1979 Individual Speedway World Championship Explained

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.

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
Preliminary Round
8 AprilHackney Wick Stadium, London Bobby McNeil
8 AprilMick HinesAlan Emerson
17 AprilBernie Leigh
17 AprilSteve FinchDerek Richardson
23 AprilSteve LomasMalcolm CorradineJohn Jackson
Qualifying Round
28 AprilScott Autrey
28 AprilReg Wilson
28 AprilJohn Davis
30 AprilBruce Penhall
30 AprilColin Richardson
30 AprilAlan Grahame
2 MayMalcolm Simmons
2 MayKenny Carter
3 MayWimbledon Stadium, London Bruce Penhall
3 MayCraig PendleburyLes Collins
4 MayHackney Wick Stadium, London Ole Olsen
4 MayBruce Cribb
4 MayDave Jessup
5 MayMike Lanham
5 MaySteve Bastable
5 MayHyde Road, Manchester Bobby Beaton
8 MayIla Teromaa
10 MayAndy Grahame

Second round

Swedish qualification

(6 May, Grevby Motorstadion
Mariestad)
width=20Poswidth=180Rider width=40Points
1 13
2 12
3 11+3
4 11+2
5 11+1
6 10
7 Lennart Bengtsson 9
8 Karl-Erik Claesson 8
9 Tomas Pettersson 8
10 8
11 Kenneth Selmosson 7
12 Kjell Bergström 4
13 Thomas Hydling 3
14 Lars-Ove Lundgren 3
15 Stefan Hjort 2
16 Lars-Olof Karlsson 0
17 Ragnar Holm (res) 0
(6 May, Motala Arena
Motala)
width=20Poswidth=180Rider width=40Points
1 15
2 14
3 12
4 Gert Carlsson 10
5 Kent Eriksson 9+3
6 Jan Johansson 9+ 2
7 Lillebror Johansson8
8 Göran Waltersson 7
9 7
10 Åke Axelsson 6 6
11 Alf Trofast 6
12 Peter Johansson 5
13 Tommy Karlsson 5
14 Tord Löwdin 4
15 Lars Hedlund (res) 2
16 Jan Davidsson 1
170
(6 May, Målilla (Motorbana)
Målilla)
width=20Poswidth=180Rider width=40Points
1 15
2 14
3 11
4 Åke Fridell 11
5 10+3
6 Per-Ove Gudmundsson 10+2
7 Rolf Sundberg 9
8 8
9 Ingemar Andersson 7
10 Nils Eriksson 6
11 Tommy Steen 6
12 5
13 Bengt Gustavsson 3
14 Torgil Roth 2
15 Sölve Larsson 1
16 Leif Johansson (res)1
17 Bertil Andersson 1
18 Björn Persson (res)1

Continental Preliminary round

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
22 April Petr Kučera Jiří Jirout
22 April Laszlo Meszaroš Ladislav Hrádecký Karl Maier
22 April Waldemar Bacik Nikolaj Manev
22 April Andrew Curworth Walter Grubmuller

British semi-finals

width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 Peter Collins14
2 Gordon Kennett14
3 Doug Wyer13
4 Michael Lee12
5 Alan Molyneux10
6 Steve Bastable9
7 Jim McMillan8
8Mike Lanham7
9 Alan Grahame7
10 IanCartwright6
11 Vic Harding6
12 Joe Owen5
13 Nicky Allott4
14 Tom Owen4
15 Kenny Carter2
16 Bobby Beaton0
width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 Dave Morton14
2 Dave Jessup13
3 John Louis11
4 John Davis10
5 Chris Morton10
6 Reg Wilson10
7 Malcolm Simmons9
8Roger Johns9
9 Ian Turner9
10 Craig Pendlebury6
11 Colin Richardson5
12 Bruce Cribb4
13 Kevin Jolly4
14 Les Collins3
15 Mick Hines1
16 Trevor Geer0
width=50% valign=top

New Zealand Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxHeat Scores width=50pxTotal
1 3,3,3,3,315
2 3,3,2,2,212
3 2,3,E,3,311
4 2,0,3,3,311
5 1,3,3,1,210
6 3,0,1,3,29
7 1,2,1,2,39
8 2,2,2,1,29
9 Mike Fullerton3,1,3,0,18
10 James Moore1,2,0,2,1 6
11 Colin Tucker0,2,1,2,0 5
12 Patrick Pawson0,1,2,1,0 4
13 Robin Adlington0,1,2,0,1 4
14 Max Brown1,1,0,0,0 2
15 John Brown0,0,0,0,1 1
16 William Aulsfordns0
R1 Paul Fewings2,1,03
R2 Gary Forscutt0,11
width=50% valign=top

Australian Final

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

Third round

Continental quarter-finals

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
6 May Tibor Danka
6 May Anatoly Maksimow
7 May Henny Kroeze
7 May Istvan Sziracky

American semi-finals

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
16 September 1978Mike Bloom
22 September 1978Duane Yarrow

British Final

Australasian Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxTotal
1 13
2 12
3 11+3
4 11+2
5 11+1
6 10+3
7 10+2
8 8
9 John Goodall8
10 Danny Kennedy6
11 6
12 6
13 Tony Briggs (Res) 4
14 2
15 David Bargh (Res) 2
16 Roger Wright0

Danish Final

Norwegian Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=50pxTotal
1 Reidar Eide 14
2 13
3 11
4 Sigvart Pedersen 10
5 10
6 Thoralf Holen 10
7 9
8 9
9 8
10 Per Arne Hansen 6

Finland Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=50pxTotal
1 12+3
2 Rauli Mäkinen 12+2
3 Martti Väyrynen 10
4 Veijo Tuoriniemi 10
5 10
6 Timo Kiansten 9
7 Esko Mylläri 8
8 Olli Turkia 7
9 Seppo Palomäki 7
10 Keijo Mylläri 6
11 Pekka Hautamäki 6
12 Ari Turkia 5
135
14 Esa Mattila (res)4
15 Pentti Mattila 3
16 Veikko Haapamäki 3
17 Pekka Paljakka2
18 Jarmo Puttonen (res) 0

Swedish Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxTotal
1 15
2 12
3 11
4 11
5 11
6 10
7 9
8 Uno Johansson8
9 Stefan Salmonsson7
10 5
11 5
12 4
13 3
14 Lennart Bengsson (res) 3
15 Gert Carlsson2
16 Kent Eriksson1
17 0

Fourth round

Continental semi-finals

width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 13
2 11
3 11
4 10
5 10
6 9
7 Anatolij Maximov 9
89
9 8
10 6
11 5
12 Vladimir Klytchov 5
13 Waldemar Bacik 4
14 2
15 Herbert Szerecz 0
16 Peter Lempenhauer 0
width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 15
2 14
3 12
4 11
5 10
6 10
7 9
89
9 8
10 Janos Szöke 6
11 5
12 4
13 Alexander Khaljavin 3
14 2
15 2
16 Tibor Danka 0

American Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxTotal
1 12+3
2 12+2
3 12+1
4 Steve Gresham12+0
5 10
6 Steve McConnell9
7 8
8 Bill Cody7
9 Rich McMurray7
10 6
11 Gary Hutchinson6
12 Dennis Robinson5
13 Duane Yarrow5
14 Dave Faria4
15 Denny Pyeatt3
16 Mike Bloom2

Commonwealth Final

Nordic Final

Fifth round

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: HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK. Speedway.org. 10 July 2021.
  5. Web site: Speedway riders, history and results. wwosbackup. 10 July 2021.
  6. Web site: WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX. British Speedway. 10 July 2021.
  7. Book: Bott, Richard. The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. 1980. 22. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. 0-09-141751-1.
  8. Web site: 1979 World Championship . Metal Speedway . 20 January 2024.
  9. Web site: 1979 World Championship . Speedway.org . 20 January 2024.
  10. Book: Bott, Richard. The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. 1980. 22. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. 0-09-141751-1.
  11. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

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