The 1973 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 28th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

The 1973 World Final was won by Polish rider Jerzy Szczakiel following a run-off in with defending champion Ivan Mauger after both riders had finished on 13 points. On the second lap of the run-off, Mauger fell in turn 3 after trying a risky passing move leaving Szczakiel to win easily. Another Polish rider, Zenon Plech finished third. Rank outsider Szczakiel, who had finished last with no points scored in his only other World Final appearance in Sweden in 1971, rode the meeting of his life and was only beaten in his final two rides before defeating Mauger in the run-off.[7]

The final, held at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland, is believed to have been held in front of the largest crowd in world speedway history, estimated to be around 130,000, though some reports put the size of the crowd as anywhere from 90,000 to 120,000.[8] The previous record for a final was 95,000 during the 1938 Individual Speedway World Championship at Wembley.

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed for the 1973 event. This time the Polish riders were allowed five places in the World Final to be held in Poland. All other nations had to go through the European Final route to provide the remaining 11 riders for the World Final.[9][10]

First round

British/Commonwealth premilinaries

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
29 April Arlington Stadium, Eastbourne Gordon Kennett Paul Gachet Bobby McNeil
29 April Boston Sports Stadium, Boston Graeme Stapleton John Dews Russ Osborne
2 May Odsal Stadium, Bradford Neil Street Billy Sanders Rick France
7 May Earle Street, Crewe Mitch Graham Arthur Price Les Owen
7 May Birchfield Ladbroke Stadium, Birmingham Jim Ryman Bob Paulson Ted Howgego

Second round

Norwegian qualifying[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Ulf Lövaas 14
2 Dag Lövaas 12
3 Odd Fossengen 11
4 Helge Langli 11
5 Svein Kaasa 9
6 Oyvind S. Berg 9
7 Edgar Stangeland 9
8 Reidar Eide 9
9 Tormod Langli 8
10 Hans Erik Fuglerud 7
11 Johnny Larsen 7
12 Per Hetland 5
13 Svein Lökken 3
14 Kjell Gimre 3
15 Jan Jacobsen 2
16 Öyvind Rökeberg 0

Finnish qualifying (top 10)[edit]

Pos. Rider Points Total (best 2)
1 Matti Olin 8+8+0 16
2 Hannu Känkänen 4+6+8 14
3 Kalevi Lahtinen 6+0+6 12
4 Heikki Ahonen 1+3+4 7
5 Kari Vuoristo 3+2+0 5
6 Pekka Paljakka 0+4+0 4
7 Matti Touru 0+0+3 3
8 Tapio Leppasalko 2+1+0 3
9 Jouko Naskali 0+0+2 2
10 Timo Naskali 0+0+1 1

Swedish qualifying

Continental qualifying

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
29 April Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mladost Stadum, Prelog Czechoslovakia Zdenek Majstr Czechoslovakia Evzen Erban Austria Jozef Haider
6 May West Germany Motodrom Halbemond, Norden Czechoslovakia Jan Hadek Czechoslovakia Jiri Dominik Netherlands Henny Kroeze

British/Commonwealth qualifiers

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
12 May King's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn John Louis Terry Betts Malcolm Simmons
14 May Reading Stadium, Reading Martin Ashby Mick Bell Geoff Curtis
16 May Wimborne Road, Poole Pete Smith Ray Wilson Terry Betts
17 May Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield Jim McMillan Arnie Haley Doug Wyer
18 May Monmore Green, Wolverhampton George Hunter Ray Wilson Gary Peterson
18 May Hackney Wick Stadium, London Terry Betts Bob Valentine Barry Thomas
19 May The Shay, Halifax John Boulger Eric Boocock Bill Andrew
19 May Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley John Louis Bruce Cribb Colin Gooddy
19 May Abbey Stadium, Swindon Jim McMillan Doug Wyer Tony Davey
19 May Hyde Road, Manchester Ivan Mauger Chris Pusey Eric Broadbelt
21 May County Ground Stadium, Exeter Ivan Mauger Martin Ashby Bob Coles
22 May Leicester Stadium, Leicester John Boulger Ray Wilson Bob Kilby
23 May Somerton Park, Newport Eric Boocock Roy Trigg Gary Peterson
24 May Wimbledon Stadium, London Peter Collins Norman Hunter Ian Turner
24 May Oxford Stadium, Oxford Bob Kilby Malcolm Ballard Eric Boocock
25 May Cliftonhill, Coatbridge Mick Bell John Boulger Chris Julian
26 May Brandon Stadium, Coventry Nigel Boocock Ray Wilson Bob Kilby
29 May Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich Ivan Mauger Tony Davey Mick Bell

Third round

Continental quarter-finals

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
10 May Czechoslovakia Svítkov Stadium, Pardubice Soviet Union Vladimir Zapleshny Czechoslovakia Jiri Stancl Czechoslovakia Miloslav Verner
20 May Hungary Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc Soviet Union Grigory Khlinovsky Soviet Union Viktor Trofimov Soviet Union Aleksandr Pavlov
20 May West Germany Breitenthal Stadium, Krumbach Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka Soviet Union Vladimir Paznikov Czechoslovakia Jan Holub I
20 May Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Matija Gubec Stadium, Krsko Soviet Union Anatoly Kuzmin Soviet Union Vladimir Gordeev Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík

British/Commonwealth semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 New Zealand Ivan Mauger 14
2 England John Louis 13
3 England Chris Pusey 12
4 Scotland Jim Mcmillan 10
5 England Rick France 9
6 England Peter Collins 9
7 Australia Bob Valentine 8
8 England Tony Davey 8
9 Australia Garry Middleton 8
10 England Alan Wilkinson 7
11 England Doug Wyer 7
12 England Arnie Haley 6
13 Australia Bob Humphreys 6
14 England Eric Broadbelt 2
15 England Bob Kilby 1
16 England Nigel Boocock 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Australia John Boulger 14
2 England Martin Ashby 13
3 England Eric Boocock 10
4 England Malcolm Simmons 10
5 England Ray Wilson 10
6 England Terry Betts 10
7 England Mick Bell 9
8 England Pete Smith 9
9 England Roy Trigg 7
10 England Gary Peterson 5
11 England Barry Thomas 5
12 England Malcolm Ballard 5
13 England Geoff Maloney 4
14 Scotland George Hunter 3
15 New Zealand Bruce Cribb 3
16 New Zealand Bill Andrew 1

Nordic qualification

Fourth round

Continental semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 Soviet Union Grigory Khlinovsky 13
2 Soviet Union Valerij Gordeev 13
3 Czechoslovakia Václav Verner 12
4 Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka 12
5 Soviet Union Vladimir Paznikov 12
6 Soviet Union Viktor Trofimov 7
7 Soviet Union Alexander Pavlov 7
8 West Germany Josef Angermüller 7
9 Soviet Union Oleg Dziadyk 7
10 Czechoslovakia Jan Klokocka 7
11 West Germany Manfred Poschenreider 6
12 Czechoslovakia Jan Holub I 6
13 Soviet Union Georgij Ivanov 4
14 Czechoslovakia Miroslav Rosulek 3
15 Soviet Union Vladimir Tchistiakov (res) 1
16 Soviet Union Yury Dubinin 0
17 Soviet Union Petr Safarik 0
18 West Germany Otto Barth (res) 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Soviet Union Vladimir Gordeev 15
2 Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl 13
3 Soviet Union Anatolij Kuzmin 12
4 Soviet Union Vladimir Zaplechny 11
5 Czechoslovakia Zdeněk Majstr 11
6 Czechoslovakia Karel Vobornik 10
7 Czechoslovakia Miroslav Verner 10
8 Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík 8
9 Czechoslovakia Petr Kucera 6
10 Soviet Union Nikolai Aksjonov 5
11 Soviet Union Gregorij Markatanov 4
12 Netherlands Henny Kroeze 4
13 Soviet Union Nikolaj Kornev 4
14 East Germany Gerhard Uhlenbrock 3
15 Austria Josef Bössner 2
16 Hungary Pal Pereny 1

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 England (15) Ray Wilson 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Australia (10) Bob Valentine 12 3 3 2 2 2 12 2 3
3 England (13) Peter Collins 12 2 3 3 2 2 12 3 2
4 Australia (3) John Boulger 12 2 1 3 3 3 12 4 1
5 New Zealand (2) Ivan Mauger 10 3 1 3 3 T 10 5
6 England (7) Eric Boocock 9 2 2 0 3 2 9 6
7 England (8) Tony Davey 9 3 2 2 1 1 9 7
8 England (16) Rick France 9 1 2 2 1 3 9 8
9 England (6) John Louis 7 F 0 3 3 1 7 9
10 England (4) Martin Ashby 6 1 3 1 1 0 6 10
11 Australia (5) Garry Middleton 5 1 0 1 0 3 5 11
12 England (14) Peter Smith 5 0 2 1 1 1 5 12
13 England (9) Terry Betts 4 1 2 F F 1 4 13
14 England (11) Mick Bell 4 2 0 0 0 2 4 14
15 England (1) Malcolm Simmons 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 15
16 Scotland (12) Jim McMillan 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 16
R1 England (R1) Chris Pusey 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

Nordic 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 Denmark (6) Ole Olsen 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Sweden (5) Bengt Jansson 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 2
3 Sweden (7) Anders Michanek 13 1 3 3 3 3 13 3
4 Sweden (8) Bernt Persson 12 0 3 3 3 3 12 4
5 Sweden (3) Tommy Jansson 10 3 1 2 2 2 10 5
6 Sweden (4) Jan Simensen 9 1 2 2 2 2 9 6
7 Norway (13) Reidar Eide 9 3 2 1 2 1 9 7
8 Sweden (11) Göte Nordin 8 3 2 1 1 1 8 8 3
9 Sweden (1) Christer Löfqvist 8 2 1 2 1 2 8 9 F
10 Sweden (9) Lars Jansson 5 2 0 1 0 2 5 10
11 Sweden (12) Christer Sjösten 4 F E 2 2 0 4 11
12 Norway (10) Øyvind S. Berg 4 1 1 0 1 1 4 12
13 Norway (2) Dag Lovaas 3 F 2 1 0 0 3 13
14 Sweden (15) Hasse Holmqvist 3 2 0 0 1 0 3 14
15 Sweden (16) Tommy Johansson 1 1 E E - - 1 15
16 Norway (14) Odd Fossengen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 Sweden (R1) Leif Enecrona 1 0 1 1 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

Fifth round

British/Commonwealth/Nordic 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 (13) Anders Michanek 14 3 3 2 3 3 14 1
2 Denmark (8) Ole Olsen 11 T 3 3 2 3 11 2
3 New Zealand (4) Ivan Mauger 11 1 2 3 3 2 11 3
4 Sweden (2) Tommy Jansson 10 2 3 2 1 2 10 4
5 Australia (7) John Boulger 10 2 3 1 3 1 10 5
6 England (11) Peter Collins 9 3 2 3 0 1 9 6
7 England (16) Ray Wilson 9 E 1 2 3 3 9 7
8 Sweden (15) Bernt Persson 9 2 E 3 2 2 9 8
9 Australia (1) Bob Valentine 8 3 2 0 2 1 8 9
10 Norway (6) Reidar Eide 5 1 2 1 1 0 5 10
11 Sweden (14) Göte Nordin 5 1 1 2 1 0 5 11
12 Sweden (10) Bengt Jansson 3 2 F F 1 E 3 12
13 Sweden (9) Jan Simensen 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 13
14 England (12) Tony Davey 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 14
15 England (3) Eric Boocock 0 0 T - - - 0 15
DQ England (5) John Louis 10 3 1 1 2 3 10 DQ
R1 Australia (R1) Garry Middleton 2 T 0 2 2 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

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 21
1 Soviet Union (15) Valery Gordeev 13 3 3 2 2 3 13 1
2 Soviet Union (4) Grigory Khlinovsky 12 2 3 3 1 3 12 2
3 Soviet Union (16) Vladimir Zapleshny 12 2 2 2 3 3 12 3
4 Soviet Union (6) Vladimir Gordeev 11.5 3 3 1/2 3 2 11.5 4
5 Soviet Union (1) Viktor Trofimov 11.5 3 3 1/2 3 2 11.5 5
6 Soviet Union (12) Aleksandr Pavlov 11 3 0 3 2 3 11 6
7 Soviet Union (8) Anatoly Kuzmin 10 2 1 3 3 1 10 7
8 Soviet Union (11) Vladimir Paznikov 10 1 2 3 2 2 10 8
9 Czechoslovakia (9) Jiri Stancl 8 2 2 2 0 2 8 9
10 Czechoslovakia (3) Petr Ondrašík 5 1 1 0 2 1 5 10
11 Czechoslovakia (14) Milan Špinka 5 1 2 1 X 1 5 11
12 Czechoslovakia (13) Václav Verner 4 0 1 2 1 0 4 12
13 Czechoslovakia (5) Miloslav Verner 3 1 0 1 1 0 3 13
14 East Germany (7) Gunter Angermuller 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 14
15 Czechoslovakia (10) Karol Vobornik 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 15
16 Czechoslovakia (2) Petr Kucera 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 Soviet Union (R1) Oleg Dzyadyk 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

Sixth round

Polish qualifiers

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 (7) Anders Michanek 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 New Zealand (5) Ivan Mauger 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 2
3 Soviet Union (13) Vladimir Paznikov 12 3 2 1 3 3 12 3
4 Sweden (4) Bernt Persson 10 0 3 2 3 2 10 4
5 Soviet Union (9) Vladimir Zapleshny 9 3 0 2 2 2 9 5
6 England (16) Peter Collins 9 2 2 3 2 E 9 6
7 Soviet Union (14) Valery Gordeev 8 F 3 3 1 1 8 7
8 Denmark (11) Ole Olsen 8 2 2 2 2 - 8 8
9 Soviet Union (1) Grigory Khlinovsky 7 1 1 0 2 3 7 9
10 Australia (3) John Boulger 7 3 1 1 1 1 7 10
11 England (2) Ray Wilson 6 2 2 F 1 1 6 11
12 Sweden (6) Bengt Jansson 6 1 1 1 1 2 6 12
13 Soviet Union (15) Aleksandr Pavlov 4 1 0 2 0 1 4 13
14 Czechoslovakia (8) Jiri Stancl 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 14
15 Soviet Union (12) Viktor Trofimov 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 15
16 Soviet Union (10) Anatoly Kuzmin 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 16
R1 East Germany (R1) Otto Barth 0 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

Final Controversy

The Final was surrounded by controversy, with decisions made by Georg Traunspurger, the referee assigned to the meeting by the FIM, seeming to favour the Polish riders. One of his decisions was to have 2nd reserve Andrzej Wyglenda of Poland race in Heat 16 in front of 1st reserve Tommy Jansson of Sweden (after Bernt Persson of Sweden was unable to ride), making it four Polish riders in the race. In the race, second placed Edward Jancarz, who led for the first three laps, seemed to let Zenon Plech take the lead in the final turn, allowing Plech, who had more points at that stage of the meeting, to collect another three points for the win.

His most controversial decision was to exclude Soviet rider Grigory Khlinovsky from heat 19. Khlinovsky had attempted to pass on the inside of Zenon Plech for the lead going into the back straight of the last lap. As he was passed by the Russian, Plech lost control of his bike and fell. Despite protests from riders and the Soviet officials Khlinovsky was excluded and England's Peter Collins, who was in 3rd place at the time of the crash, was awarded the heat win, Plech, who didn't actually finish the race, was awarded 2nd. The result of the two points he gained for second place allowed Plech to finish a clear third in the championship. Had Khlinovsky been the winner of the heat, he would have ended on 13 points, which would have put him in the run-off for the title with Szczakiel and Mauger.[11]

British television commentator Dave Lanning called the ruling "The craziest piece of speedway regulations in the history of World Championship racing", before adding that "It seems to me that the authorities here in Katowice are making up the rules to suit themselves to get their boys a world title."

Final result

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 Poland (16) Jerzy Szczakiel 13 3 3 3 2 2 13 1 3
2 New Zealand (8) Ivan Mauger 13 3 1 3 3 3 13 2 F
3 Poland (6) Zenon Plech 12 2 3 2 3 2 12 3
4 Denmark (7) Ole Olsen 11 1 2 3 2 3 11 4
5 Soviet Union (3) Grigory Khlinovsky 10 2 3 2 3 X 10 5
6 Soviet Union (2) Vladimir Paznikov 8 3 1 2 1 1 8 6
7 Poland (4) Paweł Waloszek 8 1 2 1 1 3 8 7
8 Soviet Union (12) Valery Gordeev 7 2 0 1 3 1 7 8
9 Poland (11) Jan Mucha 7 1 1 1 2 2 7 9
10 Sweden (1) Anders Michanek 6 0 3 X 1 2 6 10
11 Poland (9) Edward Jancarz 6 3 1 0 2 0 6 11
12 England (13) Peter Collins 6 1 0 2 0 3 6 12
13 Australia (14) John Boulger 6 2 2 1 0 1 6 13
14 England (5) Ray Wilson 5 F 2 3 0 F 5 14
15 Soviet Union (10) Vladimir Zapleshny 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 15
16 Sweden (15) Bernt Persson 0 F 0 R - - 0 16
R1 Poland (R1) Andrzej Wyglenda 0 0 0 R1
R2 Sweden (R2) Tommy Jansson 0 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 9 July 2021.
  3. ^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  4. ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  6. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Unknown Pole wins crown from Mauger". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 3 September 1973. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ Katowice 1973
  9. ^ "1973 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. ^ "1973 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  11. ^ YouTube
  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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