1975 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1975 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 30th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Ole Olsen won his second World title in front of 81,000 at Wembley Stadium in London with a 15 point maximum from his five rides. Defending champion Anders Michanek finished second and England's John Louis won the run-off for the bronze medal, defeating four time world champion Ivan Mauger. Some criticism was aimed at the track surface which was described as dusty and dry.^[7]

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed for the 1975 event. This time the British riders (not including Commonwealth riders for the first time) were allowed four places in the World Final to be held in England. All other nations had to go through the European Final route to provide the remaining 12 riders for the World Final. The European Final qualification route included a new Intercontinental Final which feature riders from the United States for the first time for many years.^[8]^[9]

First round

Swedish qualifying

Top 5 in each heat to Swedish final

(1 May, Motorbanen Hagalund Lindesberg)
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Bernt Persson	14
2	Tommy Jansson	14
3	Sören Sjösten	12
4	Eddie Davidsson	12
5	Bo Josefsson	11
6	Richard Hellsén	10
7	Bo Wirebrand	9
8	Kjell Bergström	8
9	Åke Dovhed	6
10	Sven Nilsson	6
11	Berndt Johansson	5
12	Bengt Larsson	4
13	Sven-Olof Lindh	4
14	Sune Stark	2
15	Ragnar Holm	2
16	Gunnar Ärlevik	1

(1 May, Målilla (Motorbana) Målilla)
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Jan Simensen	15
2	Christer Sjösten	13
3	Bengt Jansson	12
4	Conny Samuelsson	11
5	Åke Andersson	11
6	Peter Smith	10
7	Tommy Nilsson	9
8	Jan Johansson	8
9	Sigvard Johansson	7
10	Lars-Inge Hultberg	7
11	Karl-Erik Claesson	4
12	Stefan Johansson	3
13	Billy Syrén	3
14	Leif Mellberg	2
15	Sven-Erik Andersson	2
16	Bo Åstrand	1
17	Bertil Andersson (res)	1

(1 May, Gamla Galgberget Visby)
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Tommy Johansson	15
2	Hasse Holmqvist	14
3	Sören Karlsson	13
4	Jan Andersson	12
5	Leif Enecrona	9
6	Stefan Salmonsson	8
7	Lars-Åke Andersson	8
8	Stephan Johansson	8
9	Dirk van der Voet	8
10	Gunnar Malmqvist	7
11	Börje Klingberg	6
12	Christer Löfqvist	4
13	Curt Nyqvist	4
14	Käll Haage	2
15	Tommy Wedén	2
16	Eskil Jonsson	0
17	Rolf Jacobsson (res)	0

Continental qualifying

Riders progress to Continental quarter-finals

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
4 May	Stadion Wiener Neustadt, Wiener Neustadt	Alois Wiesböck	Adi Funk	Josef Minarik
4 May	La Favorita, Sarego	Otto Barth	Giuseppe Marzotto	Angeł Eftimov

Second round

British/Commonwealth preliminary round

Riders progress to British/Commonwealth qualifying round

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
19 April	Kingsmead Stadium, Canterbury	Bob Humphreys	Les Rumsey	Nigel Wasley
22 April	Wessex Stadium, Weymouth	Paul Gachet	Trevor Geer	Ian Cartwright
27 April	Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon	Phil Herne	Joe Owen	Alan Sage
30 April	Odsal Stadium, Bradford	Terry Kelly	Sid Sheldrick	Geoff Bouchard

Continental quarter-finals

Top 32 to Continental semi-finals

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
18 May	Breitenthal Stadium, Krumbach	Jan Hadek	Marek Cieślak	Valery Gordeev
18 May	Matija Gubec Stadium, Krško	Henryk Glücklich	Josef Minarik	Vladimir Nesterov
18 May	Trade Union Stadium, Ostrava	Jiří Štancl	Vladimir Gordeev	Paweł Waloszek
18 May	Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc	Edward Jancarz	Isztvan Sziracki	Viktor Trofimov

Norwegian Final

14 September 1974
Nærbø, Nærbø
Top 2 (+1 seeded) to Nordic final 1975

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Dag Lövaas	14
2	Edgar Stangeland	13
3	Ulf Lövaas	13
4	Reidar Eide	11
5	Oyvind S. Berg	11

Finland Final

Eteläpuisto, Tampere
25 August 1974, first (+1 seeded riders) to 1975 Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Kari Vuoristo	15
2	Matti Olin	14
3	Veli Pekka Teromaa	13
4	Kai Niemi	12
5	Markku Helminen	10
6	Ari Hiljanen	9
7	Pekka Paljakka	9
8	Seppo Palomäki	7
9	Seppo Santala	6
10	Juhani Eronen	5
11	Esa Mattila	5
12	Reino Santala	5
13	Pekka Kortelainen	2
14	Harry Skofeldt	2
15	Erkki Etelatahti	1
16	Pentti Mattila	1

Danish Final

Top 3 to Nordic final

Swedish Final

21 May 1975
Norrköping Motorstadion, Norrköping
First 8 to 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
1	(1) Tommy Jansson	14	3				3				3				2				3				14	1
2	(5) Anders Michanek	13		3			2					3					3					2	13	2
3	(14) Bernt Persson	13				3		3					3		3							1	13	3
4	(4) Sören Karlsson	12	1							3				3				3				2	12	4
5	(2) Tommy Johansson	11	2					2				2				2				3			11	5
6	(7) Bengt Jansson	10		2					3					2	1					2			10	6
7	(8) Sören Sjösten	10		1						2			2			3			2				10	7
8	(10) Hasse Holmqvist	7			3			1						0			2		0				6	8
9	(16) Christer Sjösten	5+3				2				1	0						1			1			5	9
10	(3) Åke Andersson	5+2	0						1				1				0				3		5	10
11	(9) Bo Josefsson	4			2		0						0					2		0			4	11
12	(15) Eddie Davidsson	4				0			2			1						1	0				4	12
13	(13) Jan Simensen	4				1	1							1		0					1		4	13
14	(12) Stefan Salomonsson	3			1					0		0			0						2		3	14
15	(6) Leif Enecrona	1		0				0			1							0			0		1	15
16	(11) Conny Samuelsson	0			0				0		-					-						-	0	16
	(17) Peter Smith	2									2											0	2
	(18) Richard Hellsen	1														1							1
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

Third round

Continental semi-finals

29 May
Olching Speedwaybahn, Olching
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Valerij Gordeev	15
2	Edward Jancarz	12
3	Zenon Plech	12
4	Michail Starostin	10
5	Manfred Poschenreider	10
6	Viktor Trofimov	10
7	Boguslaw Nowak	9
8	Marek Cieslak	9
9	Andrzej Jurczynski	8
10	Henny Kroeze	8
11	Vladimir Rozanchuk	5
12	Jan Hadek	4
13	Jan Klokocka	4
14	Georgij Markatanov	2
15	Istvan Sziraczki	2
16	Andrzej Wyglenda	0
17	Janos Szöke (res)	0

31 May
Markéta Stadium, Prague
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Piotr Bruzda	12
2	Jan Verner	11
3	Vladimir Gordeev	11
4	Paweł Waloszek	10
5	Henryk Glücklich	10
6	Viktor Kalmykov	10
7	Nikolaj Kornev	10
8	Jiří Štancl	9+3
9	Franciszek Stach	9+2
10	Vladimir Nesterov	8
11	Georgij Ivanov	5
12	Petr Kucera	5
13	Václav Verner	4
14	Andrzej Tkocz	4
15	Josef Minarik	1
16	Jerzy Szczakiel	1

British/Commonwealth qualifying round

Top 5 Commonwealth riders to Intercontinental final, top 32 British riders to British semi-finals

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
16 May	Somerton Park, Newport	Bob Kilby	Tom Owen	John Boulger
16 May	Mmonmore Green, Wolverhampton	Ivan Mauger	Arthur Price	Chris Morton
17 May	The Shay, Halifax	Chris Pusey	Dave Morton	Charlie Monk
19 May	County Ground Stadium, Exeter	Ivan Mauger	Steve Reinke	Martin Ashby
19 May	Smallmead Stadium, Reading	Terry Betts	Bob Humphreys	Bobby Beaton
20 May	Leicester Stadium, Leicester	Ray Wilson	Billy Sanders	Bob Valentine
21 May	Wimborne Road, Poole	Malcolm Simmons	Paul Tyrer	Neil Street
21 May	The Boulevard, Hull	Bruce Cribb	Jim McMillan	John Boulger
24 May	King's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn	Ray Bales	Mick Hines	Terry Betts
24 May	Brandon Stadium, Coventry	Nigel Boocock	George Hunter	Malcolm Simmons
29 May	Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield	Ray Wilson	Chris Morton	Carl Glover
29 May	Oxford Stadium, Oxford	Phil Herne	Dave Jessup	Richard Greer
29 May	Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich	John Louis	Billy Sanders	Jim McMillan
30 May	Wimbledon Stadium. London	Peter Collins	Colin Gooddy	Eric Broadbelt
30 May	Hackney Wick Stadium, London	Dave Morton	Ray Wilson	Billy Sanders
31 May	Abbey Stadium, Swindon	Ivan Mauger	Martin Ashby	Barry Thomas
31 May	Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley	Arthur Price	George Hunter	John Boulger
31 May	Hyde Road, Manchester	Alan Wilkinson	Chris Morton	Peter Collins

Nordic Final

1 June 1975
Geiteryggen Speedwaybane, Skien
First 9 to Intercontinental Final

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Ole Olsen	3,2,3,3,3	14
2	Tommy Jansson	2,3,2,3,3	13
3	Dag Lovaas	3,0,3,3,3	12+3
4	Bernt Persson	2,3,2,3,2	12+2
5	Reidar Eide	3,3,1,2,1	10
6	Tommy Johansson	2,1,3,1,3	10
7	Hasse Holmqvist	1,2,2,1,2	8
8	Anders Michanek	F,1,3,2,2	8
9	Bengt Jansson	0,3,0,2,2	7
10	Edgar Stangeland	0,2,1,2,1	6
11	Ila Teromaa	2,2,1,0,F	5
12	Finn Thomsen	3,F,0,0,1	4
13	Sören Sjösten	1,1,1,1,E	4
14	Sören Karlsson	1,0,2,0,0	3
15	Kari Vuoristo	0,0,0,1,0	1
16	Bent Nørregaard-Jensen	F,-,-,-,-	0
R1	Tormod Langli	1,0	1
R2	Helge Langli	1,0,1	2

Fourth round

British semi-finals

24 June
Leicester Stadium, Leicester
Top 8 to British final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Martin Ashby	15
2	Malcolm Simmons	14
3	Bob Kilby	11
4	Jim McMillan	10
5	Gordon Kennett	10
6	John Louis	10
7	Doug Wyer	9
8	Chris Morton	8
9	Bobby Beaton	6
10	Frank Auffret	5
11	George Hunter	5
12	Mike Lanham	5
13	Eric Broadbelt	3
14	Arthur Price	2
15	Colin Gooddy	2
16	Roger Johns	1

24 June
Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield
Top 8 to British final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Ray Wilson	15
2	Dave Jessup	13
3	Peter Collins	11
4	Dave Morton	11
5	Alan Wilkinson	10
6	Tony Davey	9
7	Carl Glover	8
8	Chris Pusey	8
9	Nigel Boocock	8
10	Terry Betts	5
11	Kevin Holden	4
12	Alan Grahame	4
13	Ray Bales	4
14	Tom Owen	4
15	Trevor Hedge	3
16	Paul Tyrer	2

Intercontinental Final

3 June 1975
Ullevi, Göteborg
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
1	(2) Ivan Mauger	14	2					3				3				3				3			14	1
2	(11) Anders Michanek	12			2				3		3					1						3	12	2
3	(13) Bernt Persson	11+3				3	3							0		2					3		11	3
4	(1) Ole Olsen	11+2	3				1				2				2				3				11	4
5	(6) Scott Autrey	9		3				2			1							2			1		9	5
6	(9) Tommy Jansson	9			3		2						2					1		1			9	6
7	(14) Reidar Eide	8+3				2		1					3		0							2	8	7
8	(3) Phil Crump	8+2	1						2				1				2				2		8	8
9	(7) Tommy Johansson	8+1		1					0					2	3					2			8	9
10	(4) Dag Lovaas	7	0							3				1				3				0	7	10
11	(12) John Boulger	4			1					0		2			1						0		4	11
12	(8) Billy Sanders	4		0						2			0			0			2				4	12
13	(16) Bengt Jansson	4				0				1	0						3			0			4	13
14	(5) Hasse Holmqvist	4		2			0					1					0					1	4	14
15	(10) Steven Gresham	3			0			0						3			0		F				3	15
16	(15) Barry Briggs	1				1			-			-						-	-				1	16
	(17) Kenneth Selmonsson	0																					0
	(18) Jan Andersson	2							1			0						0	1				2
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

Continental Final

22 June 1975
Leningrad Speedway Stadium, Leningrad
First 8 to European 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
1	(6) Edward Jancarz	12		3				1			3							2			3		12	1
2	(4) Valery Gordeev	11	3							0				2				3				3	11	2
3	(15) Viktor Kalmykov	11				3			3			3						0	2				11	3
4	(10) Vladimir Gordeev	10			3			3						1			0		3				10	4
5	(13) Marek Cieślak	10				0	2							3		3					2		10	5
6	(8) Henryk Glücklich	10		1						3			1			2			3				10	6
7	(2) Viktor Trofimov	10	2					2				2				1				3			10	7
8	(1) Zenon Plech	7+3	1				1				1				3				1				7	8
9	(16) Nikolay Kornev	7+2				1				2	2						1			2			8	9
10	(5) Piotr Bruzda	7+1		2			0					1					2					2	7	10
11	(9) Jiri Stancl	7+0			0		3						3					1		0			7	11
12	(12) Mikhail Starostin	6			1					2		0			2						1		6	12
13	(14) Jan Verner	5				2		0					2		1							0	5	13
14	(11) Bogusław Nowak	5			2				2		0					0						1	5	14
15	(3) Paweł Waloszek	1	0						1				0				0				0		1	15
16	(7) Manfred Poschenreider	1		0					0					0	0					1			1	16
	(17) Andrzej Jurczyński	0																					0
	(18) Franciszek Stach	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

Fifth round

British Final

30 July 1975
Brandon Stadium, Coventry
First 4 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
1	(6) John Louis	15		3				3			3							3			3		15	1
2	(8) Peter Collins	13+3		2						2			3			3			3				13	2
3	(9) Malcolm Simmons	13+2			3		3						2					2		3			13	3
4	(12) Ray Wilson	11+3			F					3		3			3						2		11	4
5	(3) Martin Ashby	11+2	3						3				1				3				1		11	5
6	(10) Chris Pusey	10			1			2						3			2		2				10	6
7	(11) Tony Davey	9			2				2		1					1						3	9	7
8	(1) Gordon Kennett	6	2				1				2				1				0				6	8
9	(2) Dave Jessup	6	0					0				2				2				2			6	9
10	(4) Doug Wyer	5	1							1				2				1				0	5	10
11	(7) Jim McMillan	5		1					1					0	2					1			5	11
12	(13) Bob Kilby	5				2	2							1		0					0		5	12
13	(14) Chris Morton	5				3		1					0		0							1	5	13
14	(5) Dave Morton	3		0			E					1					0					2	3	14
15	(16) Alan Wilkinson	2				1				0	F						1			0			2	15
16	(15) Carl Glover	1				0			0			0						0	1				1	16
	(17) Nigel Boocock	0																					0
	(18) Bobby Beaton	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

European Final

24 August 1975
Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium, Bydgoszcz
First 12 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
	(12) Ivan Mauger	14			3					3		3			3						2		14	1	3
	(3) Ole Olsen	14	2						3				3				3				3		14	2	2
	(9) Phil Crump	11			2		3						1					2		3			11	3
4	(6) Anders Michanek	10		3				0			3							3			1		10	4
5	(2) Henryk Glücklich	9	3					1				1				2				2			9	5
6	(13) Tommy Jansson	8				2	1							2		3					0		8	6
7	(14) Valery Gordeev	8				0		3					2		1							2	8	7
8	(10) Viktor Trofimov	8			X			2						3			1		2				8	8
9	(16) Bernt Persson	7				3				2	0						2			E			7	9
10	(1) Edward Jancarz	7	1				2				2				2				0				7	10
11	(7) Zenon Plech	6		2					2					1	0					1			6	11
12	(15) Marek Cieślak	6				1			1			2						1	1				6	12
13	(8) Vladimir Gordeev	5		0						1			0			1			3				5	13
14	(4) Scott Autrey	3	0							0				0				0				3	3	14
15	(11) Reidar Eide	3			1				0		1					0						1	3	15
16	(5) Viktor Kalmykov	1		1			0					-					0					0	1	16
R1	(R1) Tommy Johansson	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Nikolay Kornev	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

6 September 1975
Wembley Stadium, London.^[10]
Referee: ( ) Torrie Kittelsen

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	(14) Ole Olsen	15				3		3					3		3							3	15	1
2	(16) Anders Michanek	13				1				3	3						3			3			13	2
3	(10) John Louis	12+3			2			2						3			2		3				12	3
4	(6) Ivan Mauger	12+2		3				1			2							3			3		12	4
5	(11) Peter Collins	10			3				3		0					3						1	10	5
6	(1) Phil Crump	10	3				3				1				1				2				10	6
7	(5) Malcolm Simmons	10		2			2					3					1					2	10	7
8	(15) Viktor Trofimov	8				2			1			2						2	1				8	8
9	(8) Tommy Jansson	8		1						2			2			2			0				7	9
10	(3) Bernt Persson	5	0						2				1				0				2		5	10
11	(7) Ray Wilson	5		0					0					1	2					2			5	11
12	(2) Edward Jancarz	4	2					0				1				1				0			4	12
13	(4) Valery Gordeev	4	1							1				2				0				0	4	13
14	(9) Zenon Plech	4			1		1						0					1		1			4	14
15	(13) Marek Cieślak	1				0	0							0		0					1		1	15
16	(12) Henryk Glücklich	0			0					0		0			0						0		0	16
	(17) Martin Ashby	0																					0
	(18) Vladimir Gordeev	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 10 July 2021.
^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ "Olsen-king of the track". The People. 7 September 1975. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "1975 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
^ "1975 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

[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] "Olsen-king of the track". The People. 7 September 1975. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[8] "1975 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

[9] "1975 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

[10] Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

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