1976 Individual Speedway World Championship
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The 1976 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 31st edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5]
England's Peter Collins became the first British World Speedway Champion since Peter Craven had won in 1962. Fellow Englishman Malcolm Simmons finished second with Australia's Phil Crump finishing third. 1976 was the first time since 1952 that no rider from either New Zealand or Sweden finished on the podium in the World Final.[6]
British Preliminary round
- Riders progress to British qualifying round
| Date | Venue | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 April | Shielfield Park, Berwick | Taffy Owen | Tom Owen | Graham Jones |
| 10 April | Kingsmead Stadium, Canterbury | Reg Luckhurst | Ted Hubbard | Graham Banks |
| 11 April | Mildenhall Stadium, Mildenhall | Kevin Jolly | Andy Cusworth | Laurie Etheridge |
| 13 April | Wessex Stadium, Weymouth | Tony Featherstone | Bob Coles | Barney Kennett |
British qualifying round
- Riders progress to British quarter finals
| Date | Venue | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 April | Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield | Trevor Geer | Alan Grahame | Paul Tyrer |
| 23 April | Monmore Green, Wolverhampton | Alan Molyneux | Brian Havelock | Bob Coles |
| 24 April | Abbey Stadium, Swindon | Dave Perks | Steve Bastable | Tom Owen |
| 24 April | Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley | Bobby McNeil | Mick Hines | Mick Bell |
Second round
Swedish qualification
- Top 5 in each heat to Swedish final
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New Zealand qualification
- Top 16 to New Zealand final
| Date | Venue | Winner | 2nd | 3rd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Island Final | |||||
| 6 December, '75 | Oreti Park Speedway, Invercargill | Larry Ross | Graeme Stapleton | Denis Sincock | |
| North Island Final | |||||
| 10 January | Showgrounds, Palmerston North | Colin Farquharson | Colin Tucker | Roy Trigg | |
Australian qualification
| Date | Venue | Winner | 2nd | 3rd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Round | |||||
| 22 November '75 | Liverpool Speedway, Green Valley | Billy Sanders | Phil Herne | Mitch Shirra | |
| 28 November '75 | Jerilderie Park Speedway, Tomago | Phil Herne | Terry Southerland | Mitch Shirra | |
| 29 November '75 | Sydney Showground, Sydney | Mitch Shirra | Phil Herne | Billy Sanders | |
| Queensland Qualification | |||||
| 6 December '75 | Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane | Mike Farrell | Ron Henderson | Darryl McLean | |
| Southern Territory Qualification | |||||
| 9 January | Rowley Park Speedway, Adelaide | John Boulger | Ray Snider | Robin Amundson | |
| Victoria Qualification | |||||
| 17 January | Northern Park Raceway, Melbourne | Danny Kennedy | Rob Jones | John Dewhurst | |
| Northern District | |||||
| 23 January | Rowley Park Speedway, Adelaide | Phil Crump | John Boulger | Kym Amundson | |
| 31 January | Sydney Showground, Sydney | Billy Sanders | Mike Farrell | John Langfield | |
| 7 February | Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane | Mike Farrell | John Titman | Garry Middleton | |
British quarter-finals
- Top 32 to British semi-finals
| Date | Venue | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 May | Birchfield Ladbroke Stadium, Birmingham | Peter Collins | Chris Pusey | Alan Molyneux |
| 5 May | Wimborne Road, Poole | Dave Jessup | Dave Morton | Arthur Price |
| 8 May | Hyde Road, Manchester | Alan Grahame | John Davis | Michael Lee |
| 8 May | King's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn | Malcolm Simmons | Chris Morton | Doug Wyer |
Continental Preliminary round
- Riders progress to Continental quarter-finals
| Date | Venue | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 April |  La Favorita, Sarego |  Hans Wassermann |  Evzen Erban | Karel Vobornik |
| 25 April |  Stadion Wiener Neustadt | Georg Gilgenreiner | Alois Wiesböck | Hubert Fischbaher |
Third round
American qualifying
- 3 June
Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, San Jose- Top 16 to American Final
New Zealand Final
- 14 February, Ruapuna Speedway, Templeton
- Top 8 to Australasian final
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Mauger | 14+3 |
| 2 | Barry Briggs | 14+2 |
| 3 | Larry Ross | 11+3 |
| 4 | Roy Trigg | 11+2 |
| 5 | Graeme Stapleton | 10 |
| 6 | Paul Fewings | 10 |
| 7 | Colin Tucker | 10 |
| 8 | Colin Farquharson | 7 |
| 9 | Dennis Sincock | 6 |
| 10 | Robin Adlington | 6 |
| 11 | Merv Salt | 5 |
| 12 | Paul Church | 4 |
| 13 | Kevin Burt | 3 |
| 14 | Paul Wells | 3 |
| 15 | Graeme Stewart | 3 |
| 16 | Bruce Mitchell | 2 |
| 17 | Mike Fullerton | 1 |
Australian Final
- 13 February 1976, Rowley Park Speedway, Adelaide
- Top 8 to Australasian Final
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Crump | 15 |
| 2 | John Langfield | 13 |
| 3 | Phil Herne | 12 |
| 4 | John Boulger | 12 |
| 5 | Mitch Shirra | 10 |
| 6 | John Titman | 9 |
| 7 | Ticky Day | 9 |
| 8 | Billy Sanders | 8 |
| 9 | Mick McKeon | 8 |
| 10 | Mike Farrell | 6 |
| 11 | Robin Amundson | 5 |
| 12 | Robert Maxfield | 4 |
| 13 | Ron Henderson | 3 |
| 14 | Rod Chessell | 3 |
| 15 | Ray Snider | 2 |
| 16 | Dene Davies | 1 |
| 17 | Paul Scanlon | 0 |
Swedish Final
- The final was initially started on 20 May at Gubbängens IP but had to be abandoned following the fatal crash of Tommy Jansson.
- 25 May 1976
- Linköping Motorstadion, Linköping
- Top 8 to Nordic 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  (9) Bernt Persson |
14 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | (14) Anders Michanek |
11 | X | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | (2) Sören Karlsson |
11 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | (3) Bengt Jansson |
11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | (10) Jan Simensen |
10 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | (16) Tommy Nilsson |
10 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | (13) Sören Sjösten |
10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | (4) Christer Sjösten |
8 | F | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 8 | |||||||||||||||
| 9 | (5) Cal-Erik Claesson |
8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| 10 | (6) Lars-Like Andersson |
6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | |||||||||||||||
| 11 | (1) Eddie Davidsson |
6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | |||||||||||||||
| 12 | (15) Richard Hellsen |
5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 12 | |||||||||||||||
| 13 | (8) Sven Nilsson |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | |||||||||||||||
| 14 | (7) Per-Olof Dovhjort |
1 | 1 | - | 0 | - | 0 | 1 | 14 | |||||||||||||||
| 15 | (11) Bo Wirebrand |
1 | 1 | - | 0 | - | - | 1 | 15 | |||||||||||||||
| 16 | (12) Kenneth Selmolsson |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | |||||||||||||||
| (17) Bengt Larsson |
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (18) Gunnar Malmqvist |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
Danish Final
- 25 April 1976
Speedway Center, Vojens- Top 2 to Nordic final
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finn Thomsen | 15 |
| 2 | Kurt Bøgh | 12+3 |
| 3 | Jan Henningsen | 12+2 |
| 4 | Leif Rasmusen | 12+1 |
| 5 | Finn Rune Jensen | 11 |
| 6 | Gunnar Svendsen | 10 |
| 7 | Bent Nørregaard-Jensen | 10 |
| 8 | Mike Lohmann | 8 |
| 9 | Kristian Præstbro | 8 |
| 10 | Jens Erik Krause Kjaer | 4 |
| 11 | Knud Ellegaard | 4 |
| 12 | Ernst Bøgh | 4 |
| 13 | Erling Rasmussen | 3 |
| 14 | Godtfred Andreasen | 3 |
| 15 | Jorgen Walther Johansen | 2 |
| 16 | Kaj Kristensen | 2 |
Finland Final
- Top 1 to Nordic final
- 17 Sep '75,
Kärpänen speedway, Lahti
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ilkka Teromaa | 15 |
| 2 | Kai Niemi | 13 |
| 3 | Olli Turkia | 12 |
| 4 | Kari Vuoristo | 11 |
| 5 | Rauli Mäkinen | 11 |
| 6 | Teuvo Sirenius | 8 |
| 7 | Pekka Paljakka | 7 |
| 8 | Esko Mylläri | 7 |
| 9 | Esa Mattila | 7 |
| 10 | Ismo Kivelä (res) | 7 |
| 11 | Pentti Mattila | 6 |
| 12 | Veli Pekka Teromaa | 5 |
| 13 | Matti Vayrynen | 4 |
| 14 | Seppo Palomäki | 3 |
| 15 | Kari Lindevall | 2 |
| 16 | Heikki Ahonen | 0 |
| 17 | Esa Jamsalainen (res) | 0 |
Norwegian Final
- 25 April 1976
Geiteryggen Speedwaybane, Skien- First 3 to Nordic Final
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reidar Eide | 15 |
| 2 | Dag Lovaas | 14 |
| 3 | Edgard Stangeland | 13 |
| 4 | Audun Ove Olsen | 11 |
| 5 | Øyvind S. Berg | 11 |
| 6 | Jan Terje Gravningen | 10 |
| 7 | Kjell Gimre | 9 |
| 8 | Helge Langli | 9 |
| 9 | Tormod Langli | 6 |
| 10 | Tom Godal | 5 |
| 11 | Ingve Madland | 4 |
| 12 | Stein Pedersen | 4 |
| 13 | Askild Malmin | 3 |
| 14 | Jorn Flatha | 2 |
| 15 | Sigvard Pedersen | 2 |
| 16 | Per Hetland | 1 |
British semi-finals
|
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Continental quarter-finals
- Top 32 to Continental semi-finals
| Date | Venue | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 May | Trade Union Stadium, Ostrava |  Mikhail Starostin | Vladimir Gordeev | Viktor Trofimov |
| 15 May |  Mladost Stadium, Prelog | Giuseppe Marzotto | Viktor Kuznetsov |  Angel Eftimov |
| 16 May | Rottalstadion, Pocking | Egon Müller | Christoph Betzl | Valery Gordeev |
| 16 May |  Hajdú Volán Stadion, Debrecen | Vaclav Hejl | Paolo Noro | Václav Verner |
Fourth round
Continental semi-finals
|
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Australasian Final
- 21 February 1976
Western Springs Stadium, Auckland- Top 4 to Intercontinental final
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  John Boulger | 3,3,2,3,3 | 14 |
| 2 | Billy Sanders | 2,3,3,3,2 | 13 |
| 3 | Phil Crump | 3,3,3,X,3 | 12 |
| 4 |  Ivan Mauger | 3,2,X,3,3 | 11+3 |
| 5 | Phil Herne | 3,2,1,2,3 | 11+2 |
| 6 | Mitch Shirra | 2,3,2,3,1 | 11+1 |
| 7 | Barry Briggs | X,1,3,2,2 | 8 |
| 8 | John Titman | X,2,2,2,2 | 8 |
| 9 | Ricky Day | 1,1,3,0,1 | 6 |
| 10 | Colin Tucker | 2,2,1,0,0 | 5 |
| 11 | Colin Farqhuarson | 1,E,1,2,1 | 5 |
| 12 | John Langfield | X,1,2,1,0 | 4 |
| 13 | Larry Ross | 2,1,0,1,E | 4 |
| 14 | Graeme Stapleton | 0,0,E,1,2 | 3 |
| 15 | Roy Trigg | 1,0,0,0,1 | 2 |
| 16 | Paul Fewlings | 0,0,1,0,0 | 1 |
| R1 | Dennis Sincock | 1 | |
| R2 | Robin Adlington | 1 |
American Final
- 4 June
- Cal-Expo Rodeo Arena, Sacramento
- Winner to Intercontinental Final, Autrey won a three rider race-off
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Autrey | ?+3 |
| 2 | William Mike Curoco | ?+2 |
| 3 | Steve Gresham | ?+1 |
British Final
- 2 June 1976
Brandon Stadium, Coventry- First 5 to Intercontinental 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 (9) Malcolm Simmons |
15 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
 |
(3) Chris Morton |
13 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
 |
(6) Doug Wyer |
13 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | (12) Peter Collins |
12 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | (5) John Louis |
11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | (7) Dave Jessup |
10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 |  (2) Jim McMillan |
8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | (15) Terry Betts |
7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | |||||||||||||||
| 9 | (13) Ray Wilson |
5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| 10 | (11) Bob Kilby |
5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | |||||||||||||||
| 11 | (16) John Davis |
5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 11 | |||||||||||||||
| 12 | (10) Dave Morton |
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | |||||||||||||||
| 13 | (14) George Hunter |
4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 13 | |||||||||||||||
| 14 | (1) Mike Lanham |
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 14 | |||||||||||||||
| 15 | (4) Reg Wilson |
3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 15 | |||||||||||||||
| 16 | (8) Chris Pusey |
2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 16 | |||||||||||||||
| R1 | (R1) John Harrhy |
0 | 0 | R1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
Nordic Final
- 2 June 1976
Norrköping Motorstadion, Norrköping- Top 6 to Intercontinental 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
 (4) Ole Olsen |
14 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
|
(14) Anders Michanek |
13 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
|
(10) Bengt Jansson |
12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 |  (12) Dag Lovaas |
11 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | (7) Bernt Persson |
10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | (5) Sören Sjösten |
10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | (6) Sören Karlsson |
8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | (13) Edgar Stangeland |
8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| 9 |  (2) Ila Teromaa |
8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 10 | (3) Finn Thomsen |
6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | (1) Reidar Eide |
6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | (15) Tommy Nilsson |
5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| 13 | (11) Markku Helminen |
4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| 14 | (9) Karl Erik Claesson |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| 15 | (8) Jan Simensen |
1 | 0 | 1 | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| 16 | (16) Christer Sjösten |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| R1 | (R1) Lars-Åke Andersson |
1 | 1 | 1 | R1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| R2 | (R2) Thomas Pettersson |
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 |
