1985 National League season

The 1985 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.[1]

1985 National League season

League	National League
Season	1985
Champions	Ellesmere Port Gunners
No. of competitors	19
Knockout Cup	Eastbourne Eagles
Division/s above	1985 British League

Summary

The title was won by the Ellesmere Port Gunners.

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Ellesmere Port Gunners	36	25	2	19	52
Poole Pirates	36	25	1	10	51
Middlesbrough Tigers	36	25	1	10	51
Wimbledon Dons	36	23	1	12	47
Hackney Kestrels	36	22	0	14	44
Arena Essex Hammers	36	20	2	14	42
Peterborough Panthers	36	19	2	15	40
Stoke Potters	36	20	0	16	40
Berwick Bandits	36	19	1	16	39
Eastbourne Eagles	36	18	2	16	38
Milton Keynes Knights	36	16	1	19	33
Exeter Falcons	36	16	0	20	32
Rye House Rockets	36	15	0	21	30
Birmingham Brummies	36	14	1	21	29
Mildenhall Fen Tigers	36	14	0	22	28
Canterbury Crusaders	36	14	0	22	28
Glasgow Tigers	36	10	2	24	22
Long Eaton Invaders	36	9	2	25	20
Edinburgh Monarchs	36	9	0	27	18

Leading averages

Rider	Team	Average
Gordon Kennett	Eastbourne	10.47
Joe Owen	Ellesmere Port	10.47
Mike Ferreira	Wimbledon	9.82
Stan Bear	Poole	9.79
Carl Blackbird	Mildenhall	9.64
Roger Johns	Wimbledon	9.64
Neil Middleditch	Arena Essex	9.47
Steve Lawson	Glasgow	9.39
Louis Carr	Ellesmere Port	9.37
Kevin Smith	Poole	9.32

National League Knockout Cup

The 1985 National League Knockout Cup was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.[2]

First Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
24/04	Wimbledon	62-16	Poole
23/04	Poole	38-40	Wimbledon
06/05	Canterbury	45-33	Eastbourne
03/05	Peterborough	45-33	Arena Essex
28/04	Eastbourne	47-31	Canterbury
26/04	Edinburgh	38.5-38.5	Ellesmere Port
25/04	Ellesmere Port	43-35	Edinburgh
23/04	Barrow	18-24a	Exeter
22/04	Exeter	58-20	Barrow
21/04	Birmingham	50-28	Glasgow
19/04	Glasgow	42-36	Birmingham
18/04	Arena Essex	55-23	Peterborough

Abandoned

Second Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
26/06	Wimbledon	43-35	Arena Essex
24/06	Exeter	50.5-27.5	Berwick
20/06	Arena Essex	40-38	Wimbledon
08/06	Berwick	57-21	Exeter
26/05	Eastbourne	50-28	Milton Keynes
21/05	Milton Keynes	36-42	Eastbourne
06/05	Birmingham	38-39	Ellesmere Port
05/05	Mildenhall	42-35	Hackney
04/05	Stoke	33-45	Middlesbrough
03/05	Hackney	44-34	Mildenhall
02/05	Middlesbrough	48-30	Stoke

Quarter Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
18/08	Berwick	33-45	Ellesmere Port
16/08	Ellesmere Port	56-22	Berwick
11/08	Eastbourne	44-33	Wimbledon
07/08	Wimbledon	39-39	Eastbourne
14/07	Middlesbrough	45-33	Rye House
12/07	Hackney	47-31	Long Eaton
05/06	Long Eaton	33-45	Hackney
02/06	Rye House	37-41	Middlesbrough

Semi Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
27/09	Hackney	49-29	Ellesmere Port
26/09	Ellesmere Port	50-28	Hackney
12/09	Middlesbrough	48-30	Eastbourne
25/08	Eastbourne	49-29	Middlesbrough

Final

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
18/10	Ellesmere Port	41-37	Eastbourne
13/10	Eastbourne	46-32	Ellesmere Port

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. "1985 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.