The 1963 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 18th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Ove Fundin extended his record by winning a fourth world crown. Fellow Sweden Björn Knutson finished second and Barry Briggs took the bronze medal.[7]

First round

Qualification results.[8][9]

Swedish qualifying

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
28 April Vetlanda Motorstadion, Vetlanda Björn Knutson Ove Fundin Per Tage Svensson
1 May Gamla Speedway Track, Visby Rune Sörmander Ove Fundin Willihard Thorsson
5 May Gamla Motorstadion, Målilla Per Olof Söderman Arne Carlsson Göran Norlén
Pos. Rider Points
1 Björn Knutson 26
2 Arne Carlsson 24
3 Ove Fundin 23
4 Per-Olof Söderman 22
5 Göran Norlén 22
6 Sören Sjösten 20
7 Willihard Thomsson 20
8 Per-Tage Svensson 19
9 Rune Sörmander 18
10 Olle Nygren 16
11 Leif Larsson 16
12 Bernt Nilsson 15
Pos. Rider Points
13 Bengt Brannefors 13
14 Åke Andersson 13
15 Kjell Svensson 13
16 Göte Nordin 13
17 Inge Gustafsson 13
18 Curt Eldh 13
19 Per-Åke Lundgren 9
20 Evert Andersson 9
21 Bengt Jansson 9
22 Thorvald Karlsson 8
23 Curt Nyqvist 2
24 Göran Carlsson 0

British & Commonwealth Provincial qualifying

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
10 June Brough Park, Newcastle upon Tyne Ivan Mauger Brian Craven Brian Brett
10 June County Ground Stadium, Exeter Len Silver Peter Vandenberg Ross Gilbertson
11 June Cornish Stadium, St Austell George Hunter John Hart John Dews
11 June New Cross Stadium, London Ivor Brown Reg Luckhurst Wayne Briggs
11 June Long Eaton Stadium, Long Eaton Charlie Monk Graham Warren Chris Julian
12 June Wimborne Road, Poole Brian Brett Ross Gilbertson Reg Luckhurst
12 June Hackney Wick Stadium, London Norman Hunter Trevor Hedge Colin Pratt
13 June Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield Jack Kitchen Graham Warren Clive Featherby
13 June Cleveland Park, Middlesbrough Peter Vandenberg Eric Boothroyd Eric Boocock
14 June Monmore Green, Wolverhampton Ivan Mauger George Hunter Maury Mattingley
15 June Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley Ivor Brown Maury Mattingley Cliff Cox
15 June Sun Street Stadium, Hanley Jack Kitchen Colin Pratt Peter Jarman
15 June Rayleigh Weir Stadium, Rayleigh Clive Featherby Ken Adams Tommy Roper
15 June Old Meadowbank, Edinburgh Doug Templeton Jimmy Squibb Wayne Briggs

Continental qualifying

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
9 May Czechoslovakia Markéta Stadium, Prague Soviet Union Igor Plekhanov Czechoslovakia Antonín Kasper Sr. Poland Henryk Żyto
12 May Austria Linzer Stadion, Linz Czechoslovakia Luboš Tomíček Sr. Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Evald Babic West Germany Manfred Poschenreider
12 May Soviet Union Stroitel Stadium, Ufa Soviet Union Farid Szajnurov Poland Andrzej Pogorzelski Czechoslovakia Miroslav Šmíd
12 May Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Stražišče Sports Park, Kranj Soviet Union Boris Samorodov Soviet Union Gennady Kurilenko Poland Marian Kaiser

Second round

Nordic qualification

Pos. Rider Points
1 Ove Fundin 14
2 Per-Olof Söderman 12
3 Olle Nygren 12
4 Sören Sjösten 10
5 Åke Andersson 10
6 Kurt W. Petersen 10
7 Arne Pander 9
8 Timo Laine 7
9 Willihard Thomsson 7
10 Kjell Svensson 7
11 Kalevi Lahtinen 6
12 Bengt Brannefors 5
13 Jon Ödegaard 4
14 Erik Kastebo 4
15 Martti Assinen 3
16 Olavi Turunen 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Göte Nordin 14
2 Björn Knutson 13
3 Göran Norlén 11
4 Bernt Nilsson 11
5 Arne Carlsson 10
6 Sverre Harrfeldt 9
7 Per-Tage Svensson 8
8 Leif Larsson 8
9 Rune Sörmander 8
10 Paul Wissing 8
11 Per Aulie 6
12 Nils Paulsen 5
13 Reidar Eide 4
14 Cato Agner 2

British Provincial final

Pos. Rider Points
1 Ivan Mauger 14
2 Eric Boothroyd 13
3 George Hunter 12
4 Jack Kitchen 11
5 Brian Brett 10
6 Len Silver 9
7 Peter Vandenberg 9
8 Maury Mattingley 8
9 Doug Templeton 7
Pos. Rider Points
10 Eric Boocock 6
11 Charlie Monk 6
12 Reg Luckhurst 5
13 Ivor Brown 5
14 Ross Gilbertson 3
15 Clive Featherby 1
16 Cliff Cox 1
17 Colin Pratt 0

Continental semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 West Germany Josef Hofmeister 15
2 Soviet Union Boris Samorodov 14
3 Poland Pawel Waloszek 12
4 Poland Marian Kaiser 10
5 Czechoslovakia Luboš Tomíček Sr. 9
6 Soviet Union Vitalij Sjilo 8
7 Poland Marian Rose 8
8 West Germany Manfred Poschenreider 8
9 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Franc Babic 8
10 Czechoslovakia Bohumír Bartoněk 6
11 West Germany Heinrich Sprenger 6
12 Poland Marek Kepa 5
13 Czechoslovakia Karel Průša 5
14 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Borek Regvart 3
15 Czechoslovakia Antonin Novak 3
16 West Germany Alfred Aberl 0

3 June

Pos. Rider Points
1 Poland Stanisław Tkocz 14
2 Soviet Union Igor Plekhanov 13
3 Poland Henryk Żyto 12
4 Czechoslovakia Zdenek Kovar 10
5 Czechoslovakia Antonín Kasper Sr. 10
6 Poland Joachim Maj 9
7 Poland Andrzej Pogorzelski 9
8 Soviet Union Yuri Chekranov 8
9 Czechoslovakia Stanislav Kubicek 7
10 Poland Mieczyslaw Polukard 6
11 Soviet Union Farid Szajnurov 6
12 Soviet Union Viktor Kuznecov 5
13 Czechoslovakia Miroslav Smid 4
14 Poland Bronislaw Rogal 3
15 Czechoslovakia Jan Holub I (res) 3
16 Poland Edmund Migos 2
17 Czechoslovakia Frantisek Ledecky dns

Third round

British & Commonwealth national league round

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
29 June Brandon Stadium, Coventry Ron Mountford Doug Templeton Jack Geran
1 July Wimbledon Stadium, London Mike Broadbanks Ron How Bob Andrews
2 July Banister Court Stadium, Southampton Barry Briggs Dick Fisher Peter Craven
4 July Oxford Stadium, Oxford Peter Craven Barry Briggs Ken McKinlay
5 July Abbey Stadium, Swindon Mike Broadbanks Ron How Nigel Boocock
10 July Hyde Road, Manchester Ken McKinlay Dick Fisher Brian Brett
12 July The Firs Stadium, Norwich Peter Craven Peter Moore Jimmy Gooch

Nordic Final

Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Sweden Ove Fundin 3,3,3,3,3 15
2 Sweden Björn Knutson 12
3 Sweden Göte Nordin 12
4 Norway Sverre Harrfeldt 11
5 Sweden Arne Carlsson 9
6 Sweden Per Tage Svensson 9
7 Sweden Bernt Nilsson 9
8 Sweden Per Olof Söderman 8
9 Sweden Göran Norlén 8
10 Finland Timo Laine 8
11 Sweden Rune Sörmander 7
12 Sweden Sören Sjösten 5
13 Sweden Leif Larsson 3
14 Sweden Åke Andersson 2
15 Denmark Kurt W. Petersen 1
16 Sweden Olle Nygren 0
R1 Denmark Arne Pander 0

Continental 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 Poland (13) Stanisław Tkocz 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Soviet Union (9) Boris Samorodov 12 2 2 3 3 2 12 2
3 Czechoslovakia (14) Antonín Kasper Sr. 11 2 3 1 3 2 11 3
4 Poland (16) Joachim Maj 9 0 3 3 3 E 9 4
5 Poland (1) Marian Kaiser 9 3 1 2 E 3 9 5
6 Soviet Union (2) Igor Plekhanov 9 0 2 2 2 3 9 6
7 Czechoslovakia (12) Luboš Tomíček Sr. 9 1 2 3 2 1 9 7
8 Poland (10) Henryk Żyto 9 3 1 1 2 2 9 8
9 West Germany (4) Josef Hofmeister 9 1 1 2 2 3 9 9
10 Czechoslovakia (3) Stanislav Kubíček 8 2 2 2 F 2 8 10
11 Poland (7) Pawel Waloszek 6 3 1 E 1 1 6 11
12 Poland (15) Andrzej Pogorzelski 4 1 3 E 0 4 12
13 Poland (8) Marian Rose 4 2 0 0 1 1 4 13
14 West Germany (6) Manfred Poschenreider 3 1 0 1 1 0 3 14
15 Soviet Union (5) Yuri Chekranov 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 15
16 Soviet Union (11) Vitalij Shilo 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 16
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

British & Commonwealth Finals

Three events with the top 8 accumulated scorers going through to World Final.[11]

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
22 July Wimbledon Stadium, London Peter Craven Barry Briggs Nigel Boocock
23 July Banister Court Stadium, Southampton Barry Briggs Peter Craven Peter Moore
26 July The Firs Stadium, Norwich Barry Briggs Peter Craven Leo McAuliffe
Pos. Rider Points
1 England Peter Craven 42
2 New Zealand Barry Briggs 41
3 England Nigel Boocock 31
4 Wales Leo McAuliffe 31
5 England Ron How 29
6 England Jim Lightfoot 27
7 England Dick Fisher 27
8 New Zealand Peter Moore 26
Pos. Rider Points
9 United Kingdom Tadeusz Teodorowicz 23
10 England Ron Mountford 18
11 England Bob Andrews 17
12 England Mike Broadbanks 15
13 England Cyril Maidment 13
14 Scotland Ken McKinlay 12
15 Australia Neil Street 6
16 Scotland Doug Templeton 2

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 Sweden (8) Björn Knutson 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Sweden (5) Ove Fundin 13 1 3 3 3 3 13 2
3 Sweden (2) Per Olof Söderman 10 3 2 2 1 2 10 3
4 Sweden (1) Arne Carlsson 10 2 2 3 1 2 10 4
5 Soviet Union (11) Boris Samorodov 9 3 3 1 2 0 9 5
6 Norway (14) Sverre Harrfeldt 9 F 3 1 3 2 9 6
7 Sweden (7) Göte Nordin 9 2 2 0 2 3 9 7
8 Sweden (16) Per Tage Svensson 9 3 2 2 1 1 9 8
9 Czechoslovakia (3) Antonín Kasper Sr. 8 1 1 2 2 2 8 9
10 Poland (13) Henryk Żyto 7 1 X 3 0 3 7 10
11 Soviet Union (6) Igor Plekhanov 4 0 1 0 3 0 4 11
12 Sweden (4) Bernt Nilsson 4 0 1 2 0 1 4 12
13 Poland (12) Stanisław Tkocz 4 2 0 1 F 1 4 13
14 Poland (15) Marian Kaiser 4 2 0 0 1 1 4 14
15 Czechoslovakia (9) Luboš Tomíček Sr. 3 0 1 0 2 0 3 15
16 Poland (10) Joachim Maj 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 16
R1 East Germany (R1) Josef Hofmeister 0 0 R1
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

World 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 Sweden (9) Ove Fundin 14 3 3 2 3 3 14 1
2 Sweden (8) Björn Knutson 13 2 2 3 3 3 13 2
3 New Zealand (12) Barry Briggs 12 1 3 3 3 2 12 3
4 Soviet Union (11) Boris Samorodov 11 0 3 3 2 3 11 4
5 Sweden (13) Göte Nordin 10 3 2 3 1 1 10 5
6 Norway (3) Sverre Harrfeldt 10 2 2 1 2 3 10 6
7 England (1) Nigel Boocock 8 3 1 1 2 1 8 7
8 Wales (16) Leo McAuliffe 7 2 E 2 3 0 7 8
9 England (10) Ron How 7 2 3 F F 2 7 9
10 England (6) Peter Craven 6 3 1 F 2 0 6 10
11 Australia (7) Peter Moore 6 1 1 1 1 2 6 11
12 Sweden (5) Per Olof Söderman 5 0 0 2 1 2 5 12
13 England (4) Dick Fisher 5 1 1 2 0 1 5 13
14 England (2) Jim Lightfoot 4 E 2 1 0 1 4 14
15 Sweden (14) Per Tage Svensson 1 1 F 0 0 0 1 15
16 Sweden (15) Arne Carlsson 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 16
R1 United Kingdom (R1) Tadeusz Teodorowicz 0 0 R1
R2 England (R2) Ron Mountford 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 8 July 2021.
  3. ^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  4. ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  6. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Fundin champ again". The People. 15 September 1963. Retrieved 8 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "1963 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  9. ^ "1963 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Mauger the top points scorer". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 23 June 1963. Retrieved 25 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Coventry pair in Speedway Final". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 27 July 1963. Retrieved 8 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  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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