The day's racing began with a hard fought 1st semi-final match between 11 times champions Poole and Suffolk side Gt. Blakenham. Two maximum heat wins put the Suffolk men off to a dream start, but Poole quickly pegged it back. Both Poole riders were excluded in heat 9 and Gt. Blakenham opened up a 10 points interval lead. Again, back came Poole to reduce the gap to 6 points, but a 7-3 heat win in heat 13 to Ashford / Askew over Marshallsay / Cross put the East Anglians 10 points up again. Two more 7-3s in heats 15 & 16 clinched the match. Gt. Blakenham emerged convincing 95 - 77 winners, but the scoreline belies the competitiveness of the match for the first 12 of the 18 races. Jason Ashford raced unbeaten for the East Anglians, whilst Chris Roberts received a match ban for comments made to the referee after heat 17.

Poole 77
Rob Haywood 13(1) Richard Clanfield 12(1) Andre Cross 11(2) Matt Chappell 11 Chris Roberts 10(1) Aaron Lowey 9(1) Kev Marshallsay 9 Craig Blowers 2
Gt. Blakenham 95
Jason Ashford 18(2) Chris Askew 15 Mick Skinner 15 David Solomon 11 Gary Colby 10(2) Adam Peck 9(2) Daniel Pike 9 Paul Brinkhoff 8(2)
Referee - John Whiting (Preston).

The 2nd semi-final proved to be a one sided encounter, as Southampton eased to a massive 114 - 64 win over the Essex based Hawbush team. With six veterans in their line-up Hawbush battled gamely, but Southampton were able to win without exerting themselves unduly - taking twelve 7-3 heat wins. The Saints had three riders who raced unbeaten, with Shaun Woodhouse just outside the track record when winning heat 16. Chris Riches was Hawbush's only race winner, beating Colin Wheeler in heat 14.

Southampton 114
Shaun Woodhouse 20 Gavin Wheeler 17(3) Lee Galley 15(5) Colin Wheeler 15 Dennis Hubble 13(3) Toby Millen 13 Pete Young 11(1) Nathan Harris 10
Hawbush 64
Chris Riches 12 Dave Tulloch 11 Bill Hopkins 10(1) Dave Palfreyman 9 Steve Bloxham 8(1) Nicky Gunkel 6 Chris Gunkel 4 Dave Heales 4.
Referee - Mick Pedley (Wolverhampton).

So, the preliminaries were over, now for the big one, the 2001 British Cycle Speedway Team Final, sponsored by the Bolton Evening News and the Leigh Journal. The official guests included the Mayor of Wigan, Councillor John Hilton, and the B.E.N's Business Development Manager, Paul Wild, and they were led on to the centre green to meet the competitors. A minute's silence in memory of the U.S. atrocities was impeccably observed, the National Anthem followed and then the introductions took place.
World Junior Champion Shaun Woodhouse put Southampton off to a great start, with a fantastic start off the outside grid, chased hard all the way by Gt. Blakenham skipper, Jason Ashford, to win heat 1 in a time 0.3 secs. off the long standing Gin Pit track record, with Lee Galley 3rd. Ashford gained revenge when the two met again in heat 5 and with Dave Solomon winning two races for Gt. Blakenham, Southampton, the pre-match favourites, were far from having things their own way. In a really competitive first half, it was heat 8, before the father and son pairing of Colin and Gavin Wheeler, took the first 7-3 heat win of the match, over Chris Askew and Jason Ashford. This put Southampton 10 points ahead, daylight between them and their tenacious East Anglian opponents. Tiny veteran Mick Skinner tried everything to split the Southampton pair of Shaun Woodhouse and Lee Galley, but a 7-3 to the Saints in heat 12, put them 68-52 ahead, and that realistically killed off Gt. Blakenham's spirited challenge. Gavin Wheeler won heat 15 from Gary Colby, with Nathan Harris' third place clinching victory for Southampton, with three races to go. The Saints went on to win the final with an emphatic 104-76 win.
Having lost last year's final in the most dramatic of circumstances in the final race, Southampton returned to Gin Pit on a mission. They put in a thoroughly professional display to emerge deserved winners, taking the magnificent trophy for the first time in their history, to add to the European Club Championship they won in July. Youngsters Woodhouse and Wheeler led the attack, but this was a real team effort, with all eight riders making excellent contributions. Gt. Blakenham too played a full part in a most exciting final, with plenty of excellent racing. The final scoreline doesn't do justice to their efforts in their first ever final, particularly during the first 12 of the 18 races. Skinner, Solomon and Ashford fought magnificently, but they lacked the strength in depth of their opponents.
The match was excellently handled by John Whiting, who stepped in as a late replacement for Dave Hunting. The Astley & Tyldesley club received widespread praise for their promotion of the championships, confirming their status as one of the sport's leading promoters.

Southampton 104
Shaun Woodhouse 17(1) Gavin Wheeler 17(1) Dennis Hubble 13(3) Lee Galley 13(1) Colin Wheeler 12(1) Toby Millen 12(1) Nathan Harris 12(1) Pete Young 8
Gt. Blakenham 76
Mick Skinner 16 David Solomon 14(1) Jason Ashford 12 Chris Askew 10(1) Gary Colby 9 Paul Brinkhoff 7(1) Adam Peck 5 Daniel Pike 3.
Referee - John Whiting (Preston).

Runners up Gt Blakenham. Back: Terry Ashford, Chris Askew, Dave Solomon, Mick Skinner, Dan Pike. Front: Gary Colby, Adam Peck, Jason Ashford, Paul Brinkhoff.