# 1976 British League season

The 1976 Gulf British League season was the 42nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 12th season known as the British League.

## Summary

The White City Rebels made their debut as did 1975 National League champions Birmingham Brummies. Oxford Cheetahs dropped down a division with White City inheriting both their riders and their nickname. The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a second season.
Ipswich Witches won their second consecutive title. The Witches team was once again headed by John Louis and Billy Sanders but this time Tony Davey also scored well with an average of 8.37, resulting in a comfortable league title success for the Suffolk team. The team then went on to claim the double on 28 October by winning the Knockout Cup.
Wimbledon Dons had the worst possible start to a season when their leading rider and the man touted to be a world champion Tommy Jansson died during a 1976 Individual Speedway World Championship meeting in Stockholm, on 20 May.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Ipswich Witches | 36 | 27 | 1 | 8 | 55 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 23 | 2 | 11 | 48 |
| 3 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 23 | 2 | 11 | 48 |
| 4 | Coventry Bees | 36 | 21 | 2 | 13 | 44 |
| 5 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 19 | 4 | 13 | 42 |
| 6 | Reading Racers | 36 | 19 | 3 | 14 | 41 |
| 7 | Hackney Hawks | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
| 8 | Newport | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 39 |
| 9 | Cradley United | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 39 |
| 10 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
| 11 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
| 12 | Hull Vikings | 36 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 36 |
| 13 | White City Rebels | 36 | 16 | 3 | 17 | 35 |
| 14 | King's Lynn Stars | 36 | 16 | 3 | 17 | 35 |
| 15 | Halifax Dukes | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
| 16 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 12 | 3 | 21 | 27 |
| 17 | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 27 |
| 18 | Birmingham Brummies | 36 | 7 | 0 | 29 | 14 |
| 19 | Leicester Lions | 36 | 5 | 1 | 30 | 11 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

## Fixtures and results

| Home \ Away | BV | BIR | COV | CH | EX | HAC | HAL | HV | IPS | KL | LEI | NEW | PP | RR | SHE | SWI | WC | WIM | WOL |
| Belle Vue | | 45–33 | 47–31 | 48–30 | 36–42 | 48–29 | 44–34 | 41–37 | 38–40 | 47–31 | 54–24 | 55–23 | 43–35 | 39–39 | 50–28 | 47–31 | 48–30 | 54–24 | 49–29 |
| Bimingham | 35–43 | | 35–43 | 33–45 | 31–47 | 39–37 | 39–38 | 34–44 | 41–37 | 34–44 | 41–37 | 41–37 | 37–39 | 27–51 | 44–34 | 42–36 | 34–44 | 34–44 | 37–41 |
| Coventry | 40–38 | 45–33 | | 47–31 | 41–37 | 51–37 | 47–31 | 41–37 | 41–37 | 44–34 | 50–28 | 52–26 | 52–26 | 46–2 | 42–35 | 54–24 | 47–31 | 46.5–31.5 | 53–25 |
| Cradley Heath | 48–30 | 52–26 | 39–39 | | 40–38 | 42–36 | 41–37 | 39–38 | 45–33 | 43–35 | 44–34 | 43–35 | 47–31 | 40–38 | 43–35 | 40–38 | 41–37 | 48–30 | 37–41 |
| Exeter | 46–31 | 45–33 | 40–36 | 41–37 | | 45–33 | 41–37 | 43–35 | 45–33 | 46–32 | 43–35 | 45–33 | 50–28 | 40–38 | 47–30 | 40–38 | 44–33 | 45–33 | 46–32 |
| Hackney | 38–40 | 50–28 | 41–37 | 43–35 | 45–33 | | 44–34 | 42–35 | 29–49 | 41–36 | 40–38 | 42–36 | 46–32 | 45–30 | 45–32 | 41–37 | 41–36 | 45–33 | 43–35 |
| Halifax | 35–43 | 51–27 | 41.5–35.5 | 47–31 | 39–39 | 48–30 | | 40–38 | 38–40 | 44–33 | 44–34 | 40–38 | 45–33 | 45–33 | 40–38 | 47–31 | 38–40 | 43–35 | 46–32 |
| Hull | 36–42 | 52–26 | 51–27 | 37–41 | 45–33 | 46–32 | 45–33 | | 36–42 | 40–38 | 45–32 | 40–36 | 53–25 | 44–33 | 43–35 | 38–40 | 43–34 | 46–32 | 57–21 |
| Ipswich | 41–37 | 45–33 | 54–24 | 47–30 | 46–32 | 49–29 | 56–22 | 49–29 | | 47–31 | 48–30 | 46–32 | 48–30 | 50–28 | 46–32 | 53–25 | 42–36 | 42–36 | 44–34 |
| King's Lynn | 39–39 | 54–24 | 49–29 | 47–31 | 36–39 | 49–29 | 43–35 | 41–37 | 44–34 | | 50–27 | 46–32 | 51–27 | 40–38 | 52–26 | 39–39 | 42–36 | 41–37 | 35–43 |
| Leicester | 38–40 | 42–36 | 38–40 | 35–43 | 38–40 | 36–42 | 44–34 | 32–46 | 36–42 | 39–39 | | 50–28 | 35–43 | 30–47 | 41–37 | 35–43 | 35–43 | 43–35 | 36–41 |
| Newport | 45–33 | 52.5–24.5 | 44–34 | 43–35 | 41–37 | 44–34 | 59–19 | 42–36 | 47–31 | 49–29 | 48–30 | | 50–28 | 41–36 | 46–32 | 45–32 | 46–32 | 45–33 | 54–24 |
| Poole | 38–39 | 42–36 | 49–29 | 41–37 | 43–34 | 43–35 | 58–20 | 41–37 | 37–41 | 55–23 | 59–19 | 41–37 | | 38–40 | 44–34 | 42–36 | 41–37 | 46–32 | 50–27 |
| Reading | 40–38 | 47–31 | 42–36 | 48–30 | 43–35 | 35–43 | 56–22 | 42–36 | 38–40 | 41–37 | 52–26 | 39–39 | 52–26 | | 50–28 | 47–31 | 39–39 | 42–36 | 42–36 |
| Sheffield | 48–30 | 43–35 | 46–32 | 42–35 | 42–36 | 43–35 | 45–33 | 36–42 | 40–38 | 40–38 | 43–35 | 31–47 | 43–35 | 37–41 | | 45–33 | 44–34 | 39–39 | 38–40 |
| Swindon | 40–38 | 52–26 | 39–39 | 45–33 | 39–39 | 42–35 | 51–27 | 45–33 | 39–39 | 45–33 | 44–34 | 54–24 | 48–30 | 41–37 | 53–25 | | 47–31 | 52–25 | 52–26 |
| White City | 46–32 | 51–27 | 45–33 | 53–25 | 46–32 | 42–36 | 60–18 | 33.5–44.5 | 42–36 | 38–40 | 51–27 | 49–29 | 39–39 | 41–37 | 43–35 | 35–43 | | 45–33 | 35–43 |
| Wimbledon | 35–43 | 44–34 | 38–40 | 40–38 | 42–35 | 38–39 | 48–30 | 45–33 | 34–44 | 40–37 | 54–24 | 47–31 | 43–35 | 40–38 | 52–26 | 38–40 | 39–39 | | 39–39 |
| Wolverhampton | 31–46 | 50–26 | 46–32 | 40–38 | 38–40 | 38–40 | 49–29 | 43–35 | 32–46 | 40–38 | 42–36 | 46–32 | 37–41 | 32–46 | 44–34 | 41–37 | 47–31 | 42–36 | |

## Top ten riders (league averages)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | John Louis | Ipswich | 11.10 |
| 2= | Ivan Mauger | Exeter | 11.00 |
| 2= | Ole Olsen | Coventry | 11.00 |
| 4 | Peter Collins | Belle Vue | 10.98 |
| 5 | Phil Crump | Newport | 10.68 |
| 6 | Dave Jessup | Reading | 10.42 |
| 7 | Malcolm Simmons | Poole | 10.30 |
| 8 | Dave Morton | Hackney | 10.28 |
| 9 | John Boulger | Cradley | 9.93 |
| 10 | Martin Ashby | Swindon | 9.89 |

## British League Knockout Cup

The 1976 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 38th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 04/05 | Leicester | 39–39 | Halifax |
| 29/04 | Wimbledon | 48–30 | Birmingham |
| 26/04 | Birmingham | 38–40 | Wimbledon |
| 10/04 | Coventry | 48–30 | Wolverhampton |
| 09/04 | Wolverhampton | 38–39 | Coventry |
| 27/03 | Halifax | 41–37 | Leicester |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 31/07 | Belle Vue | 49–29 | Wimbledon |
| 01/07 | Coventry | 46–32 | White City |
| 27/06 | Halifax | 46–32 | Hull |
| 24/06 | Wimbledon | 35–43 | Belle Vue |
| 21/06 | Exeter | 46–32 | Newport |
| 12/06 | Cradley Heath | 34–44 | Ipswich |
| 10/06 | Ipswich | 39–38 | Cradley Heath |
| 09/06 | Hull | 44.5-33.5 | Halifax |
| 04/06 | Hackney | 40–38 | Reading |
| 04/06 | Newport | 47–31 | Exeter |
| 03/06 | Sheffield | 36–42 | Kings Lynn |
| 02/06 | Poole | 42–36 | Swindon |
| 31/05 | Reading | 37–41 | Hackney |
| 29/05 | Swindon | 54–24 | Poole |
| 26/05 | White City | 49–29 | Coventry |
| 22/05 | Kings Lynn | 42–36 | Sheffield |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 18/09 | Halifax | 47–31 | Hackney |
| 03/09 | Hackney | 41–37 | Halifax |
| 26/08 | Ipswich | 45–33 | Swindon |
| 23/08 | Belle Vue | 45–33 | Newport |
| 18/08 | White City | 38–40 | Kings Lynn |
| 14/08 | Kings Lynn | 44–34 | White City |
| 13/08 | Newport | 40–38 | Belle Vue |
| 24/07 | Swindon | 44–34 | Ipswich |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 03/10 | Halifax | 42–35 | Kings Lynn |
| 02/10 | Belle Vue | 41–37 | Ipswich |
| 30/09 | Ipswich | 43–35 | Belle Vue |
| 29/09 | Kings Lynn | 46–32 | Halifax |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Ipswich Witches were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 91-63.

## Riders' Championship

Ole Olsen won the British League Riders' Championship for the second time, it was held at Hyde Road on 16 October and sponsored by Leyland Cars.
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
| 1 | Ole Olsen | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Peter Collins | 3 2 3 3 3 | 14 |
| 3 | John Louis | 3 3 3 2 2 | 13 |
| 4 | Martin Ashby | 3 2 3 2 2 | 12 |
| 5 | Dave Jessup | 2 3 2 3 1 | 11 |
| 6 | Phil Crump | 0 3 1 1 3 | 8 |
| 7 | Barry Briggs | 0 2 2 2 0 | 6 |
| 8 | Ila Teromaa | 1 2 3 EF - | 6 |
| 9 | Chris Pusey | EF 0 2 1 3 | 6 |
| 10 | Doug Wyer | 1 2 1 0 1 | 5 |
| 11 | Gordon Kennett | 1 1 1 EF 2 | 5 |
| 12 | Ivan Mauger | 2 1 EF 2 - | 5 |
| 13 | Dave Morton | 2 EF 0 1 1 | 4 |
| 14 | Mick Hines (res) | 1 2 0 - - | 3 |
| 15 | Terry Betts | 1 0 1 0 EF | 2 |
| 16 | Malcolm Simmons | 2 F R - - | 2 |
| 17 | Jim McMillan | 0 1 0 0 0 | 1 |
| 18 | John Boulger (res) | F - - - - | 0 |
* ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded

## Pairs

The British League Pairs Championship was held at Foxhall Stadium on 19 October and was won by Ipswich Witches.
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Ipswich Witches | 22 | John Louis 12, Billy Sanders 10 |
| 2 | Coventry Bees | 21 | Ole Olsen 14, Mitch Shirra 7 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 21 | Peter Collins 15, Chris Morton 6 |
| 2 | Cradley United | 21 | John Boulger 11, Bruce Cribb 10 |
| 5 | Poole Pirates | 18 | Malcolm Simmons 15, Eric Broadbelt 3 |
| 6 | Hackney Hawks | 12 | Dave Morton 6, Zenon Plech 6 |
| 7 | Sheffield Tigers | 8 | Doug Wyer 5, Reg Wilson 3 |

## Final leading averages

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | John Louis | Ipswich | 11.08 |
| 2 | Peter Collins | Belle Vue | 11.06 |
| 3 | Ole Olsen | Coventry | 11.05 |
| 4 | Ivan Mauger | Exeter | 10.86 |
| 5 | Phil Crump | Newport | 10.67 |
| 6 | Dave Jessup | Reading | 10.35 |
| 7 | Dave Morton | Hackney | 10.18 |
| 8 | Malcolm Simmons | Poole | 10.17 |
| 9 | Martin Ashby | Swindon | 9.88 |
| 10 | John Boulger | Cradley | 9.79 |

## Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup. The competition consisted of six teams.
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Swindon | Leicester | 49–29, 44–34 |
| Cradley | Coventry | 35–43, 28–50 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Wolverhampton | Swindon | 44–34, 36–42 |
| Birmingham | Coventry | 31–47, 28–50 |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Coventry won on aggregate 87–67

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Peter Collins 11.06
* Chris Morton 9.53
* Alan Wilkinson 7.56
* Les Collins 6.34
* Paul Tyrer 5.75
* Kristian Praestbro 5.37
* Chris Turner 5.18
* Russ Hodgson 4.41
* Geoff Pusey 3.83
Birmingham
* Alan Grahame 8.00
* Garry Middleton 6.71
* Sören Sjösten 6.69
* Lou Sansom 6.07
* Jan Terje Gravningen 5.23
* Arthur Browning 4.99
* Bob Valentine 4.72
* Audun Ove Olsen 4.37
* Carl Askew 1.78
* Ricky Day 1.00
Coventry
* Ole Olsen 11.05
* Mitch Shirra 8.26
* Jiří Štancl 6.81
* Alan Molyneux 6.67
* Nigel Boocock 6.53
* John Harrhy 4.64
* Frank Smith 4.60
* Ian Hindle 2.10
Cradley Heath
* John Boulger 9.79
* Bernt Persson 9.16
* Bruce Cribb 7.72
* Arthur Price 5.71
* Dave Perks 5.21
* Steve Bastable 5.20
* Nigel Wasley 3.16
Exeter
* Ivan Mauger 10.86
* Scott Autrey 9.24
* John Titman 6.99
* Kevin Holden 6.45
* Steve Koppe 5.16
* Geoff Mudge 4.86
* Peter Prinsloo 3.54
* Les Rumsey 3.48
* Kazimierz Adamczak 2.23
Hackney
* Dave Morton 10.18
* Zenon Plech 7.92
* Barry Thomas 6.67
* Keith White 6.33
* Laurie Etheridge 5.51
* Trevor Hedge 5.37
* Steve Lomas 4.95
* Ted Hubbard 4.80
* Dave Kennett 4.18
Halifax
* Chris Pusey 8.74
* Henny Kroeze 7.69
* Graham Plant 7.49
* Charlie Monk 5.98
* Ian Cartwright 5.87
* Mike Lohmann 4.95
* Andy Cusworth 4.46
* Grahame Dawson 4.00
* Mick Newton 3.29
* Steve Finch 3.14
Hull
* Barry Briggs 8.94
* Joe Owen 8.86
* Egon Müller 8.75
* Bobby Beaton 7.55
* Mitch Graham 7.50
* Frank Auffret 6.17
* Mike Curoso 6.07
* Graham Drury 5.88
* Tom Owen 5.69
Ipswich
* John Louis 11.08
* Billy Sanders 9.44
* Tony Davey 8.37
* Mike Lanham 6.21
* Ted Howgego 5.87
* Dave Gooderham 5.71
* Kevin Jolly 4.21
* Trevor Jones 3.87
* Andy Hines 3.70
King's Lynn
* Terry Betts 9.71
* Michael Lee 9.43
* Ian Turner 7.83
* David Gagen 5.68
* Ray Bales 5.40
* Richard Hellsen 4.56
* Billy Burton 3.85
* Jan Henningsen 3.50
* Adi Funk 2.80
Leicester
* Ray Wilson 9.28
* Reidar Eide 7.89
* Ila Teromaa 7.86
* Tony Lomas 5.08
* Doug Underwood 4.53
* Alan Emerson 3.86
* Pepe Teromaa 3.08
* Grzegorz Szczepanik 2.37
* Ernst Bøgh 0.76
Newport
* Phil Crump 10.67
* Phil Herne 9.70
* Steve Gresham 7.41
* Brian Woodward 6.15
* Bob Coles 5.00
* Neil Street 4.90
* Tormod Langli 4.71
* Danny Kennedy 4.62
* Kazimierz Adamczak 4.17
* Barney Kennett 3.92
Poole
* Malcolm Simmons 10.17
* Eric Broadbelt 7.14
* Christer Sjösten 6.67
* Pete Smith 6.16
* Neil Middleditch 5.05
* Richard May 5.04
* Martin Yeates 4.32
Reading
* Dave Jessup 10.35
* John Davis 9.33
* Bernie Leigh 6.75
* Bob Humphreys 6.42
* Bolesław Proch 5.37
* Mick Bell 5.16
* Eugeniusz Blaszak 3.67
* Ian Gledhill 2.32
Sheffield
* Doug Wyer 9.62
* Reg Wilson 8.51
* Keith Evans 5.80
* Craig Pendlebury 5.36
* Carl Glover 5.23
* Bengt Larsson 3.72
* Les Glover 3.21
* Tony Boyle 3.08
* Nicky Allott 3.03
Swindon
* Martin Ashby 9.88
* Bob Kilby 9.22
* Bobby McNeil 7.62
* Jan Andersson 6.46
* Soren Karlsson 6.38
* Geoff Bouchard 6.02
* Norman Hunter 5.52
* David Ashby 3.89
* Cliff Anderson 2.00
White City
* Gordon Kennett 9.69
* Dag Lövaas 7.76
* Richard Greer 7.07
* Trevor Geer 6.67
* Steve Weatherley 6.00
* Paul Gachet 5.34
* Brian Clark 5.05
* Kai Niemi 4.85
* Richard Hellsen 3.41
Wimbledon
* Tommy Jansson 10.25 (only 8 matches)
* Mick Hines 7.32
* Edgar Stangeland 7.27
* Larry Ross 7.24
* Stefan Salomonsson 4.14
* Colin Richardson 4.10
* Barry Crowson 4.05
* Roger Johns 3.91
* Brendan Shiletto 2.13
Wolverhampton
* Jimmy McMillan 8.97
* Finn Thomsen 7.58
* George Hunter 7.55
* John Jackson 4.95
* Rob Hollingworth 4.89
* Leif Berlin 3.84
* Giuseppe Marzotto 3.22