1976 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship | |||
Previous: | none | Next: | 1977 |
The 1976 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship was the inaugural Australasian Final, introduced for Motorcycle speedway riders from Australia and New Zealand as part of the qualification for the 1976 Speedway World Championship. [1]
The Final took place at the 413 metres (452 yards) long Western Springs Stadium in Auckland. South Australian Champion John Boulger took out the Final from fellow Australians Billy Sanders and Phil Crump. The then four time World Champion Ivan Mauger finished fourth to grab the final spot in the 1976 Intercontinental Final at London's famous Wembley Stadium.
Mitch Shirra, who before the end of the 1970s would be riding for his native New Zealand (he was born in Auckland), actually rode as an Australian in this meeting complete with the Australian flag on his breast plate. Sixteen-year-old Shirra (who in late 1973 began riding at the age of 14 after lying about his age) was living in Sydney and considered the Liverpool International Speedway to be his home track.[ citation needed ]
Pos. | Rider | Total |
---|---|---|
1 | John Boulger | 14 |
2 | Billy Sanders | 13 |
3 | Phil Crump | 12 |
4 | Ivan Mauger | 11+3 |
5 | Phil Herne | 11+2 |
6 | Mitch Shirra | 11+1 |
7 | Barry Briggs | 8 |
8 | John Titman | 8 |
9 | Ricky Day | 6 |
10 | Colin Tucker | 5 |
11 | John Langfield | 4 |
12 | Larry Ross | 4 |
13 | Colin Farquharson | 4 |
14 | Graeme Stapleton | 3 |
15 | Roy Trigg | 2 |
16 | Paul Fewings | 2 |
17 | D. Sincock (Res) | 1 |
18 | Robin Adlington (Res) | 1 |
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines which use only one gear and have no brakes; racing takes place on a flat oval track usually consisting of dirt, loosely packed shale, or crushed rock. Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways, powersliding or broadsiding into the bends. On the straight sections of the track the motorcycles reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).
Ivan Gerald Mauger was a motorcycle speedway rider from New Zealand. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson of Sweden who won one World Final and five GP Championships. Mauger rode for several British teams – Wimbledon Dons, Newcastle Diamonds, Belle Vue Aces, Exeter Falcons, and the Hull Vikings. In 2010, Mauger was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.
William Robert Sanders was an Australian international Speedway rider who won six Australian Championships and was a five time Speedway World Championship finalist with a career best second place in West Germany in 1983.
Barry Briggs is a former New Zealand speedway rider.
Philip John Crump in Mildura, Victoria is a retired Australian Motorcycle speedway rider who attained 3rd place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 Speedway World Team Cup with Australia in the same year.
Ronald Leslie Moore was a New Zealand international speedway rider. He twice won the Individual World Speedway Championship, in 1954 and 1959.
Jack Ellis Young was a Motorcycle speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship in 1951 and 1952. He also won the London Riders' Championship 1953 and 1954 and was a nine time South Australian Champion between 1948 and 1964.
Larry Ross is a former speedway rider who rode with the Wimbledon Dons, Belle Vue Aces, Halifax Dukes and the Bradford Dukes in the British League.
Mitchell Owen (Mitch) Shirra is a former motorcycle speedway rider who rode with the Coventry Bees, Reading Racers, Swindon Robins and Ipswich Witches in the British League.
John Boulger is a former international motorcycle speedway rider. After he retired from riding Solos in the early 1980s, Boulger raced somewhat successfully in Speedcars (Midgets) from the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s. Boulger won a record nine South Australian Championships as well as two Australian Solo Championships during his career.
The Australasian Individual Speedway Championship was a Motorcycle speedway Final sanctioned by the FIM as a qualifying round for the Speedway World Championship between 1976 and 1981.
The 1977 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship was the second annual Australasian Final for Motorcycle speedway riders from Australia and New Zealand as part of the qualification for the 1977 Speedway World Championship.
The 1978 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship was the third annual Australasian Final for Motorcycle speedway riders from Australia and New Zealand as part of the qualification for the 1978 Speedway World Championship.
The 1979 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship was the fourth annual Australasian Final for Motorcycle speedway riders from Australia and New Zealand as part of the qualification for the 1979 Speedway World Championship.
The 1980 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship was the fifth annual Australasian Final for Motorcycle speedway riders from Australia and New Zealand as part of the qualification for the 1980 Speedway World Championship.
The 1981 Australasian Individual Speedway Championship was the sixth annual Australasian Final for Motorcycle speedway riders from Australia and New Zealand as part of the qualification for the 1981 Speedway World Championship.
The 1976 Intercontinental Final was the second running of the Intercontinental Final as part of the qualification for the 1976 Speedway World Championship. From 1976 it replaced the European Final as the last qualifying stage for riders from Scandinavia, the USA and from the Commonwealth nations
The 1977 Intercontinental Final was the third running of the Intercontinental Final as part of the qualification for the 1977 Speedway World Championship. The 1977 Final was run on 21 August at the White City Stadium in London, England, and the last qualifying stage for riders from Scandinavia, the USA and from the Commonwealth nations, though as the World Final was held at the Ullevi stadium in Göteborg, Sweden, the Swedish riders qualified for the World Final through the Swedish Final held in June.
The 1979 Commonwealth Final was the inaugural running of the Commonwealth Final as part of the qualification for the 1979 Speedway World Championship Final to be held at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland. The 1979 Final was run on 1 July at the White City Stadium in London, England, and was part of the qualifying for riders from the Commonwealth nations.
The 1989 Commonwealth Final was the sixth running of the Commonwealth Final as part of the qualification for the 1989 Speedway World Championship. The 1989 Final was run on 4 June at the Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester, England, and was part of the World Championship qualifying for riders from the Commonwealth nations.