The 1961 National League was the 27th season and the sixteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
Summary The entry list was identical to the previous year and although Wimbledon Dons won their seventh title in eight years, it would be their last.
Final table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Wimbledon Dons 18 15 0 3 302 Southampton Saints 18 13 2 3 283 Coventry Bees 18 10 1 7 214 Belle Vue Aces 18 10 0 8 205 Swindon Robins 18 8 0 10 166 Ipswich Witches 18 7 1 10 157 Norwich Stars 18 7 0 11 148 New Cross Rangers 18 7 0 11 149 Oxford Cheetahs 18 6 1 11 1310 Leicester Hunters 18 4 1 13 9
Fixtures and results
Top ten averages (league only) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Ove Fundin Norwich 11.51 2 Ronnie Moore Wimbledon 11.17 3 Peter Craven Belle Vue 10.95 4 Björn Knutson Southampton 10.79 5 Arne Pander Oxford 10.60 6 Barry Briggs Southampton 10.13 7 Ron How Wimbledon 10.05 8 Ron Johnston Belle Vue 10.00 9 Ken McKinlay Leicester 9.57 10 Bob Duckworth Belle Vue 9.48
National Trophy The 1961 National Trophy was the 23rd edition of the Knockout Cup. Southampton were the winners.
First round Date Team one Score Team two15/06 Oxford 43-40 Southampton13/06 Southampton 58-26 Oxford10/06 Belle Vue 55-28 New Cross07/06 New Cross 46-37 Belle Vue Second round Date Team one Score Team two17/08 Ipswich 44-40 Coventry09/08 Norwich 43-40 Swindon08/08 Southampton 52-32 Belle Vue29/07 Belle Vue 47-37 Southampton24/07 Wimbledon 46-38 Norwich22/07 Norwich 52-32 Wimbledon22/07 Swindon 66-18 Leicester21/07 Leicester 38-45 Swindon Semifinals Date Team one Score Team two09/09 Swindon 56-28 Norwich29/08 Southampton 57-27 Coventry26/08 Coventry 49-35 Southampton09/08 Norwich 43-40 Swindon Final
First leg
Second leg
Southampton were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 98–70.
Riders & final averages Belle Vue
10.95 10.00 9.48 7.30 5.90 3.60 3.25 3.21 2.67 2.00
Coventry
7.84 7.73 7.44 6.00 5.97 5.10 4.00 4.15
Ipswich
8.90 8.39 6.36 6.34 5.85 5.07 Trevor Blokdyk 4.12 4.00 2.29
Leicester
9.57 6.92 6.47 5.39 5.33 4.12 3.24 2.72 Neil Mortimer 2.61
New Cross
8.06 8.00 Doug Davies 6.96 6.54 6.44 6.17 4.96 4.00 4.33 3.75
Norwich
11.51 7.77 7.67 5.48 4.80 4.37 3.90 3.45 2.50 2.40 0.00
Oxford
10.60 8.72 8.16 6.56 5.33 5.27 3.72 3.48 1.85 1.68
Southampton
10.79 10.13 8.80 7.83 6.73 5.59 5.00 4.55 4.29
Swindon
7.83 7.82 7.52 6.96 6.22 6.00 6.00 5.39 4.85 1.00
Wimbledon
11.17 10.05 9.04 7.33 7.17 7.14 5.58 5.10 0.00
See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway)
References