The 1960 National League was the 26th season and the fifteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
Summary The number of competitors increased from nine to ten with New Cross Rangers returning after a seven-year absence, Johnnie Hoskins persuaded Split Waterman and Eric Williams to come out of retirement and also signed was double world champion Barry Briggs.
Ipswich Witches returned after one year away replacing Poole Pirates who moved down to the newly formed Provincial League.
Wimbledon Dons won their sixth title in just seven years. The Dons also won the Knockout Cup, while Belle Vue claimed the Britannia Shield and Coventry were Midland Cup winners.
Derek 'Tink' Maynard of the Belle Vue Aces was fatally injured in a crash at The Firs Stadium, on 23 July 1960. Maynard was competing in the second leg of the National Trophy against Norwich when Slant Payling lost control of his bike and it hit Maynard. Both riders were taken to Norwich Hospital but Maynard died the following morning.
League Final table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Wimbledon Dons 17 13 0 4 262 Belle Vue Aces 18 11 1 6 233 Oxford Cheetahs 18 11 0 7 224 Ipswich Witches 18 10 0 8 205 Norwich Stars 17 8 1 8 176 Leicester Hunters 18 7 2 9 167 Southampton Saints 18 7 1 10 158 New Cross Rangers 18 7 1 10 159 Coventry Bees 18 7 0 11 1410 Swindon Robins 18 5 0 13 10
Fixtures and results
Top ten riders (league only) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Ove Fundin Norwich 11.41 2 Peter Craven Belle Vue 10.75 3 Ronnie Moore Wimbledon 10.72 4 Björn Knutson Southampton 10.08 5 Arne Pander Oxford 10.06 6 Ken McKinlay Leicester 9.98 7 Barry Briggs New Cross 9.93 8 Peter Moore Ipswich 9.89 9 Ron Johnston Belle Vue 9.88 10 Olle Nygren Southampton 9.40
National Trophy The 1960 National Trophy was the 22nd edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.
First round Date Team one Score Team two17/05 Southampton 55-53 Oxford12/05 Oxford 54-54 Southampton06/05 Leicester 52-56 Ipswich05/05 Ipswich 64-44 Leicester Second round Date Team one Score Team two29/06 New Cross 61-46 Norwich27/06 Wimbledon 73-34 Coventry25/06 Belle Vue 71-37 Ipswich25/06 Coventry 54-54 Wimbledon25/06 Norwich 67-41 New Cross25/06 Swindon 66-42 Southampton23/06 Ipswich 52-56 Belle Vue21/06 Southampton 55-52 Swindon Semifinals Date Team one Score Team two25/07 Wimbledon 71-36 Swindon23/07 Norwich 65-41 Belle Vue16/07 Belle Vue 66-42 Norwich16/07 Swindon 48-60 Wimbledon17/08replay Norwich 61-47 Belle Vue26/08replay Belle Vue 53-55 Norwich Final
First leg
Second leg
Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 115–101.
Britannia Shield
North Team PL W D L PtsBelle Vue 8 8 0 0 16 Leicester 8 4 0 4 8 Coventry 7 3 0 4 6 Oxford 8 2 0 6 4 Ipswich 7 1 0 6 2
South Team PL W D L PtsWimbledon 8 7 0 1 14 Swindon 8 4 0 4 8 Norwich 8 4 0 4 8 Southampton 8 4 0 4 8 New Cross 8 1 0 7 2
North
South
+ match declared void
Final Team one Team two ScoresBelle Vue Wimbledon56–34, 46–44
Midland Cup Coventry won the Midland Cup, which consisted of four teams.
First round Team one Team two ScoreCoventrySwindon 58–31, 32–58OxfordLeicester 45–45, 36–54
Final
First leg
Second leg
Coventry won on aggregate 92–87
Riders & final averages Belle Vue
10.75 9.88 8.00 6.93 6.67 6.35 4.92 4.38 4.36 4.00 3.90 3.53
Coventry
9.01 8.31 7.37 6.60 5.79 5.63 5.50 5.13 4.18 3.60
Ipswich
9.89 6.86 6.67 6.00 5.80 5.60 4.71 4.50 4.12
Leicester
9.98 8.25 6.15 5.97 5.44 5.07 4.78 4.31 2.86
New Cross
9.93 9.33 7.32 6.08 4.96 3.74 3.57 3.43 3.00 2.93
Norwich
11.41 7.28 6.58 5.45 5.33 5.22 5.07 4.98 4.64 2.86 0.00
Oxford
10.06 8.41 7.95 7.32 5.53 5.05 4.92 4.87 4.67 4.59 2.44
Southampton
10.08 9.40 8.71 8.00 6.61 6.00 5.75 5.75 3.91 3.53 0.62 injured after 2 matches
Swindon
8.33 8.00 6.92 6.85 6.74 4.68 4.19 3.60 2.45
Wimbledon
10.72 9.36 8.17 6.84 6.59 6.35 5.84 2.89 3.93
See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway)
References