Speedway World Pairs Championship

World Pairs Championship
SportMotorcycle speedway
Founded1968
Ceased1993
Replaced bySpeedway of Nations
ContinentWorld
Most titlesHans Nielsen (7 times)
Denmark (8 times)

The Speedway World Pairs Championship was an annual motorcycle speedway event held annually in different countries.[1][2] The first competition was held in 1968, and the final competition was held in 1993.[3][4][5][6] In 1994, it was merged with the World Team Cup to create the Speedway World Cup, which held its final edition in 2017.

The concept of an international pairs championship was re-established in the form of the Speedway of Nations, held for the first time in 2018.[7]

Rules

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The final was competed between seven national teams, and two riders represented each national team. Each pairing rode against each other once. The pair with the highest combined score were declared the Champions. From 1991, a third rider could act as a reserve.[8]

Winners

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Year Venue Winners Runner-up 3rd place
1968 West Germany Kempten Speedway
Kempten
 Sweden (24 pts)
Ove Fundin
Torbjörn Harrysson
 Great Britain (21 pts)
Geoff Mudge
Ray Wilson
 Norway (16 pts)
Odd Fossengen
Øyvind S. Berg
1969 Sweden Gubbängens IP
Stockholm
 New Zealand (28 pts)
Ivan Mauger
Bob Andrews
 Sweden (27 pts)
Ove Fundin
Göte Nordin
 England (21 pts)
Nigel Boocock
Martin Ashby
1970 Sweden Malmö Stadion
Malmö
 New Zealand (28 pts)
Ivan Mauger
Ronnie Moore
 Sweden (25 pts)
Ove Fundin
Bengt Jansson
 England (19 pts)
Nigel Boocock
Eric Boocock
1971 Poland Rybnik Municipal Stadium
Rybnik
 Poland (30 pts)
Andrzej Wyglenda
Jerzy Szczakiel
 New Zealand (25 pts)
Ivan Mauger
Barry Briggs
 Sweden (22 pts)
Anders Michanek
Bernt Persson
1972 Sweden Ryavallen
Borås
 England (24+3 pts)
Ray Wilson
Terry Betts
 New Zealand (24+2 pts)
Ivan Mauger
Ronnie Moore
 Sweden B (22+3 pts)
Bernt Persson
Hasse Holmqvist
1973 Sweden Ryavallen
Borås
 Sweden (24 pts)
Anders Michanek
Tommy Jansson
 Denmark (21+3 pts)
Ole Olsen
Kurt Bøgh
 Poland (21+2 pts)
Zenon Plech
Zbigniew Marcinkowski
1974 England Hyde Road
Manchester
 Sweden (28 pts)
Anders Michanek
Sören Sjösten
 Australia (23 pts)
John Boulger
Phil Crump
 New Zealand (21 pts)
Barry Briggs
Ivan Mauger
1975 Poland Stadion Olimpijski
Wrocław
 Sweden (24 pts)
Anders Michanek
Tommy Jansson
 Poland (23 pts)
Edward Jancarz
Piotr Bruzda
 Denmark (20+3 pts)
Ole Olsen
Jan Henningsen
1976 Sweden Snälltorpet
Eskilstuna
 England (27 pts)
John Louis
Malcolm Simmons
 Denmark (24 pts)
Ole Olsen
Finn Thomsen
 Sweden (22 pts)
Bengt Jansson
Bernt Persson
1977 England Hyde Road
Manchester
 England (28 pts)
Peter Collins
Malcolm Simmons
 Sweden (18 pts)
Anders Michanek
Bernt Persson
 West Germany (18 pts)
Egon Müller
Hans Wassermann
1978 Poland Stadion Śląski
Chorzów
 England (24+3 pts)
Malcolm Simmons
Gordon Kennett
 New Zealand (24+2 pts)
Ivan Mauger
Larry Ross
 Denmark (21 pts)
Ole Olsen
Finn Thomsen
1979 Denmark Vojens Speedway Center
Vojens
 Denmark (25 pts)
Ole Olsen
Hans Nielsen
 England (24 pts)
Malcolm Simmons
Michael Lee
 Poland (20 pts)
Edward Jancarz
Zenon Plech
1980 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Matija Gubec Stadium
Krško
 England (29 pts)
Dave Jessup
Peter Collins
 Poland (22 pts)
Edward Jancarz
Zenon Plech
 Denmark (21 pts)
Ole Olsen
Hans Nielsen
1981 Poland Stadion Śląski
Chorzów
 United States (23 pts)
Bruce Penhall
Bobby Schwartz
 New Zealand (22 pts)
Ivan Mauger
Larry Ross
 Poland (21 pts)
Zenon Plech
Edward Jancarz
1982 Australia Liverpool City Raceway
Sydney
 United States (30 pts)
Bobby Schwartz
Dennis Sigalos
 England (22 pts)
Kenny Carter
Peter Collins
 Denmark (21 pts)
Hans Nielsen
Ole Olsen
1983 Sweden Ullevi
Gothenburg
 England (25 pts)
Kenny Carter
Peter Collins
 Australia (24 pts)
Billy Sanders
Gary Guglielmi
 Denmark (19 pts)
Hans Nielsen
Erik Gundersen
1984 Italy Santa Marina Stadium
Lonigo
 England (27 pts)
Chris Morton
Peter Collins
 Denmark (25+3 pts)
Hans Nielsen
Erik Gundersen
 New Zealand (25+2 pts)
Ivan Mauger
Mitch Shirra
1985 Poland Rybnik Municipal Stadium
Rybnik
 Denmark (29 pts)
Erik Gundersen
Tommy Knudsen
 England (27 pts)
Kenny Carter
Kelvin Tatum
 United States (22 pts)
Bobby Schwartz
Shawn Moran
1986 West Germany Rottalstadion
Pocking
 Denmark (46+5 pts)
Hans Nielsen
Erik Gundersen
 United States (46+4 pts)
Kelly Moran
Sam Ermolenko
 Czechoslovakia (32 pts)
Antonín Kasper Jr.
Roman Matoušek
1987 Czechoslovakia Svítkov Stadion
Pardubice
 Denmark (52 pts)
Erik Gundersen
Hans Nielsen
 England (44 pts)
Simon Wigg
Kelvin Tatum
 United States (36 pts)
Sam Ermolenko
Kelly Moran
1988 England Odsal Stadium
Bradford
 Denmark (45 pts)
Hans Nielsen
Erik Gundersen
 England (41 pts)
Kelvin Tatum
Simon Cross
 United States (39 pts)
Shawn Moran
Sam Ermolenko
1989 Poland Alfred Smoczyk Stadium
Leszno
 Denmark (48 pts)
Hans Nielsen
Erik Gundersen
 Sweden (44 pts)
Jimmy Nilsen
Per Jonsson
 England (37 pts)
Kelvin Tatum
Paul Thorp
1990 Germany Ellermühle Stadium
Landshut
 Denmark (43 pts)
Jan O. Pedersen
Hans Nielsen
 Australia (41 pts)
Todd Wiltshire
Leigh Adams
 Hungary (33 pts)
Zoltán Adorján
Sándor Tihanyi
1991 Poland Olimpia Poznań Stadium
Poznań
 Denmark (28 pts)
Hans Nielsen
Jan O. Pedersen
Tommy Knudsen
 Sweden (24 pts)
Henrik Gustafsson
Jimmy Nilsen
Per Jonsson
 Norway (19 pts)
Lars Gunnestad
Einar Kyllingstad
Tor Einar Hielm
1992 Italy Santa Marina Stadium
Lonigo
 United States (23+3 pts)
Greg Hancock
Sam Ermolenko
Ronnie Correy
 England (23+2 pts)
Gary Havelock
Kelvin Tatum
Martin Dugard
 Sweden (22 pts)
Per Jonsson
Henrik Gustafsson
Tony Rickardsson
1993 Denmark Vojens Speedway Center
Vojens
 Sweden (26 pts)
Tony Rickardsson
Per Jonsson
Henrik Gustafsson
 United States (23 pts)
Sam Ermolenko
Ronnie Correy
Greg Hancock
 Denmark (21 pts)
Hans Nielsen
Tommy Knudsen
Brian Karger

Medal classification

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Pos National Team Total Gold Silver Bronze
1.  Denmark 17 8 3 6
2.  Great Britain/ England 17 7 7 3
3.  Sweden 14 5 5 4
4.  United States 8 3 2 3
5.  New Zealand 8 2 4 2
6.  Poland 6 1 2 3
7.  Australia 3 - 3 -
8.  Norway 2 - - 2
=9.  Czechoslovakia 1 - - 1
=9.  West Germany 1 - - 1
Pos Rider Team Total Gold Silver Bronze
1. Hans Nielsen  Denmark 11 7 1 3
2. Erik Gundersen  Denmark 7 5 1 1
3. Peter Collins  England 5 4 1
4. Anders Michanek  Sweden 5 3 1 1
5. Malcolm Simmons  England 4 3 1
6. Ivan Mauger  New Zealand 8 2 4 2
7. Tommy Jansson  Sweden 3 2 1
8. Bobby Schwartz  United States 3 2 1
9. Jan O. Pedersen  Denmark 2 2
10. Ole Olsen  Denmark 7 1 2 4

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Best Pairs International Championship FIM". Historis Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  2. ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  5. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  6. ^ Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Guinness Superlatives. p. 290. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
  7. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  8. ^ "World Pairs Championship 1968-1993". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 11 July 2021.