The 1974 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 29th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Sweden's own Anders Michanek scored a 15-point maximum to claim his only Individual world title in front of a capacity crowd at the Ullevi stadium in Göteborg. Four time champion Ivan Mauger finished second on 11 points after winning a run-off with Swede Sören Sjösten who also scored 11. With the defending champion Jerzy Szczakiel not qualifying after finishing last in the 2nd Continental Semi-final, the only other World Champion in the field was Denmark's Ole Olsen who suffered a horror night, finishing second in his first ride before falling in his second and not being able to contest the rest of the meeting.[7]

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed for the 1974 event. This time the Swedish riders were allowed five places in the World Final to be held in Sweden. All other nations had to go through the European Final route to provide the remaining 11 riders for the World Final.[8][9]

First round

British/Commonwealth preliminaries

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
1 April Quibell Park Stadium, Scunthorpe Reg Luckhurst Russ Osborne Mike Hiftle
5 April Derwent Park, Workington Alan Cowland Dave Gatenby Brian Clark
21 April Arlington Stadium, Eastbourne Phil Herne Mike Sampson Mike Cake
22 April Earle Street, Crewe Carl Glover Mike Broadbanks Richard Greer
23 April Ellesmere Port Stadium, Ellesmere Port Barry Crowson Richard May Ken Eyre

Second round

Continental qualifying

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
1 May West Germany Hansa Stadium, Bremen Czechoslovakia Jan Klokočka West Germany Egon Müller Netherlands Henny Kroeze
5 May Italy La Favorita, Sarego Hungary Sandor Csatho West Germany Christoph Betzl Bulgaria Angel Eftimov

British/Commonwealth qualifying

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
29 April County Ground Stadium, Exeter Ivan Mauger Barry Briggs Phil Herne
30 April Leicester Stadium, Leicester Terry Betts Malcolm Simmons Dave Jessup
1 May Wimborne Road, Poole Peter Collins Dave Jessup Eric Broadbelt
1 May The Boulevard, Hull John Boulger Nigel Boocock Jim McMillan
2 May Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield Bob Valentine Bob Paulson Ray Wilson
2 May Oxford Stadium, Oxford Bob Kilby Malcolm Simmons Eric Boocock
2 May Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich John Louis Nigel Boocock Billy Sanders
4 May King's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn Malcolm Simmons Ivan Mauger Tony Davey
4 May The Shay, Halifax Eric Boocock Kevin Holden Rick France
9 May Wimbledon Stadium, London Barry Briggs Neil Cameron Richard May
10 May Monmore Green, Wolverhampton Billy Sanders Rick France George Hunter
10 May Somerton Park, Newport Phil Crump Ray Wilson Geoff Mudge
10 May Hackney Wick Stadium, London John Louis Barry Thomas Bob Kilby
11 May Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley Billy Sanders Bruce Cribb John Boulger
11 May Brandon Stadium, Coventry Bob Valentine Nigel Boocock Gordon Kennett
11 May Hyde Road, Manchester Chris Pusey Bob Kilby Barry Crowson
15 May Abbey Stadium, Swindon John Louis Martin Ashby Eric Broadbelt

Third round

Norwegian qualifying[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Dag Lovaas 14
2 Edgar Stangeland 12
3 Kjell Gimre 12
4 Oyvind S. Berg 11
5 Ulf Lovaas 10
6 Odd Fossengen 10
7 Jan Terje Gravningen 10
8 Svein Loken 10
9 Nils Otto Haraldsen 8
10 Helge Langli 8
11 Jon Odegaard 5
12 Dagfinn Dahl 4
13 Hans Erik Fuglerud 3
14 Per Hetland 2
15 Stein Roar Pedersen 1
16 Regnar Olaisen 1

Finnish qualifying[edit]

Pos. Rider Points
1 Matti Olin 15
2 Ilkka Teromaa 14
3 Reino Santala 12
4 Kari Vuoristo 11
5 Rauli Mäkinen 11
6 Pekka Paljakka 9
7 Markku Helminen 9
8 Ari Hiljanen 8
9 Timo Naskali 7
10 Esko Myllari 5
11 Pekka Kortelainen 4
12 Jouko Naskali 3
13 Jukka Ahonen 2
14 Jukka Hautamäki 2
15 Harry Paranko 1
16 Veli-Pekka Teromaa 12 (disq)

Danish final

Main article: 1974 Danish speedway season

Continental quarter-finals

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
18 May Czechoslovakia Markéta Stadium, Prague Soviet Union Mikhail Krasnov Soviet Union Viktor Trofimov Soviet Union Vladimir Zapleshny
19 May Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ilirija Sports Park, Ljubljana Poland Zenon Plech Poland Edward Jancarz Netherlands Henny Kroeze
19 May West Germany Breitenthal Stadium, Krumbach Poland Henryk Glücklich Poland Jerzy Szczakiel West Germany Manfred Poschenreider
19 May Hungary Hajdú Volán Stadion, Debrecen Soviet Union Grigory Khlinovsky Poland Andrzej Jurczyński Poland Marek Cieślak

British/Commonwealth semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 England John Louis 14
2 England Peter Collins 13
3 England Reg Wilson 12
4 Australia Bob Valentine 10
5 New Zealand Barry Briggs 9
6 England Martin Ashby 9
7 New Zealand Ivan Mauger 9
8 Australia Billy Sanders 9
9 England Doug Wyer 7
10 England Chris Pusey 6
11 Australia Phil Herne 5
12 England Barry Crowson 4
13 Scotland George Hunter 4
14 England Bob Kilby 3
15 England Eric Broadbelt 3
16 England Arnie Haley 2
Pos. Rider Points
1 England Dave Jessup 15
2 England Ray Wilson 13
3 Scotland Jim McMillan 12
4 England Malcolm Simmons 11
5 Australia John Boulger 10
6 England Terry Betts 10
7 England Eric Boocock 8
8 Scotland Bobby Beaton 8
9 England Barry Thomas 8
10 England Nigel Boocock 8
11 England Rick France 6
12 England Kevin Holden 4
13 England Tony Davey 3
14 Australia Phil Crump 3
15 New Zealand Bruce Cribb 1
16 England Gordon Kennett 0

Fourth round

Continental semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 Poland Edward Jancarz 14
2 Soviet Union Vladimir Gordeev 14
3 Soviet Union Michail Krasnov 13
4 Poland Zbigniew Filipiak 11
5 Poland Jan Mucha 9
6 Poland Ryszard Fabiszewski 9
7 Poland Zenon Plech 9
8 Soviet Union Vladimir Zaplechny 8
9 Soviet Union Viktor Trofimov 6
10 Czechoslovakia Miloslav Špinka 6
11 Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl 5
12 Poland Paweł Waloszek 4
13 Czechoslovakia Jan Hadek 4
14 Soviet Union Vladimir Nesterov 3
15 Netherlands Henny Kroeze 3
16 Poland Boguslaw Nowak 2
Pos. Rider Points
1 Poland Henryk Glücklich 12
2 Soviet Union Michail Starostin 12
3 Poland Marek Cieslak 11
4 Soviet Union Valerij Gordeev 10
5 Soviet Union Grigory Khlinovsky 10
6 Soviet Union Anatolij Kuzmin 10
7 Poland Bernard Jader 9
8 Soviet Union Alexander Pavlov 9
9 Soviet Union Andrzej Jurczynski 8
10 Poland Zdieslaw Dobrucki 7
11 West Germany Manfred Poschenreider 6
12 Czechoslovakia Václav Verner 6
13 West Germany Josef Angermüller 4
14 Hungary Pal Perenyi 4
15 Hungary Sandor Domokos 2
16 Poland Jerzy Szczakiel 0
17 Czechoslovakia Rudolf Wejndl 0
18 Hungary Kazimierz Bentke 0

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 (14) Eric Boocock 13 3 3 2 2 3 13 1
2 England (11) Terry Betts 12 3 3 2 2 2 12 2
3 England (8) Dave Jessup 11 3 1 3 1 3 11 3
4 Australia (5) John Boulger 10 2 3 3 2 0 10 4
5 New Zealand (13) Ivan Mauger 9 2 E 3 3 1 9 5
6 England (1) Nigel Boocock 8 2 2 0 3 1 8 6
7 Scotland (7) Jim McMillan 8 1 2 1 1 3 8 7
8 England (12) Peter Collins 8 0 3 2 0 3 8 8
9 England (16) John Louis 8 0 0 3 3 2 8 9
10 England (4) Ray Wilson 7 1 2 T 3 1 7 10
11 New Zealand (6) Barry Briggs 6 0 1 1 2 2 6 11
12 Australia (10) Billy Sanders 5 1 2 1 1 0 5 12
13 England (15) Malcolm Simmons 5 1 E 1 1 2 5 13
14 England (9) Reg Wilson 4 2 1 X F 1 4 14
15 Australia (2) Bob Valentine 3 3 X F E - 3 15
16 England (3) Martin Ashby 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 16
R1 England (R1) Frank Smith 0 0 0 R1
R2 England (R2) Roger Hill 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

Nordic Final

Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Denmark Ole Olsen 3,3,3,3,3 15
2 Norway Dag Lövaas 3,3,3,3,2 14
3 Finland Matti Olin 2,2,2,2,3 11
4 Denmark Bent Nørregaard-Jensen 3,1,2,2,2 10
5 Norway Reidar Eide ef,2,3,3,1 9
6 Finland Kari Vuoristo 0,2,2,2,3 9
7 Norway Øyvind S. Berg 2,1,3,1,1 8
8 Norway Edgar Stangeland 2,3,0,1,2 8
9 Denmark Preben Rosenkilde 1,1,0,3,2 7
10 Norway Jan Terje Gravningen 1,3,2,0,ef 6
11 Norway Ulf Lovaas 1,ef,-,2,3 6
12 Denmark Kaj Kristensen 3,0,1,0,1 5
13 Finland Pekka Paljakka 1,0,1,1,1 4
14 Norway Svein Lokken 2,1,1,0,0 4
15 Norway Kjell Gimre 0,2,1,0,0 3
16 Denmark Nils Nilsen ef,-,-,-,- 0
R1 Finland Antti Eklund f,0,0,1,0 1

Fifth round

Swedish qualification

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 (10) Vladimir Gordeev 12 3 3 1 3 2 12 1
2 Soviet Union (1) Mikhail Starostin 11 3 3 0 2 3 11 2
3 Poland (4) Zenon Plech 11 F 3 3 3 2 11 3
4 Soviet Union (11) Mikhail Krasnov 10 2 3 2 3 0 10 4
5 Soviet Union (3) Anatoly Kuzmin 10 2 2 3 0 3 10 5
6 Poland (7) Jan Mucha 9 2 1 E 3 3 9 6
7 Poland (13) Edward Jancarz 9 3 X 2 2 2 9 7
8 Soviet Union (14) Grigory Khlinovsky 8 1 1 2 1 3 8 8
9 Poland (5) Ryszard Fabiszewski 8 3 2 1 1 1 8 9
10 Soviet Union (15) Valery Gordeev 7 2 0 3 2 E 7 10
11 Soviet Union (6) Vladimir Zapleshny 6 1 0 3 1 1 6 11
12 Poland (16) Marek Cieślak 5 0 1 1 2 1 5 12
13 Poland (8) Henryk Glücklich 3 0 2 X 1 X 3 13
14 Soviet Union (9) Aleksandr Pavlov 3 0 1 0 E 2 3 14
15 Poland (12) Bernard Jąder 3 1 0 2 0 0 3 15
16 Poland (2) Zbigniew Filipiak 2 E 2 0 0 0 2 16
R1 West Germany (R1) Josef Angermüller 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

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 Denmark (8) Ole Olsen 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 1
2 New Zealand (5) Ivan Mauger 13 2 2 3 3 3 13 2
3 England (16) John Louis 10 3 0 3 2 2 10 3
4 England (2) Terry Betts 10 3 3 1 2 1 10 4
5 England (12) Peter Collins 10 3 1 2 3 1 10 5
6 England (9) Dave Jessup 10 2 E 2 3 3 10 6
7 United States (4) Scott Autrey 9 2 2 1 2 2 9 7
8 Norway (7) Dag Lovaas 9 1 3 3 2 E 9 8
9 Australia (1) John Boulger 8 1 3 1 E 3 8 9
10 Scotland (6) Jim McMillan 8 0 2 2 1 3 8 10
11 Norway (13) Reidar Eide 7 1 1 2 1 2 7 11
12 Denmark (14) Bent Nørregaard-Jensen 6 2 1 1 1 1 6 12
13 England (15) Nigel Boocock 2 0 1 0 E 1 2 13
14 Finland (11) Matti Olin 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 14
15 England (3) Eric Boocock 0 F - - - - 0 15
16 Finland (10) Kari Vuoristo 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 16
R1 England (R1) Ray Wilson 3 2 1 3 R1
R2 Norway (R2) Øyvind S. Berg 0 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

Sixth round

Swedish Finals

Pos. Rider R1 R2 R3 Total
1 Anders Michanek 12 15 15 42
2 Sören Sjösten 15 14 12 41
3 Christer Löfqvist 12 12 11 35
4 Bengt Jansson 11 8 14 33
5 Tommy Johansson 11 12 10 33
6 Tommy Jansson 10 9 13 32
7 Sören Karlsson 5 11 7 23
8 Hasse Holmqvist 8 9 6 23
9 Tommy Pettersson 7 9 6 22
10 Bernt Persson 9 5 6 20
Pos. Rider R1 R2 R3 Total
11 Bo Wirebrand 7 4 5 15
12 Christer Sjösten 4 5 5 14
13 Karl-Erik Claesson 1 2 5 8
14 Sven Nilsson 4 2 2 8
15 Stephan Johansson 1 2 2 5
16 Tommy Nilsson 3 2 - 5
17 Käll Haage - - 2 1
18 Therje Henriksson 0 0 0 0
19 Leif Enecrona 0 - - 0

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 England (15) Peter Collins 13 3 2 3 3 2 13 1 3
2 Denmark (2) Ole Olsen 13 3 3 2 3 2 13 2 2
3 New Zealand (4) Ivan Mauger 13 2 3 3 2 3 13 3 1
4 Soviet Union (8) Vladimir Gordeev 11 2 2 3 1 3 11 4
5 England (12) John Louis 10 3 0 1 3 3 10 5
6 Poland (14) Zenon Plech 10 2 2 2 2 2 10 6
7 England (11) Dave Jessup 8 E 3 3 2 0 8 7
8 Norway (7) Dag Lovaas 7 3 1 0 E 3 7 8
9 Soviet Union (16) Grigory Khlinovsky 7 F 1 2 3 1 7 9
10 England (5) Terry Betts 6 0 3 0 2 1 6 10
11 Soviet Union (13) Mikhail Krasnov 6 1 1 2 0 2 6 11
12 Poland (10) Edward Jancarz 5 2 1 1 1 0 5 12
13 United States (6) Scott Autrey 3 1 0 1 0 1 3 13
14 Soviet Union (9) Mikhail Starostin 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 14
15 Soviet Union (3) Anatoly Kuzmin 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 15
16 Poland (1) Jan Mucha 0 - - - - - 0 16
R1 Scotland (R1) Jim McMillan 2 1 0 1 2 R1
R2 Australia (R2) John Boulger 3 2 1 3 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

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 (10) Anders Michanek 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 New Zealand (1) Ivan Mauger 11 2 2 3 2 2 11 2 3
3 Sweden (13) Sören Sjösten 11 3 3 1 1 3 11 3 2
4 United Kingdom (16) John Louis 9 1 3 0 2 3 9 4
5 Sweden (8) Bengt Jansson 9 2 1 3 3 R 9 5
6 United Kingdom (15) Peter Collins 9 2 2 2 2 1 9 6
7 Sweden (7) Tommy Johansson 8 3 0 0 3 2 8 7
8 Poland (11) Zenon Plech 8 0 3 1 2 2 8 8
9 Sweden (4) Christer Löfqvist 8 3 2 2 1 R 8 9
10 Soviet Union (6) Grigory Khlinovsky 6 1 0 2 3 F 6 10
11 Norway (12) Dag Lövaas 6 1 0 3 1 1 6 11
12 United Kingdom (5) Terry Betts 6 0 1 1 1 3 6 12
13 United Kingdom (14) Dave Jessup 5 0 2 2 0 1 5 13
14 Soviet Union (2) Mikhail Krasnov 3 1 1 R 0 1 3 14
15 Denmark (9) Ole Olsen 2 2 F - - - 2 15
16 Soviet Union (3) Vladimir Gordeev 0 0 F - - - 0 16
R1 Sweden (R1) Tommy Jansson 3 1 0 0 2 3 R1
R2 Poland (R2) Edward Jancarz 1 1 0 0 1 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 10 July 2021.
  3. ^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  4. ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  7. ^ 1974 Individual Speedway World Championship
  8. ^ "1974 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  9. ^ "1974 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

External links

Individual Speedway World Championship and Speedway Grand Prix seasons
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