The 1965 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 20th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Björn Knutson won the world title scoring 14 points out of a possible 15 in the final at Wembley with Russian Igor Plekhanov defeating four times champion Ove Fundin in the silver medal run-off.[7]

First round

Qualification results.[8][9]

Norwegian qualifying[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Sverre Harrfeldt 15
2 Nils Paulsen 13
3 Per Jakob Aulie 13
4 Knut Syrrist 12
5 Henry Harrfeldt 10
6 Bjarne Sorenby 9
7 Thorbjorn Aulie 7
8 Thorbjorn Nygaard 7
9 Ivar A. Hoffgaard 7
10 Johnny Faafeng 6
11 Oyvind S. Berg 5
12 Reidar Eide 5
13 Svein Johansen 3
14 Olav Aaen 3
15 Kjell H. Helgsen 2
16 Hans Age Trovik 1
17 Svein Svensrud 1

Finnish qualifying[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Kalevi Lahtinen 15
2 Timo Laine 14
3 Matti Olin 13
4 Esko Koponen 12
5 Olavi Turunen 10
6 Antero Salasto 9
7 Veikko Metsahuone 8
8 Timo Sinkkonen 8
9 Heikki Kaprali 6
10 Jouko Naskali 6
11 Juhani Taipale 5
12 Reijo Tolviander (res) 4
13 Erkki Hannula 3
14 Reima Lohkovuori 3
15 Toimi Skytta (res) 3
16 Veikko Vesa 2
17 Martti Myllynausta 0
18 Jarmo Bahne 0

Swedish qualifying

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
25 April Vetlanda Motorstadion, Vetlanda Bo Josefsson Leif Enecrona Rune Sörmander
28 April Ryavallen, Borås Ove Fundin Per Olof Söderman Björn Knutson
1 May Gamla Speedway Track, Visby Bengt Jansson Bo Josefsson Hasse Holmqvist
Pos. Rider Points
1 Bo Josefsson 28
2 Bengt Jansson 26
3 Björn Knutson 23
4 Ove Fundin 23
5 Per-Olof Söderman 23
6 Sören Sjösten 22
7 Bo Magnusson 19
8 Hasse Holmqvist 19
9 Leif Enecrona 19
10 Rune Sörmander 18
11 Göte Nordin 18
12 Gunnar Malmqvist 16
13 Leif Larsson 14
14 Bengt Svensson 14
Pos. Rider Points
15 Bengt Brannefors 14
16 Runo Wedin 13
17 Curt Eldh 9
18 Sven Sigurd 9
19 Kurt Westlund 9
20 Hans Utterström 6
21 Inge Gustafsson 5
22 Arne Hansson 4
23 Nils Ringström 3
24 Karl-Erik Andersson 3
25 Leif Söderberg 1
26 Per-Tage Svensson 0
27 Lars Jansson 0

Continental qualifying

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
9 May Austria Liebenauer Stadium, Graz Poland Andrzej Wyglenda Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Volf Poland Antoni Woryna
9 May Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ilirija Sports Park, Ljubljana Soviet Union Gennady Kurilenko Poland Jan Mucha Poland Andrzej Pogorzelski
9 May Hungary Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc Czechoslovakia Luboš Tomíček Sr. Soviet Union Yuri Chekranov Poland Pawel Waloszek
9 May East Germany Gunter Harder Stadion, Neubrandenburg Poland Zbigniew Podlecki Soviet Union Boris Samorodov Czechoslovakia Rudolf Havelka

British & Commonwealth preliminary round

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
13 May Cleveland Park, Middlesbrough Goog Allan Russ Dent Harry Bastable
15 May Rayleigh Weir Stadium, Rayleigh Tommy Sweetman Ken Adams Des Lukehurst
22 May Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich Tommy Sweetman Howdy Byford Ken Adams
26 May Central Park, Cowdenbeath Russ Dent Bruce Ovenden Graham Coombes
6 June King's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn Harry Bastable Pete Smith Maurie McDermott

Second round

Nordic qualification

Pos. Rider Points
1 Björn Knutson 15
2 Sverre Harrfeldt 14
3 Leif Enecrona 13
4 Ove Fundin 12
5 Bengt Brannefors 9
6 Gunnar Malmqvist 9
7 Bo Magnusson 9
8 Henry Harrfeldt 7
9 Thorbjörn Nygaard 7
10 Curt Eldh 7
11 Nils Paulsen 5
12 Runo Wedin 4
13 Ivar Hoffgard 3
14 Olavi Turunen 3
15 Timo Laine 2
16 Heikki Kaprali 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Leif Larsson 14
2 Per-Olof Söderman 13
3 Hasse Holmqvist 12
4 Sören Sjösten 12
5 Kalevi Lahtinen 11
6 Bengt Jansson 11
7 Bo Josefsson 10
8 Sven Sigurd 9
9 Hans G. Kristensen 6
10 Bengt Svensson 6
11 Ove Pedersen 4
12 Erik Kastebo 4
13 Matti Olin 3
14 Per Jakob Aulie 2
15 Jens Ring (res) 2
16 Knut Syrrist 1
17 Bent Jensen 0
18 Göte Nordin dns

Continental semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 Pawel Waloszek 13
2 Igor Plekhanov 13
3 Andrzej Wyglenda 12
4 Jaroslav Volf 11
5 Luboš Tomíček Sr. 11
6 Antoni Woryna 10
7 Valentin Moiseev 9
8 Stanislav Kubicek 7
9 Jurij Chekranov
10 Vladimir Sokolov
11 Frantisek Ledecky
12 Jerzy Trzeszkowski
13 Gabdrakhman Kadyrov
14 Miloslav Smid
15 Pal Perenyi
Pos. Rider Points
1 Pavel Mareš 15
2 Jan Mucha 11
3 Zbigniew Podlecki 11
4 Florian Kapala 10
5 Marian Rose 10
6 Joachim Maj 10
7 Gennadij Kurilenko 10
8 Andrzej Pogorzelski 9
9 Antonín Kasper Sr. 8
10 Boris Samorodov 6
11 Antonín Šváb Sr. 6
12 Jurij Olenev 5
13 Rudolf Havelka 4
14 Lew Krajev 3
15 Konstantij Krishtal 0
16 Viktor Trofimov 0

British & Commonwealth qualifying round

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
12 June Brandon Stadium, Coventry Nigel Boocock Jack Kitchen Rick France
12 June Abbey Stadium, Swindon Barry Briggs Mike Broadbanks Martin Ashby
12 June Hyde Road, Manchester Cyril Maidment Gordon McGregor Dick Fisher
14 June County Ground Stadium, Exeter Barry Briggs Trevor Hedge Geoff Mudge
14 June Brough Park, Newcastle Charlie Monk Brian Brett Ivan Mauger
15 June West Ham Stadium, London Roy Trigg Norman Hunter Ken McKinlay
16 June Long Eaton Stadium, Long Eaton Barry Briggs Jim Lightfoot Jack Kitchen
17 June Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield Nigel Boocock Clive Featherby Billy Bales
17 June Oxford Stadium, Oxford Jimmy Gooch Ron How Colin Pratt
18 June Somerton Park, Newport Peter Vandenberg Reg Luckhurst Cyril Maidment
18 June White City, Glasgow Charlie Monk Bluey Scott Ivan Mauger
18 June Hackney Wick Stadium, London Ron How Roy Trigg Colin Pratt
18 June Monmore Green, Wolverhampton Trevor Hedge Peter Jarman Nigel Boocock
19 June Wimbledon Stadium, London Trevor Hedge Bob Andrews Jack Biggs
19 June The Shay, Halifax Jimmy Gooch Ronnie Genz Eric Boocock
19 June Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley Charlie Monk Jim Airey John Hart
19 July Old Meadowbank, Edinburgh Maury Mattingley Gordon Guasco Brian Craven
23 July Wimborne Road, Poole Ronnie Genz Geoff Mudge Roy Trigg

Third round

British & Commonwealth semi finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 England Nigel Boocock 13
2 New Zealand Barry Briggs 11
3 England Jimmy Gooch 11
4 Scotland Ken McKinlay 11
5 England Ronnie Genz 10
6 England Reg Luckhurst 10
7 England Mike Broadbanks 10
8 Australia Gordon Guasco 9
9 England Norman Hunter 9
10 Australia Geoff Mudge 7
11 England Jack Kitchen 6
12 Australia Jim Airey 6
13 England Colin Pratt 3
14 England Clive Featherby 2
15 Australia Bluey Scott 1
16 Scotland Gordon McGregor 1
  • 30 July
  • Scotland White City, Glasgow
  • Top 8 to British final
Pos. Rider Points
1 Australia Charlie Monk 14
2 England Trevor Hedge 14
3 England Brian Brett 13
4 New Zealand Ivan Mauger 11
5 England Colin Gooddy 10
6 New Zealand Bill Andrew 9
7 England Bob Andrews 8
8 Australia Peter Vandenberg 8
9 England Cyril Maidment 7
10 England Dave Younghusband 7
11 England Roy Trigg 7
12 England Eric Boocock 4
13 England Jim Lightfoot 3
14 England Alan Cowland 3
15 England Rick France 2
16 England Billy Bales 0
17 England Martin Ashby 0

Nordic Final

Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Sweden Soren Sjosten 14
2 Sweden Ove Fundin 12
3 Sweden Leif Enecrona 11
4 Sweden Björn Knutson 11
5 Sweden Bengt Jansson 11
6 Sweden Gunnar Malmqvist 11
7 Norway Sverre Harrfeldt 10
8 Sweden Leif Larsson 9
9 Sweden Per Olof Söderman 7
10 Sweden Bo Magnusson 5
11 Finland Kalevi Lahtinen 4
12 Norway Henry Harrfeldt 4
13 Sweden Bo Josefsson 3
14 Norway Sven Sigurd 2
15 Sweden Bengt Brannefors 0
16 Sweden Hasse Holmqvist 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 (15) Andrzej Wyglenda 12 1 3 2 3 3 12 1
2 Soviet Union (2) Igor Plekhanov 12 2 3 1 3 3 12 2
3 Poland (14) Andrzej Pogorzelski 11 0 2 3 3 3 11 3
4 Poland (12) Antoni Woryna 10 3 3 0 2 2 10 4
5 Czechoslovakia (1) Luboš Tomíček Sr. 10 3 3 1 1 2 10 5
6 Poland (7) Pawel Waloszek 9 3 2 3 0 1 9 6
7 Czechoslovakia (13) Antonín Kasper Sr. 8 3 2 1 1 1 8 7
8 Poland (6) Marian Rose 8 1 1 3 0 3 8 8
9 Czechoslovakia (5) Pavel Mareš 8 2 0 3 1 2 8 9
10 Poland (9) Joachim Maj 7 2 1 0 2 2 7 10
11 Soviet Union (3) Gennady Kurilenko 6 1 1 1 3 0 6 11
12 Poland (8) Zbigniew Podlecki 6 0 1 2 2 1 6 12
13 Poland (10) Jan Mucha 5 1 0 2 2 0 5 13
14 Czechoslovakia (11) Jaroslav Volf 3 0 0 2 0 1 3 14
15 Czechoslovakia (4) Stanislav Kubíček 3 0 2 0 1 0 3 15
16 Soviet Union (16) Valentin Moiseev 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 16
R1 Poland (R1) Florian Kapała 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

Fourth round

British & Commonwealth 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 21
1 New Zealand (8) Barry Briggs 13 1 3 3 3 3 13 1
2 England (2) Nigel Boocock 11 3 3 E 2 3 11 2 3
3 Scotland (4) Ken McKinlay 11 2 2 3 2 2 11 3 2
4 England (10) Brian Brett 10 3 2 1 2 2 10 4
5 England (12) Reg Luckhurst 10 2 0 3 2 3 10 5
6 England (11) Jimmy Gooch 10 1 2 3 1 3 10 6
7 England (7) Mike Broadbanks 9 2 0 2 3 2 9 7 3
8 Australia (15) Gordon Guasco 9 3 1 1 3 1 9 8 2
9 Australia (5) Charlie Monk 8 3 2 2 1 X 8 9
10 England (16) Trevor Hedge 7 2 1 F 3 1 7 10
11 New Zealand (3) Bob Andrews 6 1 3 1 0 1 6 11
12 New Zealand (14) Ivan Mauger 5 1 0 2 1 1 5 12
13 England (6) Colin Gooddy 4 0 1 M 1 2 4 13
14 Australia (9) Peter Vandenberg 3 E 3 0 0 0 3 14
15 New Zealand (1) Bill Andrew 1 E 0 1 0 0 1 15
16 England (13) Ronnie Genz 1 E 1 0 F 0 1 16
R1 England (R1) Norman Hunter 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 21

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

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 21
1 Sweden (3) Ove Fundin 14 3 3 2 3 3 14 1 3
2 Sweden (8) Björn Knutson 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 2 2
3 Poland (9) Antoni Woryna 11 3 1 1 3 3 11 3
4 Poland (14) Andrzej Pogorzelski 10 3 3 0 3 1 10 4
5 Soviet Union (10) Igor Plekhanov 10 2 2 3 2 1 10 5
6 Poland (6) Andrzej Wyglenda 9 3 1 1 2 2 9 6
7 Sweden (13) Bengt Jansson 8 0 3 2 2 1 8 7
8 Sweden (16) Soren Sjosten 8 2 2 2 1 1 8 8
9 Czechoslovakia (7) Luboš Tomíček Sr. 7 1 1 1 2 2 7 9
10 Sweden (15) Leif Larsson 7 1 2 3 1 0 7 10
11 Poland (1) Marian Rose 7 1 E 3 2 1 7 11
12 Czechoslovakia (4) Antonín Kasper Sr. 6 2 1 0 0 3 6 12
13 Sweden (5) Per Olof Söderman 5 0 2 1 0 2 5 13
14 Sweden (12) Gunnar Malmqvist 3 1 E 2 0 0 3 14
15 Sweden (2) Leif Enecrona 1 0 0 E 1 0 1 15
16 Poland (11) Pawel Waloszek 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 Czechoslovakia (R1) Pavel Mareš 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 21

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 21
1 Sweden (12) Björn Knutson 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 1
2 Soviet Union (15) Igor Plekhanov 13 3 3 2 2 3 13 2 3
3 Sweden (4) Ove Fundin 13 2 2 3 3 3 13 3 2
4 New Zealand (13) Barry Briggs 10 2 3 1 3 1 10 4
5 Sweden (10) Bengt Jansson 10 3 1 2 2 2 10 5
6 England (5) Brian Brett 9 3 0 1 3 2 9 6
7 Sweden (14) Sören Sjösten 9 1 3 3 2 0 9 7
8 England (2) Nigel Boocock 8 3 0 0 2 3 8 8
9 Poland (6) Andrzej Pogorzelski 7 2 2 3 0 F 7 9
10 Poland (11) Antoni Woryna 6 1 2 2 0 1 6 10
11 Sweden (3) Leif Larsson 5 1 0 2 F 2 5 11
12 England (9) Reg Luckhurst 4 0 2 1 1 0 4 12
13 Scotland (7) Ken McKinlay 4 0 1 0 1 2 4 13
14 England (8) Jimmy Gooch 3 1 1 0 1 0 3 14
15 Poland (16) Andrzej Wyglenda 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 15
16 Czechoslovakia (1) Luboš Tomíček Sr. 2 0 1 0 0 1 2 16
R1 England (R1) Mike Broadbank 0 0 R1
R2 Poland (R2) Marian Rose 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 21

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. ^ "Knutson is Champ". The People. 19 September 1965. Retrieved 5 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "1965 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  9. ^ "1965 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Diamonds pair take honours". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 14 May 1965. Retrieved 26 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
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