The 1985 British League season was the 21st season of the British League, the top tier of speedway in the UK since 1965.[1]

Summary

Oxford Cheetahs won the league.[2] They were financed by the Oxford Stadium owners Northern Sports, headed by David Hawkins. The team included Danish international Hans Nielsen (signed for £30,000) and Simon Wigg signed for (£25,000).[3]

Final table

Team PL W D L BP Pts
Oxford Cheetahs 20 16 1 3 10 43
Sheffield Tigers 20 13 1 6 6 33
Coventry Bees 20 11 2 7 7 31
Halifax Dukes 20 9 1 10 5 24
Ipswich Witches 20 9 2 9 4 24
Belle Vue Aces 20 10 0 10 4 24
Cradley Heath Heathens 19 10 0 9 4 24
Swindon Robins 20 8 1 11 6 23
Reading Racers 19 6 4 9 6 22
Wolverhampton Wolves 20 5 2 13 2 14
King's Lynn Stars 20 5 0 15 0 10

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Leading averages

Rider Team Average
Denmark Hans Nielsen Oxford 11.35
United States Shawn Moran Sheffield 10.39
Denmark Erik Gundersen Cradley Heath 10.38
England Kenny Carter Halifax 10.13
Denmark Tommy Knudsen Coventry 10.13
United States Bobby Schwartz Wolverhampton 9.80
England Chris Morton Belle Vue 9.77
Sweden Reading 9.43
Denmark Bo Petersen Swindon 9.35
United States John Cook Ipswich 9.33

British League Knockout Cup

The 1985 British League Knockout Cup was the 47th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Oxford Cheetahs were the winners.[4]

First Round

Date Team One Score Team Two
19/07 Oxford 43-35 Coventry
29/06 Swindon 36-42 Ipswich
24/06 Wolverhampton 49-29 Halifax
15/06 Coventry 35-43 Oxford
30/05 Ipswich 45-33 Swindon
25/05 Halifax 48-30 Wolverhampton

Quarter Finals

Date Team One Score Team Two
23/09 Reading 43-34 Sheffield
22/08 Sheffield 39-39 Reading
29/08 Ipswich 43-34 Wolverhampton
19/08 Wolverhampton 39-39 Ipswich
31/07 Oxford 47-31 Belle Vue
20/07 Belle Vue 40-38 Oxford
11/07 Sheffield 46-32 Reading
08/07 Reading 46-32 Sheffield
07/07 Cradley Heath 53-25 Kings Lynn
06/07 Kings Lynn 39-39 Cradley Heath

Semi Finals

Date Team One Score Team Two
22/10 Reading 38-40 Oxford
16/10 Oxford 41-36 Reading
11/09 Cradley Heath 36-42 Ipswich
19/09 Ipswich 43-35 Cradley Heath

Final

Date Team One Score Team Two
30/10 Oxford 42-35 Ipswich
27/10 Ipswich 41-37 Oxford

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "1985 league tables". Speedway GB.
  3. ^ "SPEEDWAY: Nielsen regret at Oxford". Oxford Mail.
  4. ^ "1985 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_British_League_season