2012 National League speedway season

The 2012 season of the National League was the third tier/division of British speedway and was contested by eight teams.[1]

2012 National League speedway season
LeagueNational League
ChampionsMildenhall Fen Tigers
Knockout CupMildenhall Fen Tigers
IndividualAshley Birks
PairsMildenhall Fen Tigers
FoursMildenhall Fen Tigers
Division/s above2012 Elite League
2012 Premier League

Summary

Newport and Belle Vue did not return from 2011, and Hackney opted to run at Rye House only, renaming the team Rye House Raiders.

Mildenhall Fen Tigers beat Dudley Heathens in the play-off final to become champions.[2]

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Dudley Heathens 14 13 0 1 42
2 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 14 10 2 2 38
3 Isle of Wight Islanders 14 7 0 7 21
4 Stoke Potters 14 6 1 7 20
5 Rye House Raiders 14 6 0 8 20
6 Scunthorpe Saints 14 6 0 8 17
7 Buxton Hitmen 14 3 1 10 11
8 King's Lynn Young Stars 14 3 0 11 9

[3] 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 less = 1 Away draw = 2 Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3 Away win by 7 points or more = 4

Play Offs

Top four teams race off in two-legged semi-finals and final to decide championship. Mildenhall Fen Tigers defeated Dudley Heathens in the final.[4]

Semi-finals
Date Team one Score Team two
30/09Mildenhall58-36Isle of Wight
16/10Isle of Wight45-44Mildenhall
09/10Dudley44-43Stoke
10/10Stoke41-54Dudley

Final
Date Team one Score Team two
23/10Dudley51-37Mildenhall Fen Tigers
24/10Mildenhall Fen Tigers54-39Dudley

Final Leading averages

[5]

Rider Team Average
Adam RoyntonDudley11.64
Tom PerryDudley9.88
Ashley BirksStoke9.66

National League Knockout Cup

The 2012 National League Knockout Cup was the 15th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. Mildenhall Fen Tigers were the winners for the second successive year.[6][7]

First round
Date Team one Score Team two
13/05Stoke49-40Scunthorpe Saints
08/05Dudley65-28Buxton
07/05Scunthorpe Saints47-42Stoke
06/05Buxton36-54Dudley
02/05King's Lynn39-51Mildenhall
01/05Isle Of Wight58-31Rye House Raiders
15/04Mildenhall55-40King's Lynn
06/04Rye House Raiders49-46Isle Of Wight

Semi-finals
Date Team one Score Team two
15/09Stoke44-50Mildenhall
27/08Mildenhall55-39Stoke
09/08Isle of Wight15-21Dudley
12/06Dudley60-32Isle Of Wight

Final
Date Team one Score Team two
07/10Mildenhall61-33Dudley
23/10Dudley41-32+Mildenhall

+abandoned heat 12 due to curfew result stands

Riders' Championship

Ashley Birks won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 29 September at Rye House Stadium.[8]

Pos.RiderTeamTotal
1Ashley BirksStoke14+3
2Jason GarrityRye House14+2
3Gary IrvingScunthorpe13
4Tom PerryDudley11
5Charles WrightBuxton8
6Lewis KerrKings Lynn8
7Lewis BlackbirdMildenhall8
8Stefan NielsenMildenhall7
9James SarjeantRye House6
10Ben MorleyRye House5
11Ashley MorrisDudley5
12Ben ReadeStoke5
13Danny WarwickIsle of Wight4
14Ben HopwoodIsle of Wight4
15Adam MckinnaBuxton4
16Joe JacobsMildenhall3

Pairs

The National League Pairs Championship, was held at Mildenhall Stadium, on 22 July 2012. The event was won by Cameron Heeps and Lewis Blackbird of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers.[9]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1 Mildenhall20Heeps 11, Blackbird 6
2 Buxton14Branford 8, Wright 6
3 Dudley12Perry 10, Bekker 2
4 Scunthorpe11Irving 8, Young 3

Fours

Mildenhall won the National League Fours, held on 26 August 2012 at Loomer Road Stadium.[10]

Final
Pos Team Pts Riders
1Mildenhall17Nielsen 6, Jacobs 6, Halsey 3, Blackbird 2
2Buxton13Wright 4, Priest 4, Felton 3, McKinna 2
3Dudley10Morris 5, Roynon 2, Ritchings 2, Bekker 1
4Stoke7Birks 3, Cockle 2, Atkin 1, Carr 1

Teams and averages

Development Leagues

Midland Development League
Pos team P W D L Pts
1Milton Keynes Knights1291219
2Belle Vue Colts1171315
3Coventry-Mercia Vikings1152412
4Long Eaton1251611
5Stoke124179
6Scunthorpe124088
7Sheffield123096

Milton Keynes won grand final 21–15[11]

Anglian Development League
Pos team P W D L Pts
1King's Lynn10100020
2Lakeside1070314
3Mildenhall951311
4Rye House103076
5Peterborough102084
6Ipswich91173

Northern Development League
Pos team P W D L Pts
1Edinburgh600012
2Redcar64028
3Berwick61143
4Workington60151

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References
  1. "Major League Competitions". Speedway Archive.
  2. "Mildenhall Fen Tigers celebrate win". ITV.com.
  3. "British Speedway Official Website".
  4. "2012 Play Offs". Speedway Archive.
  5. "2012 Averages" (PDF). Speedway GB.
  6. "National League Knockout Cup Winners". Speedway Archive.
  7. "2012 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway Archive.
  8. "BIRKS WINS NLRC". Rye House Speedway. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  9. Butt, Randall (28 July 2012). "On-Song Tigers". Speedway Star page 26-27.
  10. "2012 Cradley results". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  11. "MK KNIGHTS ARE 2012 MDL CHAMPIONS". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 1 September 2021.

See also
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