1985 Individual Speedway World Championship Explained

The 1985 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 40th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1] [2] [3]

Odsal Stadium, the new home of international speedway in England after the demise of the Wembley Stadium and White City Stadium tracks, was chosen by the FIM to host the 1985 Final on 31 August 1985; the first time that the final had been held in England at a venue other than Wembley.[4]

A crowd of around 30,000 attended the 1985 Final, which was won by defending champion Erik Gundersen from fellow Dane Hans Nielsen and surprise third placing Sam Ermolenko of the United States. All three riders finished the meeting on 13 points and were forced into a run-off to decide the podium placings. The only English rider in the field, 21-year-old Kelvin Tatum, finished 8th with 8 points in his first World Final. He won his first race, but later admitted that he let the occasion get to him which affected his riding.[5]

First round

British preliminary round

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
11 AprilAndrew Silver
17 AprilLouis Carr
18 AprilMike Spink
19 AprilKevin Hawkins
19 AprilBobby Beaton

Swedish qualification

(4 May, Gubbängens IP
Stockholm)
width=20Poswidth=180Rider width=40Points
1 14
2 Patrik Karlsson 14
3 12
4 Lars Andersson 12
5 Jimmie Magnusson 10
6 Åke Fridell 9
7 9
8 Uno Johansson 9
9 6
10 Kent Rickardsson 5
11 Kenneth Nyström 5
12 Roger Sundberg 3
13 Peder Messing 3
14 Anders Nilsson 3
15 Magnus Jonsson 2
16 Mikael Löfqvist 1
(4 May, Gamla Målilla Motorstadion
Målilla)
width=20Poswidth=180Rider width=40Points
1 14
2 14
3 12
4 10
5 Jan Lundgren 9
6 Hans Wahlström 9
7 Dennis Löfqvist 8
8 Lars Hammarberg 8
9 Kjell Nielsen 7
10 Alf Trofast 6
11 Tony Gudbrand 6
12 4
13 Jan Davidsson 4
14 Mikael Reinholdsson 2
15 Roger Gustavsson 1
16 0
(5 May, Grevby Motorstadion
Mariestad)
width=20Poswidth=180Rider width=40Points
1 15
2 Per-Ove Gudmundsson 12
3 12
4 11
5 Börje Ring 10
6 9
7 9
8 Tommy Lindgren 8
9 Lillebror Johansson 8
10 Johan Zackrisson 6
11 Kent Björk 6
12 Johan Staaf 6
13 Mats Olsson 3
14 Mikael Messing 3
15 Kari Virta 1
16 Bo Arrhén 1

Australian qualification

width=50Datewidth=150Eventwidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
3 Nov 84Northern Territory Final
24 November 84Queensland FinalSteve Koppe
1 Dec 84South Australian FinalDarryl Branford
7 Dec 84Western Australian Final
16 Dec 84New South Wales FinalRudy Muts
23 Dec 84Victorian FinalBill Barret

Second round

Continental preliminary round

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
21 April Stanislav Urban
21 April Grzegorz Dzikowski
21 April Antonín Kasper Jr.
21 April József Petrikovics

British semi-finals

width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 Kenny Carter14+3
2 John Davis14+2
3 Neil Collins12
4 Phil Collins10
5 Neil Evitts9
6 Peter Collins9
7 Tim Hunt9
8Andy Campbell8
9 Mark Courtney7
10 Sean Willmott7
11 Peter Carr5
12 Richard Knight5
13 Louis Carr4
14 Kevin Jolly3
15 Carl Blackbird2
16 Kenny McKinna2
17 Ian Sutcliffe (res)0
width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 Andy Grahame14
2 Kelvin Tatum13
3 Simon Cross12
4 Chris Morton12
5 Andy Smith11
6 Les Collins9
7 Alan Grahame8
8Steve Bastable7
9 Dave Jessup7
10 Jamie Luckhurst6
11 Melvyn Taylor5
12 Mike Spink5
13 Jeremy Doncaster5
14 Bruce Cribb2
15 David Backburn2
16 Paul Woods2
17 John Bostin0
18 Nigel Leaver0

Third round

Continental quarter-finals

width=100Datewidth=280Venuewidth=180Winnerwidth=1802ndwidth=1803rd
1 May Valentino Furlanetto
1 May Laszlo Bodi
1 May Zdenek Schneiderwind
5 May Andrzej Huszcza

American Final

New Zealand Final

Australian Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxHeat Scores width=50pxTotal
1 (3,3,3,3,3) 15
2 (X,3,2,2,3) 11
3 (2,2,2,2,3) 11
4 (2,2,3,2,2) 11
5 (1,3,0,3,3) 10
6 (3,1,3,1,2) 10
7 (3,3,X,2,X) 8
8 (1,1,3,1,2) 8
9 (3,2,1,X,1) 7
10 (0,0,2,2,2) 6
11 (1,2,2,0,1) 6
12 (2,0,1,1,0) 4
13 (2,1,0,0,F) 3
14 (1,1,F,X,X) 2
15 (0,0,1,1,0) 2
16 (0,X,X,0,0) 0
R1 (3,1) 4
18 (1) 1

British Final

Norwegian Final

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

Finland Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxTotal
1 15
2 14
3 Juha Moksunen 11+3
4 11+2
5 10
6 Markku Haapala 9
7 Henry Kivela 9
8 Hannu Lehtonen 8
9 Mikael Back 6
10 Seppo Keskinen 6
11 Heimo Kaikko 6
12 Aarre Soivuori 4
13 Roy Malminheimo 3
14 Aki Ala Riihimaki 3
15 Esa Mattila 2
16 Ismo Kivela 2
17 Ari Heinonen (res) 1

Swedish Finals

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=20pxR1width=20pxR2width=20pxR3width=70pxTotal
1 Tommy Nilsson12151340
2 11131236
3 12 10 1335
4 8101533
5 1410832
6 710825
7 912223
8 Lars Andersson 95721
9 Patrik Karlsson 49619
10 Hans Wahlström 93416
11 Börje Ring 34815
12 43714
13 Jimmie Magnusson 14813
14 36413
15 Ake Fridell 82-10
16 Tony Olsson5308
17 0044
18 Jan Lundgren 0111
19 Alf Trofast -1-1
20 Lars Mammarberg 1--1

Danish Final

width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=70pxTotal
1 15
2 13+3
3 13+2
4 11
5 10
6 10
7 10
8 9
9 6
10 6
11 6
12 3
13 2
14 2
15 2
16 1
R1 1

Fourth round

Continental semi-finals

width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 13
2 12
3 11
4 10
5 10
6 10
7 10
89
9 7
10 6
11 6
12 4
13 4
14 3
15 3
16 2
width=50% valign=top
width=25pxPos. width=200pxRider width=40pxPoints
1 14
2 12
3 11
4 11
5 10
6 9
7 9
88
9 7
10 7
11 5
12 3
13 2
14 2
15 2
16 1

Overseas Final

Nordic Final

Fifth round

Continental Final

Intercontinental Final

World Final

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WORLD FINALS 1936-1994. Speedway Researcher. 10 July 2021.
  2. Web site: HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK. Speedway.org. 10 July 2021.
  3. Web site: WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL – RIDER INDEX. British Speedway. 10 July 2021.
  4. Web site: World Championship 1936-1994. Edinburgh Speedway. 10 July 2021.
  5. Web site: Speedway riders, history and results. wwosbackup. 10 July 2021.
  6. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.