In the 1954 Individual Speedway World Championship was the ninth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Ronnie Moore a 21-year-old New Zealander won his first World Championship with a 15-point maximum in front of a 90,000 attendance. He defeated his main rival Olle Nygren in the final heat. Nygren then lost the silver medal ride off to Wembley's teenager Brian Crutcher.[7] Moore's success was made all the more remarkable because he rode the meeting while still recovering from a broken leg.[8] Moore's win made him New Zealand's first ever World Champion in all forms of motor racing.

Qualification

Qualification started on 1 May.[9][10]

Stage 1

Swedish round

  • Top 16 to Swedish final
Pos.RiderPoints
1Rune Sörmander15
2Ove Fundin12
3Bertil Carlsson II10
4Curt Fredlund9
5Georg Duneborn9
6Rune Stenström9
7Per Olof Söderman8
8Dan Forsberg8
9Lars Pettersson7
10Bert Lindarw6
11Olle Heyman6
12Bernt Nilsson6
13Gunnar Johansson5
14Gunnar Karlsson4
15Ove Bodin3
16Ulf Ericsson2
Pos.RiderPoints
1Olle Nygren11
2Olle Segerström11
3Allan Nilsson11
4Thorsten Carlsson10
5Sune Karlsson10
6Joel Jansson10
7Harry Lindgren10
8Evert Hägg8+3
9Göte Olsson8+2
10Sven Fahlén7
11Stig Pramberg7
12Birger Forsberg5
13Gunnar Hellqvist4
14Per-Tage Svensson2
15Göran Norlén2
16Jan Johnsson2

Stage 2

Swedish final

Pos.RiderPoints
1Olle Nygren14
2Göte Olsson12
3Ove Fundin12
4Rune Sörmander11
5Dan Forsberg10
6Joel Jansson10
7Sune Karlsson10
8Georg Duneborn8
9Per Olof Söderman8
10Olle Segerström7
11Rune Stenström6
12Thorsten Carlsson4
13Allan Nilsson2
14Bertil Carlsson II2
15Evert Hägg2
16Harry Lindgren1

Continental Qualification

Pos.RiderPoints
1Sweden Kjell Carlsson14+3
2Austria Josef Kamper14+2
3West Germany Josef Hofmeister14+1
4Austria Fritz Dirtl11
5West Germany Albin Siegl11
6Netherlands Thei Bisschops9
7Austria Karl Killmeyer9
8Austria Josef Seidl7
9Sweden Sven Skoglund5
10Austria Franz Aigner5
11West Germany Fred Aberl4
12Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nicola Snjaric4
13Austria Leopold Killmeyer3
14West Germany Sebastian Wiesent3
15West Germany Karl Kiendl3
16Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Valentin Medved0

Stage 3

Nordic Final

Pos.RiderPoints
1Sweden Olle Nygren15
2Sweden Rune Sörmander14
3Sweden Georg Duneborn12
4Sweden Sune Karlsson10
5Sweden Dan Forsberg10
6Sweden Ove Fundin9
7Sweden Göte Olsson9
8Sweden Joel Jansson9
9Norway Reidar Kristoffersen7
10Denmark Kiehn Berthelsen6
11Denmark Leif Bech6
12Norway Aage Hansen5
13Norway Werner Lorentzen4
14Finland Simo Ylänen2
15Finland Kaukko Jousanen1
16Norway Erling Simonsen1

Continental semi-final

Pos.RiderPoints
1Sweden Kjell Carlsson14
2West Germany Albin Siegl12
3England Bill Kitchen11
4Sweden Sven Skoglund11
5West Germany Josef Hofmeister10
6Sweden Olle Segerström8
7England Jack Parker8
8Austria Josef Seidl8
9Austria Karl Killmeyer7
10Netherlands Jan Kesselmans7
11Sweden Per Olof Söderman5
12Netherlands Hans van der Sluis5
13Netherlands Tonny Kroeze4
14Netherlands Thei Bisschops4
15Netherlands Gerrit Kops2
16Netherlands H. van Rijswijk1

Stage 4

British round

  • Top 24 to Championship Round[11]
Date Venue Winner
1 JulyFoxhall StadiumTommy Miller
1 JulyOxford StadiumPeter Robinson
5 JulyCounty Ground StadiumGoog Hoskin
5 JulyWimborne RoadKen Middleditch
6 JulyBanister Court StadiumCharlie May
8 JulyPennycross StadiumBrian McKeown
9 JulyKnowle StadiumDick Bradley
9 JulyLeicester StadiumKen McKinlay
9 JulyThe Stadium, MotherwellDerek Close
10 JulyBrandon StadiumErnie Brecknell
10 JulyOld MeadowbankKen McKinlay
10 JulyRayleigh Weir StadiumPeter Clark
10 JulyAbbey StadiumBob Roger

Continental Final

Pos.RiderPoints
1Sweden Ove Fundin14
2Sweden Rune Sörmander14
3Sweden Sune Karlsson12
4Sweden Olle Nygren10
5Sweden Kjell Carlsson9
6Austria Fritz Dirtl9
7Sweden Joel Jansson9
8Sweden Olle Segerström9
9England Bill Kitchen8
10Sweden Dan Forsberg7
11Sweden Göte Olsson6
12South Africa Fred Lang4
13Sweden Georg Duneborn3
14Sweden Sven Skoglund3
15Sweden Thorsten Carlsson2
16Austria Josef Kamper1
17Sweden Per Olof Söderman1

Stage 5

Championship Round

  • Top 16 qualify for World final, 17th & 18th reserves for World final
Date Venue Winner
14 AugustHyde Road StadiumPeter Craven
14 AugustPerry Barr StadiumJack Young
16 AugustWimbledon StadiumBarry Briggs
18 AugustHarringay StadiumSplit Waterman
21 AugustThe Firs StadiumAub Lawson
26 AugustWembley StadiumEdie Rigg
31 AugustWest Ham StadiumJack Young
1 SeptemberOdsal StadiumArthur Forrest

Scores

  • Top 16 qualify for World final, 17th-18th reserves for World final
Pos.RiderTotal pts
1Australia Jack Young29
2England Peter Craven28
3England Eddie Rigg28
4Sweden Ove Fundin26
5England Brian Crutcher26
6New Zealand Ronnie Moore26
7New Zealand Geoff Mardon26
8Australia Aub Lawson26
9England Arthur Forrest26
10Australia Jack Biggs24
11England Fred Brand24
12England Split Waterman23
13New Zealand Barry Briggs23
14England Tommy Price23
15Sweden Olle Nygren22
16New Zealand Trevor Redmond22
17England Alan Hunt22
18Wales Freddie Williams21
19England Gerry Hussey21
20Wales Eric Williams19
21New Zealand Ron Johnston18
22England Arthur Wright17
23Australia Dick Campbell17
24England Dick Bradley17
25Sweden Rune Sörmander16
26England Cyril Roger16
27England Derick Close16
28Sweden Sune Karlsson15
29England Harry Edwards15
30England Bert Roger15
31England Tommy Miller14
32England Alan Smith14
Pos.RiderTotal pts
33England Cyril Brine14
34Guernsey John Fitzpatrick13
35Republic of Ireland Don Perry13
36England Ken Sharples13
37Scotland Ken McKinlay12
38Australia Alan Quinn12
39England Fred Rogers12
40Wales Ian Williams12
41England Bob Roger11
42England Peter Robinson11
43England Ken Middleditch11
44Australia Jack Geran10
45Sweden Kjell Carlsson9
46England Ron Mountford9
47England Dent Oliver9
48Sweden Joel Jansson8
49England Eric Boothroyd8
50England Charlie May8
51New Zealand Brian McKeown8
52England Jim Lightfoot9
53England Pete Lansdale8
54Sweden Olle Segerström7
55Austria Fritz Dirtl7
56England Bob Oakley7
57Australia Junior Bainbridge7
58England Wally Green6
59England Phil Clarke6
60England Billy Bales5
61England Les McGillivray4
62England Jimmy Squibb4
63Australia Dick Seers4
64Australia Ernie Brecknell2

World final

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1New Zealand Ronnie Moore(3,3,3,3,3)15
2England Brian Crutcher(3,2,2,3,3)13+3
3Sweden Olle Nygren(2,3,3,3,2)13+2
4Australia Jack Young(3,1,3,3,1)11
5England Split Waterman(2,1,3,1,2)9
6New Zealand Barry Briggs(1,2,2,2,2)9
7England Eddie Rigg(0,3,2,2,0)7
8England Fred Brand(3,1,0,2,1)7
9Australia Jack Biggs(1,3,1,1,1)7
10England Arthur Forrest(0,1,0,2,3)5
11England Tommy Price(1,0,2,0,2)5
12New Zealand Geoff Mardon(2,2,1,0,0)5
13New Zealand Trevor Redmond(0,2,1,1,1)5
14Australia Aub Lawson(2,0,0,2,0)4
15England Peter Craven(F,0,0,0,3)3
16Sweden Ove Fundin(1,0,1,0,F)2
R1England Alan Huntdid not ride
R2Wales Freddie Williamsdid not ride

Classification

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 (14) Ronnie Moore 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 England (6) Brian Crutcher 13+3 3 2 2 3 3 13 2
3 Sweden (11) Olle Nygren 13+2 2 3 3 3 2 13 3
4 Australia (10) Jack Young 11 3 1 3 3 1 11 4
5 England (15) Split Waterman 9 2 1 3 1 2 9 5
6 New Zealand (7) Barry Briggs 9 1 2 2 2 2 9 6
7 England (5) Eddie Rigg 7 0 3 2 2 0 7 7
8 England (4) Fred Brand 7 3 1 0 2 1 7 8
9 Australia (16) Jack Biggs 7 1 3 1 1 1 7 9
10 England (1) Arthur Forrest 5 0 1 0 1 3 5 10
11 England (3) Tommy Price 5 1 0 2 0 2 5 11
12 New Zealand (8) Geoff Mardon 5 2 2 1 0 0 5 12
13 New Zealand (13) Trevor Redmond 5 0 2 1 1 1 5 13
14 Australia (2) Aub Lawson 4 2 0 0 2 0 4 14
15 England (9) Peter Craven 3 - 0 0 0 3 3 15
16 Sweden (12) Ove Fundin 2 1 0 1 0 - 2 16
England (17) Alan Hunt 0 0
Wales (18) Freddie Williams 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 5 July 2021.
  3. "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  4. "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  6. "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  7. "Moore Wins World Speedway Title". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 17 September 1954. Retrieved 5 July 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Profile". Moore Park Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. "1954 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  10. "1954 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  11. "104 riders in Wembley bid". Weekly Dispatch (London). 20 June 1954. Retrieved 11 January 2024 via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "Monarchs bid for help went unheeded". Edinburgh Evening News. 1 July 1954. Retrieved 12 January 2024 via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.