1959 Individual Speedway World Championship

1959 Individual Speedway World Championship

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The 1959 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 14th 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 Pictorial. ^[7] New Zealand continued their recent domination as Ronnie Moore won his second title with a 15 point maximum and New Zealand won their fourth title in six years. Ove Fundin finished second and defending champion Barry Briggs, returning from retirement won the bronze medal ride off. ^[8]

First Round

Qualification results. ^{[9] [10]}

Norwegian round 25 June 1958 Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo Top 6 (+1 seeded) to Nordic qualification 1959 Pos. Rider Points 1 Aage Hansen 15 2 Nils Paulsen 14 3 Reidar Kristoffersen 13 4 Rolf Westerberg 12 5 Roger Steen 11 6 Sverre Harrfeldt 11 7 Tore Svaleng 9 8 Arne Kristiansen 7 9 Kjell Bergh 5 10 Haavard Gulbjornsrud 5 11 Oddvar Kristiansen 5 12 Oystein Mellerud 4 13 Thorbjorn Nygaard 3 14 Per Aulie 3 15 Tore Melbye 2 16 Egil H. Kruke 1

Finnish round 5 October 1958 Turku Hippodrome, Turku Top 8 to Nordic qualification 1959 Pos. Rider Points 1 Antti Pajari 15 2 Timo Laine 14 3 Kauko Jousanen 13 4 Aulis Tuominen 12 5 Olavi Turunen 11 6 Kalevi Lahtinen 10 7 Antero Salasto 9 8 Pertti Mikkola 6 9 Esko Koponen 6 10 Raimo Kivinen 4 11 Turkka Silvan 3 12 Veikko Kirjonen 3 13 Heikki Sorri 3 14 Valle Seliverstov 3 15 Lasse Mylari 3 16 Reino Niemi 1 17 Martti Assinen (res) 1 18 Pertti Petersohn (res) 0

Swedish round

3 May 1959 Vetlanda Motorstadion, Vetlanda Top 6 to Nordic qualification, 2 to Continental quarterfinal Pos. Rider Points 1 Arne Carlsson 15 2 Björn Knutson 13 3 Joel Jansson 12 4 Rune Sörmander 11 5 Åke Andersson 9 6 Alf Jonsson 9 7 Thorvald Karlsson 9 8 Allan Nilsson 9 9 Göran Carlsson 8 10 Bengt Brannefors 7 11 Evert Andersson 5 12 Per-Tage Svensson 5 13 Bengt Fransson 3 14 Olle Segerström 3 15 Inge Gustavsson 2 16 Olle Andersson 0 17 Gösta Edvardsson 0

3 May 1959 Hammarby IP, Stockholm Top 8 to Nordic qualification Pos. Rider Points 1 Ulf Ericsson 12 2 Birger Forsberg 12 3 Göran Norlén 12 4 Bernt Nilsson 12 5 Bengt Eriksson 10 6 Stig Pramberg 10 7 Olle Nygren 9 8 Göte Nordin 8 9 Kjell Wårenius 8 10 Curt Nyqvist 6 11 Kjell Lutteman 4 12 Bert Lindarw 4 13 Bertil Stridh 3 14 Hans Hallberg 3 15 Curt Eldh 3 16 Sune Karlsson 1 17 Sven-Gunnar Karlstén 1

Continental quarter-finals

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
31 May	Municipal Stadium, Ostrów	Joachim Maj	Janusz Koscielak	Mieczysław Połukard
31 May	Niederrheinstadion, Oberhausen	Björn Knutson	Florian Kapała	Konstanty Pociejkewicz
31 May	Pavlovičky Stadion, Liberec	Stefan Kwoczala	Luboš Tomíček Sr.	Richard Janicek
31 May	Stražišče Sports Park, Kranj	Miloslav Špinka	Marian Phillip	Karel Průša

Second round

Nordic qualification

24 May 1959 Helsinki Velodrome, Helsinki Top 8 to Nordic final Pos. Rider Points 1 Bernt Nilsson 15 2 Ulf Ericsson 14 3 Olle Nygren 13 4 Göran Norlén 11 5 Birger Forsberg 11 6 Kjell Lutteman 9 7 Kalevi Lahtinen 8 8 Aulis Tuominen 8 9 Kauko Jousanen 8 10 Timo Laine 7 11 Curt Nyqvist 6 12 Nils Paulsen 4 13 Bert Lindarw 4 14 Esko Koponen 2 15 Antero Salasto 1 16 Pertti Mikkola 0 17 Torbjörn Nygaard 0

24 May 1959 Selskov Stadium, Hillerød Top 6 to Nordic qualification Pos. Rider Points 1 Rune Sörmander 14 2 Arne Carlsson 12 3 Aage Hansen 11 4 Åke Andersson 11 5 Allan Nilsson 10 6 Alf Jonsson 10 7 Arne Pander 9 8 Thorvald Karlsson 9 9 Poul Hansen 8 10 Kurt W Petersen 6 11 Rolf Westerberg 5 12 Erik Kastebo 4 13 Roger Steen 4 14 Sverre Harrfeldt 3 15 Roger Hansen 2 16 Arne Kristiansen 1

Continental semi-final

14 June 1959 Slaný Speedway Stadium, Slaný Top 8 to Continental final Pos. Rider Points 1 Luboš Tomíček Sr. 13 2 Mieczyslaw Polukard 13 3 Stanislav Svoboda 10 4 Richard Janicek 10 5 Bohumír Bartoněk 10 6 Stefan Kwoczała 10 7 Jaroslav Machac 9 8 Frantisek Irmis 9 9 Joachim Maj 7 10 Stefan Kepa 7 11 Stanislaw Tkocz 7 12 Jan Malinowski 6 13 Henryk Zyto 5 14 Bohumil Rendek 2 15 Jan Koscielak 1 16 Bronislaw Rogal 1

15 June 1959 Wiener Stadion, Vienna Top 8 to Continental final Pos. Rider Points 1 Konstanty Pociejkewicz 13 2 Florian Kapala 13 3 Björn Knutson 11 4 Pawel Mirowski 11 5 Josef Hofmeister 10 6 Josef Bössner 9 7 Miloslav Špinka 9 8 Zdeněk Dominik 7 9 Karel Průša 5 10 Joel Jansson 5 11 Alfred Aberl 4 12 Jan Kolber 4 13 Göran Carlsson 4 14 Josef Kamper (res) 4 15 Marian Phillip 3 16 Josip Klemencic 2 17 Franz Schenk 2 18 Otto Holoubek (res) 0

Third round

• Ove Fundin - seeded to European Final

British & Commonwealth Qualifying

• Top 32 riders based on points accumulated progress to British semi-final

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
29 June	Wimbledon Stadium	Ron How	George White	Ronnie Moore
2 July	Oxford Stadium	Jack Geran	Neil Street	Brian Hanham
4 July	Hyde Road	Ron Johnston	Ken McKinlay	Peter Craven
4 July	The Firs Stadium	Mike Broadbank	Geoff Mardon	Bob Duckworth
7 July	Banister Court Stadium	Brian Crutcher	Peter Moore	Ron Mountford
10 July	Leicester Stadium	Ken McKinlay	Peter Craven	Ron Johnston
11 July	Brandon Stadium	Brian Crutcher	Ron Mountford	Geoff Mardon
11 July	Abbey Stadium	Mike Broadbank	Les McGillivray	Nigel Boocock
23 July	Wimborne Road	Ronnie Moore	Ron How	Jack Unstead

Nordic Final

• 31 May 1959
• Turku Speedway track, Turku
• First 9 to European Final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Rune Sörmander	14+3
2	Aage Hansen	14+2
3	Arne Carlsson	12
4	Ole Andersson	11
5	Olle Nygren	9
6	Alf Jonsson	9
7	Kalevi Lahtinen	9
8	Ulf Ericsson	8
9	Thorvald Karlsson	7
10	Timo Laine	6
11	Göran Norlén	6
12	Birger Forsberg	4
13	Bernt Nilsson	4
14	Aulis Lehtonen	3
15	Antti Pajari	2
16	Turka Sivari	1
17	Kjell Lutteman	0
18	Aulis Tuominen	dnr
19	Allan Nillson	dnr

Continental Final

• 21 June 1959
• BBM Stadium, Munich
• First 6 to European Final

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	(14) Josef Hofmeister	15				3		3					3		3							3	15	1
2	(2) Björn Knutson	13	3					2				3				2				3			13	2
3	(13) Mieczysław Połukard	13				2	2							3		3					3		13	3
4	(9) Florian Kapała	11			3		3						E					3		2			11	4
5	(1) Konstanty Pociejkewicz	10	2				1				2				2				3				10	5
6	(5) Luboš Tomíček Sr.	9		3			0					1					3					2	9	6
7	(16) Joachim Maj	8				1				3	3						F			1			8	7
8	(15) Josef Bössner	8				0			2			2						2	2				8	8
9	(11) Jaroslav Machač	7			2				3		0					1						1	7	9
10	(3) Bohumír Bartoněk	7	1						1				2				2				1		7	10
11	(6) Pawel Mirowski	5		0				1			1							1			2		5	11
12	(4) Miloslav Špinka	4	0							2				2				0				0	4	12
13	(8) Zdeněk Dominik	4		2						1			1			0			0				4	13
14	(10) Richard Janicek	4			1			0						1			1		1				4	14
15	(7) Stanislav Svoboda	2		1					0					0	1					0			2	15
16	(12) František Irmis	0			0					0		0			0						0		0	16
	(17) Alfred Aberl	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

Fourth round

• Barry Briggs - seeded to World Final

British & Commonwealth Semi finals

Top 9 riders based on points accumulated over two rides would progress to World final

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
10 August	Wimbledon Stadium	Brian Crutcher	Ken McKinlay	Geoff Mardon
11 August	Banister Court Stadium	Ronnie Moore	Cyril Roger	Neil Street
15 August	Hyde Road	Ron How	Peter Moore	Nigel Boocock
15 August	The Firs Stadium	Peter Craven	Brian Crutcher	George White

Pos. Rider Points 1 Peter Moore 27 2 Peter Craven 26 3 Brian Crutcher 26 4 Ronnie Moore 25 5 Geoff Mardon 24 6 Ron How 23 7 George White 23 8 Cyril Roger 21 9 Aub Lawson 20 10 Ken McKinlay 20 11 Nigel Boocock 20 12 Neil Street 18 13 Arthur Wight 16 14 Gerry Jackson 16 15 Jack Geran 15 16 Ron Johnston 15

Pos. Rider Points 17 Bob Duckworth 14 18 Mike Broadbank 13 19 Ron Mountford 12 20 Ian Williams 12 21 Chum Taylor 11 22 Jack Unstead 11 23 Ray Cresp 8 24 Gordon McGregor 8 25 Bob Andrews 7 26 Charlie Barsby 7 27 Les McGillivray 6 28 Ronnie Genz 6 30 Les Owen 6 31 Alf Hagon 5 32 Dick Bradley 4 33 Cyril Maidment 1

European Final

• 17 July 1959
• Ullevi, Göteborg
• First 6 to World final plus 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	(12) Ove Fundin	14	3,2,3,3,3
2	(4) Josef Hofmeister	13	2,3,2,3,3
3	(3) Mieczysław Połukard	12	3,3,2,2,2
4	(16) Rune Sörmander	11	2,1,3,3,2
5	(13) Olle Nygren	10	3,2,3,2,0
6	(8) Arne Carlsson	9	3,0,3,3,t
7	(9) Florian Kapała	9	2,3,1,0,3
8	(15) Björn Knutson	7	0,1,1,2,3
9	(14) Aage Hansen	7	1,3,0,2,1
10	(11) Konstanty Pociejkewicz	6	1,2,2,1,0
11	(5) Luboš Tomíček Sr.	6	f,1,2,1,2
12	(6) Alf Jonsson	5	f,2,1,1,1
13	(10) Kalevi Lahtinen	4	0,1,1,0,2
14	(7) Miloslav Špinka	3	2,0,0,1,0
15	(1) Åke Andersson	2	1,0,0,0,1
16	(2) Bohumír Bartoněk	1	0,0,0,0,1
R1	(17) Ulf Ericsson	-	dnr
R2	(18) Thorvald Karlsson	-	dnr

World Final

• 19 September 1959
• Wembley Stadium, London ^[11]

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
	(13) Ronnie Moore	15				3	3							3		3					3		15	1
	(14) Ove Fundin	13				2		2					3		3							3	13	2
	(10) Barry Briggs	11+3			3			1						1			3		3				11	3
4	(16) Olle Nygren	11+2				1				2	3						2			3			11	4
5	(6) Aub Lawson	11+1		3				3			2							2			1		11	5
6	(3) Brian Crutcher	10	3						2				2				1				2		10	6
7	(11) Arne Carlsson	8			2				3		1					1						1	8	7
8	(7) Peter Craven	7		0					1					2	2					2			7	8
9	(2) George White	7	1					0				3				2				1			7	9
10	(4) Geoff Mardon	6	2							3				0				1				E	6	10
11	(5) Rune Sörmander	6		2			1					1					0					2	6	11
12	(1) Mieczysław Połukard	5	0				2				0				1				2				5	12
13	(9) Josef Hofmeister	4			0		E						1					3		F			4	13
14	(8) Ron How	3		1						1			E			E			1				3	14
15	(12) Peter Moore	3			1					0		2			0						0		3	15
16	(15) Cyril Roger	0				0			0			0						0	0				0	16
R1	(R1) Ken McKinlay	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Florian Kapała	0																					0	R2
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 can crown it" . Sunday Pictorial. 13 September 1959. Retrieved 6 July 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Ronnie Moore wins speedway title" . Sunday Independent Dublin. 20 September 1959. Retrieved 6 July 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "1959 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
10. "1959 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
11. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN   0-7524-2402-5