- Summary
- League table
- Top Ten Riders
- British League Knockout Cup First Round Second Round Quarter Finals Semi Finals Final
- See also
- References
{{Infobox speedway league season
| competition = British League
| season = 1978
| competitors = 19
| champion = Coventry Bees
| domesticcup1 = Knockout Cup
| domesticcup1 winners = Ipswich Witches
| leagues below = 1978 National League
| prevseason = 1977
| nextseason = 1979
}}The 1978 Gulf British League season was the fourteenth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1] SummaryThe list of nineteen teams that competed in the league was identical to the previous season. The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a fourth season. Coventry Bees won their second title and their first for ten years. Belle Vue Aces were runners-up for the fourth time in five seasons. League table| Team | M | W | D | L | Pts | | Coventry Bees | 36 | 27 | 0 | 9 | 54 | | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 26 | 0 | 10 | 52 | | Hull Vikings | 36 | 22 | 2 | 12 | 46 | | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 45 | | Cradley Heathens | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 43 | | Ipswich Witches | 36 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 43 | | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 20 | 1 | 15 | 41 | | Sheffield Tigers | 36 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 40 | | Bristol Bulldogs | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 38 | | Poole Pirates | 36 | 17 | 3 | 16 | 37 | | Leicester Lions | 36 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 34 | | Halifax Dukes | 36 | 14 | 3 | 19 | 31 | | King's Lynn Stars | 36 | 14 | 2 | 20 | 30 | | Reading Racers | 36 | 13 | 3 | 20 | 29 | | White City Rebels | 36 | 12 | 3 | 21 | 27 | | Swindon Robins | 36 | 12 | 3 | 21 | 27 | | Wolverhampton Wolves | 36 | 11 | 1 | 24 | 23 | | Birmingham Brummies | 36 | 11 | 1 | 24 | 23 | | Hackney Hawks | 36 | 10 | 1 | 25 | 21 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total PointsTop Ten Riders | Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | | 1 | Malcolm Simmons | ENG}} | Poole Pirates | 10.78 | | 2 | Ole Olsen | DEN}} | Coventry Bees | 10.71 | | 3 | Scott Autrey | USA}} | Exeter Falcons | 10.45 | | 4 | Peter Collins | ENG}} | Belle Vue Aces | 10.44 | | 5 | Michael Lee | ENG}} | King's Lynn Stars | 10.40 | | 6 | Chris Morton | ENG}} | Belle Vue Aces | 10.31 | | 7 | Dave Jessup | ENG}} | Reading Racers | 10.24 | | 8 | Billy Sanders | AUS}} | Ipswich Witches | 10.23 | | 9 | Phil Crump | AUS}} | Bristol Bulldogs | 9.99 | | 10 | Ivan Mauger | NZL}} | Hull Vikings | 9.91 |
British League Knockout CupThe 1978 British League Knockout Cup was the 40th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Ipswich Witches were the winners.[2] First Round| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|
| 29/04 | Kings Lynn | 40-38 | Hull | | 26/04 | Hull | 39-39 | Kings Lynn | | 10/04 | Exeter | 44-34 | Coventry | | 08/04 | Coventry | 44-34 | Exeter | | 17/04 | Birmingham | 37-41 | Poole | | 12/04 | Poole | 48-30 | Birmingham | | 15/06 | Coventry | 37.5-40.5 | Exeter | | 01/06 | Exeter | 48-30 | Coventry |
Second Round| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|
| 19/07 | Poole | 49-29 | Swindon | | 15/07 | Swindon | 37-41 | Poole | | 09/06 | Hackney | 51-26 | Kings Lynn | | 03/06 | Kings Lynn | 31-46 | Hackney | | 06/07 | Sheffield | 45-33 | Exeter# | | Exeter | 52-26 | Sheffield | | 10/06 | Swindon | 36-42 | Poole | | 21/06 | Poole | 36-42 | Swindon | | 03/06 | Belle Vue | 44-34 | Wimbledon | | 08/06 | Wimbledon | 41-37 | Belle Vue | | 23/06 | Bristol | 35-43 | Leicester | | 06/06 | Leicester | 39-39 | Bristol | | 10/06 | Cradley Heath | 38-40 | Reading | | 05/06 | Reading | 37-41 | Cradley Heath | | 13/06 | White City | 52-26 | Halifax | | 10/06 | Halifax | 43-34 | White City | | 09/06 | Wolverhampton | 40-38 | Ipswich | | 08/06 | Ipswich | 43-34 | Wolverhampton |
Quarter Finals| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|
| 09/08 | White City | 23-54 | Ipswich | | 05/08 | Belle Vue | 44-34 | Poole | | 04/08 | Poole | 34-43 | Belle Vue | | 29/07 | Cradley Heath | 48-30 | Leicester | | 27/07 | Ipswich | 52-26 | White City | | 21/07 | Hackney | 34-44 | Exeter | | 11/07 | Leicester | 39-39 | Cradley Heath | | 17/07 | Exeter | 58-20 | Hackney |
Semi Finals| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|
| 14/09 | Ipswich | 44-34 | Cradley Heath | | 13/09 | Cradley Heath | 40-38 | Ipswich | | 26/08 | Belle Vue | 57-21 | Exeter | | 25/08 | Exeter | 51-27 | Belle Vue |
Final| Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
|---|
| 19/10 | Ipswich | 53-25 | Belle Vue | | 14/10 | Belle Vue | 39-39 | Ipswich |
See alsoList of United Kingdom Speedway League ChampionsReferences1. ^{{cite web|url=http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/p/compet.html|title=Historic league tables|publisher=Speedway Archive}}
2. ^{{cite web|url=http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2014/03/british-league-ko-cup-1978.html|title=1978 British League Knockout Cup|publisher=Speedway archive}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20161020094813/http://speedwayfiction.co.uk/leaguetablesofthe70s.html British League Seasons]
{{British Speedway League seasons}}{{Speedway in the United Kingdom}}{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons}} 3 : British League|1978 in British motorsport|1978 in speedway |