1979 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1979 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 34th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

In his 14th straight World Final appearance (dating back to 1966), New Zealand's Ivan Mauger won his 6th Speedway World Championship, breaking the previous record of 5 wins held by himself and legendary Swede Ove Fundin. Mauger scored 14 points to defeat local favourite Zenon Plech (13) and young English tearaway Michael Lee (11), with Lee the only rider to defeat Mauger on the day. Lee also had to defeat Kelly Moran (USA), Billy Sanders (Australia) and defending champion Ole Olsen in a runoff for third after all four riders finished on 11 points. This would prove to be the last appearance for Ivan Mauger as a rider in a World Final.[7]

Qualification results.[8][9]

First round

British qualification

Similar to the previous season, the Sunday Mirror sponsored British qualifying rounds for the World Championship doubled up as qualifying rounds for the Berger-sponsored Grand Prix. Therefore, many non-British riders such as Scott Autrey and Ivan Mauger rode in these meetings scoring points towards the Grand Prix qualification - but their scores didn't count towards World Championship qualification. The Rye House track flooded so the event was moved to Hackney.

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
Preliminary Round
8 AprilHackney Wick Stadium, LondonMike LanhamDave PerksBobby McNeil
8 AprilMildenhall Stadium, MildenhallMick HinesGeoff BouchardAlan Emerson
17 AprilCrayford & Bexleyheath Stadium, CrayfordMike SampsonColin RichardsonBernie Leigh
17 AprilShielfield Park, BerwickSteve FinchEric BroadbeltDerek Richardson
23 AprilBoston Sports Stadium, BostonSteve LomasMalcolm CorradineJohn Jackson
Qualifying Round
28 AprilAbbey Stadium, SwindonPhil CrumpJan AnderssonScott Autrey
28 AprilThe Shay, HalifaxIvan MaugerIan CartwrightReg Wilson
28 AprilBrandon Stadium, CoventryMitch ShirraAlan MolyneuxJohn Davis
30 AprilSmallmead Stadium, ReadingJan AnderssonJohn DavisBruce Penhall
30 AprilCounty Ground Stadium, ExeterScott AutreyPhil CrumpColin Richardson
30 AprilBirchfield Ladbroke Stadium, BirminghamPeter CollinsBilly SandersAlan Grahame
2 MayWimborne Road, PooleOle OlsenDave MortonMalcolm Simmons
2 MayThe Boulevard, HullIvan MaugerBobby BeatonKenny Carter
3 MayWimbledon Stadium, LondonColin RichardsonHans NielsenBruce Penhall
3 MayOwlerton Stadium, SheffieldDoug WyerCraig PendleburyLes Collins
4 MayHackney Wick Stadium, LondonJohn DavisMitch ShirraOle Olsen
4 MayMonmore Green, WolverhamptonKenny CarterJim McMillanBruce Cribb
4 MayArlington Stadium, EastbourneRoger JohnsKai NiemiDave Jessup
5 MayKing's Lynn Stadium, King's LynnMichael LeeGordon KennettMike Lanham
5 MayDudley Wood Stadium, DudleyBruce PenhallScott AutreySteve Bastable
5 MayHyde Road, ManchesterDoug WyerLarry RossBobby Beaton
8 MayLeicester Stadium, LeicesterMichael LeeJohn TitmanIla Teromaa
10 MayFoxhall Stadium, IpswichSteve BastableJohn LouisAndy Grahame

Second round

Swedish qualification

  • Top 5 in each heat to Swedish final

Continental Preliminary round

  • Riders progress to Continental quarter-finals
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
22 April Speedway Žarnovica, Žarnovica Jiří Štancl Petr Kučera Jiří Jirout
22 April Stadion Wiener Neustadt Laszlo Meszaroš Ladislav Hrádecký Karl Maier
22 April Giavera del Montello, Treviso Waldemar Bacik Jan Hadek Nikolaj Manev
22 April Rhein-Main Arena, Diedenbergen Henny Kroeze Andrew Curworth Walter Grubmuller

British semi-finals

Pos.RiderPoints
1Peter Collins14
2Gordon Kennett14
3Doug Wyer13
4Michael Lee12
5Alan Molyneux10
6Steve Bastable9
7Jim McMillan8
8Mike Lanham7
9Alan Grahame7
10IanCartwright6
11Vic Harding6
12Joe Owen5
13Nicky Allott4
14Tom Owen4
15Kenny Carter2
16Bobby Beaton0
Pos.RiderPoints
1Dave Morton14
2Dave Jessup13
3John Louis11
4John Davis10
5Chris Morton10
6Reg Wilson10
7Malcolm Simmons9
8Roger Johns9
9Ian Turner9
10Craig Pendlebury6
11Colin Richardson5
12Bruce Cribb4
13Kevin Jolly4
14Les Collins3
15Mick Hines1
16Trevor Geer0

New Zealand Final

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1Larry Ross3,3,3,3,315
2Mitch Shirra3,3,2,2,212
3Ivan Mauger2,3,E,3,311
4Roger Wright2,0,3,3,311
5John Goodall1,3,3,1,210
6David Bargh3,0,1,3,29
7Tony Briggs1,2,1,2,39
8Graeme Stapleton2,2,2,1,29
9Mike Fullerton3,1,3,0,18
10James Moore1,2,0,2,16
11Colin Tucker0,2,1,2,05
12Patrick Pawson0,1,2,1,04
13Robin Adlington0,1,2,0,14
14Max Brown1,1,0,0,02
15John Brown0,0,0,0,11
16William Aulsfordns0
R1Paul Fewings2,1,03
R2Gary Forscutt0,11

Australian Final

Pos.RiderTotal
1Phil Crump15
2Danny Kennedy13
3John Boulger11
4John Titman10
5Steve Koppe10
6Billy Sanders10
7Gary Guglielmi9
8Glyn Taylor9
9Rob Maxfield6
10Phil Bass5
11Glen McDonald5
12Mike Farrell4
13John Langfield4
14David Shields2
15Ross Townson2
16Kym Amundson2

Third round

Continental quarter-finals

  • Top 32 riders to Continental semi-finals
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
6 May Hajdú Volán Stadion, Debrecen Mikhail Starostin Jan Verner Tibor Danka
6 May Abensberger Stadion, Abensberg Jiří Štancl Václav Verner Anatoly Maksimow
7 May City Garden Stadium, Osijek Petr Ondrašík Valery Gordeev Henny Kroeze
7 May Slaný Speedway Stadium, Slany Aleš Dryml Sr. Zdeněk Kudrna Istvan Sziracky

American semi-finals

  • Top 16 to American final (two 32 rider meetings, held in 1978)
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
16 September 1978Santa Ana Stadium, Santa AnaDenny PyeattBobby SchwartzMike Bloom
22 September 1978Sacramento, SacramentoDennis RobinsonMike FariaDuane Yarrow

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 21
(9) Peter Collins 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
(8) Michael Lee 14 3 3 2 3 3 14 2
(7) Dave Jessup 12 2 3 2 3 2 12 3
4 (16) John Davis 11 3 2 3 2 1 11 4
5 (10) Doug Wyer 10 1 2 3 3 1 10 5
6 (11) Malcolm Simmons 10 2 2 1 2 3 10 6
7 (12) Roger Johns 8 F 1 3 1 3 8 7
8 (1) Gordon Kennett 7 3 E 0 2 2 7 8
9 (13) Alan Molyneux 7 2 1 1 1 2 7 9
10 (2) John Louis 6 2 3 1 0 0 6 10 3
11 (6) Chris Morton 6 0 1 2 2 1 6 11 2
12 (5) Reg Wilson 6 1 2 0 1 2 6 12
13 (15) Jim McMillan 4 0 1 2 1 0 4 13
14 (14) Alan Grahame 3 1 0 1 0 1 3 14
15 (4) Mike Lanham 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 15
16 (3) Ian Turner 0 E 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 (R1) Craig Pendlebury 0 0 R1
R2 (R2) Ian Cartwright 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

Australasian Final

Pos.RiderTotal
1 Billy Sanders13
2 Steve Koppe12
3 John Titman11+3
4 Phil Crump11+2
5 Ivan Mauger11+1
6 Larry Ross10+3
7 Mitch Shirra10+2
8 Gary Guglielmi8
9 John Goodall8
10 Danny Kennedy6
11 John Boulger6
12 Glyn Taylor6
13 Tony Briggs (Res)4
14 Graeme Stapleton2
15 David Bargh (Res)2
16 Roger Wright0

Danish 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
(5) Bo Petersen 14 3 2 3 3 3 14 1 3
(12) Finn Thomsen 14 3 3 2 3 3 14 2 2
(6) Mike Lohmann 12 2 2 3 3 2 12 3 3
4 (1) Hans Nielsen 12 3 3 2 1 3 12 4 2
5 (14) Finn Rune Jensen 11 3 3 3 0 2 11 5
6 (7) Bent Rasmussen 10 F 2 3 2 3 10 6
7 (15) Jens Henry Nielsen 10 2 3 1 2 2 10 7
8 (10) Steen Mastrup 8 2 1 2 2 1 8 8
9 (3) Helge Hansen 5 2 1 1 1 0 5 9
10 (13) Svend Lund 5 0 1 E 3 1 5 10
11 (4) Gunnar Svendsen 5 1 1 1 1 1 5 11
12 (2) Finn Londal Jensen 4 0 0 0 2 2 4 12
13 (16) Alf Busk 4 1 2 1 F - 4 13
14 (8) Kai Kristiansen 3 1 0 2 F - 3 14
15 (9) Kristian Præstbro 1 1 E - - - 1 15
16 (11) Ernst Bogh 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

Norwegian Final

Pos.RiderTotal
1Reidar Eide14
2Rolf Gramstad13
3Audun Ove Olsen11
4Sigvart Pedersen10
5Tom Godal10
6Thoralf Holen10
7Tormod Langli9
8Edgar Stangeland9
9Trond Helge Skretting8
10Per Arne Hansen6

Finland Final

Pos.RiderTotal
1Kai Niemi12+3
2Rauli Mäkinen12+2
3Martti Väyrynen10
4Veijo Tuoriniemi10
5Ari Koponen10
6Timo Kiansten9
7Esko Mylläri8
8Olli Turkia7
9Seppo Palomäki7
10Keijo Mylläri6
11Pekka Hautamäki6
12Ari Turkia5
13Ilkka Teromaa5
14Esa Mattila (res)4
15Pentti Mattila3
16Veikko Haapamäki3
17Pekka Paljakka2
18Jarmo Puttonen (res)0

Swedish Final

Pos.RiderTotal
1Jan Andersson15
2Anders Michanek12
3Bernt Persson11
4Richard Hellsen11
5Ake Fridell11
6Lars-Åke Andersson10
7Bo Wirebrand9
8Uno Johansson8
9Stefan Salmonsson7
10Bengt Jansson5
11Hans Danielsson5
12Sören Sjösten4
13Tommy Nilsson3
14Lennart Bengsson (res)3
15Gert Carlsson2
16Kent Eriksson1
17Sören Karlsson0

Fourth round

Continental semi-finals

Pos.RiderPoints
1 Aleš Dryml Sr.13
2 Viktor Kuznetsov11
3 Jiří Štancl11
4 Georg Hack10
5 Jan Hadek10
6 Petr Kucera9
7 Anatolij Maximov9
8 Václav Verner9
9 Zdenek Kudrna8
10 Istvan Sziraczki6
11 Giuseppe Marzotto5
12 Vladimir Klytchov5
13 Waldemar Bacik4
14 Milan Špinka2
15 Herbert Szerecz0
16 Peter Lempenhauer0
Pos.RiderPoints
1 Jan Verner15
2 Henny Kroeze14
3 Valerij Gordeev12
4 Petr Ondrašík11
5 Laszlo Meszaros10
6 Michail Starostin10
7 Christoph Betzl9
8 Alois Wiesböck9
9 Karl Maier8
10 Janos Szöke6
11 Vladimir Paznikov5
12 Henk Steman4
13 Alexander Khaljavin3
14 Andy Cusworth2
15 George Gilgenreiner2
16 Tibor Danka0

American Final

Pos.RiderTotal
1Bobby Schwartz12+3
2Mike Bast12+2
3Kelly Moran12+1
4Steve Gresham12+0
5Mike Faria10
6Steve McConnell9
7Bruce Penhall8
8Bill Cody7
9Rich McMurray7
10John Cook6
11Gary Hutchinson6
12Dennis Robinson5
13Duane Yarrow5
14Dave Faria4
15Denny Pyeatt3
16Mike Bloom2

Commonwealth 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
(16) Michael Lee 14 3 3 2 3 3 14 1 3
(11) Billy Sanders 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 2 2
(13) Dave Jessup 12 2 2 2 3 3 12 3
4 (15) Larry Ross 11 1 2 3 3 2 11 4
5 (5) Ivan Mauger 11 3 3 2 1 2 11 5
6 (10) Peter Collins 10 2 2 3 2 1 10 6
7 (8) John Titman 9 2 1 2 1 3 9 7
8 (6) Gordon Kennett 8 F 3 1 2 2 8 8
9 (9) John Davis 7 1 1 3 F 2 7 9
10 (14) Malcolm Simmons 6 0 1 1 3 1 6 10
11 (4) Doug Wyer 5 3 2 F - - 5 11
12 (7) John Louis 4 1 0 1 2 F 4 12
13 (1) Phil Crump 2 2 0 - - - 2 13
14 (3) Roger Johns 2 1 1 E 0 - 2 14
15 (12) Steve Koppe 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 15
16 (2) Alan Molyneux 1 E E 0 E 1 1 16
R1 (R1) Sean Willmott 0 0 0 R1
R2 (R2) Chris Morton 1 1 0 1 R2
R3 (R3) Mitch Shirra 1 0 0 1 1 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

Nordic 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) Jan Andersson 13 3 2 3 3 2 13 1 3
(13) Hans Nielsen 13 2 3 3 3 2 13 2 2
(8) Finn Thomsen 12 3 3 3 2 1 12 3 3
4 (10) Ole Olsen 12 3 3 2 1 3 12 4 2
5 (3) Kai Niemi 9 0 3 0 3 3 9 5 3
6 (5) Ila Teromaa 9 2 1 3 0 3 9 6 2
7 (16) Bo Petersen 8 3 0 X 2 3 8 7
8 (6) Bernt Persson 8 1 1 2 3 1 8 8
9 (4) Anders Michanek 7 1 2 1 2 1 7 9
10 (14) Mike Lohmann 6 X 2 2 2 E 6 10
11 (2) Reidar Eide 6 2 0 1 1 2 6 11
12 (11) Rolf Gramstad 5 0 2 1 F 2 5 12
13 (15) Ake Fridell 4 1 0 2 1 0 4 13
14 (9) Richard Hellsen 3 2 0 1 - - 3 14
15 (7) Olli Turkia 2 0 1 0 1 F 2 15
16 (12) Audun Ove Olsen 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 16
R1 (R1) Lars-Åke Andersson 1 1 1 R1
R2 (R2) Sören Karlsson 0 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

Fifth round

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 21
(9) Christoph Betzl 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 1
(3) Mikhail Starostin 13 3 3 1 3 3 13 2
(5) Zdeněk Kudrna 12 3 1 3 2 3 12 3 3
4 (14) Alois Wiesböck 12 3 3 2 3 1 12 4 2
5 (13) Petr Ondrašík 11 1 2 3 3 2 11 5
6 (16) Valery Gordeev 10 2 1 3 1 3 10 6
7 (11) Václav Verner 9 2 1 2 2 2 9 7
8 (10) Jiří Štancl 7 1 1 2 0 3 7 8
9 (12) Viktor Kuznetsov 7 0 2 2 2 1 7 9
10 (15) Anatoly Maksimov 6 X 2 0 2 2 6 10
11 (2) Karl Maier 6 2 2 1 X 1 6 11
12 (4) Georg Hack 4 1 3 X - X 4 12
13 (7) Jan Hadek 4 2 0 1 1 X 4 13
14 (1) László Mészáros 2 X 0 1 0 1 2 14
15 (8) Jan Verner 0 X X X X X 0 15
16 (6) Aleš Dryml Sr. 0 X - - - - 0 16
R1 (R1) Janosz Szoke 1 0 0 1 0 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

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 21
(14) Michael Lee 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 1 3
(7) Peter Collins 14 3 3 2 3 3 14 2 2
(9) Finn Thomsen 10 2 3 1 3 1 10 3 3
4 (8) Ivan Mauger 10 1 3 2 2 2 10 4 2
5 (13) Dave Jessup 10 2 2 3 3 0 10 5 1
6 (4) Ole Olsen 9 3 1 1 2 2 9 6
7 (2) Billy Sanders 8 2 0 3 1 2 8 7
8 (3) Kelly Moran 8 1 2 0 3 2 8 8
9 (10) John Titman 8 1 2 0 2 3 8 9
10 (6) Larry Ross 7 0 1 3 0 3 7 10
11 (15) Kai Niemi 6 1 1 2 1 1 6 11
12 (5) Gordon Kennett 5 2 1 1 1 0 5 12
13 (12) John Davis 4 3 0 0 0 1 4 13
14 (16) Hans Nielsen 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 14
15 (11) Bobby Schwartz 2 F 0 1 0 1 2 15
16 (1) Jan Andersson 1 0 0 T 1 0 1 16
R1 (R1) Malcolm Simmons 2 2 2 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

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
(15) Ivan Mauger 14 3 3 2 3 3 14 1
(7) Zenon Plech 13 3 1 3 3 3 13 2
(5) Michael Lee 11+3 2 3 3 0 3 11 3
4 (3) Kelly Moran 11+2 1 2 3 2 3 11 4
5 (4) Billy Sanders 11+1 3 3 1 2 2 11 5
6 (10) Ole Olsen 11+0 3 3 2 1 2 11 6
7 (11) Zdeněk Kudrna 8 2 0 3 3 0 8 7
8 (16) Dave Jessup 8 E 1 2 3 2 8 8
9 (12) Edward Jancarz 7 1 2 1 2 1 7 9
10 (13) Finn Thomsen 6 2 E 0 2 2 6 10
11 (1) Peter Collins 6 2 2 1 1 E 6 11
12 (14) John Titman 5 1 2 2 0 1 6 12
13 (2) Mikhail Starostin 3 0 1 0 1 1 3 13
14 (6) Christoph Betzl 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 14
15 (8) Robert Słaboń 2 0 0 1 0 1 2 15
16 (9) Alois Wiesböck 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 16
(17) Petr Ondrašík 0 0
(18) Larry Ross 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. Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 22. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  8. "1979 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  9. "1979 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 22. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  11. 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.