1977 Individual Speedway World Championship Explained

The 1977 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 32nd edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

History was made in the 1977 final when Ivan Mauger of New Zealand equalled Ove Fundin's title record of five World Championship wins. Mauger had gone close to equalling the record before and finally achieved it in Sweden, the home of Fundin.[6] In a decisive 18th heat Mauger won from his nearest challenger Ole Olsen, when Olsen was forced to lay his bike down to avoid hitting John Boulger. The result was just one point for Olsen, a badly damaged Jawa bike and the end of his title hopes. Defending champion Peter Collins won his last ride to claim the silver medal despite riding with a broken left leg, but Olsen won the bronze medal run-off against young English rider Michael Lee.[7]

Qualifying results.[8] [9]

First round

British Preliminary round

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
21 AprilMartin Yeates
30 AprilCarl Glover
1 MayMike Lanham
5 MaySteve Lomas

New Zealand qualification

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
North Island Final
12 JanuaryJack Millen
South Island Final
3 JanuaryPaul Fewings

Second round

New Zealand semi-final

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
20 JanuaryBarry Briggs

Australian qualification

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
New South Wales Round
27 November Mitch Shirra
Queensland qualification
28 NovemberOwen Hall
Victorian qualification
8 JanuaryRob Jones
Southern qualification
17 JanuaryBob Maxfield
28 JanuaryTony Boyle
New South Wales qualification
11 FebruaryBilly Sanders
West Australian qualification
21 FebruaryLes Leisk
Northern Zone Final
23 FebruaryMike Farrell

Continental Preliminary round

Josef Angermüller was killed during the first preliminary round at the San Savino Speedway Park after falling and colliding with a concrete post.[10]

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
24 April Jiří Štancl
25 April Hans Ziegl

British quarter-finals

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
14 MayJohn Louis
16 MayBob Kilby
18 MayChris Morton
20 MayHackney Wick Stadium, London Dave Jessup

Third round

British semi-finals

width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 Terry Betts13
2 Michael Lee11
3 Alan Wilkinson10+3
4 Martin Ashby10+2
5 Neil Middleditch10+1
6 Barry Thomas9
7 Gordon Kennett9
8David Gagen9
9 Bobby Beaton8
10 Trevor Geer8
11 Chris Pusey8
12 Ray Wilson7
13 Bobby McNeil4
14 Graham Drury3
15 Steve Finch1
16 Paul Tyrer 0
width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 Dave Jessup15
2 Doug Wyer14
3 Malcolm Simmons13
4 John Davis12
5 Bob Kilby10
6 Keith White9
7 Chris Morton9
8John Louis8
9 Martin Yeates7
10 Ian Turner6
11 Reg Wilson5
12 Jim McMillan4
13 Dave Gooderham4
14 Bernie Leigh3
15 George Hunter1
16 John Jackson0

New Zealand Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxHeat Scores width=50pxTotal
1 3,2,3,3,314
2 X,3,3,3,312
3 2,3,2,2,312
4 1,1,3,3,311
5 3,3,1,3,111
6 1,3,2,2,210
7 2,2,3,2,110
8 3,1,2,1,29
9 3,0,1,2,28
10 2,1,0,1,1 5
11 1,0,2,0,1 4
12 0,2,1,1,F 4
13 0,F,X,1,2 3
14 2,F,0,-,- 2
15 0,1,0,0,0 1
16 0,-,0,0,00
R1 1,1,0 2
R2 2,0 2

Australian Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxTotal
1 15
2 13
3 13
4 11
5 10
6 9
7 9
8 8
9 7
10 7
11 7
12 4
13 3
14 2
15 2
16 0

Finland Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=50pxTotal
1 13
2 Veli Pekka Teromaa 12+3
3 12+2
4 11
5 Rauli Mäkinen 11
6 Seppo Palomäki 11
7 Esko Mylläri10
8
9 Esa Mattila 7
10 Pekka Hautamäki 5
11 Ismo Kivelä 5
12 Pentti Mattila 5
13Olli Turkia 4
14 Keijo Mylläri 3
15 Veli Pekka Kunelius 2
16 Veikko Haapamäki 0
17 Veijo Tuoriniemi (res) 0

Norwegian Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=50pxTotal
1 15
2 12
3 12
4 11
5 11
6
7
8
9

Danish Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=50pxTotal
1 13
2 12+3
3 12+2
4 11
5 9+3
6 9+2
7 8
8 8
9 7
10 7
11 7
12 6
13 5
14 5
15 1
16 0

Continental quarter-finals

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
1 May Egon Muller
8 May Jerzy Szczakiel
7 May Jerzy Rembas
8 May Václav Verner

Fourth Round

Swedish qualification

(6 May, Avestavallen, Avesta)
width=20Poswidth=180Rider width=40Points
1 15
2 14
3 13
4 Karl-Erik Claesson 11
5 Eddie Davidsson 10
6 9
7 Lars Hedlund 9
8 Roger Björkman 8
9 8
10 Jan Holmqvist 5
11 Åke Dovhed]
12 Leif Johansson 4
13 Björn Persson 3
14 Harald Sandberg (res)3
15 2
16 Bernt Johansson 0
17 Tommy Karlsson 0 0
(7 May, Motala Arena, Motala)
width=20Poswidth=180Rider width=40Points
1 14
2 Richard Hellsén13
3 12
4 12
5 11
6 9
7 8
8 Stephan Johansson 7
9 Therje Henriksson 6
10 Kenneth Selmosson 6
11 Fredrik Lindqvist 5
12 Dirk van der Voet 5
13 Bo Jansson 4
14 Jan Davidsson 4
15 Göran Waltersson 3
16 Per-Olov Dovhjort 1
(8 May, Ljungheden, Västervik)
width=20Poswidth=180Rider width=40Points
1 14
2 14
3 13
4 13
5 Åke Fridell 9+3
6 Stefan Salmonsson 9+2
7 Willy Karlsson 8
8 Sven Nilsson 8
9 Tomas Pettersson 7
10 7
11 Karl-Fredrik Lindgren 6
12 Börje Ohlsson 4
13 Kjell Bergström 3
14 Nils Eriksson (res) 2
15 Roy Dantanus 2
16 Stefan Hjort 1
17 Per-Åke Gerhardsson (res)0
18 Göran Hedberg 0

American Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxTotal
1 14
2 13+3
3 13+2
4 11
5 10
6 9
7 9
8 8
9 8
10 Duane Yarrow 7
11 Larry Shaw 6
12 Rich McMurray 5
13 Dennis Robinson 5
14 Ron McGill 1
15 Dave Faria 1

Nordic Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxTotal
1 15
2 14
3 12
4 12
5 10
6 10
7 9
8 8
9 7
10 5
11 5
12 4
13 Esa Mattila (Res) 3
14 Rauli Mäkinen (Res) 2
15 1
16 Pentti Mattila (Res) 1
17 0
18 0
19 0

Australasian Final

British Final

Continental semi-finals

width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 13+3
2 13+2
3 11+3
4 11+2
5 11+1
6 11+0
7 8
88
9 7
10 6
11 Istvan Sziraczki 5
12 Mieczyslaw Wozniak 5
13 Ryszard Fabiszewski (res) 5
14 Laszlo Meszaros 3
15 Sergej Djuchev 1
16 Jindrich Dominik 1
17 Pavel Khlynovski 0
width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 15
2 13
3 13
4 13
5 10
6 9
7 9
89
9 6
10 5
11 5
12 4
13 3
14 3
15 2
16 2

Fifth round

Swedish Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=20pxR1 width=20pxR2 width=20pxR3 width=70pxTotal
1 15151444
2 13111438
3 1214632
4 1081230
5 8111029
6 691227
7 119727
8 96924
9 68721
10 77519
11 75315
12 36615
13 46414
14 43613
15 4037
16 1225
17 0--0
18 -0-0

Continental Final

Intercontinental Final

World Final

Notes and References

  1. Book: Oakes, Peter. 1981 Speedway Yearbook. 1981. 20–21. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-86215-017-5.
  2. Web site: World Championship 1936-1994. Edinburgh Speedway. 10 July 2021.
  3. Web site: WORLD FINALS 1936-1994. Speedway Researcher. 10 July 2021.
  4. Web site: Speedway riders, history and results. wwosbackup. 10 July 2021.
  5. Web site: WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX. British Speedway. 10 July 2021.
  6. News: Mauger wins World title . Belfast Telegraph . 3 September 1977 . 10 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  7. News: Sad Olsen faces cost of failure . Telegraph . 3 September 1977 . 10 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  8. Web site: 1977 World Championship . Metal Speedway . 20 January 2024.
  9. Web site: 1977 World Championship . Speedway.org . 20 January 2024.
  10. Web site: Josef Angermüller. Motorsport Memorial . 17 March 2024.
  11. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "1977 Individual Speedway World Championship".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.