2013 National League speedway season

2013 National League speedway season
LeagueNational League
ChampionsDudley Heathens
Knockout CupDudley Heathens
IndividualSteve Boxall[1]
PairsDudley Heathens
FoursDudley Heathens
National TrophyIsle of Wight Islanders
Division/s above2013 Elite League
2013 Premier League

The 2013 season of the National League, the third tier of British speedway was contested by eight teams.[2]

Summary

Scunthorpe Saints and Rye House Cobras were both missing from the 2012 league. Two newcomers were the Coventry Storm and the newly formed Kent Kings.

The Dudley Heathens were champions.[3]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Dudley Heathens 13 11 0 2 37
2 King's Lynn Young Stars 13 8 0 5 27
3 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 13 8 0 5 25
4 Isle of Wight Islanders 14 7 0 7 22
5 Coventry Storm 14 6 0 8 19
6 Buxton Hitmen 14 6 0 8 18
7 Kent Kings 13 5 0 8 15
8 Stoke Potters 12 2 0 10 7

[4] PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Scoring system:
Home loss by any number of points = 0
Home draw = 1
Home win by between 1 and 6 points = 2
Home win by 7 points or more = 3
Away loss by 7 points or more = 0
Away loss by 6 points or fewer = 1
Away draw = 2
Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3
Away win by 7 points or more = 4

Fixtures & results

Home \ Away BUX COV DH IOW KK KL MIL STO
Buxton Hitmen 46–47 43–46 45–44 60–31 59–31 54–35 41–49
Coventry Storm 48–45 41–49 42–50 59–33 39–53 40–48 56–39
Dudley Heathens 60–32 62–30 60–31 53–39 56–36 56–36 66–28
Isle of Wight Islanders 55–37 48–42 37–52 48–42 54–39 60–33 68–22
Kent Kings 55–38 54–39 49–41 47–43 40–49 39–52 53–42
King's Lynn Young Stars 53–42 42–48 n/a 49–41 58–35 52–40 38–21
Mildenhall Fen Tigers 44–46 48–41 48–42 50–40 53–39 52–36 50–40
Stoke Potters 46–47 37–55 38–50 53–37 n/a 41–49 n/a
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

Top four teams race off in two-legged semi-finals and final to decide the championship. Dudley Heathens defeated King's Lynn Young Stars in the final.[6]

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
02/10 King's Lynn 57-39 Mildenhall
01/10 Isle of Wight 43-47 Dudley
29/09 Mildenhall 49-41 King's Lynn
24/09 Dudley 59-31 Isle of Wight

Final

8 October Dudley Heathens
Ashley Morris 15
Lewis Blackbird 11
Paul Starke 8
Max Clegg 6
Gareth Isherwood 5
Dan Greenwood 5
Nathan Greaves 3 		53–30 King's Lynn Young Stars
Lewis Kerr 12
Darren Mallett 9
Lewis Rose 6
Robert Lambert 6
Jake Knight 3
Shane Waldron 3
Josh Bailey 1 		Monmore Green Stadium

9 October King's Lynn Young Stars
Robert Lambert 10
Lewis Rose 10
Darren Mallett 9
Lewis Kerr 7
Jake Knight 5
Shane Waldron 4
Josh Bailey 1. 		46–47 Dudley Heathens
Ashley Morris 13
Lewis Blackbird 8
Dan Greenwood 7
Paul Starke 6
Nathan Greaves 6
Gareth Isherwood 4
Max Clegg 3 		King's Lynn Stadium

National League Knockout Cup

The 2013 National League Knockout Cup was the 16th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. Dudley Heathens were the winners.[7] [8]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
04/08 Buxton 47-43 Dudley
09/07 Isle of Wight 61-32 Kent
24/06 Kent 44-49 Isle of Wight
19/06 King's Lynn 64-26 Stoke
08/06 Stoke 57-32 King's Lynn
04/06 Dudley 55-39 Buxton
26/05 Mildenhall 48-42 Coventry Storm
17/05 Coventry Storm 45-47 Mildenhall

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
24/10 Mildenhall 44-46 Isle of Wight
15/10 Isle of Wight 46-44 Mildenhall
08/10 Isle of Wight 50-40 Mildenhall
5/09 King's Lynn 44-46 Dudley
22/09 Mildenhall 50-40 Isle of Wight
10/09 Dudley 56-34 King's Lynn

Final

29 October Dudley Heathens
Ashley Morris 14
Paul Starke 11
Lewis Blackbird 10
Dan Greenwood 9
Nathan Greaves 5
Max Clegg 5
Gareth Isherwood 4 		58–33 Isle of Wight Islanders
Steve Worrall 10
Tom Perry 8
Lee Payne 5
Ben Hopwood 4
Chris Widman 4
Reece Downes 2
Brendan Johnson R/R 		Monmore Green Stadium

30 October Isle of Wight Islanders
Steve Worrall 14
Ben Hopwood 10
Tom Perry 8
Reece Downes 7
Luke Priest 5
Chris Widman 4
Darryl Ritchings R/R 		48–44 Dudley Heathens
Ashley Morris 11
Lewis Blackbird 10
Paul Starke 8
Dan Greenwood 5
Nathan Greaves 4
Gareth Isherwood 3
Max Clegg 3 		Smallbrook Stadium

Riders' Championship

Steve Boxall won the Riders' Championship for the second time. The final was held on 21 September at Rye House Stadium.[9]

Pos. Rider Total
1 Steve Boxall 14+3
2 Lewis Kerr 14+2
3 Lewis Blackbird 12
4 Steve Worrall 11
5 Robert Lambert 11
6 Stefan Nielsen 9
7 Charles Wright 8
8 Ben Morley 6
9 Paul Starke 6
10 Tom Perry 5
11 Joe Jacobs 5
12 James Sarjeant 5
13 Liam Carr 4
14 Ashley Morris 4
15 Josh Bates 0
16 Adam Ellis 0

Pairs

The National League Pairs Championship, was held at Mildenhall Stadium, on 30 June 2013. The event was won by Ashley Morris and Lewis Blackbird of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers.[10]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1 Dudley 17 Blackbird 9, Morris 8
2 Mildenhall 15 Halsey 10, Bates 5
3 Kent 14 Boxall 8, Morley 6
4 Stoke 8 Priest 6, Smart 2

Fours

Dudley won the National League Fours, held on 18 August 2013 at Loomer Road Stadium.[11]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1 Dudley 14 Starke 6, Morris 5, Blackbird 3, Isherwood 0
2 Kent 13 Boxall 5, Compton 4, Morley 2, Mason 2
3 Mildenhall 11 Halsey 5, Bates 4, Armstrong 2, Stoneman 0
4 King's Lynn 10 Kerr 5, Mallett 3, Rose 1, Knight 1

National Trophy

Pos team P Pts
1 Isle of Wight 8 22
2 Mildenhall 8 17
3 Stoke 8 13
4 Buxton 8 7
5 Kent 8 3

Final leading averages

[12]

Rider Team Average
Lewis Blackbird Dudley 10.49
Charles Wright Buxton 10.37
Robert Lambert Kings Lynn 10.30

Teams and final averages

Development Leagues

Midland Development League

Pos team P W D L Pts
1 Belle Vue Colts 12 8 1 4 16
2 Milton Keynes 11 7 1 3 15
3 Kings Lynn 12 6 2 4 14
4 Stoke 12 5 2 5 12
5 Castleford 11 4 1 6 9
6 Coventry 12 4 1 7 9
7 Long Eaton 12 3 1 8 7

Northern Junior League

Pos team P W D L Pts
1 Redcar 8 6 1 1 13
2 Workington 8 6 0 2 12
3 Northside 8 4 1 3 9
4 Newcastle 8 1 1 6 3
5 Berwick 8 1 1 6 3

See also

References

  1. ^ "Yes Heathens win the lot". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Major League Competitions". Speedway Archive.
  3. ^ "Cradley Heathens hunt for a new home after loosing temporary base at Wolverhampton". Birmingham Mail. 24 October 2014.
  4. ^ "2013 PLAY-OFF FIXTURES & RESULTS - British Speedway Official Website".
  5. ^ "2013 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  6. ^ "2013 Play Offs". Speedway Archive.
  7. ^ "National League Knockout Cup Winners". Speedway Archive.
  8. ^ "2013 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway Archive.
  9. ^ "Yes Heathens win the lot". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  10. ^ "All roads lead to Mildenhall as National League Pairs takes centre stage . . . and who can stop the Cradley Heathens from winning again?". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  11. ^ "2013 National League Fours". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  12. ^ "2013 Averages" (PDF). Speedway GB.