1976 British League season

The 1976 Gulf British League season was the twelfth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

1976 British League season

League	British League
Season	1976
Champions	Ipswich Witches
No. of competitors	19
Knockout Cup	Ipswich Witches
Division/s below	1976 National League

Summary

The White City Rebels made their debut as did 1975 National League champions Birmingham Brummies. Oxford dropped down a division with White City inheriting both their riders and their nickname. The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a second season. Ipswich Witches won their second consecutive title.

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Ipswich Witches	36	27	1	8	55
Belle Vue Aces	36	23	2	11	48
Exeter Falcons	36	23	2	11	48
Coventry Bees	36	21	2	13	44
Swindon Robins	36	19	4	13	42
Reading Racers	36	19	3	14	41
Hackney Hawks	36	20	0	16	40
Newport	36	19	1	16	39
Cradley United	36	19	1	16	39
Poole Pirates	36	18	1	17	37
Wolverhampton Wolves	36	18	1	17	37
Hull Vikings	36	18	0	18	36
White City Rebels	36	16	3	17	35
King's Lynn Stars	36	16	3	17	35
Halifax Dukes	36	14	1	21	29
Wimbledon Dons	36	12	3	21	27
Sheffield Tigers	36	13	1	22	27
Birmingham Brummies	36	7	0	29	14
Leicester Lions	36	5	1	30	11

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

Top Ten Riders

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	John Louis		Ipswich Witches	11.10
2=	Ivan Mauger		Exeter Falcons	11.00
2=	Ole Olsen		Coventry Bees	11.00
4	Peter Collins		Belle Vue Aces	10.98
5	Phil Crump		Newport	10.68
6	Dave Jessup		Reading Racers	10.42
7	Malcolm Simmons		Poole Pirates	10.30
8	Dave Morton		Hackney Hawks	10.28
9	John Boulger		Cradley United	9.93
10	Martin Ashby		Swindon Robins	9.89

British League Knockout Cup

The 1976 British League Knockout Cup was the 38th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners.[2]

First Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
04/05	Leicester	39-39	Halifax
29/04	Wimbledon	48-30	Birmingham
26/04	Birmingham	38-40	Wimbledon
10/04	Coventry	48-30	Wolverhampton
09/04	Wolverhampton	38-39	Coventry
27/03	Halifax	41-37	Leicester

Second Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
31/07	Belle Vue	49-29	Wimbledon
01/07	Coventry	46-32	White City
27/06	Halifax	46-32	Hull
24/06	Wimbledon	35-43	Belle Vue
21/06	Exeter	46-32	Newport
12/06	Cradley Heath	34-44	Ipswich
10/06	Ipswich	39-38	Cradley Heath
09/06	Hull	44.5-33.5	Halifax
04/06	Hackney	40-38	Reading
04/06	Newport	47-31	Exeter
03/06	Sheffield	36-42	Kings Lynn
02/06	Poole	42-36	Swindon
31/05	Reading	37-41	Hackney
29/05	Swindon	54-24	Poole
26/05	White City	49-29	Coventry
22/05	Kings Lynn	42-36	Sheffield

Quarter Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
18/09	Halifax	47-31	Hackney
03/09	Hackney	41-37	Halifax
26/08	Ipswich	45-33	Swindon
23/08	Belle Vue	45-33	Newport
18/08	White City	38-40	Kings Lynn
14/08	Kings Lynn	44-34	White City
13/08	Newport	40-38	Belle Vue
24/07	Swindon	44-34	Ipswich

Semi Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
03/10	Halifax	42-35	Kings Lynn
02/10	Belle Vue	41-37	Ipswich
30/09	Ipswich	43-35	Belle Vue
29/09	Kings Lynn	46-32	Halifax

Final

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
28/10	Ipswich	50-27	Kings Lynn
17/10	Kings Lynn	36-41	Ipswich

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. "1976 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.