1955 Individual Speedway World Championship: Difference between revisions

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The 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship was the tenth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

In a very competitive World final Peter Craven of England finished one point ahead of three other riders who had to ride off for the silver medal. The defending champion Ronnie Moore won the ride off to claim silver from fellow countryman Barry Briggs and Welshman Eric Williams who both crashed leaving Moore an easy victory, Briggs took third place from Williams who missed out on a medal.^[7]

Qualification

Qualification started on 29 April.^[8]^[9]

Stage 1

Norwegian round

26 September 1954
Briskebyen Utstillingsplassen, Hamar
Top 3 (+2 seeded) to Nordic round 1955

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Reidar Kristoffersen	15
2	Rolf Westerberg	14
3	Nils Paulsen	13
4	Sverre Gjomesli	11
5	Rolf Solberg	9
6	Odd Johansen	8
7	Erling Simonsen	8
8	Gunnar Hilsen	7
9	Aage W. Jensen	7
10	Tore Meiner	6
11	Erling Cae	5
12	Oddvar Wold	5
13	Tor Bjorkkvist	4
14	Odd Kleiven	4
15	Knut Bjorge	2
16	Jens Georg Walle	0

Swedish round

29 April 1955
Linköping Motorstadion (Ryd), Linköping
Top 6 to Nordic qualification

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Ove Fundin	15
2	Ulf Ericsson	12
3	Lars Pettersson	12
4	Kjell Carlsson	11
5	Rune Claesson	10
6	Gunnar Johansson	9
7	Olle Andersson II	8
8	Stig Pramberg	8
9	Olle Segerström	8
10	Kaj Forsberg	8
11	Göte Nordin	5
12	Thorsten Carlsson	5
13	Allan Nilsson	3
14	Rune Stenström	3
15	Bert Engman	3
16	Bertil Carlsson II	0
17	Stig Sköldberg	0

29 April 1955
Snälltorpet, Eskilstuna
Top 6 to Nordic qualification

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Bert Lindarw	14
2	Göran Norlén	14
3	Birger Forsberg	13
4	Olle Andersson I	11
5	Joel Jansson	9
6	Olle Heyman	9
7	Sven Fahlén	9
8	Bernt Nilsson	9
9	Per-Tage Svensson	8
10	Bengt Nilsson	8
11	Göte Olsson	4
12	Dan Forsberg	4
13	Alf Jonsson	3
14	Evert Andersson	3
15	Sven Skoglund	2
16	Olle Broms	0
17	Sten Cederlöv	0

Stage 2

Nordic round

1 May 1955
Turku Speedway track, Turku
Top 8 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Ove Fundin	15
2	Ulf Ericsson	14
3	Sven Fahlén	11
4	Kaukko Jousanen	10
5	Reidar Kristoffersen	10
6	Olle Heyman	10
7	Birger Forsberg	10
8	Antti Pajari	10
9	Olle Andersson I	8
10	Reino Niemi	5
11	Rauno Aaltonen	5
12	Aulis Tuominen	4
13	Aage Hansen	3
14	Simo Ylänen	3
15	Antti Mattila	2
16	Ilkka Helminen	0

4 May 1955
Amager Speedway Stadium, Copenhagen
Top 8 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Göran Norlén	15
2	Joel Jansson	12
3	Lars Pettersson	11
4	Basse Hveem	10
5	Henry Andersen	10
6	Kjell Carlsson	9
7	Rune Claesson	8
8	Bert Lindarw	8
9	Kiehn Berthelsen	6
10	Leif Bech	6
11	Arne Pander	6
12	Nils Paulsen	5
13	Erling Simonsen	4
14	Eivind Petersen	4
15	Rolf Westerberg	3
16	Axel Möller	3

Continental round

1 May 1955
City Garden Stadium, Osijek
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Karel Kiendl	13
2	Fred Aberl	12
3	Sebastian Wiesent	12
4	Nicola Snjaric	11
5	Valentin Medved	11
6	Drago Regvart	10
7	Branko Regvart	9
8	Max Aebi	9
9	Josip Klemencic	8
10	Cornel Bijman	7
11	Gerhard Hofemeister	5
12	Josef Sinzinger	5
13	Alois Strasser	4
14	Moritz Künzl	2
15	Leo Petzwinkler	2
16	Jakob Dietrich	0

8 May 1955
Niederrheinstadion, Oberhausen
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Josef Seidl	14
2	Per-Olof Söderman	12
3	Sune Karlsson	12
4	Georg Duneborn	11
5	Josef Hofmeister	9
6	Karl Killmeyer	8
7	Marius Metzelaar	8
8	Albin Siegl	8
9	T van Gorcum	8
10	Anton Kroeze	7
11	Howdy Byford	7
12	Alan Smith	4
13	Leopold Killmeyer	3
14	J van der Sluis	3
15	Thei Bischops	2
16	Alex Jakob	1
17	Kurt Pieper	1

Stage 3

Nordic Final

8 June 1955
Lerkendal Stadion, Trondheim
First 6 to European final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Ove Fundin	14
2	Henry Andersen	14
3	Basse Hveem	12
4	Ulf Ericsson	10
5	Birger Forsberg	10
6	Kjell Carlsson	9
7	Sven Fahlén	9
8	Joel Jansson	8
9	Rune Claesson	7
10	Bert Lindarw	7
11	Olle Heyman	6
12	Lars Pettersson	5
13	Reidar Kristoffersen	5
14	Göran Norlén	3
15	Antti Pajari	2
16	Kaukko Jousanen	1

Continental Final

13 June 1955
Altes Stadion, Abensberg
First 6 to European Final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Fritz Dirtl	15
2	Josef Kamper	12
3	Georg Duneborn	12
4	Josef Hofmeister	11
5	Josef Seidl	11
6	Per Olof Söderman	10+3
7	Karl Killmeyer	10+2
8	Sune Karlsson	8
9	Nicvan Gorcum	7
10	Fred Aberl	6
11	Sebastian Wiesent	6
12	Branko Regvart	4
13	Tinus Metzelaar	3
14	Karl Kiendl	2
15	Drago Regvart	2
16	Nicola Snjaric	1

British & Commonwealth round

Top 21 qualify for Championship round.^[10]

Date	Venue	Winner
4 July	Wimborne Road	Ken Middleditch
5 July	Banister Court Stadium	Dick Bradley
7 July	Foxhall Stadium	Junior Bainbridge
7 July	Oxford Stadium	Ronnie Genz
8 July	Leicester Stadium	Ken Middleditch
9 July	Brandon Stadium	Tommy Miller
9 July	Rayleigh Weir Stadium	Bert Roger
9 July	Abbey Stadium	Ian Williams
11 July	County Ground Stadium	Ken McKinlay

Stage 4

Championship Round

Top 12 qualify for World final + 2 reserves

Date	Venue	Winner
8 August	Wimbledon Stadium	Barry Briggs
9 August	West Ham Stadium	Jack Young
11 August	Wembley Stadium	Brian Crutcher
13 August	Perry Barr Stadium	Doug Davies
13 August	Odsal Stadium	Arthur Wright
20 August	Hyde Road Stadium	Peter Craven
20 August	The Firs Stadium	Aub Lawson

Scores

First 12 to World final + 2 reserves

Pos.	Rider	Total pts
1	Peter Craven	29
2	Jack Young	29
3	Barry Briggs	28
4	Ron Johnston	26
5	Ronnie Moore	26
6	Arthur Wright	26
7	Doug Davies	26
8	Cyril Roger	25
9	Arthur Forrest	24
10	Aub Lawson	24
11	Phil Clarke	24
12	Brian Crutcher	23
13	Eric Williams	23
14	Billy Bales	23
15	Gerry Hussey	22
16	Ken McKinlay	22
17	Freddie Williams	21
18	Alf Hagon	19
19	Ken Middleditch	19
20	Ron Mountford	18
21	Jack Geran	18
22	Jack Biggs	17
23	Alan Hunt	17
24	Les McGillivray	17
25	Peter Moore	15
26	Ron How	14
27	Harry Bastable	14
28	Peter Clark	14

Pos.	Rider	Total pts
29	Tommy Price	14
30	Fred Rogers	14
31	Dick Bradley	12
32	Bob Mark	11
33	Ian Williams	11
34	Split Waterman	11
35	Bob Duckworth	11
36	Tommy Miller	10
37	Reg Reeves	10
38	Allan Kidd	10
39	Alan Smith	9
40	Fred Brand	9
41	Neil Street	9
42	Guy Allott	8
43	Junior Bainbridge	8
44	Harry Edwards	7
45	Gordon McGregor	7
46	Bob Roger	6
47	Charlie New	6
48	Jimmy Gooch	5
49	Bill Holden	5
50	Eric French	4
51	Ron Clarke	3
52	John Fitzpatrick	3
53	Ken Sharples	1
54	Bob Sharp	1
55	Eddie Rigg	0
56	Jim Lightfoot	0

European Final

4 July 1955
Bislett Stadium, Oslo
First 4 to World final^[11]

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Henry Andersen	14
2	Olle Nygren	12
3	Kjell Carlsson	11
4	Ove Fundin	11
5	Per Olof Söderman	11
6	Basse Hveem	10
7	Josef Kamper	9
8	Ulf Ericsson	8
9	Fritz Dirtl	7
10	Birger Forsberg	7
11	Georg Duneborn	6
12	Alf Hagon	5
13	Rune Sörmander	4
14	Cyril Maidment	3
15	Joseph Seidl	2
16	Josef Hofmeister	0
17	Reidar Kristoffersen	0

World final

15 September 1955
Wembley Stadium, London^[12]

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Peter Craven	(3,3,2,3,2)	13
2	Ronnie Moore	(3,1,3,2,3)	12+3
3	Barry Briggs	(3,2,3,2,2)	12+2
4	Eric Williams	(3,1,2,3,3)	12+1
5	Brian Crutcher	(2,2,3,Fx,3)	10
6	Ove Fundin	(2,1,1,3,3)	10
7	Jack Young	(1,3,1,3,2)	10
8	Olle Nygren	(0,3,2,2,2)	9
9	Arthur Forrest	(0,2,3,1,1)	7
10	Arthur Wright	(1,3,0,1,1)	6
11	Billy Bales	(2,0,1,2,1)	6
12	Ron Johnston	(1,1,2,1,1)	6
13	Kjell Carlsson	(0,2,0,1,0)	3
14	Phil Clarke	(2,0,0,0,0)	2
15	Henry Andersen	(1,0,1,0,0)	2
16	Cyril Roger	(0,0,0,0,Fx)	0
R1	Gerry Hussey	did not ride	-
R2	Ken McKinlay	did not ride	-

Note - Aub Lawson withdrew injured, Doug Davies withdrew with meningitis,

Classification

Placing	Rider	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pts	Pos
1	(8) Peter Craven	13		3						3			2			3			2				13	1
2	(2) Ronnie Moore	12+3	3					1				3				2				3			12	2
3	(14) Barry Briggs	12+2				3		2					3		2							2	12	3
4	(12) Eric Williams	12+1			3					1		2			3						3		12	4
5	(1) Brian Crutcher	10	2				2				3				-				3				4	5
6	(5) Ove Fundin	10		2			1					1					3					3	10	6
7	(9) Jack Young	10			1		3						1					3		2			10	7
8	(6) Olle Nygren	9		0				3			2							2			2		9	8
9	(4) Arthur Forrest	7	0							2				3				1				1	7	9
10	(3) Arthur Wright	6	1						3				0				1				1		6	10
11	(10) Billy Bales	6			2			0						1			2		1				6	11
12	(7) Ron Johnston	6		1					1					2	1					1			6	12
13	(11) Kjell Carlsson	3			0				2		0					1						0	3	13
14	(13) Phil Clarke	2				2	0							0		0					0		2	14
15	(16) Henry Andersen	2				1				0	1						0			0			2	15
16	(15) Cyril Roger	0				0			0			0						0	-				0	16
	(17) Gerry Hussey	0																					0
	(18) Ken McKinlay	0																					0
Placing	Rider	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pts	Pos

m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fell • ns - non-starter • nc - non-classify

gate A - inside	gate B	gate C	gate D - outside

References

^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
^ "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "Craven Wins Speedway's World Title". Bradford Observer. 16 September 1955. Retrieved 5 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "1955 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
^ "1955 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
^ "Speedway Stars bid for World Title". Weekly Dispatch (London). 3 July 1955. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "1955". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

[1] Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.

[2] "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[3] "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[4] "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[5] "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[6] "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[7] "Craven Wins Speedway's World Title". Bradford Observer. 16 September 1955. Retrieved 5 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[8] "1955 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 18 January 2024.

[9] "1955 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 18 January 2024.

[10] "Speedway Stars bid for World Title". Weekly Dispatch (London). 3 July 1955. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[11] "1955". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 July 2021.

[12] Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

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v t e Individual Speedway World Championship and Speedway Grand Prix seasons
Speedway World Championship	1936 1937 1938 1939 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Speedway Grand Prix (SGP)	1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
See also	Medalists Medal Classification Grands Prix SGP riders Super Prix SGP Statistics