The 1936 Individual Speedway World Championship was the first ever Speedway World Championship and was won by Lionel Van Praag of Australia. The forerunner to the World Championship was generally regarded to be the Star Riders' Championship. [1] [2] [3] The final was held at London's Wembley Stadium in front of 74,000. It was the first of a record 26 times that Wembley would host the World Final with the last being in 1981. [4]
The World Championship would consist of qualifying heats and then a Championship round, where points would be carried forward to the final to determine the winner. One of the favourites Jack Parker had a broken hand injury and was unable to compete in the final. [5] Joe Abbott was also unable to line up for the final due to injury, despite qualifying for the final. They were replaced by Arthur Atkinson and Bill Pitcher. [3] [6]
Despite being unbeaten in the Final, Australian Bluey Wilkinson only finished third as the Championship was decided by bonus points accumulated in previous rounds plus the score from the final. Van Praag defeated England's Eric Langton in a runoff to be declared the inaugural Speedway World Champion. [7] [8] [9]
As they lined up at the tapes for the runoff, Langton broke them which would ordinarily lead to disqualification. However, Van Praag stated he did not want to win the title by default and insisted that a race should take place. At the restart Langton made it to the first bend in front and led until the final bend on the last lap when Van Praag darted through the smallest of gaps to win by less than wheel length. [10]
Afterwards, controversial allegations were abound that the two riders had 'fixed' the match race, deciding between them that the first person to the first bend would win the race and the Championship and split the prize money; Langton led into the first bend but was overtaken by Van Praag. [10] Van Praag reportedly paid Langton £50 "conscience money" after the race for going back on the agreement. [10]
In the Championship round the top 16 riders over 7 rounds would qualify for the World final. Ron Johnson and Bill Pitcher qualified as first reserves. [11]
Date | Venue | Winner |
---|---|---|
26 May | West Ham Stadium | Jack Parker |
30 May | Hyde Road | Bluey Wilkinson |
6 June | Harringay Stadium | Frank Charles |
19 June | Hackney Wick Stadium | Arthur Atkinson & Jack Ormston |
20 June | Wimbledon Stadium | Fred Tate |
25 June | Wembley Stadium | Ron Johnson |
1 July | New Cross Stadium | Joe Abbott |
Date | Venue | Winner |
---|---|---|
11 July | Harringay Stadium | Jack Parker |
14 July | West Ham Stadium | Eric Langton |
23 July | Wembley Stadium | Lionel Van Praag |
29 July | New Cross Stadium | George Newton |
8 August | Hyde Road | Eric Langton |
10 August | Wimbledon Stadium | Lionel Van Praag |
14 August | Hackney Wick Stadium | Frank Charles |
Qualifying points (top 16 qualify, 2 reserves)
|
|
Pos. | Rider | c/f | Final Points | Final Heats | Total Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lionel Van Praag | 12 | 14 | (3,3,3,2,3) | 26+3 |
2 | Eric Langton | 13 | 13 | (3,3,3,2,2) | 26+2 |
3 | Bluey Wilkinson | 10 | 15 | (3,3,3,3,3) | 25 |
4 | Cordy Milne | 9 | 11 | (2,2,1,3,3) | 20 |
5 | Frank Charles | 12 | 8 | (3,3,0,2,0) | 20 |
6 | Dicky Case | 9 | 8 | (2,0,3,1,2) | 17 |
7 | Jack Ormston | 9 | 8 | (1,1,2,3,1) | 17 |
8 | Vic Huxley | 10 | 7 | (1,2,0,2,2) | 17 |
9 | George Newton | 12 | 4 | (0,0,3,1,0) | 16 |
10 | Jack Milne | 9 | 6 | (1,2,1,0,2) | 15 |
11 | Morian Hansen | 10 | 5 | (2,1,2,0,0) | 15 |
12 | Bob Harrison | 10 | 5 | (0,0,2,0,3) | 15 |
13 | Wal Phillips | 7 | 5 | (1,1,0,2,1) | 12 |
14 | Jack Parker | 12 | - | - | 12 |
15 | Ginger Lees | 7 | 4 | (2,0,1,0,1) | 11 |
16 | Arthur Atkinson | 6 | 3 | (0,2,1,0,0) | 9 |
17 | Bill Pitcher | 6 | 2 | (0,1,X/-,0,1) | 8 |
18 | Norman Parker (res) | 6 | 1 | (1) | 7 |
19 | Joe Abbott | 7 | - | - | 7 |
Jason Philip Crump is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion.
Lionel Maurice Van Praag, GM was an Australian motorcycle speedway champion, who won the inaugural Speedway World Championship in London on 10 September 1936. Van Praag's victory saw him established as Australia's first ever motorsport World Champion.
Arthur George "Bluey" Wilkinson was an international speedway rider. Wilkinson was Speedway World Champion in 1938 after narrowly missing out on winning the inaugural Championship in 1936.
Eric Kemp Langton was an English motorcycle speedway who won the Star Riders' Championship in 1932, the forerunner to the Speedway World Championship. He earned 44 international caps for the England national speedway team.
The Wembley Lions were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1929 until their closure in 1971. Their track was located at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park, London.
The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championships were held in 1936.
The 1937 Individual Speedway World Championship was the second edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
The 1938 Individual Speedway World Championship was the third edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
The 1939 Individual Speedway World Championship was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II. It would have been the fourth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
John (Jack) Parker was an international motorcycle speedway rider who made his debut at the Whitsun meeting at High Beech in 1928. He won the British Riders' Championship in 1949 and finished second in the 1949 World Championship. He earned 89 international caps for the England national speedway team.
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The National League was formed in 1932 combining teams from the Northern League and Southern League. It was the fourth season of speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1933 National League was the fifth season of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1934 National League Division One was the sixth season of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. It was also the first time that a second division/tier of racing was introduced following the creation of a reserves league.
The 1935 National League Division One was the seventh season of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
The 1936 National League Division One was the eighth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
The 1938 National League Division One was the tenth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
Harry Riley Lees was a former international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the first ever Speedway World Championship final in 1936. He earned 22 international caps for the England national speedway team.
The 1931 Southern League was the third season of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams, and its final season before amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Leagues. The Northern teams also had their third season known as the 1931 Speedway Northern League.
Stanley Thomas Henry Williams was a British motorcycle speedway rider for Sheffield and Coventry.