1938 Individual Speedway World Championship
Third edition of the World motorcycle speedway championship
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The 1938 Individual Speedway World Championship was the third edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
The Championship was won by the 28 year-old Australian Arthur 'Bluey' Wilkinson, in front of a new record crowd for speedway of 95,000. The newspapers reported that despite extra police one of the worst traffic jams of the year resulted after the meeting was over and that the air was thick with petrol fumes.[8]
Qualifying round
- The top 28 riders over the 13 qualifying rounds would qualify for the Championship round.
| Date | Venue | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 11 May | Perry Barry Stadium | Tiger Hart |
| 18 May | Banister Court Stadium | Frank Goulden |
| 24 May | White City Nottingham | Tiger Hart |
| 26 May | Owlerton Stadium | Billy Lamont & Tommy Allott |
| 4 June | The Firs Stadium | Wal Morton |
| 7 June | Brough Park Stadium | Doug Wells |
| 11 June | Hackney Wick Stadium | Doug Wells |
| 21 June | West Ham Stadium | Bluey Wilkinson |
| 23 June | Knowle Stadium | Cordy Milne |
| 9 July | Harringay Stadium | Tommy Croombs |
| 16 July | Hyde Road | Jack Milne |
| 18 July | Wimbledon Stadium | Wilbur Lamoreaux |
| 20 July | New Cross Stadium | Jack Milne |
Championship round
| Date | Venue | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 30 July | Hyde Road | Wilbur Lamoreaux |
| 5 August | Knowle Stadium | Cordy Milne |
| 8 August | Wimbledon Stadium | Geoff Pymar |
| 17 August | New Cross Stadium | Bluey Wilkinson |
| 18 August | Wembley Stadium | Jack Milne & Wilbur Lamoreaux |
| 20 August | Harringay Stadium | Lionel Van Praag |
| 23 August | West Ham Stadium | Bluey Wilkinson & Jack Milne |
Points
The top 16 riders and 1 reserve, over the 7 Championship rounds would qualify for the World final.[9]
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World final
- 1 September 1938
Wembley Stadium, London- Attendance: 95,000 (all-time Wembley speedway attendance record)
| Pos. | Rider | c/f | Final Points | Final Heats | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bluey Wilkinson | 8 | 14 | (3,3,3,3,2) | 22 |
| 2 |  Jack Milne | 7 | 14 | (3,3,2,3,3) | 21 |
| 3 | Wilbur Lamoreaux | 7 | 13 | (3,1,3,3,3) | 20 |
| 4 | Lionel Van Praag | 7 | 11 | (3,2,2,1,3) | 18 |
| 5 |  Bill Kitchen | 6 | 9 | 2,2,1,2,2) | 15 |
| 6 | Cordy Milne | 7 | 8 | (1,3,3,0,1) | 15 |
| 7 | Alec Statham | 5 | 8 | (2,3,0,0,3) | 13 |
| 8 | Eric Langton | 5 | 8 | (1,2,2,3,0) | 13 |
| 9 | Benny Kaufman | 5 | 7 | (2,1,0,2,2) | 12 |
| 10 | Jack Parker | 4 | 6 | (2,2,2,0,0) | 10 |
| 11 | Arthur Atkinson | 5 | 5 | (1,0,2,1,1) | 10 |
| 12 | Jack Ormston (res) | 4 | 5 | (3,2) | 9 |
| 13 | Tommy Price | 4 | 4 | (1,0,1,2,0) | 8 |
| 14 | Tommy Croombs | 4 | 4 | (0,1,1,1,1) | 8 |
| 15 | George Newton | 5 | 2 | (0,1,0,1,0) | 7 |
| 16 | Geoff Pymar | 5 | 2 | (0,0,1,0,1) | 7 |
| 17 | Frank Varey | 4 | 0 | (0,0,0,-,-) | 4 |