The 1968 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 23rd edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Ivan Mauger won his first World title. Fellow countryman Barry Briggs finished second and Pole Edward Jancarz took the bronze medal.[7][8]

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed again for the 1968 event. It reverted back to the 1966 system whereby six riders from the Swedish section would qualify for the World Final direct to be held in Sweden. All other nations had to go through various events to establish the other ten riders to qualify for the final.

First round

  • British/Commonwealth Qualifying - 16 to British/Commonwealth Final

British/Commonwealth Qualifying

DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Preliminary Round
25 May United KingdomKings LynnUnited Kingdom Malcolm SimmonsUnited Kingdom Terry BettsUnited Kingdom Ray Wilson
25 May United KingdomHalifaxAustralia Jim AireyUnited Kingdom Dave YounghusbandUnited Kingdom Greg Kentwell
25 May United KingdomCoventryUnited Kingdom Nigel BoocockUnited Kingdom Norman HunterUnited Kingdom Dave Hemus
25 May United KingdomBelle VueNew Zealand Ivan MaugerUnited Kingdom Tommy RoperAustralia Charlie Monk
27 May United KingdomNewcastleNew Zealand Ivan MaugerNew Zealand Barry BriggsScotland Bert Harkins
27 May United KingdomExeterUnited Kingdom Martin AshbyUnited Kingdom Jimmy SquibbUnited Kingdom Eric Boocock
28 May United KingdomWest HamUnited Kingdom Norman HunterUnited Kingdom Nigel BoocockNew Zealand Ivan Mauger
28 May United KingdomLeicesterNew Zealand Bill AndrewUnited Kingdom Bob KilbyAustralia John Boulger
29 May United KingdomPooleAustralia John BoulgerNew Zealand Bill AndrewUnited Kingdom Geoff Mudge
30 May United KingdomOxfordUnited Kingdom Colin GooddyUnited Kingdom Terry BettsUnited Kingdom Ronnie Genz
30 May United KingdomWimbledonUnited Kingdom Martin AshbyUnited Kingdom Nigel BoocockUnited Kingdom Trevor Hedge
30 May United KingdomSheffieldAustralia Charlie MonkUnited Kingdom Colin PrattUnited Kingdom John Dews
31 May United KingdomWolverhamptonUnited Kingdom James BondAustralia Jim AireyAustralia Peter Vandenberg
31 May United KingdomHackneyNew Zealand Barry BriggsUnited Kingdom Colin PrattUnited Kingdom Les McGillivray
31 May WalesNewportUnited Kingdom Cyril FrancisUnited Kingdom Chris JulianUnited Kingdom Eric Boothroyd
31 May ScotlandGlasgowUnited Kingdom Bob KilbyScotland Bert HarkinsScotland Jim McMillan
1 June United KingdomCradley HeathNew Zealand Bill AndrewUnited Kingdom Trevor HedgeUnited Kingdom Reg Luckhurst
1 June United KingdomSwindonNew Zealand Barry BriggsUnited Kingdom Bob KilbyUnited Kingdom Mike Broadbanks
1 June ScotlandCoatbridgeUnited Kingdom Martin AshbyUnited Kingdom Ray WilsonUnited Kingdom Colin Pratt
Semi-Finals
27 July United KingdomSheffieldNew Zealand Barry BriggsNew Zealand Bill AndrewUnited Kingdom Norman Hunter
2 July United KingdomPooleNew Zealand Ivan MaugerUnited Kingdom Martin AshbyUnited Kingdom Terry Betts

Second round

  • British/Commonwealth Final - 10 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final
  • Nordic Final - 6 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final
  • Continental Qualifying - 16 to Continental Final

British/Commonwealth Final

  • July 11, 1968
  • United Kingdom Wimbledon
  • First 10 to British-Nordic Final plus 1 reserve
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 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 New Zealand (14) Barry Briggs 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 2
3 United Kingdom (5) Eric Boocock 13 3 3 2 3 2 13 3
4 United Kingdom (11) Martin Ashby 10 1 3 2 3 1 10 4
5 United Kingdom (6) Trevor Hedge 10 2 2 3 3 0 10 5
6 United Kingdom (10) Nigel Boocock 9 2 1 1 2 3 9 6
7 United Kingdom (13) Norman Hunter 9 1 2 3 2 1 9 7
8 Scotland (4) Jim McMillan 8 3 1 2 2 0 8 8
9 United Kingdom (1) Terry Betts 7 2 1 1 1 2 7 9
10 United Kingdom (3) Dave Younghusband 6 1 0 2 1 2 6 10
11 Australia (15) Geoff Mudge 6 2 1 1 1 1 6 11
12 Australia (8) Charlie Monk 5 1 2 1 1 0 5 12
13 United Kingdom (16) Mike Broadbanks 3 0 0 E 0 3 3 13
14 United Kingdom (2) Ray Wilson 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 14
15 Australia (9) Peter Vandenberg 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 15
16 New Zealand (7) Bill Andrew 0 F - - - - 0 16
R1 United Kingdom (R1) Reg Luckhurst 2 2 F 2 R1
R2 Australia (R2) Jim Airey 0 X 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

  • June 2, 1968
  • Denmark Hillerød
  • First 6 to British-Nordic Final, plus 1 reserve
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 Norway (10) Reidar Eide 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 1
2 Norway (1) Øyvind S. Berg 13 3 3 2 3 2 13 2
3 Norway (11) Odd Fossengen 12 1 3 3 3 2 12 3
4 Norway (5) Sverre Harrfeldt 11 3 1 1 3 3 11 4
5 Denmark (2) Ole Olsen 11 2 2 2 2 3 11 5
6 Denmark (9) Godtfred Andreasen 11 2 2 2 3 2 11 6
7 Norway (3) Per J.Aulie 9 1 2 3 0 3 9 7
8 Norway (16) Ole Todnem 9 3 3 1 1 1 9 8
9 Denmark (15) Kurt Bøgh 7 F 1 3 2 1 7 9
10 Denmark (13) Preben Moller Christensen 6 2 0 2 0 2 6 10
11 Denmark (8) Jens Ring 6 2 2 1 1 0 6 11
12 Norway (14) Helgie Langlie 3 F 0 - 2 1 3 12
13 Finland (4) Matti Olin 3 0 1 1 1 0 3 13
14 Norway (6) Eidar Egedius 2 1 1 E F - 2 14
15 Finland (7) Timo Laine 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 15
16 Finland (12) Jouko Naskali 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 Denmark (R1) Per Ehlert 1 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

Continental Qualifying

DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Quarter-Finals
4 May East GermanyMeissenSoviet Union Boris SamorodovCzechoslovakia Jan Holub IPoland Antoni Woryna
5 May Socialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaSvetozarevoSoviet Union Gennady KurilenkoPoland Joachim MajSoviet Union Yuri Chekranov
5 May HungaryMiskolcPoland Konstanty PociejkewiczPoland Henryk GlucklichSoviet Union Viktor Trofimov
5 May West GermanyAbensbergPoland Jan MuchaSoviet Union Igor PlekhanovCzechoslovakia Luboš Tomíček Sr.
Semi-Finals
26 May CzechoslovakiaMsenoCzechoslovakia Luboš Tomíček Sr.Poland Konstanty PociejkewiczPoland Jerzy Trzeszkowski
27 May PolandRybnikPoland Antoni WorynaPoland Joachim MajPoland Andrzej Wyglenda

Third round

  • Swedish Qualifying - 16 to Swedish finals
  • British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final - 8 to European Final
  • Continental Final - 8 to European Final

Swedish Qualifying

DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Qualifications
28 April SwedenMalillaSweden Ove FundinSweden Bengt JanssonSweden Anders Michanek
1 May SwedenVisbySweden Sören SjöstenSweden Torbjörn HarryssonSweden Olle Nygren

British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final

  • August 6, 1968
  • United Kingdom West Ham
  • First 8 to European Final plus 1 reserve
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 (11) Ivan Mauger 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 United Kingdom (5) Nigel Boocock 13 3 3 3 2 2 13 2 3
3 Norway (16) Reidar Eide 13 2 3 2 3 3 13 3 2
4 United Kingdom (7) Martin Ashby 11 2 2 3 3 1 11 4
5 Norway (15) Sverre Harrfeldt 10 3 0 1 3 3 10 5
6 United Kingdom (9) Terry Betts 10 2 1 3 2 2 10 6
7 United Kingdom (1) Trevor Hedge 9 3 2 1 2 1 9 7
8 United Kingdom (3) Eric Boocock 7 2 1 2 1 1 7 8
9 United Kingdom (13) Norman Hunter 6 1 0 1 1 3 6 9
10 New Zealand (12) Barry Briggs 6 1 F 2 1 2 6 10
11 Norway (10) Odd Fossengen 5 0 3 2 0 0 5 11
12 Scotland (8) Jim McMillan 5 0 2 1 0 2 5 12
13 Norway (6) Øyvind S. Berg 4 1 2 0 1 0 4 13
14 Denmark (2) Ole Olsen 4 1 1 0 2 F 4 14
15 United Kingdom (4) Dave Younghusband 1 0 1 0 0 F 1 15
16 Norway (14) Godtfred Andreasen 0 0 0 0 - - 0 16
R1 Norway (R1) Per J.Aulle 1 0 1 1 R1
R2 Australia (R2) Geoff Mudge 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

Continental Final

  • June 21, 1968
  • Soviet Union Ufa
  • First 8 to European Final plus 1 reserve
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 (2) Gennady Kurilenko 12 3 1 3 3 2 12 1
2 Poland (6) Paweł Waloszek 10 2 3 3 2 0 10 2
3 Soviet Union (16) Vladimir Smirnov 10 3 0 2 2 3 10 3
4 Poland (15) Edward Jancarz 10 2 1 1 3 3 10 4
5 Poland (13) Jerzy Trzeszkowski 10 1 3 3 2 1 10 5
6 Poland (12) Antoni Woryna 9 2 2 2 1 2 9 6
7 Soviet Union (11) Igor Plekhanov 8 3 3 0 0 2 8 7 3
8 Poland (3) Konstanty Pociejkewicz 8 2 0 F 3 3 8 8 2
9 Poland (7) Jerzy Padewski 8 3 2 0 3 F 8 9 1
10 Czechoslovakia (9) Jan Holub I 7 1 1 3 1 1 7 10
11 Poland (1) Andrzej Wyglenda 7 1 2 1 2 1 7 11
12 Poland (8) Zygmunt Pytko 6 0 3 2 1 0 6 12
13 Soviet Union (10) Boris Samorodov 6 0 2 1 1 2 6 13
14 Poland (5) Jan Mucha 4 1 0 0 0 3 4 14
15 Poland (4) Joachim Maj 4 0 1 2 0 1 4 15
16 Czechoslovakia (14) Luboš Tomíček Sr. 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 16
R1 East Germany (R1) Gerhard Ulenbrock 0 0 R1
R2 Czechoslovakia (R2) Václav Verner 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

Fourth round

  • Swedish Finals - 6 to World Final
  • European Final - 10 to World Final

Swedish Finals

Three races held on 27 May at Malmo, 28 May at Göteborg and 30 May in Linköping

RiderPoints
Sweden Gunnar Malmqvist38
Sweden Ove Fundin35
Sweden Torbjörn Harrysson31
Sweden Bernt Persson30
Sweden Anders Michanek29
Sweden Hasse Holmqvist28
Sweden Bengt Jansson27
Sweden Bengt Larsson25
Sweden Sören Sjösten23
Sweden Therje Henriksson22
Sweden Bo Josefsson15
Sweden Bengt Svensson15
Sweden Christer Löfqvist14
Sweden Olle Nygren10
Sweden Tommy Johansson9
Sweden Per Olof Söderman8
Sweden Conny Samuelsson2
Sweden Runo Wedin1

European Final

  • August 25, 1968
  • Poland Wroclaw
  • First 10 to World Final plus 1 reserve
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 (3) Paweł Waloszek 13 3 2 3 2 3 13 1
2 Poland (5) Antoni Woryna 11 3 3 3 X 2 11 2
3 Poland (16) Jerzy Trzeszkowski 11 2 2 2 3 2 11 3
4 New Zealand (11) Ivan Mauger 10 1 3 1 2 3 10 4
5 New Zealand (8) Barry Briggs 9 1 3 1 3 1 9 5
6 Soviet Union (1) Gennady Kurilenko 9 2 2 3 0 2 9 6
7 Norway (14) Reidar Eide 8 3 1 0 3 1 8 7
8 Poland (10) Edward Jancarz 8 3 3 2 F - 8 8
9 United Kingdom (12) Nigel Boocock 7 2 1 0 2 2 7 9
10 United Kingdom (2) Martin Ashby 6 1 2 1 1 1 6 10 3
11 Soviet Union (9) Igor Plekhanov 6 0 0 2 3 1 6 11 2
12 Soviet Union (6) Vladimir Smirnov 5 2 0 E 2 1 5 12
13 United Kingdom (4) Trevor Hedge 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 13
14 United Kingdom (7) Terry Betts 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 14
15 Norway (13) Sverre Harrfeldt 2 1 1 F - - 2 15
16 Poland (15) Konstanty Pociejkewicz 0 0 - - - - 0 16
R1 Poland (R1) Jerzy Padewski 7 1 2 1 3 7 R1
R2 Czechoslovakia (R2) Václav Verner 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 21
1 New Zealand (6) Ivan Mauger 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 New Zealand (5) Barry Briggs 12 2 2 3 3 2 12 2
3 Poland (7) Edward Jancarz 11 1 3 1 3 3 11 3 3
4 Soviet Union (9) Gennady Kurilenko 11 2 3 3 1 2 11 4 2
5 Poland (4) Paweł Waloszek 10 F 2 3 2 3 10 5
6 Sweden (12) Torbjörn Harrysson 10 3 3 2 1 1 10 6
7 Sweden (1) Anders Michanek 9 3 1 2 2 1 9 7
8 Sweden (10) Hasse Holmqvist 9 1 2 2 2 2 9 8
9 Sweden (15) Ove Fundin 7 3 0 1 0 3 7 9
10 Sweden (11) Gunnar Malmqvist 7 0 2 1 3 1 7 10
11 United Kingdom (2) Martin Ashby 5 2 1 0 2 0 5 11
12 Poland (16) Antoni Woryna 5 2 1 R 1 1 5 12
14 Norway (8) Reidar Eide 3 0 0 2 1 F 3 14
13 Poland (3) Jerzy Trzeszkowski 4 1 1 0 0 2 4 13
15 Sweden (14) Bernt Persson 1 E 0 1 0 0 1 15
16 United Kingdom (13) Nigel Boocock 1 1 0 0 X E 1 16
R1 Soviet Union (R1) Igor Plekhanov 0 0 R1
R2 Sweden (R2) Bengt Jansson 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. ↑ "Sports in Brief". The Times. 7 September 1968. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via Gale Primary Sources.
  8. ↑ "Boocock last in Sweden". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 7 September 1968. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
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