1956 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1956 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 11th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

The World final was sponsored by the Sunday Dispatch and was televised live. Despite being televised a crowd of 65,000 saw the first Scandinavian winner in 23 year old Ove Fundin from Sweden. ^[7]

Qualification

Stage 1

Swedish round

27 April 1956
Hammarby IP, Stockholm
Top 6 to Nordic round

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Dan Forsberg	14
2	Ulf Ericsson	13
3	Bernt Nilsson	13
4	Birger Forsberg	11
5	Lars Pettersson	11
6	Per-Tage Svensson	9
7	Sune Karlsson	8
8	Sven Fahlén	8
9	Bert Lindarw	7
10	Olle Segerström	6
11	Rune Claesson	6
12	Bengt Eriksson	6
13	Göte Nordin	5
14	Alf Jonsson	2
15	Thorsten Carlsson	2
16	Thorvald Karlsson	0

29 April 1956
Målilla Motorbana, Målilla
Top 6 to Nordic round

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Rune Sörmander	15
2	Olle Andersson II	13
3	Göran Norlén	11
4	Stig Pramberg	11
5	Allan Nilsson	10
6	Per-Olof Söderman	10
7	Olle Heyman	9
8	Bertil Carlsson II	8
9	Kaj Forsberg	7
10	Joel Jansson	6
11	Roger Forsberg	6
12	Evert Andersson	5
13	Olle Andersson I	5
14	Bengt Gustafsson	2
15	Per Sjöholm	1
16	Åke Andersson	1
17	Bo Sandin	0

Stage 2

Nordic round

25 May 1956
Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo
Top 8 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Henry Andersen	14
2	Göran Norlén	11
3	Rune Sörmander	11
4	Reidar Kristoffersen	11
5	Olle Andersson II	11
6	Per-Olof Söderman	10
7	Stig Pramberg	10
8	Aage Hansen	9
9	Antti Pajari	9
10	Jörgen Stabirk	5
11	Werner Lorentzen	5
12	Roger Steen	4
13	Torbjörn Ludvigsen	4
14	Erling Cae	2
15	Odd Johansen	2
16	Erhard Fisker	2

27 May 1956
Helsinki Velodrome, Helsinki
Top 8 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Bernt Nilsson	13
2	Ulf Ericsson	13
3	Birger Forsberg	12
4	Lars Pettersson	11
5	Rolf Westerberg	11
6	Dan Forsberg	10
7	Kaukko Jousanen	9
8	Simo Ylänen	9
9	Per-Tage Svensson	8
10	Aulis Tuominen	8
11	Erkki Ala-Sippola	4
12	Juha Rihkajärvi	4
13	Esko Koponen	3
14	Tore Mellby	2
15	Kalevi Lathinen	2
16	Pertti Mikkola	0

Continental round

29 April 1956
Army Stadium, Warsaw
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Florian Kapala	13
2	Edward Kupczynski	12
3	Janusz Suchecki	11
4	Edmund Nazimek	11
5	Marian Kaiser	11
6	Hugo Rosak	10
7	Tadeusz Teodorowicz	10
8	Mieczyslaw Polukard	10
9	Wlodzimierz Szwendrowski	10
10	Josef Kysilka	5
11	Richard Janicek	4
12	Rudolf Havelka	4
13	Miloslav Špinka	4
14	Karel Polak	4
15	Jaroslav Machac	1
16	Alois Jarolim	0

1 May 1956
Altes Stadion Abensberg, Abensberg
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Josef Hofmeister	15
2	Josef Siedl	14
3	Andrzej Krzesiński	13
4	Albin Siegl
5	Paul Cardang
6	Sebastian Wiesent
7	Alfred Aberl
8	Fritz Dirtl
9	Josef Kamper

Stage 3

British & Commonwealth round

Top 21 qualify for Championship round.^[8]

Date	Venue	Winner
10 July	Banister Court Stadium	Ian Williams
12 July	Foxhall Stadium	Ken McKinlay
12 July	Oxford Stadium	Howdy Byford
13 July	Leicester Stadium	Dick Bradley
14 July	Rayleigh Weir Stadium	Gerald Jackson
25 July	Brandon Stadium	Bert Edwards
25 July	Abbey Stadium	Bob Roger

Nordic Final

8 June 1956
Ryd Motorstadion, Linköping
First 7 to European final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Dan Forsberg	15
2	Ulf Ericsson	14
3	Rune Sörmander	13
4	Bernt Nilsson	12
5	Göran Norlén	11
6	Per Olof Söderman	9
7	Birger Forsberg	9
8	Ole Andersson	7
9	Per Tage Svensson	6
10	Aage Hansen	5
11	Rolf Westerberg	5
12	Stig Pramberg	3
13	Lars Pettersson	1
14	Antti Pajari	1
15	Simo Ylänen	0
16	Reidar Kristoffersen	dnr
17	Kaukko Jousanen	dnr

Continental Final

Fritz Dirtl was tragically killed competing in the Continental final. He was involved in a crash with fellow Austrian rider Josef Kamper and the fell into the path of Mieczysław Połukard.^[9]

10 June 1956
Niederrheinstadion, Oberhausen
First 7 to European Final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Kjell Carlsson	14
2	Josef Seidl	14
3	Andrzej Krzesiński	11
4	Włodzimierz Szwendrowski	10
5	Tadeusz Teodorowicz	10
6	Edward Kupczyński	9
7	Florian Kapała	9
8	Mieczysław Połukard	9
9	Albin Siegl	7
10	Hugo Rosák	7
11	Josef Hofmeister	5
12	Paul Cardang	5
13	Sebastian Wiesent	5
14	Alfred Aberl	2
15	Fritz Dirtl	0
16	Josef Kamper	0
17	Janusz Suchecki	dnr
18	Edmund Nazimek	dnr
19	Marian Kaiser	dnr

Stage 4

Championship Round

Top 11 qualify, 1 reserve for World final

Date	Venue	Winner
20 August	Wimbledon Stadium	Ronnie Moore
22 August	Wimborne Road	Jack Biggs
23 August	Wembley Stadium	Brian Crutcher
25 August	Hyde Road Stadium	Brian Crutcher
29 August	Odsal Stadium	Barry Briggs
31 August	Perry Barr Stadium	Alan Hunt / Doug Davies
1 September	The Firs Stadium	Gerry Hussey

(Peter Craven seeded to World final)

Scores
First 11 to World final + 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Total pts
1	Brian Crutcher	29
2	Ronnie Moore	27
3	Gerry Hussey	26
4	Alan Hunt	26
5	Ken McKinlay	26
6	Doug Davies	25
7	Barry Briggs	25
8	Arthur Forrest	25
9	Dick Fisher	24
10	Eric Boothroyd	24
11	Peter Moore	23
12	Jack Biggs	23
13	Nigel Boocock	23
14	Aub Lawson	22
15	Split Waterman	22
16	Ron How	20
17	Ron Johnston	18
18	Les McGillivray	17
19	Bob Roger	17
20	Billy Bales	17
21	Bob Duckworth	17
22	Guy Allott	17
23	Gerald Jackson	16
24	Eric French	14
25	Peter Williams	14
26	Ron Clarke	14
27	Bert Edwards	13
28	Ken Middleditch	13
29	Harry Bastable	13

Pos.	Rider	Total pts
30	Cyril Roger	12
31	Bert Roger	12
32	Ray Cresp	12
33	Ken Sharples	12
34	Phil Clarke	11
35	Cyril Maidment	10
36	Jim Tolley	10
37	Dick Bradley	9
38	Alby Golden	9
39	Arthur Wright	9
40	George White	8
41	Howdy Byford	8
42	Ronnie Genz	8
43	Bob Sharp	8
44	Trevor Redmond	7
45	Reg Trott	6
46	Pete Lansdale	6
47	Jack Geran	5
48	Junior Bainbridge	5
49	Bill Holden	4
50	Ron Mountford	4
51	Allan Kidd	4
52	Cyril Brine	4
53	Barry East	3
54	Neil Mortimer	2
55	Gordon McGregor	2
56	Alf Hagon	2
57	Derek Tailby	2
58	Bill Andrew	1

European Final

8 July 1956
Bislett Stadium, Oslo
First 4 to World final plus 1 reserve^[10]

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Ove Fundin	15
2	Per Olof Söderman	13
3	Ole Andersson	12
4	Ulf Ericsson	11
5	Rune Sörmander	10
6	Henry Andersen	8
7	Florian Kapała	8
8	Edward Kupczyński	7
9	Göran Norlén	7
10	Dan Forsberg	6
11	Birger Forsberg	5
12	Bernt Nilsson	4
13	Włodzimierz Szwendrowski	2
14	Mieczysław Połukard	2
15	Marian Kaiser	2
16	Tadeusz Teodorowicz	2

World final

22 September 1956
Wembley Stadium, London^[11]

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Ove Fundin	(1,3,3,3,3)	13
2	Ronnie Moore	(2,2,2,3,3)	12
3	Arthur Forrest	(3,1,3,2,2)	11+3
4	Peter Craven	(3,1,2,2,3)	11+2
5	Ken McKinlay	(2,2,3,3,0)	10
6	Per Olof Söderman	(0,3,2,2,3)	10
7	Barry Briggs	(3,2,1,3,1)	10
8	Brian Crutcher	(1,3,3,0,2)	9
9	Peter Moore	(2,1,1,2,2)	8
10	Eric Boothroyd	(2,3,1,1,0)	7
11	Alan Hunt	(3,0,1,1,1)	6
12	Dick Fisher	(0,0,2,1,2)	5
13	Doug Davies	(1,2,0,0,1)	4
14	Ole Andersson	(1,1,0,0,0)	2
15	Ulf Ericsson	(0,0,0,1,1)	2
16	Gerry Hussey	(0,0,0,0,0)	0
R1	Rune Sörmander	absent	-
R2	Jack Biggs	did not ride	-
R3	Nigel Boocock	did 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	(4) Ove Fundin	13	1							3				3				3				3	13	1
2	(3) Ronnie Moore	12	2						2				2				3				3		12	2
3	(5) Arthur Forrest	11+3		3			1					3					2					2	11	3
4	(2) Peter Craven	11+2	3					1				2				2				3			11	4
5	(8) Ken McKinlay	10		2						2			3			3			0				10	5
6	(1) Per Olof Söderman	10	0				3				2				2				3				10	6
7	(14) Barry Briggs	10				3		2					1		3							1	10	7
8	(6) Brian Crutcher	9		1				3			3							0			2		9	8
9	(15) Peter Moore	8				2			1			1						2	2				8	9
10	(11) Eric Boothroyd	7			2				3		1					1						0	7	10
11	(10) Alan Hunt	6			3			0						1			1		1				6	11
12	(7) Dick Fisher	5		0					0					2	1					2			5	12
13	(13) Doug Davies	4				1	2							0		0					1		4	13
14	(12) Ole Andersson	2			1					1		0			0						0		2	14
15	(9) Ulf Ericsson	2			0		0						0					1		1			2	15
16	(16) Gerry Hussey	0				0				0	0						0			0			0	16
	(17) Jack Biggs	0																					0
	(18) Nigel Boocock	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

↑ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
↑ "World Championship 1936–1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "WORLD FINALS 1936–1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL – RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "TV millions dee a great night of sport". Weekly Dispatch London. 23 September 1956. Retrieved 6 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "Speedway Stars' Test". Weekly Dispatch (London). 1 July 1956. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "Description". The Fast Lane. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
↑ "1956". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
↑ 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.

[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] "TV millions dee a great night of sport". Weekly Dispatch London. 23 September 1956. Retrieved 6 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[8] "Speedway Stars' Test". Weekly Dispatch (London). 1 July 1956. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[9] "Description". The Fast Lane. Retrieved 1 August 2021.

[10] "1956". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 July 2021.

[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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Individual Speedway World Championship and Speedway Grand Prix seasons
Speedway World Championship	1936 1937 1938 1939 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Speedway Grand Prix (SGP)	1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
See also	Medalists Medal Classification Grands Prix SGP riders Super Prix SGP Statistics