1957 Individual Speedway World Championship

1957 Individual Speedway World Championship

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1958

The 1957 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 12th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

The event was sponsored by the Sunday Dispatch and the attendance was 51,000. New Zealander Barry Briggs won the title after a ride off against defending champion Ove Fundin after the pair tied on 14 points after five rides each. In the ride off Fundin took the lead before Briggs forced his way to the front and with a lap to go Fundin lost control and crashed into the safety fence. Briggs duly won the £500 first prize with Fundin bruised but collecting £200. Peter Craven won the bronze and £100 after another ride off for third place. ^[7]

Qualifying

Qualification started in 1956. ^{[8] [9]}

Stage 1

Norwegian qualification 21 October 1956 Geiteryggen Speedwaybane, Skien Top 8 to Nordic qualification 1957 Pos. Rider Points 1 Aage Hansen 15 2 Rolf Westerberg 14 3 Reidar Kristoffersen 13 4 Nils Paulsen 12 5 Erling Simonsen 11 6 Odd Johansen 10 7 Arne Kristiansen 9 8 Roger Steen 9 9 Gunnar Dyrseth 7 10 Oddbjorn Blaasmo 5 11 Thorbjorn Nygaard 4

Finnish qualification 7 October 1956 Turku Hippodrome, Turku Top 8 to Nordic qualification 1957 Pos. Rider Points 1 Antti Pajari 15 2 Simo Ylanen 14 3 Kauko Jousanen 12 4 Reino Niemi 10 5 Pekka Tenko 9 6 Raimo Kivinen 8 7 Erkki Ala Sippola 8 8 Timo Laine 8 9 Paavo Mikkola 7 10 Kalevi Lahtinen 7 11 Rauno Aaltonen 6 12 Heikki Sorii 4 13 Aulis Tuominen 3 14 Valle Seliverstov 3 15 Jorma Rihkajarvi 2 16 Nils Staaf 2 17 Orvo Ahlqvist 1

Swedish qualification

10 May 1957 Hammarby IP, Stockholm Top 6 to Nordic qualification Pos. Rider Points 1 Per-Olof Söderman 14 2 Olle Nygren 14 3 Olle Segerström 11 4 Göte Nordin 10 5 Sven Fahlén 10 6 Lars Pettersson 10 7 Sune Karlsson 9 8 Kjell Wårenius 7 9 Bernt Nilsson 7 10 Roger Forsberg 7 11 Evert Andersson 5 12 Alf Jonsson 5 13 Thorsten Carlsson 5 14 Roland Krantz 4 15 Bo Sandin 2 16 Nils Johansson 0 17 Per-Åke Lundgren 0

12 May 1957 Vetlanda Motorstadion, Vetlanda Top 6 to Nordic qualification Pos. Rider Points 1 Rune Sörmander 15 2 Dan Forsberg 11 3 Bengt Eriksson 11 4 Bertil Carlsson II 10 5 Olle Andersson IV 9 6 Per-Tage Svensson 8+3 7 Bert Lindarw 8+2 8 Stig Pramberg 8+1 9 Allan Nilsson 8+0 10 Thorvald Karlsson 7 11 Rune Claesson 6 12 Kaj Forsberg 6 13 Björn Knutson 5 14 Gunnar Johansson 3 15 Göran Norlén 2 16 Bengt Brannefors 2

Stage 2

Nordic qualification

24 May 1957 Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo Top 8 to Nordic final Pos. Rider Points 1 Olle Nygren 15 2 Reidar Kristoffersen 11 3 Sune Karlsson 11 4 Bertil Carlsson II 10 5 Olle Segerström 10 6 Rolf Westerberg 10 7 Aage Hansen 9 8 Bengt Eriksson 9 9 Olle Andersson IV 8 10 Arne Pander 8 11 Erik Kastebo 5 12 Erling Simonsen 4 13 Arne Kristiansen 4 14 Erik Wincentz 3 15 Fred Carlsen 1 16 Svend Nissen 1

26 May 1957 Kärpänen speedway track, Lahti Top 8 to Nordic final Pos. Rider Points 1 Per-Olof Söderman 13 2 Dan Forsberg 13 3 Lars Pettersson 12 4 Rune Sörmander 12 5 Bert Lindarw 11 6 Nils Paulsen 11 7 Aulis Tuominen 8 8 Kauko Jousanen 8 9 Roger Steen 6 10 Raimo Kivinen 6 11 Sven Fahlén 5 12 Erkki Ala-Sippola 5 13 Pertti Mikkola 5 14 Timo Laine 3 15 Esko Koponen 2 16 Kalevi Lahtinen 0

Continental round

26 May 1958 Abensberger Stadion, Abensberg Top 8 to Continental final Pos. Rider Points 1 Josef Hofmeister 15 2 Josef Seidl 14 3 Andrzej Krzesinski 13 4 Birger Forsberg 10 5 Josef Kamper 10 6 Josef Kysilka 10 7 Joel Jansson 8 8 Simo Ylänen 7 9 Tony Kroeze 6 10 Alfred Aberl 6 11 Jarosłav Wolf 6 12 Mieczysław Połukard 5 13 Antti Pajari 4 14 Leopold Killmeyer 3 15 Albin Siegl 2 16 Thei Bishops 1

26 May 1958 Army Stadium, Warsaw Top 7 to Continental final Pos. Rider Points 1 Florian Kapała 14 2 Rudolf Havelka 13.5 3 Joachim Maj 12 4 Marian Kaiser 10.5 5 Marian Philipp 9 6 Janusz Suchecki 9 7 Stanislaw Tkocz 9 8 Milan Spinka 8 9 Tadeusz Teodorowicz 7 10 Richard Janicek 7 11 Edward Kupczyński 7 12 Valentin Unterköfler 5 13 Jaroslav Machac 4 14 Erich Sidlo 2 15 Hans Sidlo 2 16 Franz Schenk 0

Stage 3

Nordic Final 7 June 1957 Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo First 8 to European final Pos. Rider Points 1 Aage Hansen 14 2 Per Olof Söderman 13 3 Rune Sörmander 12 4 Dan Forsberg 11 5 Nils Paulsen 11 6 Olle Nygren 10 7 Reidar Kristoffersen 10 8 Rolf Westerberg 7 9 Bert Lindarw 7 10 Arne Pander 7 11 Lars Pettersson 6 12 Bengt Eriksson 5 13 Ole Andersson 3 14 Sune Karlsson 2 15 Kauko Jousanen 2 16 Aulis Tuominen 0 17 Bertil Carlsson dnr 18 Olle Segerström dnr

Continental Final 23 June 1957 Stadion Wien, Vienna First 8 to European Final Pos. Rider Points 1 Josef Hofmeister 15 2 Josef Seidl 12 3 Stanisław Tkocz 11 4 Birger Forsberg 10 5 Joel Jansson 10 6 Josef Kamper 10 7 Florian Kapała 10 8 Marian Kaiser 9 9 Janusz Suchecki 8 10 Jaroslav Volf 7 11 Joachim Maj 5 12 Josef Kysilka 5 13 Tadeusz Teodorowicz 4 14 Erich Sidlo 2 15 Rudolf Havelka 1 16 Otto Holoubek 0 17 Marian Philipp 0 18 Andrzej Krzesiński dnr 19 Simo Ylänen dnr

British & Commonwealth qualifying

• Top 32 qualify for British & Commonwealth semi-final. ^[10]

Date	Venue	Winner
13 July	Brandon Stadium	Ron Johnston
13 July	The Firs Stadium	Brian Crutcher
13 July	Rayleigh Weir Stadium	Ken McKinlay
13 July	Abbey Stadium	Ian Williams
15 July	Wimbledon Stadium	Peter Craven
16 July	Banister Court Stadium	Brian Crutcher
18 July	Foxhall Stadium	Cyril Roger
18 July	Oxford Stadium	Jack Geran
19 July	Leicester Stadium	Ken McKinlay

Stage 4

British/Commonwealth semi-final

24 August 1958 Hyde Road, Manchester First 5 to World final Pos. Rider Total 1 Peter Craven 13 2 Ron Johnston 13 3 Ian Williams 12 4 Aub Lawson 12 5 Ron How 11 6 Brian Crutcher 10 7 Ken Middleditch 10 8 Billy Bales 9 9 Les McGillivray 7 10 Gerald Jackson 6 11 Brian Hanham 5 12 Charlie New 5 13 Maurice McDermott 3 14 Arthur Forrest 3 15 Cyril Maidment 1 16 Ronnie Genz 1 17 Eric French 0

24 August 1958 Brandon Stadium, Coventry First 5 to World final plus 1 reserve Pos. Rider Total 1 Bob Roger 14 2 Ken McKinlay 14 3 Barry Briggs 13 4 George White 12 5 Jack Geran 11 6 Jack Biggs 10 7 Alf Hagon 9 8 Neil Street 7 9 Ron Mountford 7 10 Eric Boothroyd 6 11 Dick Bradley 5 12 Phil Clarke 5 13 Jim Lightfoot 4 14 Peter Moore 3 15 Jack Unstead 2 16 Mike Broadbank 0

European Final

• 7 July 1957
• Växjö Motorstadion, Växjö
• Ove Fundin seeded to World final
• First 5 to World final plus 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Rune Sörmander	14
2	Per Olof Söderman	13
3	Josef Hofmeister	12
4	Olle Nygren	11
5	Aage Hansen	11
6	Dan Forsberg	9
7	Rolf Westerberg	9
8	Stanisław Tkocz	7
9	Josef Kamper	6
10	Florian Kapała	6
11	Joseph Seidl	5
12	Marian Kaiser	4
13	Joel Jansson	3
14	Nils Paulsen	3
15	Reidar Kristoffersen	2
16	Birger Forsberg	2
17	Bert Lindarw	2

• Note: Olle Nygren injured and replaced by Dan Forsberg in final

World final

• 21 September 1957
• Wembley Stadium, London ^[11]

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Barry Briggs	(3,2,3,3,3)	14+3
2	Ove Fundin	(3,3,2,3,3)	14+2
3	Peter Craven	(2,1,3,2,3)	11+3
4	Aub Lawson	(3,3,1,2,2)	11+2
5	Rune Sörmander	(1,3,3,1,3)	11+1
6	Ron Johnston	(3,2,1,1,2)	9
7	Ken McKinlay	(0,0,3,3,2)	8
8	Bob Roger	(2,1,2,2,1)	8
9	Per Olof Söderman	(1,2,0,3,1)	7
10	Jack Geran	(1,3,1,1,1)	7
11	Ron How	(1,2,2,0,2)	7
12	Aage Hansen	(0,0,2,2,0)	4
13	George White	(2,1,0,1,0)	4
14	Ian Williams	(2,0,1,0,0)	3
15	Dan Forsberg	(0,1,0,0,1)	2
16	Josef Hofmeister	(0,0,0,0,0)	0
R1	Jack Biggs	did not ride	-
R2	Rolf Westerberg	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	(10) Barry Briggs	14+3			3			2						3			3		3				14	1
2	(4) Ove Fundin	14+2	3							3				2				3				3	14	2
3	(2) Peter Craven	11+3	2					1				3				2				3			11	3
4	(5) Aub Lawson	11+2		3			3					1					2					2	11	4
5	(3) Rune Sörmander	11+1	1						3				3				1				3		11	5
6	(13) Ron Johnston	9				3	2							1		1					2		9	6
7	(1) Ken McKinlay	8	0				0				3				3				2				8	7
8	(15) Bob Roger	8				2			1			2						2	1				8	8
9	(11) Per Olof Söderman	7			1				2		0					3						1	7	9
10	(6) Jack Geran	7		1				3			1							1			1		7	10
11	(16) Ron How	7				1				2	2						0			2			7	11
12	(14) Aage Hansen	4				0		0					2		2							0	4	12
13	(12) George White	4			2					1		0			1						0		4	13
14	(8) Ian Williams	3		2						0			1			0			0				3	14
15	(9) Dan Forsberg	2			0		1						0					0		1			2	15
16	(7) Josef Hofmeister	0		0					0					0	0					0			0	16
	(17) Rolf Westerberg	0																					0
	(18) Jack Biggs	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. "Speedway ace crashes in Final battle" . Weekly Dispatch London. 22 September 1957. Retrieved 6 July 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "1957 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
9. "1957 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
10. "Hunters beaten" . Leicester Evening Mail. 1 July 1957. Retrieved 13 January 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
11. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN   0-7524-2402-5