1955 Individual Speedway World Championship

1955 Individual Speedway World Championship

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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

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