# 1988 National League season

In 1988 the National League, also known as British League Division Two, was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom.

## Summary

Glasgow Tigers returned to Glasgow for the first time in 15 years, when they moved into Shawfield Stadium in Rutherglen. The Canterbury Crusaders had been disbanded following the end of their lease at Kingsmead Stadium.
The league champions that year were Hackney Kestrels.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Hackney Kestrels | 30 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 54 |
| 2 | Poole Pirates | 30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 41 |
| 3 | Eastbourne Eagles | 30 | 17 | 2 | 11 | 36 |
| 4 | Wimbledon Dons | 30 | 17 | 2 | 11 | 36 |
| 5 | Berwick Bandits | 30 | 17 | 2 | 11 | 36 |
| 6 | Milton Keynes Knights | 30 | 17 | 2 | 11 | 36 |
| 7 | Stoke Potters | 30 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 32 |
| 8 | Peterborough Panthers | 30 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 31 |
| 9 | Arena Essex Hammers | 30 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 31 |
| 10 | Glasgow Tigers | 30 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 28 |
| 11 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 28 |
| 12 | Exeter Falcons | 30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 24 |
| 13 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 30 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 21 |
| 14 | Rye House Rockets | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 17 |
| 15 | Middlesbrough Tigers | 30 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 15 |
| 16 | Long Eaton Invaders | 30 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 14 |

## National League Knockout Cup

The 1988 National League Knockout Cup was the 21st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Hackney Kestrels were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Team one | Team two | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Edinburgh | Stoke | 55–41 | 45–50 |
| Berwick | Glasgow | 56–40 | 49–47 |
| Hackney | Poole | 70–26 | 40–56 |
| Peterborough | Rye House | 58–38 | 39–56 |
| Arena Essex | Mildenhall | 54–42 | 39–57 |
| Eastbourne | Exeter | 66–29 | 50–46 |
| Milton Keynes | Wimbledon | 44–52 | 41–55 |
| Long Eaton | Middlesbrough | 51–45 | 33–63 |
Quarter-finals
| Team one | Team two | 1st leg | 2nd leg | replay | replay |
| Edinburgh | Peterborough | 51–45 | 46–49 | | |
| Berwick | Eastbourne | 56–40 | 45–51 | | |
| Mildenhall | Wimbledon | 59–37 | 37–59 | 45–50 | 46–50 |
| Hackney | Middlesbrough | 56–40 | 51–45 | | |
Semi-finals
| Team one | Team two | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Berwick | Wimbledon | 58–38 | 33–63 |
| Edinburgh | Hackney | 45–51 | 25–71 |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Hackney were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 110–82.

## Riders' Championship

Troy Butler won the Riders' Championship. The final sponsored by Jawa Moto & Barum was held on 10 September 1988 at Brandon Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total |
| 1 | Troy Butler | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Mark Loram | 3 2 2 2 2 | 11+3 |
| 3 | Kenny McKinna | 3 1 2 2 3 | 11+2 |
| 4 | Melvyn Taylor | 2 3 3 2 ef | 10 |
| 5 | Graham Jones | 1 3 0 3 3 | 10 |
| 6 | Kevin Jolly | 0 2 3 3 1 | 9 |
| 7 | Steve Schofield | 3 3 0 1 2 | 9 |
| 8 | Gordon Kennett | 2 1 2 2 1 | 8 |
| 9 | Ian Barney | 2 1 1 0 2 | 6 |
| 10 | Mark Fiora | 1 0 3 0 3 | 7 |
| 11 | Steve Regeling | 2 2 1 1 0 | 6 |
| 12 | Martin Goodwin | 1 0 1 1 2 | 5 |
| 13 | Jens Rasmussen | 0 2 2 ef 1 | 5 |
| 14 | Jamie Luckhurst | 0 0 1 3 r | 4 |
| 15 | Keith White | 1 0 0 1 1 | 3 |
| 16 | Mark Courtney | 0 1 0 0 x | 1 |
| 17 | Mike Bacon (res) | ef | 0 |
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

## Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at Wimborne Road was due to be held on 24 July but was postponed before being held on 23 August. The event was won by Stoke Potters.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Stoke | 18 | Jones 9 Bastable 9 |
| u | Hackney | | |
| u | Middlesbrough | | |
| u | Rye House | | |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Riders |
| 1 | Peterborough | Poole |
| u | Mildenhall | Taylor Monaghan |
| u | Milton Keynes | Butler Baldwin |
| u | Arena Essex | |
Group C :
| Pos | Team | Riders |
| 1 | Eastbourne | Kennett |
| 2 | Berwick | Courtney Grant |
| 3 | | |
| 4 | | |
Group D :
| Pos | Team | Riders |
| 1 | Poole | Schofield Biles |
| 2 | Edinburgh | |
| 3 | Glasgow | |
| 4 | | |
Semi finals
* Stoke bt Eastbourne 5-4
* Poole bt Peterborough 5-4
Final
* Stoke bt Poole 7-2

## Fours

Peterborough Panthers won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 7 August.
Semi finals
* SF1 = Poole 20, Peterborough 18, Stoke 9, Glasgow 1
* SF2 = Mildenhall 15, Eastbourne 12, Middlesbrough 11, Hackney 10
Final
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Peterborough Panthers | 14 | Hodgson 5, Poole 4, Hawkins 4, Barney 1 |
| 2 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 13 | Hines 4, Taylor 4, Monaghan 3, Baxter 1 |
| 3 | Eastbourne Eagles | 13 | Buck 6, Standing 4, Barker 3, Kennett 0 |
| 4 | Poole Pirates | 8 | Biles 4, Smart 2, Boyce 2, Schofield 0 |

## Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Mark Loram | Hackney | 10.34 |
| Steve Schofield | Poole | 10.22 |
| Melvyn Taylor | Mildenhall | 10.11 |
| Mark Courtney | Berwick | 10.07 |
| Kenny McKinna | Glasgow | 10.05 |
| Gordon Kennett | Eastbourne | 9.97 |
| Andy Galvin | Hackney | 9.86 |
| Martin Goodwin | Arena Essex | 9.68 |
| Andy Buck | Eastbourne | 9.56 |
| Mick Poole | Peterborough | 9.52 |
| Mark Fiora | Middlesbrough | 9.45 |

## Riders & final averages

Arena Essex
* Martin Goodwin 9.68
* David Smart 7.27
* Rob Tilbury 6.75
* Nigel Leaver 5.80
* Chris Cobby 5.71
* Ian Humphreys 4.76
* Simon Wolstenholme 4.61
Berwick
* Mark Courtney 10.07
* Charlie McKinna 8.40
* Steve McDermott 6.66
* Rob Grant Sr. 6.55
* Sean Courtney 6.12
* Phil Kynman 5.30
* Rob Woffinden 4.75
* Wayne Ross 4.61
* Ian Stead 4.56
* Scott Robson 2.15
Eastbourne
* Gordon Kennett 9.97
* Andy Buck 9.56
* Dean Standing 7.71
* Dean Barker 7.37
* Keith Pritchard 5.62
* David Norris 5.00
* Jon Surman 4.44
* Darren Standing 4.32
Edinburgh
* Les Collins 9.00
* Jamie Luckhurst 8.60
* Doug Wyer 7.27
* Brett Saunders 6.57
* Scott Lamb 4.69
* Rob Woffinden 4.59
* Jeremy Luckhurst 4.24
* Darrell Branford 2.86
* Mike Long 2.74
Exeter
* Steve Regeling 7.90
* Colin Cook 6.80
* Richard Green 6.46
* Alan Rivett 6.43
* Dave Trownson 6.16
* Peter Jeffery 5.53
* Andy Sell 5.32
* Rob Fortune 4.72
* Tony Mattingley 2.90
* Bruce Cribb 3.24
Glasgow
* Kenny McKinna 10.05
* Steve Lawson 8.69
* David Blackburn 7.33
* Phil Jeffrey 5.36
* Shane Bowes 5.01
* Martin McKinna 4.17
* Geoff Powell 3.73
* Wayne Ross 3.06
* Michael Irving 2.20
Hackney
* Mark Loram 10.34
* Andy Galvin 9.86
* Chris Louis 8.04
* Alan Mogridge 7.41
* Paul Whittaker 7.29
* Gary Rolls 5.94
* Barry Thomas 5.92
Long Eaton
* Keith White 8.40
* Glenn Doyle 7.83
* Mike Spink 6.20
* Gary O'Hare 5.44
* Richie Owen 4.00
* Darrell Branford 3.48
* Dave Morton 3.29
* Wayne Elliott 3.21
* Jon Roberts 2.92
* Steve Bishop 2.71
Middlesbrough
* Mark Fiora 9.45
* Daz Sumner 8.10
* Martin Dixon 8.00
* Peter McNamara 5.80
* Ashley Norton 4.56
* Nigel Sparshott 4.52
* Geoff Pusey 3.80
* Andy Sumner 3.74
* Andy Buck 3.04
* David Clay 2.86
* Max Schofield 2.38
* Paul Bentley 2.33
Mildenhall
* Melvyn Taylor 10.11
* Dave Jackson 7.74
* Andy Hines 7.08
* Eric Monaghan 6.62
* Glen Baxter 5.66
* Michael Coles 5.59
* Paul Blackbird 2.57
* Simon Green 2.56
Milton Keynes
* Troy Butler 8.72
* Alastair Stevens 7.67
* Carl Baldwin 7.51
* Trevor Banks 7.20
* Ian Clark 6.44
* Mark Carlson 6.10
* Tony Primmer 6.07
* Nigel Sparshott 5.61
* Paul Atkins 3.65
Peterborough
* Mick Poole 9.52
* Ian Barney 8.41
* Kevin Hawkins 7.98
* Craig Hodgson 7.81
* Jamie Habbin 5.72
* John Stokes 4.97
* Pete Chapman 4.55
Poole
* Steve Schofield 10.22
* David Biles 8.48
* Craig Boyce 7.65
* Kevin Smart 6.68
* Tony Langdon 6.67
* Gary Allan 5.58
* Robbie Fuller 4.98
* Nigel Flatman 4.90
* Steve Bishop 4.48
* Steve Langdon 3.50
Rye House
* Jens Rasmussen 9.28
* Paul Woods 8.12
* Steve Wilcock 6.27
* Mark Lyndon 5.59
* Kevin Brice 4.53
* Carl Chalcraft 4.50
* Peter Schroeck 3.46
* John Wainwright 2.67
* Kevin Teager 2.38
Stoke
* Nigel Crabtree 9.16
* Graham Jones 8.92
* Louis Carr 8.02
* Steve Bastable 6.96
* Derek Richardson 6.87
* Paul Fry 5.18
* Wayne Broadhurst 2.48
* Jon Hughes 2.08
Wimbledon
* Kevin Jolly 9.05
* Ray Morton 8.30
* Todd Wiltshire 7.66
* Roger Johns 7.29
* Alastair Stevens 7.20
* Andy Campbell 6.59
* Nathan Simpson 6.26
* Terry Mussett 4.73
* Rodney Payne 4.00