared after two failed attempts to hold the second leg due to rain.
First and only leg

## League Cup

The League Cup was contested as a league format. The cup was shared following two failed attempts to stage the second leg of the final at Oxford due to rain. Oxford had won the first leg at Cradley Heath 40–38.
Qualifying table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Coventry Bees | 20 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 37 |
| 2 | Oxford Cheetahs | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 36 |
| 3 | Ipswich Witches | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 30 |
| 4 | Cradley Heathens | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 29 |
| 5 | Swindon Robins | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 27 |
| 6 | Sheffield Tigers | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 27 |
| 7 | Bradford Dukes | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 26 |
| 8 | Reading Racers | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
| 9 | Belle Vue Aces | 20 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 17 |
| 10 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 16 |
| 11 | King's Lynn Stars | 20 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 6 |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 03/09 | Coventry | 39–39 | Cradley Heath |
| 03/09 | Oxford | 40–38 | Ipswich |
| 10/09 | Cradley Heath | 41–37 | Coventry |
| 21/09 | Ipswich | 34–42 | Oxford |
Final (First and only leg)

## Riders' Championship

Hans Nielsen won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 12 October.
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
| 1 | Hans Nielsen | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Erik Gundersen | 2 3 3 2 1 | 11+3 |
| 3 | Shawn Moran | 3 3 1 2 2 | 11+2 |
| 4 | Chris Morton | 3 2 3 0 3 | 11+1 |
| 5 | Jan Andersson | 2 3 3 1 2 | 11 |
| 6 | Simon Wigg | 1 0 2 3 3 | 9 |
| 7 | Tommy Knudsen | 0 2 2 3 1 | 8 |
| 8 | Jan O. Pedersen | 2 2 0 1 3 | 8 |
| 9 | John Jørgensen | 3 2 2 1 0 | 8 |
| 10 | Jeremy Doncaster | 0 1 2 3 2 | 8 |
| 11 | Alan Grahame | 1 0 1 2 2 | 6 |
| 12 | John Davis | 2 1 1 0 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Preben Eriksen | 1 1 0 0 1 | 3 |
| 14 | Andy Campbell | 0 1 1 1 0 | 3 |
| 15 | Neil Evitts | 1 0 0 2 0 | 3 |
| 16 | Kai Niemi | 0 0 0 0 - | 0 |
| 17 | Lee Edwards (res) | 0 - - - - | 0 |
* ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired

## Pairs

The British League Pairs Championship was held at Owlerton Stadium on 24 August and was won by Oxford for the second consecutive year.
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Oxford | 25 | Wigg 15, Nielsen 10 |
| 2 | Coventry | 22 | Tatum 13, Jorgensen 9 |
| 3 | Sheffield | 18 | Moran S 11, Collins N 7 |
| 4 | Belle Vue | 18 | Morton 17, Collins P 1 |
| 5 | Bradford | 16 | King 9, Evitts 7 |
| 6 | Cradley Heath | 16 | Gundersen 14, Pedersen 2 |
| 7 | Ipswich | 11 | Niemi 8, Doncaster 3 |

## Leading final averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Hans Nielsen | Oxford | 11.57 |
| Erik Gundersen | Cradley Heath | 11.03 |
| Jeremy Doncaster | Ipswich | 10.38 |
| Simon Wigg | Oxford | 10.20 |
| Kenny Carter+ | Bradford | 10.05 |
| Sam Ermolenko | Wolverhampton | 9.72 |
| Tommy Knudsen | Coventry | 9.68 |
| Shawn Moran | Sheffield | 9.65 |
| Chris Morton | Belle Vue | 9.34 |
| Jan Andersson | Reading | 9.34 |
| Neil Evitts | Bradford | 9.32 |
| Bobby Schwartz | Kings Lynn | 9.06 |
+rode 10 matches before his death

## Midland Cup

Oxford won the Midland Cup for the second consecutive year. The competition consisted of six teams.
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Swindon | Wolverhampton | 39–39, 27–51 |
| Reading | Coventry | 40–38, 26–52 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Oxford | Wolverhampton | 42–36, 39–39 |
| Cradley | Coventry | 41–37, 35–43 |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Oxford won on aggregate 80–76

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Chris Morton 9.34
* Carl Blackbird 7.37
* Peter Collins 6.93
* Kenny McKinna 6.48
* Andy Smith 6.10
* Mark Courtney 5.43
* Declan Eccles 4.28
* Mark Crang 2.67
* Barry Ayres 2.65
* Bernie Collier 1.60
* Lee Edwards 1.06
Bradford
* Kenny Carter 10.05
* Neil Evitts 9.32
* Lance King 8.20
* Gary Havelock 7.26
* Sean Willmott 6.30
* Larry Ross 6.01
* Gordon Whitaker 4.16
* Michael Graves 3.88
Coventry
* Tommy Knudsen 9.68
* John Jørgensen 8.74
* Kelvin Tatum 8.69
* Rick Miller 6.41
* David Bargh 5.68
* Alun Rossiter 5.60
* David Clarke 3.50
* Mike Bacon 1.71
Cradley Heath
* Erik Gundersen 11.03
* Jan O. Pedersen 8.58
* Phil Collins 7.80
* Simon Cross 7.17
* Steve Bastable 6.08
* Nigel Leaver 3.74
* Paul Fry 3.23
* Paul Taylor 2.06
Ipswich
* Jeremy Doncaster 10.38
* Kai Niemi 8.00
* Richard Knight 7.79
* Jens Rasmussen 5.69
* Louis Carr 4.90
* Paul Woods 4.71
* Roman Matoušek 4.57
* Robbie Fuller 4.17
* Alan Farmer 3.79
King's Lynn
* Bobby Schwartz 9.06
* Michael Lee 7.74
* Malcolm Simmons 6.73
* Andy Campbell 5.38
* Einar Kyllingstad 4.91
* Steve Regeling 4.70
* Stephen Davies 4.60
* Ray Morton 4.21
* Carl Baldwin 4.15
* Adrian Stevens 2.28
* John Stokes 1.11
Oxford
* Hans Nielsen 11.57
* Simon Wigg 10.20
* Marvyn Cox 8.11
* Andy Grahame 6.14
* Per Sorensen 6.05
* Nigel De'ath 5.34
* Kevin Smart 4.33
* Jon Surman 2.43
Reading
* Jan Andersson 9.34
* John Davis 8.72
* Mitch Shirra 7.90
* Per Jonsson 7.36
* Peter Glanz 5.89
* Malcolm Holloway 5.47
* Dave Mullett 5.33
* Gary Tagg 1.35
* Billy Pinder 1.27
Sheffield
* Shawn Moran 9.65
* Kelly Moran 8.76
* Neil Collins 7.89
* Peter Carr 7.53
* Les Collins 7.24
* Sean Wilson 5.83
* Martin Hagon 5.46
* David Walsh 4.62
* Peter McNamara 3.27
Swindon
* Phil Crump 8.77
* Kai Niemi 8.45
* Jimmy Nilsen 7.82
* Richard Hellsen 6.79
* Alan Grahame 6.64
* Finn Thomsen 6.07
* Per Sorensen 5.16
* Brian Karger 4.58
* Rob Fortune 3.16
Wolverhampton
* Sam Ermolenko 9.72
* Preben Eriksen 7.70
* John Eskildsen 7.04
* Sam Nikolajsen 6.18
* Jan Stæchmann 5.23
* Andy Phillips 2.97
* Chris Cobby 1.07