1968 British League Division Two season

The 1968 British League Division Two season was the inaugural season of a second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]

1968 British League Division Two season
LeagueBritish League Division Two
ChampionsBelle Vue Colts
No. of competitors10
Knockout CupCanterbury Crusaders
IndividualGraham Plant
Highest averageMick Handley
Mike Cake
Division/s aboveBritish League (Div 1)

Summary

The formation of a new division 2 was a success and attracted five new clubs to league speedway, the Nelson Admirals from Nelson in Lancashire, the Crayford Highwaymen from east London, the Canterbury Crusaders from Kent, the Berwick Bandits from Scotland and the Reading Racers. Additionally three other clubs, Middlesbrough, Plymouth and Rayleigh returned to league action having previously competed in the old defunct Provincial League and Weymouth returned after a 13 year absence.[3][4]

Belle Vue Aces, members of the first division, fielded a reserve side known as Belle Vue Colts and won the first league title.[5] Colt's riders Taffy Owen, Ken Eyre, Eric Broadbelt and John Woodcock all scored heavily and ended with impressive averages.[6] Canterbury in their first season of existence won the division 2 Knockout Cup beating another new team Reading in the final.[4]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Belle Vue Colts 18 14 0 4 28
2 Nelson Admirals 18 11 0 7 22
3 Middlesbrough Teessiders 18 10 1 7 21
4 Plymouth Devils 18 10 0 8 20
5 Rayleigh Rockets 18 9 1 8 19
6 Crayford Highwaymen 18 8 1 9 17
7 Canterbury Crusaders 18 8 1 9 17
8 Reading Racers 18 6 2 10 14
9 Weymouth Eagles 18 5 2 11 12
10 Berwick Bandits 18 5 0 13 10

Top Five Riders
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1= Mick Handley Crayford Highwaymen 10.22
1= Mike Cake Plymouth Devils 10.22
3 Chris Bass Plymouth Devils 9.91
4 Dave Schofield Nelson Admirals 9.82
5 Taffy Owen Belle Vue Colts 9.59

British League Division Two Knockout Cup

The 1968 British League Division Two Knockout Cup was the first edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams and coincided with the newly formed league.[7]

Previously the tier two and tier three teams had competed in the National Trophy until 1964, and although they held their own finals during some years it only served as qualification for the main competition. Canterbury Crusaders were the winners of the competition.[8]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
26/08Reading52-44Rayleigh

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
10/08Canterbury56-37Crayford
22/08Middlesbrough53-41Nelson
26/08Reading52-44Plymouth
24/08Berwick45-51Belle Vue

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
30/09Reading56-40Belle Vue
07/09Canterbury64-31Middlesbrough

First leg
Canterbury Crusaders
Peter Murray 14
Barry Crowson 14
Martyn Piddock 13
John Hibben 10
Graham Miles 7
Ken Vale 2
Pat Flanagan 0		60 – 36Reading Racers
Vic White 11
John Poyser 8
Ian Champion 6
Stuart Wallace 4
Phil Pratt 3
Ted Spittles 2
Dene Davies 2
[9]

Second leg
Reading Racers
John Poyser 17
Vic White 11
Ted Spittles 9
Stuart Wallace 3
Dene Davies 2
Phil Pratt 1
Ian Champion 1		44 – 52Canterbury Crusaders
Peter Murray 14
Barry Crowson 12
John Hibben 8
Graham Miles 6
Ken Vale 6
Martyn Piddock 5
Dave Grimley (guest) 1
[9]

Canterbury were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 112–80.

See also

References
  1. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  4. "Book Extract:Tears and Glory The Winged Wheel Story". Speedway Plus. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  5. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  6. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  7. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  8. "1968 British League Division Two Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  9. "Season 1968" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
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