1978 Individual Speedway World Championship

1978 Individual Speedway World Championship
Previous: 1977 Next: 1979

The 1978 Individual Speedway World Championship.

British Qualification

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 such as Ivan Mauger and Phil Crump rode in these meetings scoring points towards the Volkswagen/Daily Mirror Grand Prix qualification - but their scores didn't count towards World Championship qualification.

Date Venue Winner Runner-up 3rd place
Preliminary Round
16 April United KingdomRye House Stadium United Kingdom Ted Hubbard United Kingdom Kelvin Mullarkey United Kingdom Vic Harding
16 April United KingdomBoston United Kingdom Steve Weatherley United Kingdom Tom Owen United Kingdom Chris Turner
20 April United KingdomTeesside United Kingdom Mike Sampson United Kingdom Phil Collins United Kingdom Paul Tyrer
23 April United KingdomMildenhall United Kingdom Martin Yeates United Kingdom Richard Greer United Kingdom Bob Coles
27 April United KingdomOxford United Kingdom Dave Perks United Kingdom Geoff Bouchard United Kingdom Steve Finch
Qualifying Round
11 May United KingdomWimbledon United Kingdom Peter Collins United Kingdom Bob Kilby United Kingdom Dave Jessup
11 May United KingdomSheffield New Zealand Ivan Mauger United Kingdom Doug Wyer United Kingdom Steve Bastable
12 May United KingdomHackney United Kingdom Dave Jessup United Kingdom Terry Betts Denmark Finn Thomsen
13 May United KingdomBelle Vue United Kingdom Peter Collins United Kingdom Chris Morton Scotland Bobby Beaton
13 May United KingdomKings Lynn United Kingdom Michael Lee Australia John Titman United Kingdom Malcolm Simmons
13 May United KingdomCoventry United Kingdom Alan Molyneux United Kingdom Keith White Australia Billy Sanders
15 May United KingdomReading United Kingdom Gordon Kennett Australia Billy Sanders United Kingdom John Davis
15 May United KingdomExeter Australia Phil Crump Czechoslovakia Václav Verner Australia Mike Farrell
15 May United KingdomBirmingham United Kingdom Ray Wilson Australia John Titman United Kingdom Mike Lanham
16 May United KingdomLeicester United States Scott Autrey Australia John Titman United Kingdom Les Collins
17 May United KingdomPoole United Kingdom Tony Davey Czechoslovakia Václav Verner United Kingdom Malcolm Simmons
17 May United KingdomWhite City Stadium Finland Kai Niemi United Kingdom Gordon Kennett Finland Ila Teromaa
17 May United KingdomHull New Zealand Ivan Mauger Scotland Bobby Beaton United Kingdom Graham Drury
18 May United KingdomSwindon United Kingdom Peter Collins Sweden Jan Andersson United Kingdom Dave Perks
18 May United KingdomIpswich United Kingdom John Louis United Kingdom Michael Lee United Kingdom Tony Davey
19 May United KingdomWolverhampton United Kingdom Gordon Kennett Denmark Hans Nielsen Scotland Jim McMillan
19 May United KingdomBristol United Kingdom Joe Owen Norway Tormod Langli United Kingdom Reg Wilson
20 May United KingdomCradley Heath United Kingdom Alan Grahame United Kingdom John Davis Australia Bruce Cribb
20 May United KingdomHalifax United Kingdom Eric Broadbelt United Kingdom Ian Cartwright United Kingdom Phil Collins
Semi-Finals
12 July United KingdomPoole United Kingdom Tony Davey United Kingdom Gordon Kennett United Kingdom Dave Jessup
13 July United KingdomSheffield United Kingdom Peter Collins United Kingdom Chris Morton United Kingdom Michael Lee
Final
16 August United KingdomCoventry United Kingdom Michael Lee United Kingdom Dave Jessup United Kingdom Malcolm Simmons result

British Final

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 21
1 United Kingdom (7) Michael Lee 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 1
2 United Kingdom (5) Dave Jessup 12 2 3 1 3 3 12 2
3 United Kingdom (16) Malcolm Simmons 11 0 3 3 2 3 11 3
4 United Kingdom (9) Gordon Kennett 10 2 2 2 3 1 10 4 3
5 United Kingdom (1) Steve Bastable 10 3 1 2 1 3 10 5 2
6 United Kingdom (12) Chris Morton 10 E 2 3 2 3 10 6 1
7 United Kingdom (13) Tony Davey 8 3 0 2 3 0 8 7
8 United Kingdom (15) John Davis 8 2 2 2 2 0 8 8
9 United Kingdom (10) Les Collins 7 3 0 1 1 2 7 9
10 United Kingdom (6) Peter Collins 6 1 3 E E 2 6 10
11 United Kingdom (8) Reg Wilson 6 0 0 3 2 1 6 11
12 United Kingdom (2) Doug Wyer 4 1 2 X 1 E 4 12
13 United Kingdom (14) Alan Grahame 4 1 1 0 0 2 4 13
14 Scotland (4) Jim McMillan 3 2 1 0 T 0 3 14
15 United Kingdom (11) John Louis 3 1 0 1 0 1 3 15
16 United Kingdom (3) Dave Morton 3 0 1 1 0 1 3 16
R1 United Kingdom (R1) Phil Collins 0 0 R1
R2 United Kingdom (R2) Trevor Geer 0 0 R2
R3 United Kingdom (R3) Mick Bell 1 1 1 R3
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 21

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

Swedish Qualification

Date Venue Winner Runner-up 3rd place
Semi-Finals
5 May SwedenAvesta Sweden Anders Michanek Sweden Christer Sjosten Sweden Borje Flingberg
7 May SwedenMalilla Sweden Tommy Nilsson Sweden Soren Karlsson Sweden Stefan Salomonsson
7 May SwedenVisby Sweden Jan Andersson Sweden Conny Samuelsson Sweden Soren Sjosten
Final
30 May SwedenKumla Sweden Anders Michanek Sweden Jan Andersson Sweden Bernt Persson

Swedish Final

  • May 30, 1978
  • Sweden Kumla
  • First 7 to Scandinavian Final + 1 reserve
Pos. Rider Total
1 Sweden Anders Michanek 14
2 Sweden Jan Andersson 14
3 Sweden Bernt Persson 11
4 Sweden Tommy Nilsson 11
5 Sweden Lars Ericsson 10
6 Sweden Soren Karlsson 10
7 Sweden Christer Sjosten 10
8 Sweden Bo Wirebrand 8
9 Sweden Bengt Jansson 6
10 Sweden Stefan Salomonsson 6
11 Sweden Hasse Holmqvist 5
12 Sweden Conny Samuelsson 5
13 Sweden Borje Klingberg 4
14 Sweden Gert Carlsson 3
15 Sweden Tommy Pettersson 1
16 Sweden Soren Sjosten 1
17 Sweden Lars-Åke Andersson 1

New Zealand Final

  • February 11, 1978
  • New Zealand Wellington
  • Marked in green, to Austral-Asian Final
Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 New Zealand Larry Ross 3,3,3,3,3 15
2 New Zealand Barry Briggs 2,3,3,2,2 12
3 New Zealand Mike Fullerton 1,3,2,3,3 12
4 New Zealand Mitch Shirra 3,2,E,3,3 11
5 New Zealand Roger Wright 2,3,3,1,2 11
6 New Zealand Colin Tucker 3,2,2,2,2 11
7 New Zealand Colin Farquharson 1,1,3,2,3 10
8 New Zealand James Moore 3,1,0,0,2 6
9 New Zealand Allan Brown 0,0,2,3,1 6
10 New Zealand Greg Joynt 1,2,2,0,0 5
11 New Zealand Paul Fewinks 2,2,0,1,F 5
12 New Zealand Max Brown F,0,1,2,1 4
13 New Zealand Gavin Miller 2,1,1,0,0 4
14 New Zealand Cliff Anderson 0,0,1,1,1 3
15 New Zealand Patrick Pawson 1,E,1,1,0 3
16 New Zealand Kris Berrigan 0,1,0,0,1 2
R1 New Zealand Robin Adlington

Intercontinental Round

Date Venue Winner Runner-up 3rd place
American Final
29 December 1977 United StatesSanta Ana ? ? ?
Australasian Final
18 February New ZealandAucland New Zealand Mitch Shirra Australia Mick McKeon Australia John Titman
Danish Final
15 May DenmarkFjelsted Denmark Bent Rasmussen Denmark Kristian Praestbro Denmark Hans Nielsen
Scandinavian Final
8 June SwedenNorrköping Denmark Ole Olsen Sweden Bernt Persson Denmark Finn Thomsen
Intercontinental Final
2 July DenmarkFredericia Denmark Ole Olsen New Zealand Ivan Mauger United States Scott Autrey

Australasian Final

  • February 12, 1978
  • New Zealand Auckland
  • First 4 to Intercontinental Final
Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 New Zealand Mitch Shirra 2,2,3,3,3 13
2 Australia Mick McKeon 3,3,2.5,2,1 11.5
3 Australia John Titman 2,3,T,3,3 11
4 Australia Mike Farrell 3,1,1,3,3 11
5 New Zealand Mike Fullerton 1,3,3,1,2 10
6 Australia Phil Herne 1,2,2,3,2 10
7 Australia John Boulger 3,3,2,T,1 9
8 Australia Billy Sanders 3,T,3,F,3 9
9 New Zealand Colin Farquharson 0,2,2,2,2 8
10 New Zealand Roger Wright 1,1,2.5,1,1 6.5
11 Australia Robert Maxfield 1,1,1,2,1 6
12 New Zealand Larry Ross 2,E,E,2,2 6
13 New Zealand James Moore 2,1,1,1,0 5
14 New Zealand Colin Tucker 0,2,1,0,0 3
15 New Zealand Allan Brown 0,0,0,0,0 0
16 Australia Lloyd Cross F,-,-,-,- 0
R1 New Zealand Greg Joynt 0,0,1,T 1
R2 New Zealand Cliff Anderson 0,0,0 0

Danish Final

  • May 15, 1978
  • Denmark Fjelsted
  • First 2 to Scandinavian Final
Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Denmark Bent Rasmussen 13+3
2 Denmark Kristian Praestbro 13+2
3 Denmark Hans Nielsen 12+3
4 Denmark Michael Lohmann 12+2
5 Denmark Alf Busk 12+1
6 Denmark Bo Petersen 10
7 Denmark Finn Rune Jensen 9
8 Denmark Knud Ellegaard 8
9 Denmark Klaus Lohmann 6
10 Denmark Kurt Bogh 4
11 Denmark Steen Mastrup 4
12 Denmark Arne Kruse 4
13 Denmark Erling Rasmussen 3
14 Denmark Gunnar Svensen 3
15 Denmark Bent Horregaard 3
16 Denmark Jens Kjaer 2

Scandinavian Final

  • June 8, 1978
  • Sweden Norrköping
  • First 9 to Intercontnental Final
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 21
1 Denmark (2) Ole Olsen 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Sweden (7) Bernt Persson 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 2
3 Denmark (9) Finn Thomsen 11 2 2 3 3 1 11 3 3
4 Finland (15) Kai Niemi 11 3 2 2 1 3 11 4 2
5 Finland (4) Ila Teromaa 10 2 3 2 2 1 10 5
6 Sweden (8) Tommy Nilsson 10 2 2 2 2 2 10 6
7 Denmark (13) Kristian Praestbro 9 1 3 1 1 3 9 7
8 Sweden (16) Anders Michanek 8 2 1 2 3 0 8 8
9 Sweden (3) Jan Andersson 6 1 0 1 2 2 6 9 3
10 Norway (6) Tom Godal 6 1 1 3 0 1 6 10 2
11 Sweden (11) Soren Karlsson 6 3 1 0 0 2 6 11 1
12 Denmark (14) Bent Rasmussen 5 0 0 0 2 3 5 12
13 Sweden (10) Christer Sjosten 4 0 2 0 1 1 4 13
14 Sweden (1) Lars Ericsson 3 0 1 1 1 0 3 14
15 Norway (5) Audun Ove Olsen 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 15
16 Norway (12) Stein Roar Pedersen 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 16
R1 Sweden (R1) Bo Wirebrand 0 0 R1
R2 Sweden (R2) Runo Wedin 0 0 R2
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 21

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

Intercontinental Final

  • July 2, 1978
  • Denmark Fredericia
  • First 7 to World Final + 1 reserve
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 21
1 Denmark (3) Ole Olsen 13 2 3 2 3 3 13 1 3
2 New Zealand (11) Ivan Mauger 13 3 2 2 3 3 13 2 2
3 United States (1) Scott Autrey 11 3 X 3 2 3 11 3 3
4 Finland (16) Ila Teromaa 11 3 3 1 1 3 11 4 2
5 Sweden (13) Jan Andersson 11 2 2 3 2 2 11 5 1
6 Sweden (9) Anders Michanek 10 2 1 3 3 1 10 6
7 Australia (5) John Titman 10 2 3 1 2 2 10 7
8 Sweden (6) Bernt Persson 9 3 3 0 2 1 9 8
9 Finland (2) Kai Niemi 8 1 2 2 1 2 8 9
10 United States (12) Steve Gresham 7 X 1 3 3 X 7 10
11 Denmark (4) Finn Thomsen 5 0 2 2 E 1 5 11
12 Australia (15) Mike Farrell 5 1 1 0 1 2 5 12
13 Australia (10) Mick McKeon 3 1 1 1 0 0 3 13
14 Denmark (8) Kristian Praestbro 2 0 0 1 0 1 2 14
15 New Zealand (7) Mitch Shirra 1 1 F - - - 1 15
16 Sweden (14) Tommy Nilsson 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 16
R1 Denmark (R1) Bert Rasmussen 0 0 0 0 R1
R2 Denmark (R2) Tom Jenssen 0 0 0 0 R2
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 21

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

Continental Round

Date Venue Winner Runner-up 3rd place
Preliminary Round
22 April CzechoslovakiaSlany Poland Boleslaw Proch Poland Jerzy Kochman Netherlands Rudi Muts
23 April Socialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaMaribor Czechoslovakia Jan Hadek Italy Sandro Pastoreli Bulgaria Angel Jeftimov
Quarter-Finals
7 May ItalyVarese West Germany Egon Muller Soviet Union Grigory Klinovsky Poland Jerzy Rembas
7 May HungaryMiskolc Soviet Union Michail Starostin Poland Andrzej Huszcza Czechoslovakia Václav Verner
7 May West GermanyKrumbach West Germany Georg Hack Czechoslovakia Ales Dryml, Sr Soviet Union Nikolay Kornev
7 May PolandCzęstochowa Poland Marek Cieślak Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl Czechoslovakia Zdeněk Kudrna
Semi-Finals
28 May East GermanyNorden West Germany Alois Wiesböck West Germany Egon Muller Poland Ryszard Fabiszewski
28 May West GermanyPocking West Germany Hans Wasserman Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl Poland Marek Cieślak
Final
2 July CzechoslovakiaPrague West Germany Hans Wasserman Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl Poland Marek Cieślak

Continental Final

  • July 2, 1978
  • Czechoslovakia Prague
  • First 6 to World Final plus 1 reserve
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 21
1 West Germany (5) Hans Wasserman 14 3 2 3 3 3 14 1
2 Czechoslovakia (9) Jiří Štancl 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 2
3 Poland (11) Marek Cieślak 11 1 3 3 3 1 11 3
4 Czechoslovakia (16) Petr Ondrašík 11 3 2 1 2 3 11 4
5 Czechoslovakia (1) Jan Verner 11 3 1 2 2 3 11 5
6 Poland (7) Jerzy Rembas 9 2 0 3 3 1 9 6
7 Czechoslovakia (8) Zdeněk Kudrna 9 1 3 2 1 2 9 7
8 Poland (2) Boleslaw Proch 8 2 2 2 2 0 8 8
9 West Germany (14) Alois Wiesböck 6 2 3 F 1 0 6 9
10 Italy (4) Francesco Biginato 6 1 1 0 2 2 6 10
11 Hungary (10) Janosz Sziracky 5 0 1 2 1 1 5 11
12 Soviet Union (13) Nikolay Kornev 4 1 0 1 0 2 4 12
13 Czechoslovakia (6) Emil Sova 4 0 0 0 1 3 4 13
14 Poland (3) Ryszard Fabiszewski 4 0 2 1 0 1 4 14
15 West Germany (12) Egon Muller 2 2 0 E E - 2 15
16 Poland (15) Piotr Pyszny 2 X 1 1 0 0 2 16
R1 Poland (R1) Boguslaw Nowak 0 0 R1
R2 West Germany (R2) Georg Hack 0 0 R2
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 21

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

World Final

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 21
1 Denmark (15) Ole Olsen 13 3 2 2 3 3 13 1
2 United Kingdom (13) Gordon Kennett 12 2 3 2 2 3 12 2
3 United States (2) Scott Autrey 11 3 2 1 3 2 11 3 3
4 United Kingdom (12) Dave Jessup 11 E 3 3 3 2 11 4 2
5 Poland (9) Jerzy Rembas 11 3 1 3 1 3 11 5 1
6 United Kingdom (1) Malcolm Simmons 10 2 2 2 2 2 10 6
7 United Kingdom (6) Michael Lee 9 3 1 3 2 0 9 7
8 New Zealand (14) Ivan Mauger 8 F 3 2 0 3 8 8
9 Australia (16) John Titman 7 1 2 F 3 1 7 9
10 Sweden (3) Anders Michanek 7 1 3 0 2 1 7 10
11 Finland (4) Ila Teromaa 6 0 1 3 F 2 6 11
12 Czechoslovakia (11) Jan Verner 5 2 1 1 0 1 5 12
13 Poland (8) Marek Cieślak 5 2 0 1 1 1 5 13
14 Sweden (10) Jan Andersson 3 1 0 1 1 0 3 14
15 Czechoslovakia (7) Jiří Štancl 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 15
16 Czechoslovakia (5) Petr Ondrašík 0 F 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 England (R1) Steve Bastable 0 0 R1
R2 Sweden (R2) Bernt Persson 0 0 R2
R3 Czechoslovakia (R3) Zdeněk Kudrna 0 0 R3
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 21

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

  1. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

This page was last updated at 2019-11-09 02:05 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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