1961 Speedway National League Explained

Competition:	National League
Competitors:	10
Domesticcup1:	Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:	Wimbledon Dons
Domesticcup2:	National Trophy
Domesticcup2 Winners:	Southampton Saints
Highestaverage:	Ove Fundin
Leagues Below:	1961 Provincial League
Prevseason:	1960
Nextseason:	1962

The 1961 National League was the 27th season and the sixteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.^[1]

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.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Final table

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Wimbledon Dons	18	15	0	3	30
2	Southampton Saints	18	13	2	3	28
3	Coventry Bees	18	10	1	7	21
4	Belle Vue Aces	18	10	0	8	20
5	Swindon Robins	18	8	0	10	16
6	Ipswich Witches	18	7	1	10	15
7	Norwich Stars	18	7	0	11	14
8	New Cross Rangers	18	7	0	11	14
9	Oxford Cheetahs	18	6	1	11	13
10	Leicester Hunters	18	4	1	13	9

Top Ten Riders (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.^[5]

First round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
15/06	Oxford	43-40	Southampton
13/06	Southampton	58-26	Oxford
10/06	Belle Vue	55-28	New Cross
07/06	New Cross	46-37	Belle Vue

Second round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
17/08	Ipswich	44-40	Coventry
09/08	Norwich	43-40	Swindon
08/08	Southampton	52-32	Belle Vue
29/07	Belle Vue	47-37	Southampton
24/07	Wimbledon	46-38	Norwich
22/07	Norwich	52-32	Wimbledon
22/07	Swindon	66-18	Leicester
21/07	Leicester	38-45	Swindon

Semifinals

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
09/09	Swindon	56-28	Norwich
29/08	Southampton	57-27	Coventry
26/08	Coventry	49-35	Southampton
09/08	Norwich	43-40	Swindon

Final

First legSecond 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)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
2. Web site: Year by Year. Speedway Researcher. 12 August 2021.
3. Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 129. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
4. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964). Official British Speedway website. 12 August 2021.
5. Web site: 1961 National Trophy. Speedway archive.