1983 National League season

The 1983 National League was the second tier of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom.

1983 National League season

League	National League
Season	1983
Champions	Newcastle Diamonds[1]
No. of competitors	18
Knockout Cup	Exeter Falcons
Division/s above	1983 British League

Summary

The winning team was Newcastle Diamonds.[2] [3]

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Newcastle Diamonds	34	25	1	8	51
Mildenhall Fen Tigers	34	23	2	9	48
Crayford Kestrels	34	23	0	11	46
Weymouth Wildcats	34	19	2	13	40
Scunthorpe Saints	34	19	2	13	40
Milton Keynes Knights	34	19	1	14	39
Middlesbrough Tigers	34	18	3	13	39
Berwick Bandits	34	17	0	17	34
Edinburgh Monarchs	34	16	1	17	33
Exeter Falcons	34	16	0	18	32
Rye House Rockets	34	15	1	18	31
Peterborough Panthers	34	14	2	18	30
Glasgow Tigers	34	14	1	19	29
Oxford Cheetahs	34	14	1	19	29
Canterbury Crusaders	34	12	2	20	16
Boston Barracudas	34	12	1	21	25
Stoke Potters	34	10	1	23	21
Long Eaton Invaders	34	9	1	24	19

Leading averages

Rider	Team	Average
Joe Owen	Newcastle	11.10
Rod Hunter	Newcastle	10.51
Martin Yeates	Weymouth	10.39
Bobby Beaton	Newcastle	10.20
Steve Lawson	Glasgow	10.00
Jimmy McMillan	Glasgow	9.85
Marvyn Cox	Rye House	9.83
Barry Thomas	Crayford	9.69
Steve Wilcock	Middlesbrough	9.48
Steve McDermott	Berwick	9.43
Bobby Garrad	Rye House	9.28

National League Knockout Cup

The 1983 National League Knockout Cup was the 16th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Exeter Falcons were the winners of the competition.[4]

First Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
19/04	Crayford	45-50	Mildenhall
17/04	Mildenhall	55-41	Crayford
01/04	Oxford	51-45	Milton Keynes
29/03	Milton Keynes	47-49	Oxford

Second Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
22/06	Long Eaton	58-38	Berwick
09/06	Oxford	45-51	Rye House
05/06	Berwick	61-35	Long Eaton
27/05	Peterborough	57-39	Mildenhall
25/05	Mildenhall	58-38	Peterborough
23/05	Newcastle	61-35	Scunthorpe
22/05	Rye House	51-45	Oxford
22/05	Scunthorpe	43-53	Newcastle
20/05	Edinburgh	50-46	Middlesbrough
30/04	Canterbury	45-51	Exeter
24/04	Boston	45-51	Weymouth
22/04	Glasgow	62-34	Stoke
19/04	Weymouth	58-38	Boston
16/04	Stoke	55-41	Glasgow
14/04	Middlesbrough	55-41	Edinburgh
11/04	Exeter	70-26	Canterbury

Quarter Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
15/08	Exeter	64-32	Rye House
14/08	Rye House	55-41	Exeter
23/07	Berwick	45-50	Newcastle
19/07	Weymouth	65-31	Glasgow
03/07	Mildenhall	67-25	Middlesbrough
27/06	Newcastle	53-42	Berwick
11/06	Glasgow	41-54	Weymouth
09/06	Middlesbrough	47-49	Mildenhall

Semi Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
02/10	Mildenhall	66-30	Exeter
12/09	Exeter	74-21	Mildenhall
12/09	Newcastle	54-42	Weymouth
02/08	Weymouth	55-41	Newcastle

Final

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
11/10	Weymouth	52-44	Exeter
10/10	Exeter	52-43	Weymouth

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

1. "About - Exeter Speedway 1983". MyWeb.Tiscali.co.uk. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
2. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
3. Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0
4. "1983 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.