1978 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1978 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 33rd edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.

Ole Olsen won his third world crown. The final was sponsored by the Sunday Mirror and was attended by 86,500. Gordon Kennett took silver on the day of his 25th birthday and American Scott Autrey won the bronze medal run-off defeating Dave Jessup and Jerzy Rembas. Dave Jessup was effectively denied a World title when after leading in heat 3 he suffered a bike malfunction and finished last in the heat. He then scored 11 points from his remaining rides which would have been enough to take the crown if he had won heat 3.

Qualification results.

Second round Australian qualifying Top 16 to Australian final DateVenueWinner2nd3rd? '77 ? Danny Kennedy Rod Hunter John McNeill 26 Nov '77 Carina Speedway, Bundaberg Billy Sanders Phil Herne Paul O'Neil 10 Dec '77 Showground Speedway, Sydney Billy Sanders Phil Herne Paul O'Neil 6 JanClaremont Speedway, Perth Lloyd Cross Les Leisk Neil Webb 13 JanRowley Park, Adelaide John Boulger Tony Boyle Rob Maxfield 27 JanRowley Park, Adelaide John Boulger Danny Kennedy Tony Boyle 30 JanShowground Speedway, Sydney John Titman Phil Herne Billy Sanders

New Zealand qualifying Top 16 to New Zealand final DateVenueWinner2nd3rd 5 Feb Ruapuna Speedway, Christchurch Larry Ross Barry Briggs James Moore

British preliminary round Rider progress to British qualifying round DateVenueWinner2nd3rd 16 AprilRye House Stadium, Hoddesdon Ted Hubbard Kelvin Mullarkey Vic Harding 16 AprilBoston Sports Stadium, Boston Steve Weatherley Tom Owen Chris Turner 20 AprilCleveland Park, Middlesbrough Mike Sampson Phil Collins Paul Tyrer 23 AprilMildenhall Stadium, Mildenhall Martin Yeates Richard Greer Bob Coles 27 AprilOxford Stadium, Oxford Dave Perks Geoff Bouchard Steve Finch

Continental preliminary round Riders progress to Continental quarter-finals DateVenueWinner2nd3rd 22 April Slaný Speedway Stadium, Slaný Boleslaw Proch Jerzy Kochman Rudi Muts 23 April Kovinar Stadium, Maribor Jan Hádek Sandro Pastoreli Angel Jeftimov

Swedish qualification Top 5 in each heat to Swedish final

(5 May, Avestavallen, Avesta)PosRider Points 1 Anders Michanek 152 Christer Sjösten 113 Börje Klingberg 114 Gert Carlsson 115 Tomas Pettersson 106 Karl-Erik Claesson 97 Roger Björkman 98 Åke Fridell 89 Lars-Olof Karlsson 710 Åke Axelsson 711 Leif Johansson 612 Peter Johansson 513 Therje Henriksson 414 Bertil Andersson 215 Börje Ohlsson (res)216 Hans Frisk 117 Willy Karlsson 018 Jan Holmqvist 0

(7 May, Målilla Motorbana, Malilla)PosRider Points 1 Tommy Nilsson 152 Sören Karlsson 133 Stefan Salmonsson 134 Lillebror Johansson 115 Bo Wirebrand9+36 Lars Ericsson 9+27 Olle Nygren 88 Sven Nilsson 89 Bengt Larsson 610 Thord Löwdin 511 Kenneth Selmosson 412 Weine Ström 413 Tommy Johansson 314 Björn Persson (res) 315 Karl-Fredrik Lindgren 316 Bengt Gagner 317 Åke Andersson (res)218 Åke Dovhed 0

(7 May, Gamla Galgberget, Visby)PosRider Points 1 Jan Andersson 142 Conny Samuelsson133 Sören Sjösten 134 Hasse Holmqvist 125 Bernt Persson 126 Lars-Åke Andersson 9+37 Rolf Sundberg 9+28 Kjell Bergström 79 Hans Danielsson 710 Jan Davidsson 611 Torgil Roth 612 Håkan Karlsson 513 Richard Hellsén 214 Eddie Davidsson1

Third round Continental quarter-finals Top 32 to Continental semi-finals DateVenueWinner2nd3rd 7 May Castiglione Olona Speedway, Varese Egon Muller Grigory Khlinovsky Jerzy Rembas 7 May Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc Mikhail Starostin Andrzej Huszcza Václav Verner 7 May Breitenthal Stadium, Krumbach Georg Hack Ales Dryml, Sr Nikolay Kornev 7 May Municipal Stadium, Częstochowa Marek Cieślak Jiří Štancl Zdeněk Kudrna

British qualifying round The British qualifying rounds for the World Championship doubled up as qualifying rounds for the Volkswagen/Daily Mirror Grand Prix. Therefore, many non-British riders rode in these meetings scoring points towards the Volkswagen/Daily Mirror Grand Prix qualification - but their scores didn't count towards World Championship qualification. The top 32 British riders qualified for the British semi-finals.

DateVenueWinner2nd3rd 11 MayWimbledon Stadium, London Peter Collins Bob Kilby Dave Jessup 11 MayOwlerton Stadium, Sheffield Ivan Mauger Doug Wyer Steve Bastable 12 MayHackney Wick Stadium, London Dave Jessup Terry Betts Finn Thomsen 13 MayHyde Road, Manchester Peter Collins Chris Morton Bobby Beaton 13 MayKing's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn Michael Lee John Titman Malcolm Simmons 13 MayBrandon Stadium, Coventry Alan Molyneux Keith White Billy Sanders 15 MaySmallmead Stadium, Reading Gordon Kennett Billy Sanders John Davis 15 MayCounty Ground Stadium, Exeter Phil Crump Václav Verner Mike Farrell 15 MayBirchfield Ladbroke Stadium, Birmingham Ray Wilson John Titman Mike Lanham 16 MayLeicester Stadium, Leicester Scott Autrey John Titman Les Collins 17 MayWimborne Road, Poole Tony Davey Václav Verner Malcolm Simmons 17 MayWhite City Stadium, London Kai Niemi Gordon Kennett Ila Teromaa 17 MayThe Boulevard, Hull Ivan Mauger Bobby Beaton Graham Drury 18 MayAbbey Stadium, Swindon Peter Collins Jan Andersson Dave Perks 18 MayFoxhall Stadium, Ipswich John Louis Michael Lee Tony Davey 19 May Monmore Green, Wolverhampton Gordon Kennett Hans Nielsen Jim McMillan 19 MayKnowle Stadium, Bristol Joe Owen Tormod Langli Reg Wilson 20 MayDudley Wood Stadium, Dudley Alan Grahame John Davis Bruce Cribb 20 MayThe Shay, Halifax Eric Broadbelt Ian Cartwright Phil Collins

Finland Final First 2 to Nordic Final 1978 14 August 1977, Eteläpuisto, Tampere Pos. Rider Total1 Kai Niemi 142 Ilkka Teromaa 133 Rauli Mäkinen 124 Seppo Palomäki 125 Markku Helminen 116 Pekka Paljakka 107 Pekka Hautamäki 98 Timo Kiansten 8 9 Olli Turkia 810 Veijo Tuoriniemi611 Veli Pekka Kunelius 612 Ari Koponen 313 Keijo Mylläri 314 Esa Mattila 315 Raimo Posti 216 Jorma Karjalainen 0

Norwegian Final 3 riders to Nordic Final

Swedish Final 30 May 1978 Kumla Motorstadion, Kumla First 7 to Nordic Final + 1 reserve Pos. Rider Total1 Anders Michanek 142 Jan Andersson 143 Bernt Persson 114 Tommy Nilsson 115 Lars Ericsson 106 Sören Karlsson 107 Christer Sjösten 108 Bo Wirebrand 89 Bengt Jansson 610 Stefan Salomonsson 611 Hasse Holmqvist 512 Conny Samuelsson 513 Borje Klingberg 414 Gert Carlsson 315 Tommy Pettersson 116 Sören Sjösten 117 Lars-Åke Andersson 1

Danish Final 15 May 1978 Fjelsted Speedway Stadium, Harndrup First 2 to Nordic Final (Ole Olsen and Finn Thomsen seeded through) Pos. Rider Total1 Bent Rasmussen 13+32 Kristian Præstbro 13+23 Hans Nielsen 12+34 Mike Lohmann 12+25 Alf Busk 12+16 Bo Petersen 107 Finn Rune Jensen 98 Knud Ellegaard 89 Klaus Lohmann 610 Kurt Bøgh 411 Steen Mastrup 412 Arne Kruse 413 Erling Rasmussen 314 Gunnar Svendsen 315 Bent Nørregaard-Jensen 316 Jens Kjaer 2

Australian Final 4 February 1978 Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane To 8 to Australasian Final Pos. Rider Total1 John Titman 152 Lloyd Cross 133 Mick McKeon 124 John Boulger 115 Mike Farrell 96 Phil Herne 97 Billy Sanders 98 Robert Maxfield 89 Glenn McDonald 710 Phil Crump 711 Wayne Forrest 612 Tony Boyle 513 Danny Kennedy 414 Ricky Day 315 Phil Bass 216 Stuart Mountford 0

New Zealand Final 11 February 1978 Te Marua Speedway, Wellington To 8 to Australasian Final Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total1 Larry Ross 3,3,3,3,3152 Barry Briggs 2,3,3,2,2123 Mike Fullerton 1,3,2,3,3124 Mitch Shirra 3,2,E,3,3115 Roger Wright 2,3,3,1,2116 Colin Tucker 3,2,2,2,2117 Colin Farquharson 1,1,3,2,3108 James Moore 3,1,0,0,269 Allan Brown 0,0,2,3,1610 Greg Joynt 1,2,2,0,0 511 Paul Fewinks 2,2,0,1,F 512 Max Brown F,0,1,2,1 413 Gavin Miller 2,1,1,0,0 414 Cliff Anderson 0,0,1,1,1 315 Patrick Pawson 1,E,1,1,0 316 Kris Berrigan 0,1,0,0,12

Fourth round British semi-finals 12 July Wimborne Road, Poole Top 8 to British final Pos. Rider Points1 Tony Davey122 Gordon Kennett123 Dave Jessup114 John Davis 115 Steve Bastable106 John Louis107 Malcolm Simmons108 Alan Grahame99 Terry Betts810 Bob Kilby711 Trevor Geer612 Neil Middleditch413 Mike Lanham414 Colin Richardson415 Eric Broadbelt216 Geoff Bouchard113 July Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield Top 8 to British final Pos. Rider Points1 Peter Collins152 Chris Morton133 Michael Lee134 Les Collins105 Reg Wilson106 Dave Morton97 Doug Wyer88 Jim McMillan79 Phil Collins710 Bobby Beaton611 Dave Perks512 Ian Cartwright513 Keith White414 Alan Molyneux415 Richard Greer316 Ray Wilson1

American selection No qualifying, the AMA selected two riders to represent the US in the Intercontinental final.

Australasian Final 12 February 1978 Western Springs Stadium, Auckland First 4 to Intercontinental Final, Ivan Mauger seeded through

Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total1 Mitch Shirra 2,2,3,3,3132 Mick McKeon 3,3,2.5,2,111.53 John Titman 2,3,T,3,3114 Mike Farrell 3,1,1,3,3115 Mike Fullerton 1,3,3,1,2106 Phil Herne 1,2,2,3,2107 John Boulger 3,3,2,T,198 Billy Sanders 3,T,3,F,399 Colin Farquharson 0,2,2,2,2810 Roger Wright 1,1,2.5,1,1 6.511 Robert Maxfield 1,1,1,2,1 612 Larry Ross 2,E,E,2,2 613 James Moore 2,1,1,1,0 514 Colin Tucker 0,2,1,0,0 315 Allan Brown 0,0,0,0,0 016 Lloyd Cross F,-,-,-,-0R1 Greg Joynt 0,0,1,T1R2 Cliff Anderson 0,0,00

Nordic Final 8 June 1978 Norrköping Motorstadion, Norrköping First 9 to Intercontnental Final

Continental semi-finals 28 May Rottalstadion, Pocking Top 8 to Continental final Pos. Rider Points1 Hans Wassermann 152 Jiří Štancl 133 Marek Cieslak 114 Boleslaw Proch 115 Emil Sova 106 Zdenek Kudrna 97 Piotr Pyszny 98 Nikolaj Kornev 89 Georg Hack 810 Aleš Dryml Sr. 711 Jerzy Kochman 512 Vladimir Paznikov 513 Karel Vobornik 314 Petr Kucera 215 Rudy Muts 216 Frits Koppe 128 May Motodrom Halbemond, Norden Top 8 to Continental final Pos. Rider Points1 Alois Wiesböck 152 Egon Müller 143 Ryszard Fabiszewski 124 Jan Verner 95 Francesco Biginato 96 Istvan Sziraczki 97 Jerzy Rembas 98 Petr Ondrašík 99 Boguslav Nowak 810 Václav Verner 811 Andrzej Huszcza 512 Michail Starostin 413 Grigory Khlinovsky 414 Laszlo Meszaros 315 Jan Hadek116 Jiri Jirout 1

Fifth round British Final 16 August 1978 Brandon Stadium, Coventry First 4 to World Final

Continental Final 2 July 1978 Markéta Stadium, Prague First 6 to World Final plus 1 reserve

Intercontinental Final 2 July 1978 Speedway Center, Fredericia First 7 to World Final + 1 reserve

World Final 2 September 1978 Wembley Stadium, LondonBamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

References