1989 British League season

British motorcycle speedway season

1989 British League seasonLeague| Sunbrite British League

|

Champions| Oxford Cheetahs
Knockout Cup| Cradley Heathens
Individual| Shawn Moran
Highest average| Hans Nielsen
Division/s below| 1989 National League

* ← 1988
* 1990 →

The 1989 British League season (also known as the Sunbrite British League for sponsorship reasons) was the 55th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 25th known as the British League.[1]

## Summary

[edit]

The Coventry Bees were the defending champions from 1988. The league was once again run over a 15-heat formula, with 7 riders per team.[2]

Oxford Cheetahs bounced back to winning ways claiming their third title in five years. The team was led by their double world champion Hans Nielsen who by the end of the season would be world champion for the third time and top the averages for an incredible seventh season running. He was backed up by Simon Wigg, Martin Dugard, Andy Grahame, Marvyn Cox and Troy Butler, all of whom averaged from about 6 to 8 points for the season. The defending champions Coventry could only finish 5th after losing Tommy Knudsen for the season. Cradley Heath won their 8th Knockout Cup in 11 years (it would also be their last).[3]

## Final table

[edit]

Pos  | Team  | PL  | W  | D  | L  | BP  | Pts

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|
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|
|
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1  | Oxford Cheetahs | 32  | 22  | 1  | 9  | 13  | 58
2  | Wolverhampton Wolves | 32  | 19  | 2  | 11  | 12  | 52
3  | Cradley Heathens | 32  | 19  | 3  | 10  | 10  | 51
4  | Belle Vue Aces | 32  | 19  | 2  | 11  | 10  | 50
5  | Coventry Bees | 32  | 15  | 3  | 14  | 8  | 41
6  | Swindon Robins | 32  | 12  | 1  | 19  | 8  | 33
7  | Reading Racers | 32  | 13  | 1  | 18  | 5  | 32
8  | Bradford Dukes | 32  | 9  | 2  | 21  | 3  | 23
9  | King's Lynn Stars | 32  | 8  | 1  | 23  | 3  | 20

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

## Fixtures and results

[edit]

### A fixtures

[edit]

Home \ Away  | BV  | BRA  | COV  | CH  | KL  | OX  | RR  | SWI  | WOL

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Belle Vue  |  | 49–41  | 57–32  | 49–41  | 54–36  | 42–48  | 42–48  | 49–41  | 39–51
Bradford  | 39–51  |  | 48–42  | 44–46  | 55–35  | 49–40  | 44–46  | 50–40  | 44–46
Coventry  | 46–44  | 48–40  |  | 37–53  | 39–51  | 40–50  | 42–48  | 45–45  | 50–40
Cradley Heath  | 45–45  | 57–33  | 57–33  |  | 49–41  | 45–45  | 53–37  | 58–32  | 52–38
King's Lynn  | 33–57  | 54–36  | 44–46  | 38–52  |  | 38–52  | 62–28  | 48–42  | 39–51
Oxford  | 63–27  | 52–38  | 60–30  | 51–38  | 54–36  |  | 46–43  | 53–37  | 60–30
Reading  | 42–48  | 43–47  | 51–39  | 49–41  | 55–35  | 47–43  |  | 49–41  | 40–50
Swindon  | 52–38  | 50–40  | 43–47  | 33–57  | 52–38  | 39–51  | 47–43  |  | 43–47
Wolverhampton  | 48–42  | 55–35  | 44–46  | 45–45  | 58–32  | 53–37  | 53–36  | 59–31  |

Source: [4]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

### B fixtures

[edit]

Home \ Away  | BV  | BRA  | COV  | CH  | KL  | OX  | RR  | SWI  | WOL

|
|
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|
|
|
|
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Belle Vue  |  | 59–31  | 49–41  | 49–41  | 53–37  | 48–41  | 57–32  | 55–35  | 47–43
Bradford  | 45–45  |  | 44–46  | 43–46  | 56–34  | 49–41  | 42–48  | 51–39  | 57–33
Coventry  | 46–44  | 45–45  |  | 53–37  | 51–39  | 46–42  | 57–33  | 46–44  | 50–40
Cradley Heath  | 48–42  | 61–29  | 52–38  |  | 56–34  | 46–44  | 56–34  | 58.5–31.5  | 41–49
King's Lynn  | 42–47  | 53–37  | 48–42  | 47–43  |  | 34–56  | 49–41  | 44–46  | 45–45
Oxford  | 42–47  | 60–30  | 49–41  | 48–42  | 58–32  |  | 54–36  | 41–49  | 54–36
Reading  | 41–49  | 50–40  | 45–45  | 34–56  | 49–41  | 38–52  |  | 51–39  | 51–39
Swindon  | 56–33  | 55–35  | 42–48  | 54–36  | 54–36  | 44–46  | 51–39  |  | 47–43
Wolverhampton  | 51–39  | 60–30  | 57–32  | 48–42  | 46–44  | 43–46  | 61–29  | 49–41  |

Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

## British League Knockout Cup

[edit]

The 1989 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 51st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath Heathens were the winners for the fourth successive year if including the tied 1986 final.[6][7][8]

First round

Date  | Team one  | Score  | Team two

|
|
|

21/04 | Belle Vue | 57-33 | King's Lynn
08/04 | King's Lynn | 38-52 | Belle Vue

Quarter-finals

Date  | Team one  | Score  | Team two

|
|
|

26/06 | Reading | 51-39 | Belle Vue
10/06 | Cradley Heath | 50-40 | Oxford
09/06 | Belle Vue | 45.5-44.5 | Reading
09/06 | Oxford | 45-45 | Cradley Heath
13/05 | Coventry | 45-45 | Bradford
06/05 | Bradford | 46-44 | Coventry
22/04 | Swindon | 45-45 | Wolverhampton
10/04 | Wolverhampton | 49-41 | Swindon

Semi-finals

Date  | Team one  | Score  | Team two

|
|
|

26/08 | Bradford | 57-33 | Wolverhampton
19/08 | Cradley Heath | 42-48 | Reading
07/08 | Wolverhampton | 60-30 | Bradford
31/07 | Reading | 40-50 | Cradley Heath

Final

First leg

16 October 1989

Wolverhampton Wolves
Ronnie Correy 9
Robert Pfetzing 8
Andy Phillips 7
Graham Jones 7
Jan Stæchmann 3
Brian Karger (guest) 3
Neil Collins 3| 41 - 49| Cradley Heath
Kelvin Tatum (guest) 13
Greg Hancock 11
Jimmy Nilsen (guest) 10
Gert Handberg 6
Alan Grahame 6
Simon Cross 2
John Bostin 1

|
|

| [9] |

Monmore Green Stadium

Second leg

26 October 1989

Cradley Heath
Shawn Moran (guest) 14
Simon Cross 12
Kelvin Tatum (guest) 7
Gert Handberg 5
Greg Hancock 5
Alan Grahame 3
John Bostin 0| 46 - 44| Wolverhampton Wolves
Jimmy Nilsen (guest) 10
Graham Jones 9
Andy Phillips 6
Robert Pfetzing 6
Ronnie Correy 5
Neil Collins 4
Jan Stæchmann 4

|
|

| [9] |

Dudley Wood Stadium

Cradley Heath were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 95-85.

## Riders' Championship

[edit]

Shawn Moran won the British League Riders' Championship. It was the held at Belle Vue Stadium on 1 October.[10]

Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total

|
|
|

1 |  Shawn Moran | 3 3 3 3 3 | 15
2 |  Hans Nielsen | 3 3 3 3 2 | 14
3 |  Brian Karger | 2 3 2 2 3 | 12
4 |  Martin Dugard | 1 2 1 2 3 | 9
5 |  Ronnie Correy | 3 2 3 0 0 | 8
6 |  Jimmy Nilsen | 0 1 3 1 3 | 8
7 |  Kelvin Tatum | 2 0 1 3 2 | 8
8 |  Alan Grahame | 0 2 2 2 2 | 8
9 |  Richard Knight | 2 0 2 2 1 | 7
10 |  Rick Miller | 3 1 1 1 1 | 7
11 |  Simon Wigg | 1 1 2 3 0 | 7
12 |  Lance King | 1 3 0 0 1 | 5
13 |  Jeremy Doncaster | 1 2 0 1 1 | 5
14 |  Peter Ravn | 2 0 0 1 2 | 5
15 |  Paul Thorp | 0 1 1 0 0 | 2
16 |  Glenn Hornby (res) | 0 0 | 0
17 |  Scott Smith (res) | 0 0 | 0
18 |  Mitch Shirra | 0 r(inj) | 0

* ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded r-retired

## Leading final averages

[edit]

Rider | Club | Average

|
|

Hans Nielsen | Oxford  | 10.91
Jan O. Pedersen | Cradley  | 10.22
Erik Gundersen | Cradley  | 9.97
Sam Ermolenko | Wolverhampton  | 9.85
Shawn Moran | Belle Vue  | 9.68
Kelvin Tatum | Coventry  | 9.49
Simon Cross | Cradley  | 9.13
Jeremy Doncaster | Reading  | 8.61
Jimmy Nilsen | Swindon  | 8.41
Kelly Moran | Belle Vue  | 8.29

## Riders and final averages

[edit]

Belle Vue

* Shawn Moran 9.68
* Kelly Moran 8.29
* Peter Ravn 7.54
* Gary Hicks 7.17
* Chris Morton 6.75
* Joe Screen 6.40
* Carl Stonehewer 5.50
* Gordon Whitaker 3.41
* Paul Smith 2.09
* Mike Lewthwaite 1.85

Bradford

* Paul Thorp 7.79
* Neil Evitts 7.51
* Andy Smith 7.27
* Bryan Larner 5.40
* Henrik Kristensen 4.94
* Glenn Doyle 4.76
* Antal Kocso 4.60
* Michael Graves 4.17

Coventry

* Kelvin Tatum 9.49
* Rick Miller 6.93
* Sean Wilson 6.52
* John Jørgensen 6.39
* Andy Hackett 5.49
* Roman Matoušek 5.27
* Kai Niemi 4.69
* Mike Bacon 2.95
* Paul Smith 2.55

Cradley Heath

* Jan O. Pedersen 10.22
* Erik Gundersen 9.97
* Simon Cross 9.13
* Gert Handberg 6.52
* Greg Hancock 6.06
* Alan Grahame 5.78
* John Bostin 3.00

Kings Lynn

* Richard Knight 7.83
* Lance King 7.67
* John Davis 6.74
* Allan Johansen 6.65
* Armando Dal Chiele 5.03
* Stephen Davies 4.93
* Dennis Löfqvist 4.82
* Adrian Stevens 3.56
* Paul Smith 3.14
* Roger Horspool 1.50

Oxford

* Hans Nielsen 10.91
* Simon Wigg 7.69
* Martin Dugard 7.61
* Andy Grahame 6.91
* Marvyn Cox 6.80
* Troy Butler 5.96
* Paul Dugard 2.56
* Kevin Pitts 1.64

Reading

* Jeremy Doncaster 8.61
* Mitch Shirra 7.62
* Tony Olsson 6.49
* Carl Blackbird 5.52
* Armando Castagna 5.47
* Dave Mullett 5.09
* Malcolm Holloway 4.38
* David Steen 2.56

Swindon

* Jimmy Nilsen 8.41
* Brian Karger 8.09
* Andrew Silver 7.38
* John Davis 6.67
* Peter Nahlin 6.24
* Bart Bast 5.05
* Gary Chessell 4.88
* Tom P. Knudsen 4.00 (2 matches only)
* David Smart 3.72

Wolverhampton

* Sam Ermolenko 9.85
* Ronnie Correy 7.86
* Neil Collins 6.88
* Robert Pfetzing 6.61
* Graham Jones 6.60
* Jan Staechmann 6.54
* Andy Phillips 5.73

## See also

[edit]

* List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
* Knockout Cup (speedway)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. ^ "1990 league tables". Speedway GB.
3. ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
4. ^ "1989 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
5. ^ "1989 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
6. ^ "1989 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
7. ^ "Heathens scent cup glory". Sandwell Evening Mail. 17 October 1989. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. ^ "Speedway". Sandwell Evening Mail. 27 October 1989. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. ^ a b "Cradley Speedway 1989 season". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
10. ^ "Sad day for Doncaster and Shirra". Reading Evening Post. 2 October 1989. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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Speedway in the United Kingdom

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Speedway Elite League

* Domestic cups: British League Knockout Cup

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