The 1975 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 30th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Ole Olsen won his second World title in front of 81,000 at Wembley Stadium in London with a 15 point maximum from his five rides. Defending champion Anders Michanek finished second and England's John Louis won the run-off for the bronze medal, defeating four time world champion Ivan Mauger. Some criticism was aimed at the track surface which was described as dusty and dry.[7]

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed for the 1975 event. This time the British riders (not including Commonwealth riders for the first time) were allowed four places in the World Final to be held in England. All other nations had to go through the European Final route to provide the remaining 12 riders for the World Final. The European Final qualification route included a new Intercontinental Final which feature riders from the United States for the first time for many years.[8][9]

First round

Swedish qualifying

Continental qualifying

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
4 May West Germany Stadion Wiener Neustadt, Wiener Neustadt West Germany Alois Wiesböck Austria Adi Funk Czechoslovakia Josef Minarik
4 May Italy La Favorita, Sarego East Germany Otto Barth Italy Giuseppe Marzotto Bulgaria Angeł Eftimov

Second round

British/Commonwealth preliminary round

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
19 April Kingsmead Stadium, Canterbury Bob Humphreys Les Rumsey Nigel Wasley
22 April Wessex Stadium, Weymouth Paul Gachet Trevor Geer Ian Cartwright
27 April Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon Phil Herne Joe Owen Alan Sage
30 April Odsal Stadium, Bradford Terry Kelly Sid Sheldrick Geoff Bouchard

Continental quarter-finals

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
18 May West Germany Breitenthal Stadium, Krumbach Czechoslovakia Jan Hadek Poland Marek Cieślak Soviet Union Valery Gordeev
18 May Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Matija Gubec Stadium, Krško Poland Henryk Glücklich Czechoslovakia Josef Minarik Soviet Union Vladimir Nesterov
18 May Czechoslovakia Trade Union Stadium, Ostrava Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl Soviet Union Vladimir Gordeev Poland Paweł Waloszek
18 May Hungary Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc Poland Edward Jancarz Hungary Isztvan Sziracki Soviet Union Viktor Trofimov

Norwegian Final[edit]

  • 14 September 1974
  • Norway Nærbø, Nærbø
  • Top 2 (+1 seeded) to Nordic final 1975
Pos. Rider Points
1 Dag Lövaas 14
2 Edgar Stangeland 13
3 Ulf Lövaas 13
4 Reidar Eide 11
5 Oyvind S. Berg 11

Finland Final[edit]

Pos. Rider Total
1 Kari Vuoristo 15
2 Matti Olin 14
3 Veli Pekka Teromaa 13
4 Kai Niemi 12
5 Markku Helminen 10
6 Ari Hiljanen 9
7 Pekka Paljakka 9
8 Seppo Palomäki 7
9 Seppo Santala 6
10 Juhani Eronen 5
11 Esa Mattila 5
12 Reino Santala 5
13 Pekka Kortelainen 2
14 Harry Skofeldt 2
15 Erkki Etelatahti 1
16 Pentti Mattila 1

Danish Final

Main article: 1975 Danish speedway season

Swedish 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 (1) Tommy Jansson 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 1
2 Sweden (5) Anders Michanek 13 3 2 3 3 2 13 2
3 Sweden (14) Bernt Persson 13 3 3 3 3 1 13 3
4 Sweden (4) Sören Karlsson 12 1 3 3 3 2 12 4
5 Sweden (2) Tommy Johansson 11 2 2 2 2 3 11 5
6 Sweden (7) Bengt Jansson 10 2 3 2 1 2 10 6
7 Sweden (8) Sören Sjösten 10 1 2 2 3 2 10 7
8 Sweden (10) Hasse Holmqvist 7 3 1 0 2 0 6 8
9 Sweden (16) Christer Sjösten 5+3 2 1 0 1 1 5 9
10 Sweden (3) Åke Andersson 5+2 0 1 1 0 3 5 10
11 Sweden (9) Bo Josefsson 4 2 0 0 2 0 4 11
12 Sweden (15) Eddie Davidsson 4 0 2 1 1 0 4 12
13 Sweden (13) Jan Simensen 4 1 1 1 0 1 4 13
14 Sweden (12) Stefan Salomonsson 3 1 0 0 0 2 3 14
15 Sweden (6) Leif Enecrona 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 15
16 Sweden (11) Conny Samuelsson 0 0 0 - - - 0 16
Sweden (17) Peter Smith 2 2 0 2
Sweden (18) Richard Hellsen 1 1 1
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

Third round

Continental semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 Soviet Union Valerij Gordeev 15
2 Poland Edward Jancarz 12
3 Poland Zenon Plech 12
4 Soviet Union Michail Starostin 10
5 West Germany Manfred Poschenreider 10
6 Soviet Union Viktor Trofimov 10
7 Poland Boguslaw Nowak 9
8 Poland Marek Cieslak 9
9 Poland Andrzej Jurczynski 8
10 Netherlands Henny Kroeze 8
11 Soviet Union Vladimir Rozanchuk 5
12 Czechoslovakia Jan Hadek 4
13 Czechoslovakia Jan Klokocka 4
14 Soviet Union Georgij Markatanov 2
15 Hungary Istvan Sziraczki 2
16 Poland Andrzej Wyglenda 0
17 Hungary Janos Szöke (res) 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Poland Piotr Bruzda 12
2 Czechoslovakia Jan Verner 11
3 Soviet Union Vladimir Gordeev 11
4 Poland Paweł Waloszek 10
5 Poland Henryk Glücklich 10
6 Soviet Union Viktor Kalmykov 10
7 Soviet Union Nikolaj Kornev 10
8 Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl 9+3
9 Czechoslovakia Franciszek Stach 9+2
10 Soviet Union Vladimir Nesterov 8
11 Soviet Union Georgij Ivanov 5
12 Czechoslovakia Petr Kucera 5
13 Czechoslovakia Václav Verner 4
14 Poland Andrzej Tkocz 4
15 Czechoslovakia Josef Minarik 1
16 Poland Jerzy Szczakiel 1

British/Commonwealth qualifying round

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
16 May Somerton Park, Newport Bob Kilby Tom Owen John Boulger
16 May Mmonmore Green, Wolverhampton Ivan Mauger Arthur Price Chris Morton
17 May The Shay, Halifax Chris Pusey Dave Morton Charlie Monk
19 May County Ground Stadium, Exeter Ivan Mauger Steve Reinke Martin Ashby
19 May Smallmead Stadium, Reading Terry Betts Bob Humphreys Bobby Beaton
20 May Leicester Stadium, Leicester Ray Wilson Billy Sanders Bob Valentine
21 May Wimborne Road, Poole Malcolm Simmons Paul Tyrer Neil Street
21 May The Boulevard, Hull Bruce Cribb Jim McMillan John Boulger
24 May King's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn Ray Bales Mick Hines Terry Betts
24 May Brandon Stadium, Coventry Nigel Boocock George Hunter Malcolm Simmons
29 May Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield Ray Wilson Chris Morton Carl Glover
29 May Oxford Stadium, Oxford Phil Herne Dave Jessup Richard Greer
29 May Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich John Louis Billy Sanders Jim McMillan
30 May Wimbledon Stadium. London Peter Collins Colin Gooddy Eric Broadbelt
30 May Hackney Wick Stadium, London Dave Morton Ray Wilson Billy Sanders
31 May Abbey Stadium, Swindon Ivan Mauger Martin Ashby Barry Thomas
31 May Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley Arthur Price George Hunter John Boulger
31 May Hyde Road, Manchester Alan Wilkinson Chris Morton Peter Collins

Nordic Final

Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Denmark Ole Olsen 3,2,3,3,3 14
2 Sweden Tommy Jansson 2,3,2,3,3 13
3 Norway Dag Lovaas 3,0,3,3,3 12+3
4 Sweden Bernt Persson 2,3,2,3,2 12+2
5 Norway Reidar Eide 3,3,1,2,1 10
6 Sweden Tommy Johansson 2,1,3,1,3 10
7 Sweden Hasse Holmqvist 1,2,2,1,2 8
8 Sweden Anders Michanek F,1,3,2,2 8
9 Sweden Bengt Jansson 0,3,0,2,2 7
10 Norway Edgar Stangeland 0,2,1,2,1 6
11 Finland Ila Teromaa 2,2,1,0,F 5
12 Denmark Finn Thomsen 3,F,0,0,1 4
13 Sweden Sören Sjösten 1,1,1,1,E 4
14 Sweden Sören Karlsson 1,0,2,0,0 3
15 Finland Kari Vuoristo 0,0,0,1,0 1
16 Denmark Bent Nørregaard-Jensen F,-,-,-,- 0
R1 Norway Tormod Langli 1,0 1
R2 Norway Helge Langli 1,0,1 2

Fourth round

British semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 England Martin Ashby 15
2 England Malcolm Simmons 14
3 England Bob Kilby 11
4 Scotland Jim McMillan 10
5 England Gordon Kennett 10
6 England John Louis 10
7 England Doug Wyer 9
8 England Chris Morton 8
9 Scotland Bobby Beaton 6
10 England Frank Auffret 5
11 Scotland George Hunter 5
12 England Mike Lanham 5
13 England Eric Broadbelt 3
14 England Arthur Price 2
15 England Colin Gooddy 2
16 England Roger Johns 1
Pos. Rider Points
1 England Ray Wilson 15
2 England Dave Jessup 13
3 England Peter Collins 11
4 England Dave Morton 11
5 England Alan Wilkinson 10
6 England Tony Davey 9
7 England Carl Glover 8
8 England Chris Pusey 8
9 England Nigel Boocock 8
10 England Terry Betts 5
11 England Kevin Holden 4
12 England Alan Grahame 4
13 England Ray Bales 4
14 England Tom Owen 4
15 England Trevor Hedge 3
16 England Paul Tyrer 2

Intercontinental 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 New Zealand (2) Ivan Mauger 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 1
2 Sweden (11) Anders Michanek 12 2 3 3 1 3 12 2
3 Sweden (13) Bernt Persson 11+3 3 3 0 2 3 11 3
4 Denmark (1) Ole Olsen 11+2 3 1 2 2 3 11 4
5 United States (6) Scott Autrey 9 3 2 1 2 1 9 5
6 Sweden (9) Tommy Jansson 9 3 2 2 1 1 9 6
7 Norway (14) Reidar Eide 8+3 2 1 3 0 2 8 7
8 Australia (3) Phil Crump 8+2 1 2 1 2 2 8 8
9 Sweden (7) Tommy Johansson 8+1 1 0 2 3 2 8 9
10 Norway (4) Dag Lovaas 7 0 3 1 3 0 7 10
11 Australia (12) John Boulger 4 1 0 2 1 0 4 11
12 Australia (8) Billy Sanders 4 0 2 0 0 2 4 12
13 Sweden (16) Bengt Jansson 4 0 1 0 3 0 4 13
14 Sweden (5) Hasse Holmqvist 4 2 0 1 0 1 4 14
15 United States (10) Steven Gresham 3 0 0 3 0 F 3 15
16 New Zealand (15) Barry Briggs 1 1 - - - - 1 16
Sweden (17) Kenneth Selmonsson 0 0
Sweden (18) Jan Andersson 2 1 0 0 1 2
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

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 (6) Edward Jancarz 12 3 1 3 2 3 12 1
2 Soviet Union (4) Valery Gordeev 11 3 0 2 3 3 11 2
3 Soviet Union (15) Viktor Kalmykov 11 3 3 3 0 2 11 3
4 Soviet Union (10) Vladimir Gordeev 10 3 3 1 0 3 10 4
5 Poland (13) Marek Cieślak 10 0 2 3 3 2 10 5
6 Poland (8) Henryk Glücklich 10 1 3 1 2 3 10 6
7 Soviet Union (2) Viktor Trofimov 10 2 2 2 1 3 10 7
8 Poland (1) Zenon Plech 7+3 1 1 1 3 1 7 8
9 Soviet Union (16) Nikolay Kornev 7+2 1 2 2 1 2 8 9
10 Poland (5) Piotr Bruzda 7+1 2 0 1 2 2 7 10
11 Czechoslovakia (9) Jiri Stancl 7+0 0 3 3 1 0 7 11
12 Soviet Union (12) Mikhail Starostin 6 1 2 0 2 1 6 12
13 Czechoslovakia (14) Jan Verner 5 2 0 2 1 0 5 13
14 Poland (11) Bogusław Nowak 5 2 2 0 0 1 5 14
15 Poland (3) Paweł Waloszek 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 15
16 East Germany (7) Manfred Poschenreider 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 16
Poland (17) Andrzej Jurczyński 0 0
Poland (18) Franciszek Stach 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

Fifth round

British 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 England (6) John Louis 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 England (8) Peter Collins 13+3 2 2 3 3 3 13 2
3 England (9) Malcolm Simmons 13+2 3 3 2 2 3 13 3
4 England (12) Ray Wilson 11+3 F 3 3 3 2 11 4
5 England (3) Martin Ashby 11+2 3 3 1 3 1 11 5
6 England (10) Chris Pusey 10 1 2 3 2 2 10 6
7 England (11) Tony Davey 9 2 2 1 1 3 9 7
8 England (1) Gordon Kennett 6 2 1 2 1 0 6 8
9 England (2) Dave Jessup 6 0 0 2 2 2 6 9
10 England (4) Doug Wyer 5 1 1 2 1 0 5 10
11 Scotland (7) Jim McMillan 5 1 1 0 2 1 5 11
12 England (13) Bob Kilby 5 2 2 1 0 0 5 12
13 England (14) Chris Morton 5 3 1 0 0 1 5 13
14 England (5) Dave Morton 3 0 E 1 0 2 3 14
15 England (16) Alan Wilkinson 2 1 0 F 1 0 2 15
16 England (15) Carl Glover 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 16
England (17) Nigel Boocock 0 0
Scotland (18) Bobby Beaton 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

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 New Zealand (12) Ivan Mauger 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 1 3
2 Denmark (3) Ole Olsen 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 2 2
3 Australia (9) Phil Crump 11 2 3 1 2 3 11 3
4 Sweden (6) Anders Michanek 10 3 0 3 3 1 10 4
5 Poland (2) Henryk Glücklich 9 3 1 1 2 2 9 5
6 Sweden (13) Tommy Jansson 8 2 1 2 3 0 8 6
7 Soviet Union (14) Valery Gordeev 8 0 3 2 1 2 8 7
8 Soviet Union (10) Viktor Trofimov 8 X 2 3 1 2 8 8
9 Sweden (16) Bernt Persson 7 3 2 0 2 E 7 9
10 Poland (1) Edward Jancarz 7 1 2 2 2 0 7 10
11 Poland (7) Zenon Plech 6 2 2 1 0 1 6 11
12 Poland (15) Marek Cieślak 6 1 1 2 1 1 6 12
13 Soviet Union (8) Vladimir Gordeev 5 0 1 0 1 3 5 13
14 United States (4) Scott Autrey 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 14
15 Norway (11) Reidar Eide 3 1 0 1 0 1 3 15
16 Soviet Union (5) Viktor Kalmykov 1 1 0 - 0 0 1 16
R1 Sweden (R1) Tommy Johansson 0 0 R1
R2 Soviet Union (R2) Nikolay Kornev 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

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 Denmark (14) Ole Olsen 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Sweden (16) Anders Michanek 13 1 3 3 3 3 13 2
3 England (10) John Louis 12+3 2 2 3 2 3 12 3
4 New Zealand (6) Ivan Mauger 12+2 3 1 2 3 3 12 4
5 England (11) Peter Collins 10 3 3 0 3 1 10 5
6 Australia (1) Phil Crump 10 3 3 1 1 2 10 6
7 England (5) Malcolm Simmons 10 2 2 3 1 2 10 7
8 Soviet Union (15) Viktor Trofimov 8 2 1 2 2 1 8 8
9 Sweden (8) Tommy Jansson 8 1 2 2 2 0 7 9
10 Sweden (3) Bernt Persson 5 0 2 1 0 2 5 10
11 England (7) Ray Wilson 5 0 0 1 2 2 5 11
12 Poland (2) Edward Jancarz 4 2 0 1 1 0 4 12
13 Soviet Union (4) Valery Gordeev 4 1 1 2 0 0 4 13
14 Poland (9) Zenon Plech 4 1 1 0 1 1 4 14
15 Poland (13) Marek Cieślak 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 15
16 Poland (12) Henryk Glücklich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
England (17) Martin Ashby 0 0
Soviet Union (18) Vladimir Gordeev 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

  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. ^ "Olsen-king of the track". The People. 7 September 1975. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "1975 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  9. ^ "1975 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
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