The 1957 National League was the 23rd season and the twelfth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
Summary The closure of Wembley Lions, Bradford Tudors and Poole Pirates left the league with only four teams, so the seven sides in Division Two merged to make an eleven-team first tier and so Division Two became defunct.
Bradford Tudors returned to replace Birmingham Brummies mid-season (in early August) and Swindon Robins followed up their Division Two title in 1956 with the Division One title in 1957.
League Final table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Swindon Robins 20 15 1 4 312 Belle Vue Aces 20 15 0 5 303 Wimbledon Dons 20 12 0 8 244 Norwich Stars 20 11 0 9 225 Leicester Hunters 20 10 1 9 216 Southampton Saints 20 9 0 11 187 Bradford Tudors* 20 9 0 11 188 Coventry Bees 20 9 0 11 189 Oxford Cheetahs 20 7 1 12 1510 Ipswich Witches 20 6 0 14 1211 Rayleigh Rockets 20 5 1 14 11
Bradford Tudors replaced Birmingham Brummies mid-season.
Fixtures and results
Top ten riders (league only) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Peter Craven Belle Vue 11.18 2 Ove Fundin Norwich 10.38 3 Bob Roger Swindon 10.27 4 Ron Johnston Belle Vue 10.27 5 Barry Briggs Wimbledon 10.00 6 Ken McKinlay Leicester 9.77 7 Brian Crutcher Southampton 9.76 8 Aub Lawson Norwich 9.73 9 Peter Moore Ipswich 9.64 10 Dick Bradley Southampton 9.48
National Trophy The National Trophy was not held during 1957.
Britannia Cup
South Team PL W D L PtsNorwich 10 8 0 2 16 Wimbledon 10 7 0 3 14 Southampton 10 5 1 4 11 Swindon 10 4 0 6 8 Ipswich 10 3 0 7 6 Rayleigh 10 2 1 7 5
North Team PL W D L PtsBelle Vue 8 5 2 1 12 Oxford 7 4 1 2 9 Leicester 8 4 0 4 8 Coventry 8 3 1 4 7 Birmingham 7 1 0 6 2
Final Team one Team two ScoresBelle Vue Norwich48–48, 50–46
Riders and final averages Belle Vue
11.18 10.27 6.92 6.78 6.00 5.60 4.71 3.73 3.24 0.73
Bradford/Birmingham
9.42 7.92 7.84 7.37/6.78 7.23 7.15 5.21 5.19/4.93 5.05 4.76 4.00 3.20
Coventry
8.43 8.07 6.53 6.34 6.04 4.00 3.35 3.31 3.07 2.81 2.30
Ipswich
9.64 9.13 8.17 6.04 5.36 4.67 4.09 3.79 3.84 3.03 2.82 1.00
Leicester
9.77 8.40 8.04 6.71 6.47 4.67 3.88 3.31 3.25 1.54 0.62
Norwich
10.38 9.73 9.41 7.60 5.87 3.91 3.68 2.75 2.58 2.33 2.05
Oxford
8.38 6.92 7.81 6.29 5.51 5.10 5.00 4.00 3.64
Rayleigh
8.00 6.93 6.38 5.98 5.97 5.91 5.40 3.72
Southampton
9.76 9.48 7.17 6.00 5.68 5.54 5.03 5.06
Swindon
10.27 8.61 8.17 7.54 6.70 6.44 6.40 5.21
Wimbledon
10.00 8.31 8.00 7.29 6.52 6.04 5.86 4.00 4.00 3.76
See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway)
References