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1980 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1980 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 35th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

With the defending Ivan Mauger failing to qualify for a World Final for the first time since 1966, and Ole Olsen only qualifying as a reserve, the 1980 World Final at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden was seen as an open final with a number of potential winners. Michael Lee, Bruce Penhall, Dave Jessup and Billy Sanders considered the favourites with Jan Andersson (the only Swedish rider in the World Final), John Davis, Hans Nielsen, Zenon Plech, Chris Morton and Peter Collins all expected to challenge.

Twenty-one-year-old English ace Lee who had only finished 7th in the Intercontinental Final at White City, won his only World Championship with 14 points from his 5 rides. Dave Jessup finished second after defeating Billy Sanders in a runoff when both riders finished on 12 points to give England a 1-2 finish in a World Final.

Michael Lee became only the fifth rider from Great Britain to win speedway's ultimate individual prize, joining Welshman Freddie Williams (1950), and fellow Englishmen Tommy Price (1949), Peter Craven (1955 & 1962) and Peter Collins (1976) as a speedway world champion.

First round

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[7][8]

British Qualification

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Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
Preliminary Round
8 April Milton Keynes Stadium, Milton Keynes Mike Lanham Rob Hollingworth David Kennett
9 April Long Eaton Stadium, Long Eaton Dave Perks Dave Morton Paul Woods
11 April East of England Arena, Peterborough Andy Hines Nicky Allott Nigel Flatman
11 April Ellesmere Port Stadium, Ellesmere Port Peter Prinsloo Derek Richardson David Gagen
13 April Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon Melvyn Taylor Bob Garrad Ian Clark
Quarter-Final
27 April The Shay, Halifax Mike Lanham Kevin Hawkins Dave Morton

Second round

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Swedish qualification

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  • Top 5 in each heat to Swedish final

Continental Preliminary round

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Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
19 April West Germany Ellermühle Stadium, Landshut West Germany Egon Muller West Germany Waldemar Bacik Poland Edward Jancarz
20 April Poland Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium, Bydgoszcz Czechoslovakia Zdeněk Kudrna Poland Jerzy Rembas Poland Marek Ziarnik
20 April Italy Giavera del Montello, Treviso Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka Czechoslovakia Václav Verner Austria Herbert Szerecz
20 April Czech Republic Speedway Žarnovica, Žarnovica Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík Czechoslovakia Jan Hadek Czechoslovakia Petr Kučera

Australian Final

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Pos. Rider Total
1 Billy Sanders 15
2 Phil Crump 12+3
3 John Titman 12+2
4 Steve Koppe 10
5 Mike Farrell 10
6 Phil Herne 10
7 Glyn Taylor 9
8 Glenn McDonald 9
9 Keith Wright 7
10 Rob Maxfield 6
11 Peter Collins 4
12 Lou Sansom 3
13 Danny Kennedy 2
14 Rob Moores 2
15 Alan Lorymer 2
16 Dean Van Bibra 1

New Zealand Final

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Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Larry Ross 3,3,2,3,3 14
2 David Bargh 3,3,3,3,2 14
3 Tony Briggs 2,3,2,2,3 12
4 Graeme Stapleton 3,2,3,2,1 11
5 Mitch Shirra 1,3,1,3,3 11
6 Wayne Brown 3,2,3,3,- 11
7 Mike Fullerton 2,1,1,2,3 9
8 Colin Tucker 2,0,2,1,2 7
9 Roger Wright 1,2,3,1,0 7
10 Max Brown 0,2,2,1,1 6
11 Neil Abrahams 2,1,0,0,2 5
12 Greg Joynt 1,1,1,2,x 5
13 Colin Farquharson 1,F,0,0,2 3
14 Greame Beardsley 0,F,1,-,- 1
15 Paul Fewings F,1,F,-,- 1
16 James Moore E,0,-,-,- 0
R1 William Aulsfold 0,0,1,1 2
R2 Roger Pauling 0,0 0

British semi-finals

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Pos. Rider Points
1 Peter Collins 15
2 Gordon Kennett 13
3 Kevin Jolly 13
4 Reg Wilson 10
5 John Davis 9
6 John Louis 9
7 Melvyn Taylor 8
8 Mike Lanham 7
9 Alan Grahame 7
10 Kevin Hawkins 6
11 Nigel Flatman 6
12 Roger Johns 6
13 Paul Woods 6
14 Alan Molyneux 0
15 Jim McMillan 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Dave Jessup 14
2 Chris Morton 11
3 Dave Morton 11
4 Peter Prinsloo 11
5 Michael Lee 9
6 Bobby Beaton 9
7 Ian Cartwright 8
8 Phil Collins 8
9 Les Collins 7
10 Kenny Carter 7
11 Steve Bastable 7
12 Joe Owen 6
13 Malcolm Simmons 6
14 Andy Grahame 3
15 Bobby Garrad 2
16 Ian Clark 1

Third round

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Continental quarter-finals

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  • Top 32 to Continental semi-finals
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
3 May Czechoslovakia Slaný Speedway Stadium, Slaný Soviet Union Mikhail Starostin Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl Czechoslovakia Jan Verner
4 May Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mladost Stadium, Prelog Netherlands Henny Kroeze Czechoslovakia Václav Verner Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka
4 May Austria Stadion Wiener Neustadt Czechoslovakia Zdeněk Kudrna Poland Jerzy Rembas Poland Piotr Pyszny

Swedish Final

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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 (13) Jan Andersson 13 2 3 3 2 3 13 1
2 Sweden (15) Richard Hellsen 12 3 3 3 X 3 12 2
3 Sweden (2) Tommy Johansson 12 2 3 2 3 2 12 3
4 Sweden (8) Anders Michanek 11 3 3 2 1 2 11 4
5 Sweden (14) Bernt Persson 11 1 2 3 2 3 11 5
6 Sweden (9) Bengt Jansson 10 1 2 1 3 3 10 6
7 Sweden (11) Tommy Nilsson 9 2 2 3 0 2 9 7
8 Sweden (16) Borje Klingberg 7 0 1 2 3 1 7 8
9 Sweden (1) Hans Danielsson 7 1 1 1 3 1 7 9
10 Sweden (10) Rolf Sundberg 6 3 X 1 2 0 6 10
11 Sweden (6) Per-Ove Gundmundsson 6 2 1 0 1 2 6 11
12 Sweden (4) Bo Wirebrand 5 3 0 2 X - 5 12
13 Sweden (7) Conny Samuelsson 3 1 1 0 1 0 3 13
14 Sweden (12) Lillebror Johansson 2 0 2 E - - 2 14
15 Sweden (5) Bengt Gustavsson 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 15
16 Sweden (3) Jan Eriksson 0 E F F - - 0 16
R1 Sweden (R1) Karl-Erik Claesson 4 0 2 1 1 4 R1
R2 Sweden (R2) Uno Johansson 1 1 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

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

Finland Final

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Pos. Rider Total
1 Kai Niemi 12
2 Ilkka Teromaa 9
3 Veijo Tuoriniemi 9
4 Ari Koponen 8
5 Seppo Palomaki 8
6 Olli Turkia 8
7 Esko Myllari 8
8 Timo Kiansten 7
9 Pekka Hautamaki 6
10 Hannu Lehtonen 6
11 Heimo Kaikko 4
12 Markku Haapala 4
13 Veli Pekka Kunelius 3
14 Olli Tyrvainen 3
15 Ismo Kivela 2
16 Jarmo Puttonen 0
17 Matti Hyyrylainen (res) 0

Danish Final

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Pos. Rider Total
1 Bo Petersen 15
2 Preben Eriksen 13
3 Bent Rasmussen 12+3
4 Finn Rune Jensen 12+2
5 Finn Thomsen 10
6 Mike Lohmann 8
7 Alf Busk 8
8 Jens Henry Nielsen 7
9 Lars Vinding 6
10 Arne Cruse 6
11 Gunnar Hansen 6
12 Finn Lundahl 5
13 Steen Mastrup 5
14 Hans Ove Cristiansen 3
15 Svend Lund 3
16 Gunnar Svendsen 1

Norwegian Final

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Pos. Rider Total
1 Reidar Eide 14
2 Audun Ove Olsen 13
3 Rolf Gramstad 12+3
4 Dag Haaland 12+2
5 Trond Helge Skretting 10
6 Terje Tollefsen 8
7 Sigvart Pedersen 7
8 Kjell Gimre 7
9 Jon Hovind 6
10 Roy Otto 6
11 Jorn Haugvaldstad 6
12 Toralf Holen 6
13 Asgeir Bjerga 4
14 Geir Aasland 4
15 Rolf Havirstad 2
16 Dagvinn Jorgensen 2

Australasian Final

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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 Australia (10) Billy Sanders 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Australia (1) John Titman 13 3 3 2 3 2 13 2
3 New Zealand (16) Larry Ross 12 3 3 3 2 1 12 3
4 New Zealand (2) Mitch Shirra 12 2 2 3 3 2 12 4
5 Australia (4) Phil Crump 11 1 2 2 3 3 11 5 3
6 New Zealand (7) Tony Briggs 11 2 3 1 2 3 11 6 2
7 Australia (6) Mike Farrell 10 3 1 1 2 3 10 7
8 Australia (14) Phil Herne 8 2 0 3 1 2 8 8
9 Australia (3) Steve Koppe 7 0 2 2 1 2 7 9
10 Australia (11) Glyn Taylor 5 2 1 0 2 0 5 10
11 Australia (5) Gleen McDonald 5 0 2 2 0 1 5 11
12 New Zealand (15) Graeme Stapleton 3 1 0 0 1 1 3 12
13 Australia (13) Keith Wright 2 0 1 0 0 1 2 13
14 New Zealand (9) David Bargh 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 14
15 New Zealand (8) Mike Fullerton 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 15
16 New Zealand (12) Wayne Brown 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 16
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 Final

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Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Dave Jessup (3,3,3,3,3) 15
2 Michael Lee (3,3,3,3,2) 14
3 Phil Collins (1,2,2,3,3) 11
4 Peter Collins (3,3,0,3,1) 10
5 Gordon Kennett (2,2,2,2,2) 10
6 John Louis (3,1,3,1,1) 9
7 John Davis (X,2,1,2,3) 8
8 Chris Morton (0,1,1,2,3) 7
9 Melvyn Taylor (2,1,X,2,2) 7
10 Reg Wilson (2,2,1,1,0) 6+3
11 Bobby Beaton (0,1,3,0,2) 6+2
12 Ian Cartwright (1,0,2,1,1) 5
13 Dave Morton (1,3,0,0,0) 4
14 Kevin Jolly (2,0,1,0,1) 4
15 Peter Prinsloo (2,1,0,1,0) 4
16 Mike Lanham (0,0,0,0,0) 0

Fourth round

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Continental semi-finals

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Pos. Rider Points
1 Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl 14
2 Poland Edward Jancarz 12
3 Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík 11
4 Poland Andrzej Huszcza 11
5 West Germany Egon Müller 10
6 Poland Zenon Plech 10
7 Soviet Union Nikolaj Kornev 9
8 Soviet Union Michail Starostin 9
9 West Germany Waldemar Bacik 8
10 Czechoslovakia Petr Kucera 6
11 Poland Roman Jankowski 5
12 Soviet Union Valerij Gordeev 4
13 Czechoslovakia Jan Hadek 4
14 Czechoslovakia Jan Verner 3
15 Czechoslovakia Ladislav Hradecky 2
16 Soviet Union Zytun Gafurov 1
Pos. Rider Points
1 Czechoslovakia Zdenek Kudrna 13
2 Czechoslovakia Václav Verner 13
3 Czechoslovakia Aleš Dryml Sr. 11
4 Poland Jerzy Rembas 10
5 Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka 9
6 England Andy Cusworth 6
7 Poland Wojciech Zabialowicz 8+3
8 West Germany Georg Hack 8+2
9 Poland Henny Kroeze 8+1
10 Austria Herbert Szerecz 7
11 Soviet Union Grigory Khlinovsky 7
12 Soviet Union Sergej Denisov 6
13 Poland Piotr Pyszny 4
14 Poland Walter Grubmüller 3
15 Netherlands Frits Koppe 1
16 Poland Marek Ciarnik (res) 0

Commonwealth Final

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  • 29 June 1980
  • England Wimbledon Stadium, London
  • First 9 to Intercontinental 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 England (2) Dave Jessup 14 3 2 3 3 3 14 1
2 England (14) John Louis 13 2 3 2 3 3 13 2
3 New Zealand (3) Ivan Mauger 12 2 3 1 3 3 12 3
4 England (8) John Davis 11 1 2 3 2 3 11 4
5 Australia (9) Billy Sanders 10 3 3 0 3 1 10 5
6 England (4) Chris Morton 11 0 3 3 3 2 11 6
7 England (5) Michael Lee 9 3 2 2 1 1 9 7
8 New Zealand (7) Mitch Shirra 9 2 2 1 2 2 9 8
9 England (10) Peter Collins 7 1 0 3 2 1 7 9
10 England (15) Gordon Kennett 6 3 1 1 1 0 6 10 3
11 New Zealand (1) Larry Ross 6 1 1 1 1 2 6 11 E
12 England (12) Phil Collins 5 2 1 0 0 2 5 12
13 Australia (6) John Titman 4 0 1 3 0 E 4 13
14 England (11) Melvyn Taylor 3 F 0 2 1 0 3 14
15 Australia (13) Phil Crump 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 15
16 England (16) Reg Wilson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
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

American Final

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Pos. Rider Total
1 Bruce Penhall 14
2 Scott Autrey 13+3
3 Dennis Sigalos 13+2
4 Ron Preston 13+1
5 Shawn Moran 10
6 Gene Woods 10
7 John Cook 9
8 Mike Faria 7
9 Bobby Schwartz 5
10 Alan Christian 5
11 Denny Pyeatt 5
12 Duane Yarrow 5
13 Brad Oxley 4
14 John Santona 4
15 Dan McNeill 3
16 Kelly Moran 1
17 Larry Kosta 0

Nordic Final

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Pos. Rider Total
1 Denmark Hans Nielsen 15
2 Denmark Ole Olsen 14
3 Denmark Finn Thomsen 13
4 Denmark Bent Rasmussen 12
5 Finland Kai Niemi 10
6 Finland Ila Teromaa 8
7 Denmark Bo Petersen 8
8 Sweden Hans Danielsson 7
9 Sweden Tommy Johansson 7
10 Denmark Preben Eriksen 6
11 Norway Rolf Gramstad 5
12 Sweden Bernt Persson 5
13 Finland Veijo Tyoriniemi 4
14 Norway Audun Ove Olsen 2
15 Norway Reidar Eide 1
16 Sweden Bengt Jansson 0

Fifth round

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Continental Final

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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 (16) Zenon Plech 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 1 3
2 Czechoslovakia (13) Jiří Štancl 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 2 2
3 Czechoslovakia (7) Aleš Dryml Sr. 12 1 3 2 3 3 12 3
4 West Germany (1) Egon Müller 11 3 1 2 2 3 11 4
5 Czechoslovakia (5) Petr Ondrašík 11 2 2 2 2 3 11 5
6 Czechoslovakia (6) Václav Verner 9 3 1 1 2 2 9 6
7 Soviet Union (4) Mikhail Starostin 7 2 2 F 3 E 7 7
8 Poland (8) Jerzy Rembas 7 X 1 3 1 2 7 8
9 West Germany (14) Georg Hack 7 1 2 2 F 2 7 9
10 Czechoslovakia (11) Milan Špinka 6 3 2 0 0 1 6 10
11 Czechoslovakia (10) Zdeněk Kudrna 6 X 3 1 1 1 6 11
12 Poland (2) Andrzej Huszcza 6 F E 3 2 1 6 12
13 West Germany (3) Andy Cusworth 3 1 0 1 0 1 3 13
14 Poland (12) Wojciech Żabiałowicz 2 1 0 0 1 F 2 14
15 Soviet Union (15) Nikolay Kornev 2 0 1 1 E F 2 15
16 Poland (9) Edward Jancarz 0 F - - - 0 16
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

Intercontinental Final

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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 (1) Chris Morton 12 2 1 3 3 3 12 1 3
2 United States (5) Bruce Penhall 12 3 3 1 3 2 12 2 2
3 Australia (15) Billy Sanders 11 1 3 3 2 2 11 3 3
4 Finland (3) Kai Niemi 11 3 2 2 1 3 11 4 2
5 Denmark (16) Finn Thomsen 10 2 2 1 2 3 10 5
6 England (8) Dave Jessup 9 2 3 E 3 1 9 6
7 England (13) Michael Lee 9 3 0 3 1 2 9 7
8 England (9) John Davis 9 1 2 3 1 2 9 8
9 Denmark (4) Hans Nielsen 8 1 1 X 3 3 8 9
10 England (2) Peter Collins 7 0 3 2 2 0 7 10
11 Denmark (7) Ole Olsen 6 1 1 2 1 1 6 11
12 United States (11) Scott Autrey 6 3 0 2 0 1 6 12
13 New Zealand (14) Ivan Mauger 5 0 2 1 2 0 5 13
14 England (12) John Louis 3 2 0 0 0 1 3 14
15 New Zealand (6) Mitch Shirra 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 15
16 Denmark (10) Bent Leif Rasmussen 0 0 0 X E - 0 16
R1 England (R1) Gordon Kennett 0 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

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

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  • 5 September 1980
  • Sweden Ullevi, Gothenburg[9]
  • Referee: (Norway) Torrie Kittlesen
  • Attendance: 35,000 (approx)
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 (9) Michael Lee 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 1
2 England (10) Dave Jessup 12 3 2 2 2 3 12 2 3
3 Australia (13) Billy Sanders 12 3 1 3 2 3 12 3 2
4 Sweden (5) Jan Andersson 11 3 0 2 3 3 11 4
5 United States (1) Bruce Penhall 9 3 2 1 1 2 9 5
6 England (2) John Davis 9 2 1 1 3 2 9 6
7 England (11) Peter Collins 8 1 3 3 1 0 8 7
8 Finland (12) Kai Niemi 8 0 1 3 2 2 8 8
9 England (7) Chris Morton 8 2 1 1 3 1 8 9
10 Denmark (14) Finn Thomsen 7 2 3 1 0 1 7 10
11 Denmark (4) Hans Nielsen 7 1 2 0 2 2 7 11
12 Czechoslovakia (8) Aleš Dryml Sr. 5 0 3 2 0 0 5 12
13 Czechoslovakia (15) Jiří Štancl 5 1 2 0 1 1 5 13
14 West Germany (6) Egon Muller 4 1 0 2 E 1 4 14
15 Poland (16) Zenon Plech 1 E 0 0 1 0 1 15
16 Czechoslovakia (3) Petr Ondrašík 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 Denmark (R1) Ole Olsen 0 0 R1
R2 Czechoslovakia (R2) Václav Verner 0 0 R2
R3 Sweden (R3) Hans Danielsson 0 0 R3
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

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  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. ^ "World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  8. ^ "World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  9. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5