1969 British League Division Two season

The 1969 British League Division Two season was the second season of second tier motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2]

1969 British League Division Two season
LeagueBritish League Division Two
ChampionsBelle Vue Colts
No. of competitors16
Knockout CupBelle Vue Colts
IndividualGeoff Ambrose
Highest averageDes Lukehurst
Division/s aboveBritish League (Div 1)

Summary

The league expanded from 10 to 16 teams in its second season. Weymouth Eagles dropped out after just one season. The seven new entrants included three newly created teams called the Crewe Kings, Doncaster Stallions and the Rochester Bombers. The King's Lynn Starlets who were the reserve side of the Stars also entered, along with Ipswich Witches who returned to league action (their first since 1962), the Long Eaton Rangers (formerly the Archers), and the Eastbourne Eagles (first since 1959).[3] The Rochester Bombers team moved to Romford from 10 May, after the local council refused to give permission for racing and became known as the Romford Bombers.[4]

Belle Vue Colts completed the league and cup double, which included retaining their league title.[5][6] Ken Eyre and Eric Broadbelt were once again instrumental in helping the Colts win again and they were backed up well by Chris Bailey and Bill Moulin.[7]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Belle Vue Colts 30 23 1 6 47
2 Reading Racers 30 19 1 10 39
3 Rochester/Romford Bombers 30 19 1 10 39
4 Crayford Highwaymen 30 19 0 11 38
5 Rayleigh Rockets 30 16 2 12 34
6 Canterbury Crusaders 30 15 2 13 32
7 Crewe Kings 30 15 0 15 30
8 Eastbourne Eagles 30 14 2 14 30
9 Middlesbrough Teessiders 30 14 1 15 29
10 Long Eaton Rangers 30 14 1 15 29
11 Ipswich Witches 30 13 1 16 27
12 Doncaster Stallions 30 12 0 18 24
13 Nelson Admirals 30 11 2 17 24
14 Berwick Bandits 30 11 1 18 23
15 Plymouth Devils 30 9 0 21 18
16 King's Lynn Starlets 30 8 1 21 17

Top Five Riders
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Des Lukehurst Romford Bombers 11.26
2 Graeme Smith Rayleigh Rockets 11.00
3 Peter Murray Canterbury Crusaders 10.39
4 Tony Lomas Long Eaton Rangers 10.28
5 Geoff Ambrose Crayford Highwaymen 10.07

British League Division Two Knockout Cup

The 1969 British League Division Two Knockout Cup was the second edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Belle Vue Colts were the winners of the competition.[8]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
12/06Ipswich55-23Plymouth
11/06Belle Vue55-22King's Lynn
08/06Eastbourne37-40Rayleigh
12/06Middlesbrough49-29Nelson
09/06Crewe49-29Doncaster
14/06Canterbury51-26Crayford
12/06Long Eaton48-29Berwick
12/06Romford38-38Reading
07/07Reading44-34Romford

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
16/07Belle Vue58-20Ipswich
19/07Rayleigh43-34Middlesbrough
14/07Crewe44-33Canterbury
17/07Long Eaton42-35Reading

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
06/08Belle Vue55-23Rayleigh
08/09Crewe58-20Long Eaton

First leg
Crewe Kings
Geoff Curtis 10
Colin Tucker 9
Barry Meeks 8
Ian Bottomley 8
Paul O'Neil 6
Pete Saunders 1
Dave Parry 0		42 – 36Belle Vue Colts
Ken Moss 10
Chris Bailey 10
Steve Waplington 5
Mike Hiftle 4
Taffy Owen 4
Eric Broadbelt 3
Ken Eyre R/R
[9]
British Railways Sports Ground

Second leg
Belle Vue Colts
Eric Broadbelt 14
Chris Bailey 11
Mike Hiftle 11
Ken Moss 8
Steve Waplington 6
Taffy Owen 5
Ken Eyre R/R		55 – 23Crewe Kings
Geoff Curtis 9
Paul O'Neil 9
Dave Parry 2
Colin Tucker 1
Ian Bottomley 1
Pete Saunders 1
Barry Meeks 0
[9]

Belle Vue Colts were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 91–65.

See also

References
  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  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 10 September 2021.
  4. "Romford Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  5. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  6. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  7. "Belle Vue Colts". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. "1969 British League Division Two Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  9. "Season 1969" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
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