2015 National League speedway season

2015 National League speedway season

League	National League
Champions	Birmingham Brummies
Knockout Cup	Eastbourne Eagles
National Trophy	Eastbourne Eagles
Individual	Ben Morley
Pairs	Kent Kings
Fours	Birmingham Brummies
Highest average	Adam Ellis
Division/s above	2015 Elite League 2015 Premier League

The 2015 National League was the seventh season of the National League, the third tier of British speedway. The Cradley Heathens were the defending champions after winning the competition in 2014.

Cradley finished the 2015 season in third place, as the Birmingham Brummies won the championship title. With 14 wins from 18 matches, the Brummies won the title after a 47–42 victory at the Mildenhall Fen Tigers in September,[1] and ultimately finished 6 points clear of the Eastbourne Eagles.

Teams

The 2015 season featured 10 teams, one more than in 2014. The Scunthorpe Stags and Devon Demons did not compete in 2015, whilst the Birmingham Brummies, Eastbourne Eagles and Rye House Raiders all joined the league. National League co-ordinator Peter Morrish expressed his excitement ahead of the new season, with the addition of the Brummies and Eagles especially – two teams with extensive Elite League experience – it was expected to be one of the most exciting National League seasons in years.[2]

Final league table

Pos.	Club	M	Home			Away					F	A	+/−	Pts
			W	D	L	4W	3W	D	1L	L
1	Birmingham Brummies (C)	18	8	0	1	4	2	0	2	1	867	758	+109	48
2	Eastbourne Eagles	18	9	0	0	2	1	1	2	3	908	726	+182	42
3	Cradley Heathens	18	8	0	1	1	2	0	3	3	839	745	+94	37
4	Coventry Storm	18	8	0	1	1	2	0	2	4	816	774	+42	36
5	Rye House Raiders	18	6	1	2	1	2	0	1	5	797	766	+31	30
6	King's Lynn Young Stars	18	7	0	2	0	1	0	0	8	797	847	−50	24
7	Mildenhall Fen Tigers	18	7	0	2	0	0	0	1	8	730	879	−149	22
8	Buxton Hitmen	18	5	0	4	0	1	0	2	6	774	862	−88	20
9	Stoke Potters	18	4	1	4	0	2	0	0	7	765	838	−73	19
10	Kent Kings	18	4	0	5	0	0	1	4	4	766	864	−98	18

Fixtures & results

Home \ Away	BIR	BUX	COV	CH	EAS	KK	KL	MIL	RYE	STO
Birmingham Brummies		52–39	52–40	44–46	46–43	47–43	51–39	51–38	49–39	51–39
Buxton Hitmen	47–43		39–51	51–39	40–50	49–43	45–47	47–43	42–48	49–41
Coventry Storm	42–47	52–41		48–44	57–32	46–42	50–43	55–36	32–19	50–43
Cradley Heathens	40–49	61–31	47–43		48–41	53–40	58–35	56–36	49–41	59–33
Eastbourne Eagles	51–42	49–40	56–36	52–40		58–34	64–24	66–24	54–39	65–27
Kent Kings	40–53	47–45	48–41	38–45	37–55		55–37	52–41	40–49	42–47
King's Lynn Young Stars	40–50	56–37	43–46	46–44	57–36	49–43		57–33	54–38	56–35
Mildenhall Fen Tigers	42–47	47–46	48–42	46–41	46–43	48–41	51–40		46–44	44–46
Rye House Raiders	49–44	49–41	44–45	36–29	44–48	45–45	54–38	55–34		57–33
Stoke Potters	41–49	44–45	50–40	35–40	45–45	56–36	57–36	50–27	43–47

Source: [3]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final Leading averages

[4]

Rider	Team	Average
Adam Ellis	Birmingham	10.14
Rob Branford	Rye House	10.14
Bradley Wilson-Dean	Eastbourne	9.83

National League Knockout Cup

The 2015 National League Knockout Cup was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners.[5] [6]

First round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
12/04	Mildenhall	38-52	King's Lynn
15/04	King's Lynn	54-35	Mildenhall
06/04	Rye House	42-45	Stoke
19/04	Stoke	44-45	Rye House

Quarter-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
19/07	Buxton	51-39	Kings Lynn
21/08	Kings Lynn	53-37	Buxton
16/05	Stoke	35-43	Cradley
27/05	Cradley	57-33	Stoke
20/05	Birmingham	47-42	Eastbourne
21/06	Eastbourne	50-39	Birmingham
11/05	Kent	52-38	Coventry
15/05	Coventry	45-45	Kent

Semi-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
29/06	Kent	28-42	Eastbourne
01.08	Eastbourne	50-40	Kent
07/10	King's Lynn	39-51	Cradley
14/10	Cradley	57-33	King's Lynn

Final

---

21 October	Cradley Heathens Danny Ayres (guest) 9 Arron Mogridge 8 Max Clegg 6 Matt Williamson 4 Jack Smith 2 Tyler Govier 1 Ellis Perks R/R	30–30	Eastbourne Eagles Marc Owen 7 Richard Andrews 7 Bradley Wilson-Dean 5 Kelsey Dugard 4 Martin Knuckley 4 Ben Hopwood 3 Daniel Spiller R/R	Monmore Green Stadium

---

24 October	Eastbourne Eagles Bradley Wilson-Dean 14 Daniel Spiller 7 Richard Andrews 7 George Wood 6 Marc Owen 5 Kelsey Dugard 4 Ben Hopwood 4	47–43	Cradley Heathens Max Clegg 12 Danny Ayres (guest) 11 Matt Williamson 9 Arron Mogridge 5 Jack Smith 5 Luke Harris 1 Ellis Perks R/R	Arlington Stadium

Riders' Championship

Ben Morley won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 26 September at Rye House Stadium.[7]

Pos.	Rider	Team	Total
1	Ben Morley	Kent	15
2	Danny Ayres	Kent	12
3	Robert Branford	Rye House	12
4	Kyle Hughes	Rye House	11
5	Adam Ellis	Birmingham	11
6	Liam Carr	Buxton	10
7	Ryan Blacklock	Buxton	10
8	Tom Stokes	King's Lynn	8
9	Danny Halsey	Mildenhall	7
10	Zach Wajtknecht	Birmingham	7
11	Marc Owen	Eastbourne	6
12	Rob Shuttleworth	Coventry	5
13	Jon Armstrong	Stoke	3
14	Connor Mountain	Mildenhall	) 2
15	Lee Payne	Stoke	1
16	Ryan Kinsley	King's Lynn	0

Pairs

The National League Pairs Championship, was held at King's Lynn Stadium, on 5 September 2015. The event was won by Ben Morley and Danny Ayres of the Kent Kings.[8]

Group A Pos Team Pts Riders 1 Rye House 28 Branford 14, Hughes 14 2 King's Lynn 20 Stokes 13, Bailey 7 3 Eastbourne 15 Wilson-Dean 9, Owen 6 4 Stoke 14 Armstrong 14, Payne 0 5 Coventry 13 Knuckey 11, Baseby 2

Group B Pos Team Pts Riders 1 Kent 23 Morley 12, Ayres 11 2 Cradley 21 Clegg 12, Perks 9 3 Birmingham 20 Wajtknecht 12, Perry 8 4 Mildenhall 14 Halsey 11, Mountain 3 5 Buxton 12 Carr 7, Blacklock 5

Semi finals

• Kent bt King's Lynn 7–2
• Cradley bt Rye House 7–2

Final

• Kent bt Cradley 7–2

Fours

Birmingham won the National League Fours, held on 14 June 2015 at Brandon Stadium.[9]

Group A Pos Team Pts Riders 1 Birmingham 18 Ellis 6, Perry 5, Wajtknecht 4, Chapman 3 2 Coventry 14 Greenwood 6, Ritchings 5, Crang 2, Shuttleworth 1 3 Eastbourne 8 Wilson-Dean 4, Owen 3, Mason 1, Andrews 0 4 King's Lynn 7 Kinsley 3, Bailey 2, Sokes 2, Cockle 0

Group B Pos Team Pts Riders 1 Kent 16 Ayres 5, Morley 5, Baseby 3, Shanes 3 2 Rye House 16 Hughes 6, Priest 5, Chessell 3, Woods 2 3 Cradley 9 Harris 3, Perks 3, Williamson 2, Mogridge 1 4 Mildenhall 7 Halsey 4, Coles 2, Kingston 1, Mountain 0

Final
Pos	Team	Pts	Riders
1	Birmingham	15	Ellis 5, Perry 4, Wajtknecht 4, Chapman 2
2	Coventry	15	Greenwood 6, Ritchings 4, Crang 3, Shuttleworth 2
3	Kent	13	Morley 6, Ayres 3, Baseby 2, Shanes 2
4	Rye House	4	Hughes 2, Chessell 1, Priest 1, Woods 0

• Ellis beat Greenwood in run-off

Riders & averages

Unless otherwise stated, all listed riders were declared at the start of the 2015 National League season.[10]

Birmingham Brummies

Adam Ellis 10.14 Zach Wajtknecht 9.51 Tom Perry 8.58 [N 1] Josh Bates 8.46 [N 1] Sam Chapman 5.18

Adam Kirby 3.77 Harvie Banks 3.00 Alex Wilson 3.00 Robert Parker 3.00

Buxton Hitmen

Tony Atkin 8.18 Ben Hopwood 8.00 [N 2] Liam Carr 7.73 [N 2] Ryan Blacklock 6.84 Steve Jones 4.96 [N 3] David Speight 4.69 [N 4] Tom Woolley 4.68

Adam Extance 4.48 [N 3] David Holt 3.44 [N 5][N 6] Cameron Hoskins 3.00 [N 5] Ryan Macdonald 3.00 [N 6] Paul Bowen 3.00 [N 4] Sam Darroch 3.00 [N 7] Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 3.00 [N 8]

Coventry Storm

Luke Crang 8.44 [N 9] Dan Greenwood 8.29 Darryl Ritchings 7.32 Martin Knuckey 6.78 Rob Shuttleworth 6.23

Mark Baseby 5.88 [N 9] Jamie Halder 3.00 Conor Dwyer 5.44 Callum Walker 3.00

Cradley Heathens

Max Clegg 9.72 Matt Williamson 8.69 Ellis Perks 7.14 Nathan Greaves 7.08

Arron Mogridge 4.94 Michael Neale 4.85 Luke Harris 3.00 Tyler Govier 3.00

Eastbourne Eagles

Bradley Wilson-Dean 9.83 Ben Hopwood 8.00 [N 10] Marc Owen 7.25 Danny Warwick 7.01 [N 11] David Mason 6.96 [N 10] Daniel Spiller 6.63 [N 12]

Georgie Wood 5.90 Richard Andrews 5.18 Mattie Bates 4.86 [N 11][N 12] Gary Cottham 4.70 [N 13] Kelsey Dugard 4.49 [N 13] Niall Strudwick 3.00

Kent Kings

Ben Morley 9.63 James Shanes 7.85 Danny Ayres 7.05 Aaron Baseby 6.37

Danno Verge 3.00 Jamie Couzins 3.00 Adam Shepherd 3.00 Ben Basford 3.00 [N 14]

King's Lynn Young Stars

James Cockle 8.59 [N 15] Tom Stokes 7.10 Jake Knight 6.00 [N 15] Scott Campos 5.65 Josh Bailey 6.02

Ryan Kinsley 5.13 Shane Hazelden 6.00 Layne Cupitt 3.00 Adam Portwood 3.00

Mildenhall Fen Tigers

Danny Halsey 8.24 Connor Mountain 7.07 Jack Kingston 5.84 Connor Coles 5.61 Tom Bacon 4.42

Luke Ruddick 3.30 Liam Rumsey 3.05 [N 16] Stefan Farnaby 3.00 [N 16][N 17] Nick Laurence 3.00 [N 17] Connor King 3.00

Rye House Raiders

Robert Branford 10.14 Kyle Hughes 8.67 Luke Priest 6.88 [26] Brendan Johnson 6.21 Luke Chessell 5.88

Alfie Bowtell 3.95 Danyon Hume 3.79 [N 18] George Hunter 3.47 Sam Woods 3.27

Stoke Potters

Lee Payne 8.00 Jon Armstrong 7.74 Danny Phillips 6.38 Chris Widman 4.73

Ryan Terry-Daley 4.72 Shaun Tedham 4.50[N 19] Paul Burnett 4.46 [N 19] Sam Ward 3.00

Development Leagues

Midland Development League

Pos	team	P	W	D	L	Pts
1	King's Lynn	18	13	2	3	28
2	Belle Vue	18	13	1	4	27
3	Buxton	18	11	1	6	23
4	Peterborough	16	10	0	6	20
5	Long Eaton	17	9	1	7	19
6	Coventry	16	6	1	9	13
7	Scunthorpe	18	6	0	12	12
8	Milton Keynes	17	5	1	11	11
9	Wolverhampton	17	5	1	11	11
10	Stoke	16	3	0	13	6

Northern Junior League

Pos	team	P	W	D	L	Pts
1	Northside	10	8	1	1	17
2	Berwick	10	8	0	2	16
3	Workington	10	5	1	4	11
4	Redcar	10	4	0	6	8
5	Castleford	10	3	0	7	6
6	Newcastle	10	1	0	9	2

See also

• List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
• Knockout Cup (speedway)

Notes

1. Josh Bates replaced Perry for the eleventh declaration of the season.[11] This change was reverted for the thirteenth declaration of the season.[12] Bates replaced Perry once again, for the fourteenth declaration of the season,[13] but the change was reverted for the fifteenth declaration of the season.[14]
2. Liam Carr replaced Ben Hopwood for the fourth declaration of the season.[15]
3. Steve Jones replaced Adam Extance for the thirteenth declaration of the season.[12]
4. David Speight replaced Paul Bowen for the thirteenth declaration of the season.[12]
5. David Holt replaced Cameron Hoskins for the fourth declaration of the season.[15]
6. Ryan Macdonald replaced David Holt for the twenty-first declaration of the season.[16]
7. Ben Basford replaced Sam Darroch for the fourth declaration of the season.[15]
8. Buxton Hitmen competed with seven riders for the majority of the season. However, Jack Parkinson-Blackburn was signed for the twenty-first declaration.[16]
9. Mark Baseby replaced Luke Crang for the seventeenth declaration of the season.[17]
10. Ben Hopwood replaced David Mason for Declaration 9a of the season.[19]
11. Matthew Bates replaced Danny Warwick for the second declaration of the season.[18]
12. Daniel Spiller replaced Matthew Bates for the nineteenth declaration of the season.[20]
13. Gary Cottham replaced Kelsey Dugard for the twelfth declaration of the season.[21] This change was reverted for the sixteenth declaration of the season.[22]
14. Kent Kings competed with seven riders for the majority of the season. However, Ben Basford was signed for the eighteenth declaration.[23]
15. Jake Knight replaced James Cockle for the twelfth declaration of the season.[21]
16. Stefan Farnaby replaced Liam Rumsey for the fifth declaration of the season.[24]
17. Nick Laurence replaced Stefan Farnaby for the fourteenth declaration of the season.[13]
18. For the twentieth declaration, Danyon Hume was no longer listed as a rider for the Rye House Raiders. No replacement was announced.[27] Hume returned to the team for the twenty-second declaration.[28]
19. Paul Burnett replaced Cameron Hoskins for the fourth declaration of the season.[15]

References

1. Pearson, Nigel (7 September 2015). "Mildenhall 42 Birmingham 47: Brilliant Brummies in title triumph". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
2. "BRITISH SPEEDWAY NL STATEMENT - British Speedway Official Website".
3. "2015 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
4. "2015 Averages" (PDF). Speedway GB.
5. "National League Knockout Cup Winners". Speedway Archive.
6. "Ocitber 2015 results". Speedway Great Britain.
7. "2015 National League Riders' Championship" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
8. "National League Pairs" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
9. "2015 National League Fours" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
10. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 1" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
11. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 11" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
12. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 13" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
13. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 14" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
14. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 15" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
15. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 4" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
16. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 21" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
17. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 17" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
18. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 3" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
19. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 9a" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
20. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 19" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
21. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 12" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
22. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 16" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
23. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 18" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
24. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 5" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
25. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 2" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
26. Brendan Johnson replaced Luke Priest for the second declaration of the season.[25] This change was reverted for the fifth declaration of the season.
27. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 20" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
28. "2015 National League Team Declarations Issue 22" (PDF). National League. Speedway GB. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.