1983 National League season

The 1983 National League was the second tier of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom.

1983 National League season
LeagueNational League
ChampionsNewcastle Diamonds[1]
No. of competitors18
Knockout CupExeter Falcons
IndividualSteve McDermott
PairsWeymouth Wildcats
FoursNewcastle Diamonds
Highest averageJoe Owen
Division/s above1983 British League

Summary

The winning team was Newcastle Diamonds.[2][3][4]

After the tragedy of losing a rider the previous season Milton Keynes endured a second loss when their rider Craig Featherby was killed in a crash at Peterborough in a National League match on 16 September. Featherby hit a lamp standard after being thrown from the bike.[5]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Newcastle Diamonds 34 25 1 8 51
2 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 34 23 2 9 48
3 Crayford Kestrels 34 23 0 11 46
4 Weymouth Wildcats 34 19 2 13 40
5 Scunthorpe Stags 34 19 2 13 40
6 Milton Keynes Knights 34 19 1 14 39
7 Middlesbrough Tigers 34 18 3 13 39
8 Berwick Bandits 34 17 0 17 34
9 Edinburgh Monarchs 34 16 1 17 33
10 Exeter Falcons 34 16 0 18 32
11 Rye House Rockets 34 15 1 18 31
12 Peterborough Panthers 34 14 2 18 30
13 Glasgow Tigers 34 14 1 19 29
14 Oxford Cheetahs 34 14 1 19 29
15 Canterbury Crusaders 34 12 2 20 16
16 Boston Barracudas 34 12 1 21 25
17 Stoke Potters 34 10 1 23 21
18 Long Eaton Invaders 34 9 1 24 19

Leading averages
Rider Team Average
Joe OwenNewcastle11.10
Rod HunterNewcastle10.51
Martin YeatesWeymouth10.39
Bobby BeatonNewcastle10.20
Steve LawsonGlasgow10.00
Jim McMillanGlasgow9.85
Marvyn CoxRye House9.83
Barry ThomasCrayford9.69
Steve WilcockMiddlesbrough9.48
Steve McDermottBerwick9.43
Bob GarradRye House9.28

National League Knockout Cup

The 1983 National League Knockout Cup was the 16th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Exeter Falcons were the winners of the competition.[6]

First Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
19/04Crayford45-50Mildenhall
17/04Mildenhall55-41Crayford
01/04Oxford51-45Milton Keynes
29/03Milton Keynes47-49Oxford

Second Round
Date Team One Score Team Two
22/06Long Eaton58-38Berwick
09/06Oxford45-51Rye House
05/06Berwick61-35Long Eaton
27/05Peterborough57-39Mildenhall
25/05Mildenhall58-38Peterborough
23/05Newcastle61-35Scunthorpe
22/05Rye House51-45Oxford
22/05Scunthorpe43-53Newcastle
20/05Edinburgh50-46Middlesbrough
30/04Canterbury45-51Exeter
24/04Boston45-51Weymouth
22/04Glasgow62-34Stoke
19/04Weymouth58-38Boston
16/04Stoke55-41Glasgow
14/04Middlesbrough55-41Edinburgh
11/04Exeter70-26Canterbury

Quarter Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
15/08Exeter64-32Rye House
14/08Rye House55-41Exeter
23/07Berwick45-50Newcastle
19/07Weymouth65-31Glasgow
03/07Mildenhall67-25Middlesbrough
27/06Newcastle53-42Berwick
11/06Glasgow41-54Weymouth
09/06Middlesbrough47-49Mildenhall

Semi Finals
Date Team One Score Team Two
02/10Mildenhall66-30Exeter
12/09Exeter74-21Mildenhall
12/09Newcastle54-42Weymouth
02/08Weymouth55-41Newcastle

Final

First leg

Exeter Falcons52 – 43Weymouth Wildcats
[7]

Second leg

Weymouth Wildcats
Steve Schofield 15
Martin Yeates 12
Simon Cross 11
Stan Bear 6
Gordon Humphreys 3
David Biles 3
Chris Martin 2		52 – 44Exeter Falcons
Rob Ashton 10
Alun Rossiter 10
Keith Millard 9
Bob Coles 7
Rob Maxfield 5
Kevin Price 2
Steve Bishop 1
[7]

Exeter were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 96–95.

See also

References
  1. "About - Exeter Speedway 1983". MyWeb.Tiscali.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  2. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  3. Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0
  4. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  5. "Craig Featherby". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  6. "1983 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  7. "1983 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
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