1956 Individual Speedway World Championship

1956 Individual Speedway World Championship

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1957

The 1956 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 11th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

The World final was sponsored by the Sunday Dispatch and was televised live. ^[7] Despite being televised a crowd of 65,000 saw the first Scandinavian winner in 23 year old Ove Fundin from Sweden. ^{[8] [9]}

Qualification

Qualification started in 1955. ^{[10] [11]}

Stage 1

Norwegian qualification

The October 1955 Norwegian final was cancelled due to bad weather, resulting in riders being seeded to Nordic round

Finnish round

• 23 October 1955
• Helsinki Velodrome, Helsinki
• First 7 (+seeded riders) to 1956 Nordic round

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Kauko Jousanen	15
2	Antti Pajari	14
3	Simo Ylänen	11
4	Janne Rihkajrvi	11
5	Aulis Tuominen	10
6	Pertti Mikkola	9
7	Erkki Ala Sippola	9
8	Paavo Mikkola	7
9	Pekka Tenko	7
10	Raimo Kivinen	6
11	Toimi Koskela	4
12	Nils Staaf	4
13	Reino Niemi	4
14	Pentti Paajanen	3
15	Kalevi Lahtinen	3
16	Antti Mattila	2

Swedish round

27 April 1956 Hammarby IP, Stockholm Top 6 to Nordic round Pos. Rider Points 1 Dan Forsberg 14 2 Ulf Ericsson 13 3 Bernt Nilsson 13 4 Birger Forsberg 11 5 Lars Pettersson 11 6 Per-Tage Svensson 9 7 Sune Karlsson 8 8 Sven Fahlén 8 9 Bert Lindarw 7 10 Olle Segerström 6 11 Rune Claesson 6 12 Bengt Eriksson 6 13 Göte Nordin 5 14 Alf Jonsson 2 15 Thorsten Carlsson 2 16 Thorvald Karlsson 0

29 April 1956 Målilla Motorbana, Målilla Top 6 to Nordic round Pos. Rider Points 1 Rune Sörmander 15 2 Olle Andersson II 13 3 Göran Norlén 11 4 Stig Pramberg 11 5 Allan Nilsson 10 6 Per-Olof Söderman 10 7 Olle Heyman 9 8 Bertil Carlsson II 8 9 Kaj Forsberg 7 10 Joel Jansson 6 11 Roger Forsberg 6 12 Evert Andersson 5 13 Olle Andersson I 5 14 Bengt Gustafsson 2 15 Per Sjöholm 1 16 Åke Andersson 1 17 Bo Sandin 0

Stage 2

Nordic round

25 May 1956 Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo Top 8 to Nordic final Pos. Rider Points 1 Henry Andersen 14 2 Göran Norlén 11 3 Rune Sörmander 11 4 Reidar Kristoffersen 11 5 Olle Andersson II 11 6 Per-Olof Söderman 10 7 Stig Pramberg 10 8 Aage Hansen 9 9 Antti Pajari 9 10 Jörgen Stabirk 5 11 Werner Lorentzen 5 12 Roger Steen 4 13 Torbjörn Ludvigsen 4 14 Erling Cae 2 15 Odd Johansen 2 16 Erhard Fisker 2

27 May 1956 Helsinki Velodrome, Helsinki Top 8 to Nordic final Pos. Rider Points 1 Bernt Nilsson 13 2 Ulf Ericsson 13 3 Birger Forsberg 12 4 Lars Pettersson 11 5 Rolf Westerberg 11 6 Dan Forsberg 10 7 Kaukko Jousanen 9 8 Simo Ylänen 9 9 Per-Tage Svensson 8 10 Aulis Tuominen 8 11 Erkki Ala-Sippola 4 12 Juha Rihkajärvi 4 13 Esko Koponen 3 14 Tore Mellby 2 15 Kalevi Lathinen 2 16 Pertti Mikkola 0

Continental round

29 April 1956 Army Stadium, Warsaw Top 8 to Continental final Pos. Rider Points 1 Florian Kapala 13 2 Edward Kupczynski 12 3 Janusz Suchecki 11 4 Edmund Nazimek 11 5 Marian Kaiser 11 6 Hugo Rosak 10 7 Tadeusz Teodorowicz 10 8 Mieczyslaw Polukard 10 9 Wlodzimierz Szwendrowski 10 10 Josef Kysilka 5 11 Richard Janicek 4 12 Rudolf Havelka 4 13 Miloslav Špinka 4 14 Karel Polak 4 15 Jaroslav Machac 1 16 Alois Jarolim 0

1 May 1956 Altes Stadion Abensberg, Abensberg Top 8 to Continental final Pos. Rider Points 1 Josef Hofmeister 15 2 Josef Siedl 14 3 Andrzej Krzesiński 13 4 Albin Siegl 5 Paul Cardang 6 Sebastian Wiesent 7 Alfred Aberl 8 Fritz Dirtl 9 Josef Kamper

Stage 3

British & Commonwealth round

• Top 21 qualify for Championship round. ^[12]

Date	Venue	Winner
10 July	Banister Court Stadium	Ian Williams
12 July	Foxhall Stadium	Ken McKinlay
12 July	Oxford Stadium	Howdy Byford
13 July	Leicester Stadium	Dick Bradley
14 July	Rayleigh Weir Stadium	Gerald Jackson
25 July	Brandon Stadium	Bert Edwards
25 July	Abbey Stadium	Bob Roger

Nordic Final

• 8 June 1956
• Ryd Motorstadion, Linköping
• First 7 to European final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Dan Forsberg	15
2	Ulf Ericsson	14
3	Rune Sörmander	13
4	Bernt Nilsson	12
5	Göran Norlén	11
6	Per Olof Söderman	9
7	Birger Forsberg	9
8	Ole Andersson	7
9	Per Tage Svensson	6
10	Aage Hansen	5
11	Rolf Westerberg	5
12	Stig Pramberg	3
13	Lars Pettersson	1
14	Antti Pajari	1
15	Simo Ylänen	0
16	Reidar Kristoffersen	dnr
17	Kaukko Jousanen	dnr

Continental Final

Fritz Dirtl was tragically killed competing in the Continental final. He was involved in a crash with fellow Austrian rider Josef Kamper and the fell into the path of Mieczysław Połukard. ^[13]

• 10 June 1956
• Niederrheinstadion, Oberhausen
• First 7 to European Final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Kjell Carlsson	14
2	Josef Seidl	14
3	Andrzej Krzesiński	11
4	Włodzimierz Szwendrowski	10
5	Tadeusz Teodorowicz	10
6	Edward Kupczyński	9
7	Florian Kapała	9
8	Mieczysław Połukard	9
9	Albin Siegl	7
10	Hugo Rosák	7
11	Josef Hofmeister	5
12	Paul Cardang	5
13	Sebastian Wiesent	5
14	Alfred Aberl	2
15	Fritz Dirtl	0
16	Josef Kamper	0
17	Janusz Suchecki	dnr
18	Edmund Nazimek	dnr
19	Marian Kaiser	dnr

Stage 4

Championship Round

• Top 11 qualify, 1 reserve for World final

Date	Venue	Winner
20 August	Wimbledon Stadium	Ronnie Moore
22 August	Wimborne Road	Jack Biggs
23 August	Wembley Stadium	Brian Crutcher
25 August	Hyde Road Stadium	Brian Crutcher
29 August	Odsal Stadium	Barry Briggs
31 August	Perry Barr Stadium	Alan Hunt / Doug Davies
1 September	The Firs Stadium	Gerry Hussey

• (Peter Craven seeded to World final)

Scores
First 11 to World final + 1 reserve

Pos. Rider Total pts 1 Brian Crutcher 29 2 Ronnie Moore 27 3 Gerry Hussey 26 4 Alan Hunt 26 5 Ken McKinlay 26 6 Doug Davies 25 7 Barry Briggs 25 8 Arthur Forrest 25 9 Dick Fisher 24 10 Eric Boothroyd 24 11 Peter Moore 23 12 Jack Biggs 23 13 Nigel Boocock 23 14 Aub Lawson 22 15 Split Waterman 22 16 Ron How 20 17 Ron Johnston 18 18 Les McGillivray 17 19 Bob Roger 17 20 Billy Bales 17 21 Bob Duckworth 17 22 Guy Allott 17 23 Gerald Jackson 16 24 Eric French 14 25 Peter Williams 14 26 Ron Clarke 14 27 Bert Edwards 13 28 Ken Middleditch 13 29 Harry Bastable 13

Pos. Rider Total pts 30 Cyril Roger 12 31 Bert Roger 12 32 Ray Cresp 12 33 Ken Sharples 12 34 Phil Clarke 11 35 Cyril Maidment 10 36 Jim Tolley 10 37 Dick Bradley 9 38 Alby Golden 9 39 Arthur Wright 9 40 George White 8 41 Howdy Byford 8 42 Ronnie Genz 8 43 Bob Sharp 8 44 Trevor Redmond 7 45 Reg Trott 6 46 Pete Lansdale 6 47 Jack Geran 5 48 Junior Bainbridge 5 49 Bill Holden 4 50 Ron Mountford 4 51 Allan Kidd 4 52 Cyril Brine 4 53 Barry East 3 54 Neil Mortimer 2 55 Gordon McGregor 2 56 Alf Hagon 2 57 Derek Tailby 2 58 Bill Andrew 1

European Final

• 8 July 1956
• Bislett Stadium, Oslo
• First 4 to World final plus 1 reserve ^[14]

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Ove Fundin	15
2	Per Olof Söderman	13
3	Ole Andersson	12
4	Ulf Ericsson	11
5	Rune Sörmander	10
6	Henry Andersen	8
7	Florian Kapała	8
8	Edward Kupczyński	7
9	Göran Norlén	7
10	Dan Forsberg	6
11	Birger Forsberg	5
12	Bernt Nilsson	4
13	Włodzimierz Szwendrowski	2
14	Mieczysław Połukard	2
15	Marian Kaiser	2
16	Tadeusz Teodorowicz	2

World final

• 22 September 1956
• Wembley Stadium, London ^[15]

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Ove Fundin	(1,3,3,3,3)	13
2	Ronnie Moore	(2,2,2,3,3)	12
3	Arthur Forrest	(3,1,3,2,2)	11+3
4	Peter Craven	(3,1,2,2,3)	11+2
5	Ken McKinlay	(2,2,3,3,0)	10
6	Per Olof Söderman	(0,3,2,2,3)	10
7	Barry Briggs	(3,2,1,3,1)	10
8	Brian Crutcher	(1,3,3,0,2)	9
9	Peter Moore	(2,1,1,2,2)	8
10	Eric Boothroyd	(2,3,1,1,0)	7
11	Alan Hunt	(3,0,1,1,1)	6
12	Dick Fisher	(0,0,2,1,2)	5
13	Doug Davies	(1,2,0,0,1)	4
14	Ole Andersson	(1,1,0,0,0)	2
15	Ulf Ericsson	(0,0,0,1,1)	2
16	Gerry Hussey	(0,0,0,0,0)	0
R1	Rune Sörmander	absent	-
R2	Jack Biggs	did not ride	-
R3	Nigel Boocock	did not ride	-

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	(4) Ove Fundin	13	1							3				3				3				3	13	1
2	(3) Ronnie Moore	12	2						2				2				3				3		12	2
3	(5) Arthur Forrest	11+3		3			1					3					2					2	11	3
4	(2) Peter Craven	11+2	3					1				2				2				3			11	4
5	(8) Ken McKinlay	10		2						2			3			3			0				10	5
6	(1) Per Olof Söderman	10	0				3				2				2				3				10	6
7	(14) Barry Briggs	10				3		2					1		3							1	10	7
8	(6) Brian Crutcher	9		1				3			3							0			2		9	8
9	(15) Peter Moore	8				2			1			1						2	2				8	9
10	(11) Eric Boothroyd	7			2				3		1					1						0	7	10
11	(10) Alan Hunt	6			3			0						1			1		1				6	11
12	(7) Dick Fisher	5		0					0					2	1					2			5	12
13	(13) Doug Davies	4				1	2							0		0					1		4	13
14	(12) Ole Andersson	2			1					1		0			0						0		2	14
15	(9) Ulf Ericsson	2			0		0						0					1		1			2	15
16	(16) Gerry Hussey	0				0				0	0						0			0			0	16
	(17) Jack Biggs	0																					0
	(18) Nigel Boocock	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 defends title" . Liverpool Echo. 20 September 1956. Retrieved 6 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Fundin is champ" . Sunday Mirror. 23 September 1956. Retrieved 8 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "TV millions dee a great night of sport" . Weekly Dispatch London. 23 September 1956. Retrieved 6 July 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "1956 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
11. "1956 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
12. "Speedway Stars' Test" . Weekly Dispatch (London). 1 July 1956. Retrieved 13 January 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Description". The Fast Lane. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
14. "1956". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
15. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN   0-7524-2402-5