The 2023 National Development League was the third division/tier of British

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

for the 2023 season. It was a semi-professional development league, containing mainly the junior sides of SGB Premiership and

SGB Championship The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). ...

clubs. Leicester Lion Cubs were the defending champions having won the title in 2022. Oxford Chargers won the title, defeating Leicester in a one-off Grand Final.

Summary

Eight clubs competed for the National Development League Championship after the addition of the Workington Comets to the league, who raced on the new Northside track. Armadale Devils were renamed Edinburgh Monarchs Academy, while the Plymouth Centurions did not return. The league points system changed in-line with the SGB Premiership and

, with teams scoring two points for a win (home or away), with a bonus point scored for an aggregate win. A 'Super Heat' was also introduced in the event of a tied meeting, with the winners scoring two league points and the losers gaining one point. The top two in the league qualified for the Grand Final. The rider points limit for team construction was 42 points. Defending champions Leicester Lion Cubs topped the table, however they lost a one-off Grand Final to the Oxford Chargers. The final was initially supposed to be a two-legged affair, however Leicester were unable to stage their home fixture due to bad weather and the BSPA ruled the title would be decided on the outcome of the Oxford leg. Oxford won the final 34–32, with the meeting ending after just 11 heats due to rain. It was the first major trophy Oxford had won since the Cheetahs claimed the Craven Shield in 2005.

Mildenhall Fen Tigers The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975, who last raced in the National Development League during 2023. History 1970s The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with Bernie Kla ...

were controversially awarded the NDL KO Cup after Leicester were also unable to host the home leg of the final. Leicester had won the away leg, but the BSPA ruled a 75-0 walkover for Mildenhall in the second leg. Workington's Connor Bailey won the Riders' Championship, while Leicester's Dan Thompson topped the averages for the second year running.

League

League table

Fixtures & results

Grand Final

Knockout Cup

The 2023 National Development League Knockout Cup was the 24th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. It was limited to teams that were not also running promotions in the

. It ended in controversial circumstances as Leicester were unable to stage their home leg of the final, and the competition was therefore awarded to Mildenhall. Home team scores are in bold
Overall aggregate scores are in red

Final

First leg Second leg

Riders' Championship

The 2023

National League Riders' Championship The National League Riders' Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti ...

took place on Sunday 15 October, at Northside Speedway,

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

and was won by Connor Bailey. * F=fell, R=retired, X=excluded TM=two minute warning excluded

Leading averages

*averages include league, play offs & knockout cup, min 6 matches

Squads & final averages

Belle Vue Colts

* 9.24 * (C) 9.15 * 8.63 * 7.31 * 7.21 * 6.00 * 4.39 * 1.00

Berwick Bullets

* 7.86 * 7.73 * 7.21 * (C) 6.75 * 5.97 * 4.80 * 4.48 * 4.00 * 2.80

Edinburgh Monarchs Academy

* 9.57 * 9.05 * 9.02 * 8.75 * 6.40 * 5.27 * 5.17 * 3.40 * 1.94

Kent Royals

* 8.38 * 8.26 * 6.91 * (C) 6.58 * 6.10 * 4.57 * 4.00 * 3.56

Leicester Lion Cubs

* 10.64 * (C) 9.82 * 8.61 * 8.15 * 6.77 * 6.70 * 5.43

Mildenhall Fen Tigers

* 9.80 * (C) 8.50 * 7.16 * 6.67 * 5.94 * 5.33 * 2.07

Oxford Chargers

* (C) 10.43 * 10.17 * 8.49 * 8.31 * 7.43 * 6.69 * 6.06 * 5.85 * 0.86

Workington Comets

* 10.03 * 7.01 * 6.90 * 6.77 * (C) 4.80 * 4.68 * 2.82 * 0.00

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Development League 2023 in British speedway

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