In the 1954 Individual Speedway World Championship was the ninth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Ronnie Moore a 21-year-old New Zealander won his first World Championship with a 15-point maximum in front of a 90,000 attendance. He defeated his main rival Olle Nygren in the final heat. Nygren then lost the silver medal ride off to Wembley's teenager Brian Crutcher.[7] Moore's success was made all the more remarkable because he rode the meeting while still recovering from a broken leg.[8] Moore's win made him New Zealand's first ever World Champion in all forms of motor racing.[9]
Qualification
editQualification started on 1 May.[10][11]
Stage 1
editNorwegian round
edit- 27 September 1953
- Lerkendal Stadion, Trondheim
- Top 2 (+2 seeded) to Nordic final 1954
Pos. | Rider | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Basse Hveem | 15 |
2 | Reidar Kristoffersen | 14 |
3 | Sverre Gjömesli | 13 |
4 | Odd Johansen | 9 |
5 | Erling Simonsen | 9 |
6 | Anders Röhme | 8 |
7 | Oddvar Gundersgaard | 8 |
8 | Rolf Solberg | 7 |
9 | Rolf Westerberg | 7 |
10 | Nils Kristian Paulsen | 6 |
11 | Arne Kristiansen | 6 |
12 | Gunnar Dyrseth | 5 |
13 | Aage Hansen | 5 |
14 | Tore Meiner | 5 |
15 | Gunnar Hamsaeter | 2 |
16 | Aage W. Jensen | 1 |
Swedish round
edit- Top 16 to Swedish final
|
|
Stage 2
editSwedish final
edit- 9 May 1954
- Örebro Motorstadion Adolfsberg, Örebro
- Top 8 to Nordic final, 3 to Continental qualification
Pos. | Rider | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Olle Nygren | 14 |
2 | Göte Olsson | 12 |
3 | Ove Fundin | 12 |
4 | Rune Sörmander | 11 |
5 | Dan Forsberg | 10 |
6 | Joel Jansson | 10 |
7 | Sune Karlsson | 10 |
8 | Georg Duneborn | 8 |
9 | Per Olof Söderman | 8 |
10 | Olle Segerström | 7 |
11 | Rune Stenström | 6 |
12 | Thorsten Carlsson | 4 |
13 | Allan Nilsson | 2 |
14 | Bertil Carlsson II | 2 |
15 | Evert Hägg | 2 |
16 | Harry Lindgren | 1 |
Continental Qualification
edit- 23 May 1954
- Altes Stadion Abensberg, Abensberg
- 8 to Continental semifinal
Pos. | Rider | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Kjell Carlsson | 14+3 |
2 | Josef Kamper | 14+2 |
3 | Josef Hofmeister | 14+1 |
4 | Fritz Dirtl | 11 |
5 | Albin Siegl | 11 |
6 | Thei Bisschops | 9 |
7 | Karl Killmeyer | 9 |
8 | Josef Seidl | 7 |
9 | Sven Skoglund | 5 |
10 | Franz Aigner | 5 |
11 | Fred Aberl | 4 |
12 | Nicola Snjaric | 4 |
13 | Leopold Killmeyer | 3 |
14 | Sebastian Wiesent | 3 |
15 | Karl Kiendl | 3 |
16 | Valentin Medved | 0 |
Stage 3
editNordic Final
edit- 3 June 1954
- Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo
- First 8 to Continental final
Pos. | Rider | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Olle Nygren | 15 |
2 | Rune Sörmander | 14 |
3 | Georg Duneborn | 12 |
4 | Sune Karlsson | 10 |
5 | Dan Forsberg | 10 |
6 | Ove Fundin | 9 |
7 | Göte Olsson | 9 |
8 | Joel Jansson | 9 |
9 | Reidar Kristoffersen | 7 |
10 | Kiehn Berthelsen | 6 |
11 | Leif Bech | 6 |
12 | Aage Hansen | 5 |
13 | Werner Lorentzen | 4 |
14 | Simo Ylänen | 2 |
15 | Kaukko Jousanen | 1 |
16 | Erling Simonsen | 1 |
Continental semi-final
edit- 13 June 1954
- Niederrheinstadion, Oberhausen
- 8 to Continental final
Pos. | Rider | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Kjell Carlsson | 14 |
2 | Albin Siegl | 12 |
3 | Bill Kitchen | 11 |
4 | Sven Skoglund | 11 |
5 | Josef Hofmeister | 10 |
6 | Olle Segerström | 8 |
7 | Jack Parker | 8 |
8 | Josef Seidl | 8 |
9 | Karl Killmeyer | 7 |
10 | Jan Kesselmans | 7 |
11 | Per Olof Söderman | 5 |
12 | Hans van der Sluis | 5 |
13 | Tonny Kroeze | 4 |
14 | Thei Bisschops | 4 |
15 | Gerrit Kops | 2 |
16 | H. van Rijswijk | 1 |
Stage 4
editBritish round
edit- Top 24 to Championship Round[12]
Date | Venue | Winner |
---|---|---|
1 July | Foxhall Stadium | Tommy Miller |
1 July | Oxford Stadium | Peter Robinson |
5 July | County Ground Stadium | Goog Hoskin |
5 July | Wimborne Road | Ken Middleditch |
6 July | Banister Court Stadium | Charlie May |
8 July | Pennycross Stadium | Brian McKeown |
9 July | Knowle Stadium | Dick Bradley |
9 July | Leicester Stadium | Ken McKinlay |
9 July | The Stadium, Motherwell | Derek Close |
10 July | Brandon Stadium | Ernie Brecknell |
10 July | Old Meadowbank | Ken McKinlay |
10 July | Rayleigh Weir Stadium | Peter Clark |
10 July | Abbey Stadium | Bob Roger |
Continental Final
edit- 20 June 1954[13]
- Ryd Motorstadion, Linköping
- First 8 to Championship Round
Pos. | Rider | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Ove Fundin | 14 |
2 | Rune Sörmander | 14 |
3 | Sune Karlsson | 12 |
4 | Olle Nygren | 10 |
5 | Kjell Carlsson | 9 |
6 | Fritz Dirtl | 9 |
7 | Joel Jansson | 9 |
8 | Olle Segerström | 9 |
9 | Bill Kitchen | 8 |
10 | Dan Forsberg | 7 |
11 | Göte Olsson | 6 |
12 | Fred Lang | 4 |
13 | Georg Duneborn | 3 |
14 | Sven Skoglund | 3 |
15 | Thorsten Carlsson | 2 |
16 | Josef Kamper | 1 |
17 | Per Olof Söderman | 1 |
Stage 5
editChampionship Round
edit- Top 16 qualify for World final, 17th & 18th reserves for World final
Date | Venue | Winner |
---|---|---|
14 August | Hyde Road Stadium | Peter Craven |
14 August | Perry Barr Stadium | Jack Young |
16 August | Wimbledon Stadium | Barry Briggs |
18 August | Harringay Stadium | Split Waterman |
21 August | The Firs Stadium | Aub Lawson |
26 August | Wembley Stadium | Edie Rigg |
31 August | West Ham Stadium | Jack Young |
1 September | Odsal Stadium | Arthur Forrest |
Scores
edit- Top 16 qualify for World final, 17th-18th reserves for World final
World final
edit- 16 September 1954
- London, Wembley Stadium[14]
Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ronnie Moore | (3,3,3,3,3) | 15 |
2 | Brian Crutcher | (3,2,2,3,3) | 13+3 |
3 | Olle Nygren | (2,3,3,3,2) | 13+2 |
4 | Jack Young | (3,1,3,3,1) | 11 |
5 | Split Waterman | (2,1,3,1,2) | 9 |
6 | Barry Briggs | (1,2,2,2,2) | 9 |
7 | Eddie Rigg | (0,3,2,2,0) | 7 |
8 | Fred Brand | (3,1,0,2,1) | 7 |
9 | Jack Biggs | (1,3,1,1,1) | 7 |
10 | Arthur Forrest | (0,1,0,2,3) | 5 |
11 | Tommy Price | (1,0,2,0,2) | 5 |
12 | Geoff Mardon | (2,2,1,0,0) | 5 |
13 | Trevor Redmond | (0,2,1,1,1) | 5 |
14 | Aub Lawson | (2,0,0,2,0) | 4 |
15 | Peter Craven | (F,0,0,0,3) | 3 |
16 | Ove Fundin | (1,0,1,0,F) | 2 |
R1 | Alan Hunt | did not ride | - |
R2 | Freddie Williams | did not ride | - |
Classification
editPlacing | 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) Ronnie Moore | 15 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
2 | (6) Brian Crutcher | 13+3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
3 | (11) Olle Nygren | 13+2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
4 | (10) Jack Young | 11 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 4 | |||||||||||||||
5 | (15) Split Waterman | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | |||||||||||||||
6 | (7) Barry Briggs | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
7 | (5) Eddie Rigg | 7 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||||||||
8 | (4) Fred Brand | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | |||||||||||||||
9 | (16) Jack Biggs | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 9 | |||||||||||||||
10 | (1) Arthur Forrest | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | |||||||||||||||
11 | (3) Tommy Price | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | |||||||||||||||
12 | (8) Geoff Mardon | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | |||||||||||||||
13 | (13) Trevor Redmond | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | |||||||||||||||
14 | (2) Aub Lawson | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 14 | |||||||||||||||
15 | (9) Peter Craven | 3 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | |||||||||||||||
16 | (12) Ove Fundin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 2 | 16 | |||||||||||||||
(17) Alan Hunt | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(18) Freddie Williams | 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
edit- ^ 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 5 July 2021.
- ^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Moore Wins World Speedway Title". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 17 September 1954. Retrieved 5 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Profile". Moore Park Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Speedway Star Confounded The Doctors". Edinburgh Evening News. 17 September 1954. Retrieved 27 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1954 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "1954 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "104 riders in Wembley bid". Weekly Dispatch (London). 20 June 1954. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Monarchs bid for help went unheeded". Edinburgh Evening News. 1 July 1954. Retrieved 12 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5