1955 Individual Speedway World Championship

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The 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship was the tenth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

In a very competitive World final Peter Craven of England finished one point ahead of three other riders who had to ride off for the silver medal. The defending champion Ronnie Moore won the ride off to claim silver from fellow countryman Barry Briggs and Welshman Eric Williams who both crashed leaving Moore an easy victory, Briggs took third place from Williams who missed out on a medal.[7]

Qualification[edit]

Qualification started on 29 April.[8][9]

Stage 1[edit]

Norwegian round[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Reidar Kristoffersen 15
2 Rolf Westerberg 14
3 Nils Paulsen 13
4 Sverre Gjomesli 11
5 Rolf Solberg 9
6 Odd Johansen 8
7 Erling Simonsen 8
8 Gunnar Hilsen 7
9 Aage W. Jensen 7
10 Tore Meiner 6
11 Erling Cae 5
12 Oddvar Wold 5
13 Tor Bjorkkvist 4
14 Odd Kleiven 4
15 Knut Bjorge 2
16 Jens Georg Walle 0

Swedish round[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Ove Fundin 15
2 Ulf Ericsson 12
3 Lars Pettersson 12
4 Kjell Carlsson 11
5 Rune Claesson 10
6 Gunnar Johansson 9
7 Olle Andersson II 8
8 Stig Pramberg 8
9 Olle Segerström 8
10 Kaj Forsberg 8
11 Göte Nordin 5
12 Thorsten Carlsson 5
13 Allan Nilsson 3
14 Rune Stenström 3
15 Bert Engman 3
16 Bertil Carlsson II 0
17 Stig Sköldberg 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Bert Lindarw 14
2 Göran Norlén 14
3 Birger Forsberg 13
4 Olle Andersson I 11
5 Joel Jansson 9
6 Olle Heyman 9
7 Sven Fahlén 9
8 Bernt Nilsson 9
9 Per-Tage Svensson 8
10 Bengt Nilsson 8
11 Göte Olsson 4
12 Dan Forsberg 4
13 Alf Jonsson 3
14 Evert Andersson 3
15 Sven Skoglund 2
16 Olle Broms 0
17 Sten Cederlöv 0

Stage 2[edit]

Nordic round[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Ove Fundin 15
2 Ulf Ericsson 14
3 Sven Fahlén 11
4 Kaukko Jousanen 10
5 Reidar Kristoffersen 10
6 Olle Heyman 10
7 Birger Forsberg 10
8 Antti Pajari 10
9 Olle Andersson I 8
10 Reino Niemi 5
11 Rauno Aaltonen 5
12 Aulis Tuominen 4
13 Aage Hansen 3
14 Simo Ylänen 3
15 Antti Mattila 2
16 Ilkka Helminen 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Göran Norlén 15
2 Joel Jansson 12
3 Lars Pettersson 11
4 Basse Hveem 10
5 Henry Andersen 10
6 Kjell Carlsson 9
7 Rune Claesson 8
8 Bert Lindarw 8
9 Kiehn Berthelsen 6
10 Leif Bech 6
11 Arne Pander 6
12 Nils Paulsen 5
13 Erling Simonsen 4
14 Eivind Petersen 4
15 Rolf Westerberg 3
16 Axel Möller 3

Continental round[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Karel Kiendl 13
2 Fred Aberl 12
3 Sebastian Wiesent 12
4 Nicola Snjaric 11
5 Valentin Medved 11
6 Drago Regvart 10
7 Branko Regvart 9
8 Max Aebi 9
9 Josip Klemencic 8
10 Cornel Bijman 7
11 Gerhard Hofemeister 5
12 Josef Sinzinger 5
13 Alois Strasser 4
14 Moritz Künzl 2
15 Leo Petzwinkler 2
16 Jakob Dietrich 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Josef Seidl 14
2 Per-Olof Söderman 12
3 Sune Karlsson 12
4 Georg Duneborn 11
5 Josef Hofmeister 9
6 Karl Killmeyer 8
7 Marius Metzelaar 8
8 Albin Siegl 8
9 T van Gorcum 8
10 Anton Kroeze 7
11 Howdy Byford 7
12 Alan Smith 4
13 Leopold Killmeyer 3
14 J van der Sluis 3
15 Thei Bischops 2
16 Alex Jakob 1
17 Kurt Pieper 1

Stage 3[edit]

Nordic Final[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Sweden Ove Fundin 14
2 Norway Henry Andersen 14
3 Norway Basse Hveem 12
4 Sweden Ulf Ericsson 10
5 Sweden Birger Forsberg 10
6 Sweden Kjell Carlsson 9
7 Sweden Sven Fahlén 9
8 Sweden Joel Jansson 8
9 Sweden Rune Claesson 7
10 Sweden Bert Lindarw 7
11 Sweden Olle Heyman 6
12 Sweden Lars Pettersson 5
13 Norway Reidar Kristoffersen 5
14 Sweden Göran Norlén 3
15 Finland Antti Pajari 2
16 Finland Kaukko Jousanen 1

Continental Final[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Austria Fritz Dirtl 15
2 Austria Josef Kamper 12
3 Sweden Georg Duneborn 12
4 West Germany Josef Hofmeister 11
5 West Germany Josef Seidl 11
6 Sweden Per Olof Söderman 10+3
7 Austria Karl Killmeyer 10+2
8 Sweden Sune Karlsson 8
9 Netherlands Nicvan Gorcum 7
10 West Germany Fred Aberl 6
11 West Germany Sebastian Wiesent 6
12 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Branko Regvart 4
13 Netherlands Tinus Metzelaar 3
14 West Germany Karl Kiendl 2
15 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Drago Regvart 2
16 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nicola Snjaric 1

British & Commonwealth round[edit]

  • Top 21 qualify for Championship round.[10]
Date Venue Winner
4 July Wimborne Road Ken Middleditch
5 July Banister Court Stadium Dick Bradley
7 July Foxhall Stadium Junior Bainbridge
7 July Oxford Stadium Ronnie Genz
8 July Leicester Stadium Ken Middleditch
9 July Brandon Stadium Tommy Miller
9 July Rayleigh Weir Stadium Bert Roger
9 July Abbey Stadium Ian Williams
11 July County Ground Stadium Ken McKinlay

Stage 4[edit]

Championship Round[edit]

  • Top 12 qualify for World final + 2 reserves
Date Venue Winner
8 August Wimbledon Stadium Barry Briggs
9 August West Ham Stadium Jack Young
11 August Wembley Stadium Brian Crutcher
13 August Perry Barr Stadium Doug Davies
13 August Odsal Stadium Arthur Wright
20 August Hyde Road Stadium Peter Craven
20 August The Firs Stadium Aub Lawson

Scores

  • First 12 to World final + 2 reserves
Pos. Rider Total pts
1 England Peter Craven 29
2 Australia Jack Young 29
3 New Zealand Barry Briggs 28
4 New Zealand Ron Johnston 26
5 New Zealand Ronnie Moore 26
6 England Arthur Wright 26
7 South Africa Doug Davies 26
8 England Cyril Roger 25
9 England Arthur Forrest 24
10 Australia Aub Lawson 24
11 England Phil Clarke 24
12 England Brian Crutcher 23
13 Wales Eric Williams 23
14 England Billy Bales 23
15 England Gerry Hussey 22
16 Scotland Ken McKinlay 22
17 Wales Freddie Williams 21
18 England Alf Hagon 19
19 England Ken Middleditch 19
20 England Ron Mountford 18
21 Australia Jack Geran 18
22 Australia Jack Biggs 17
23 England Alan Hunt 17
24 England Les McGillivray 17
25 Australia Peter Moore 15
26 England Ron How 14
27 England Harry Bastable 14
28 New Zealand Peter Clark 14
Pos. Rider Total pts
29 England Tommy Price 14
30 England Fred Rogers 14
31 England Dick Bradley 12
32 Scotland Bob Mark 11
33 Wales Ian Williams 11
34 England Split Waterman 11
35 New Zealand Bob Duckworth 11
36 England Tommy Miller 10
37 England Reg Reeves 10
38 Australia Allan Kidd 10
39 England Alan Smith 9
40 England Fred Brand 9
41 Australia Neil Street 9
42 England Guy Allott 8
43 Australia Junior Bainbridge 8
44 England Harry Edwards 7
45 Scotland Gordon McGregor 7
46 England Bob Roger 6
47 New Zealand Charlie New 6
48 England Jimmy Gooch 5
49 England Bill Holden 5
50 England Eric French 4
51 England Ron Clarke 3
52 Guernsey John Fitzpatrick 3
53 England Ken Sharples 1
54 Australia Bob Sharp 1
55 England Eddie Rigg 0
56 England Jim Lightfoot 0

European Final[edit]

Pos. Rider Total
1 Norway Henry Andersen 14
2 Sweden Olle Nygren 12
3 Sweden Kjell Carlsson 11
4 Sweden Ove Fundin 11
5 Sweden Per Olof Söderman 11
6 Norway Basse Hveem 10
7 Austria Josef Kamper 9
8 Sweden Ulf Ericsson 8
9 Austria Fritz Dirtl 7
10 Sweden Birger Forsberg 7
11 Sweden Georg Duneborn 6
12 England Alf Hagon 5
13 Sweden Rune Sörmander 4
14 England Cyril Maidment 3
15 Austria Joseph Seidl 2
16 West Germany Josef Hofmeister 0
17 Norway Reidar Kristoffersen 0

World final[edit]

Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 England Peter Craven (3,3,2,3,2) 13
2 New Zealand Ronnie Moore (3,1,3,2,3) 12+3
3 New Zealand Barry Briggs (3,2,3,2,2) 12+2
4 Wales Eric Williams (3,1,2,3,3) 12+1
5 England Brian Crutcher (2,2,3,Fx,3) 10
6 Sweden Ove Fundin (2,1,1,3,3) 10
7 Australia Jack Young (1,3,1,3,2) 10
8 Sweden Olle Nygren (0,3,2,2,2) 9
9 England Arthur Forrest (0,2,3,1,1) 7
10 England Arthur Wright (1,3,0,1,1) 6
11 England Billy Bales (2,0,1,2,1) 6
12 New Zealand Ron Johnston (1,1,2,1,1) 6
13 Sweden Kjell Carlsson (0,2,0,1,0) 3
14 England Phil Clarke (2,0,0,0,0) 2
15 Norway Henry Andersen (1,0,1,0,0) 2
16 England Cyril Roger (0,0,0,0,Fx) 0
R1 England Gerry Hussey did not ride -
R2 Scotland Ken McKinlay did not ride -
  • Note - Aub Lawson withdrew injured, Doug Davies withdrew with meningitis,

Classification[edit]

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 England (8) Peter Craven 13 3 3 2 3 2 13 1
2 New Zealand (2) Ronnie Moore 12+3 3 1 3 2 3 12 2
3 New Zealand (14) Barry Briggs 12+2 3 2 3 2 2 12 3
4 Wales (12) Eric Williams 12+1 3 1 2 3 3 12 4
5 England (1) Brian Crutcher 10 2 2 3 - 3 4 5
6 Sweden (5) Ove Fundin 10 2 1 1 3 3 10 6
7 Australia (9) Jack Young 10 1 3 1 3 2 10 7
8 Sweden (6) Olle Nygren 9 0 3 2 2 2 9 8
9 England (4) Arthur Forrest 7 0 2 3 1 1 7 9
10 England (3) Arthur Wright 6 1 3 0 1 1 6 10
11 England (10) Billy Bales 6 2 0 1 2 1 6 11
12 New Zealand (7) Ron Johnston 6 1 1 2 1 1 6 12
13 Sweden (11) Kjell Carlsson 3 0 2 0 1 0 3 13
14 England (13) Phil Clarke 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 14
15 Norway (16) Henry Andersen 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 15
16 England (15) Cyril Roger 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 16
England (17) Gerry Hussey 0 0
Scotland (18) Ken McKinlay 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[edit]

  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 Wins Speedway's World Title". Bradford Observer. 16 September 1955. Retrieved 5 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "1955 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  9. ^ "1955 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Speedway Stars bid for World Title". Weekly Dispatch (London). 3 July 1955. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "1955". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  12. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
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