1979 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1979 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 34th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

In his 14th straight World Final appearance (dating back to 1966), New Zealand's Ivan Mauger won his 6th Speedway World Championship, breaking the previous record of 5 wins held by himself and legendary Swede Ove Fundin. Mauger scored 14 points to defeat local favourite Zenon Plech (13) and young English tearaway Michael Lee (11), with Lee the only rider to defeat Mauger on the day. Lee also had to defeat Kelly Moran (USA), Billy Sanders (Australia) and defending champion Ole Olsen in a runoff for third after all four riders finished on 11 points. This would prove to be the last appearance for Ivan Mauger as a rider in a World Final.^[7]

Qualification results.^[8]^[9]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
Preliminary Round
8 April	Hackney Wick Stadium, London	Mike Lanham	Dave Perks	Bobby McNeil
8 April	Mildenhall Stadium, Mildenhall	Mick Hines	Geoff Bouchard	Alan Emerson
17 April	Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium, Crayford	Mike Sampson	Colin Richardson	Bernie Leigh
17 April	Shielfield Park, Berwick	Steve Finch	Eric Broadbelt	Derek Richardson
23 April	Boston Sports Stadium, Boston	Steve Lomas	Malcolm Corradine	John Jackson
Qualifying Round
28 April	Abbey Stadium, Swindon	Phil Crump	Jan Andersson	Scott Autrey
28 April	The Shay, Halifax	Ivan Mauger	Ian Cartwright	Reg Wilson
28 April	Brandon Stadium, Coventry	Mitch Shirra	Alan Molyneux	John Davis
30 April	Smallmead Stadium, Reading	Jan Andersson	John Davis	Bruce Penhall
30 April	County Ground Stadium, Exeter	Scott Autrey	Phil Crump	Colin Richardson
30 April	Birchfield Ladbroke Stadium, Birmingham	Peter Collins	Billy Sanders	Alan Grahame
2 May	Wimborne Road, Poole	Ole Olsen	Dave Morton	Malcolm Simmons
2 May	The Boulevard, Hull	Ivan Mauger	Bobby Beaton	Kenny Carter
3 May	Wimbledon Stadium, London	Colin Richardson	Hans Nielsen	Bruce Penhall
3 May	Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield	Doug Wyer	Craig Pendlebury	Les Collins
4 May	Hackney Wick Stadium, London	John Davis	Mitch Shirra	Ole Olsen
4 May	Monmore Green, Wolverhampton	Kenny Carter	Jim McMillan	Bruce Cribb
4 May	Arlington Stadium, Eastbourne	Roger Johns	Kai Niemi	Dave Jessup
5 May	King's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn	Michael Lee	Gordon Kennett	Mike Lanham
5 May	Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley	Bruce Penhall	Scott Autrey	Steve Bastable
5 May	Hyde Road, Manchester	Doug Wyer	Larry Ross	Bobby Beaton
8 May	Leicester Stadium, Leicester	Michael Lee	John Titman	Ila Teromaa
10 May	Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich	Steve Bastable	John Louis	Andy Grahame

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
22 April	Speedway Žarnovica, Žarnovica	Jiří Štancl	Petr Kučera	Jiří Jirout
22 April	Stadion Wiener Neustadt	Laszlo Meszaroš	Ladislav Hrádecký	Karl Maier
22 April	Giavera del Montello, Treviso	Waldemar Bacik	Jan Hadek	Nikolaj Manev
22 April	Rhein-Main Arena, Diedenbergen	Henny Kroeze	Andrew Curworth	Walter Grubmuller

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
6 May	Hajdú Volán Stadion, Debrecen	Mikhail Starostin	Jan Verner	Tibor Danka
6 May	Abensberger Stadion, Abensberg	Jiří Štancl	Václav Verner	Anatoly Maksimow
7 May	City Garden Stadium, Osijek	Petr Ondrašík	Valery Gordeev	Henny Kroeze
7 May	Slaný Speedway Stadium, Slaný	Aleš Dryml Sr.	Zdeněk Kudrna	Istvan Sziracky

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
16 September 1978	Santa Ana Stadium, Santa Ana	Denny Pyeatt	Bobby Schwartz	Mike Bloom
22 September 1978	Sacramento, Sacramento	Dennis Robinson	Mike Faria	Duane Yarrow

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
	(9) Peter Collins	15			3		3						3					3		3			15	1
	(8) Michael Lee	14		3						3			2			3			3				14	2
	(7) Dave Jessup	12		2					3					2	3					2			12	3
4	(16) John Davis	11				3				2	3						2			1			11	4
5	(10) Doug Wyer	10			1			2						3			3		1				10	5
6	(11) Malcolm Simmons	10			2				2		1					2						3	10	6
7	(12) Roger Johns	8			F					1		3			1						3		8	7
8	(1) Gordon Kennett	7	3				E				0				2				2				7	8
9	(13) Alan Molyneux	7				2	1							1		1					2		7	9
10	(2) John Louis	6	2					3				1				0				0			6	10	3
11	(6) Chris Morton	6		0				1			2							2			1		6	11	2
12	(5) Reg Wilson	6		1			2					0					1					2	6	12
13	(15) Jim McMillan	4				0			1			2						1	0				4	13
14	(14) Alan Grahame	3				1		0					1		0							1	3	14
15	(4) Mike Lanham	1	1							0				0				0				0	1	15
16	(3) Ian Turner	0	E						0				0				0				0		0	16
R1	(R1) Craig Pendlebury	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Ian Cartwright	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

1979 Individual Speedway World Championship

First round

British qualification

Second round

Swedish qualification

Continental Preliminary round

British semi-finals

New Zealand Final

Australian Final

Third round

Continental quarter-finals

American semi-finals

British Final

Australasian Final

Danish Final

Norwegian Final

Finland Final

Swedish Final

Fourth round

Continental semi-finals

American Final

Commonwealth Final

Nordic Final

Fifth round

Continental Final

Intercontinental Final

World Final

References

Related Articles

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Billy Sanders	13
2	Steve Koppe	12
3	John Titman	11+3
4	Phil Crump	11+2
5	Ivan Mauger	11+1
6	Larry Ross	10+3
7	Mitch Shirra	10+2
8	Gary Guglielmi	8
9	John Goodall	8
10	Danny Kennedy	6
11	John Boulger	6
12	Glyn Taylor	6
13	Tony Briggs (Res)	4
14	Graeme Stapleton	2
15	David Bargh (Res)	2
16	Roger Wright	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	21
	(5) Bo Petersen	14		3			2					3					3					3	14	1	3
	(12) Finn Thomsen	14			3					3		2			3						3		14	2	2
	(6) Mike Lohmann	12		2				2			3							3			2		12	3	3
4	(1) Hans Nielsen	12	3				3				2				1				3				12	4	2
5	(14) Finn Rune Jensen	11				3		3					3		0							2	11	5
6	(7) Bent Rasmussen	10		F					2					3	2					3			10	6
7	(15) Jens Henry Nielsen	10				2			3			1						2	2				10	7
8	(10) Steen Mastrup	8			2			1						2			2		1				8	8
9	(3) Helge Hansen	5	2						1				1				1				0		5	9
10	(13) Svend Lund	5				0	1							E		3					1		5	10
11	(4) Gunnar Svendsen	5	1							1				1				1				1	5	11
12	(2) Finn Londal Jensen	4	0					0				0				2				2			4	12
13	(16) Alf Busk	4				1				2	1						F			-			4	13
14	(8) Kai Kristiansen	3		1						0			2			F			-				3	14
15	(9) Kristian Præstbro	1			1		E						-					-		-			1	15
16	(11) Ernst Bogh	0																					0	16
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

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Reidar Eide	14
2	Rolf Gramstad	13
3	Audun Ove Olsen	11
4	Sigvart Pedersen	10
5	Tom Godal	10
6	Thoralf Holen	10
7	Tormod Langli	9
8	Edgar Stangeland	9
9	Trond Helge Skretting	8
10	Per Arne Hansen	6

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Kai Niemi	12+3
2	Rauli Mäkinen	12+2
3	Martti Väyrynen	10
4	Veijo Tuoriniemi	10
5	Ari Koponen	10
6	Timo Kiansten	9
7	Esko Mylläri	8
8	Olli Turkia	7
9	Seppo Palomäki	7
10	Keijo Mylläri	6
11	Pekka Hautamäki	6
12	Ari Turkia	5
13	Ilkka Teromaa	5
14	Esa Mattila (res)	4
15	Pentti Mattila	3
16	Veikko Haapamäki	3
17	Pekka Paljakka	2
18	Jarmo Puttonen (res)	0

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Jan Andersson	15
2	Anders Michanek	12
3	Bernt Persson	11
4	Richard Hellsen	11
5	Ake Fridell	11
6	Lars-Åke Andersson	10
7	Bo Wirebrand	9
8	Uno Johansson	8
9	Stefan Salmonsson	7
10	Bengt Jansson	5
11	Hans Danielsson	5
12	Sören Sjösten	4
13	Tommy Nilsson	3
14	Lennart Bengsson (res)	3
15	Gert Carlsson	2
16	Kent Eriksson	1
17	Sören Karlsson	0

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Bobby Schwartz	12+3
2	Mike Bast	12+2
3	Kelly Moran	12+1
4	Steve Gresham	12+0
5	Mike Faria	10
6	Steve McConnell	9
7	Bruce Penhall	8
8	Bill Cody	7
9	Rich McMurray	7
10	John Cook	6
11	Gary Hutchinson	6
12	Dennis Robinson	5
13	Duane Yarrow	5
14	Dave Faria	4
15	Denny Pyeatt	3
16	Mike Bloom	2

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
	(16) Michael Lee	14				3				3	2						3			3			14	1	3
	(11) Billy Sanders	14			3				3		3					2						3	14	2	2
	(13) Dave Jessup	12				2	2							2		3					3		12	3
4	(15) Larry Ross	11				1			2			3						3	2				11	4
5	(5) Ivan Mauger	11		3			3					2					1					2	11	5
6	(10) Peter Collins	10			2			2						3			2		1				10	6
7	(8) John Titman	9		2						1			2			1			3				9	7
8	(6) Gordon Kennett	8		F				3			1							2			2		8	8
9	(9) John Davis	7			1		1						3					F		2			7	9
10	(14) Malcolm Simmons	6				0		1					1		3							1	6	10
11	(4) Doug Wyer	5	3							2				F				-				-	5	11
12	(7) John Louis	4		1					0					1	2					F			4	12
13	(1) Phil Crump	2	2				0				-				-				-				2	13
14	(3) Roger Johns	2	1						1				E				0				-		2	14
15	(12) Steve Koppe	2			0					0		1			1						0		2	15
16	(2) Alan Molyneux	1	E					E				0				E				1			1	16
R1	(R1) Sean Willmott	0									0												0	R1
R2	(R2) Chris Morton	1																1				0	1	R2
R3	(R3) Mitch Shirra	1													0				0		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

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) Jan Andersson	13	3				2				3				3				2				13	1	3
	(13) Hans Nielsen	13				2	3							3		3					2		13	2	2
	(8) Finn Thomsen	12		3						3			3			2			1				12	3	3
4	(10) Ole Olsen	12			3			3						2			1		3				12	4	2
5	(3) Kai Niemi	9	0						3				0				3				3		9	5	3
6	(5) Ila Teromaa	9		2			1					3					0					3	9	6	2
7	(16) Bo Petersen	8				3				0	X						2			3			8	7
8	(6) Bernt Persson	8		1				1			2							3			1		8	8
9	(4) Anders Michanek	7	1							2				1				2				1	7	9
10	(14) Mike Lohmann	6				X		2					2		2							E	6	10
11	(2) Reidar Eide	6	2					0				1				1				2			6	11
12	(11) Rolf Gramstad	5			0				2		1					F						2	5	12
13	(15) Ake Fridell	4				1			0			2						1	0				4	13
14	(9) Richard Hellsen	3			2		0						1					-		-			3	14
15	(7) Olli Turkia	2		0					1					0	1					F			2	15
16	(12) Audun Ove Olsen	2			1					1		0			0						0		2	16
R1	(R1) Lars-Åke Andersson	1																		1			1	R1
R2	(R2) Sören Karlsson	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

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
	(9) Christoph Betzl	14			3		3						3					3		2			14	1
	(3) Mikhail Starostin	13	3						3				1				3				3		13	2
	(5) Zdeněk Kudrna	12		3			1					3					2					3	12	3	3
4	(14) Alois Wiesböck	12				3		3					2		3							1	12	4	2
5	(13) Petr Ondrašík	11				1	2							3		3					2		11	5
6	(16) Valery Gordeev	10				2				1	3						1			3			10	6
7	(11) Václav Verner	9			2				1		2					2						2	9	7
8	(10) Jiří Štancl	7			1			1						2			0		3				7	8
9	(12) Viktor Kuznetsov	7			0					2		2			2						1		7	9
10	(15) Anatoly Maksimov	6				X			2			0						2	2				6	10
11	(2) Karl Maier	6	2					2				1				X				1			6	11
12	(4) Georg Hack	4	1							3				X				-				X	4	12
13	(7) Jan Hadek	4		2					0					1	1					X			4	13
14	(1) László Mészáros	2	X				0				1				0				1				2	14
15	(8) Jan Verner	0		X						X			X			X			X				0	15
16	(6) Aleš Dryml Sr.	0		X				-			-							-			-		0	16
R1	(R1) Janosz Szoke	1						0			0							1			0		1	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	21

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
	(14) Michael Lee	14				3		3					3		2							3	14	1	3
	(7) Peter Collins	14		3					3					2	3					3			14	2	2
	(9) Finn Thomsen	10			2		3						1					3		1			10	3	3
4	(8) Ivan Mauger	10		1						3			2			2			2				10	4	2
5	(13) Dave Jessup	10				2	2							3		3					0		10	5	1
6	(4) Ole Olsen	9	3							1				1				2				2	9	6
7	(2) Billy Sanders	8	2					0				3				1				2			8	7
8	(3) Kelly Moran	8	1						2				0				3				2		8	8
9	(10) John Titman	8			1			2						0			2		3				8	9
10	(6) Larry Ross	7		0				1			3							0			3		7	10
11	(15) Kai Niemi	6				1			1			2						1	1				6	11
12	(5) Gordon Kennett	5		2			1					1					1					0	5	12
13	(12) John Davis	4			3					0		0			0						1		4	13
14	(16) Hans Nielsen	2				0				2	0						0			0			2	14
15	(11) Bobby Schwartz	2			F				0		1					0						1	2	15
16	(1) Jan Andersson	1	0				0				T				1				0				1	16
R1	(R1) Malcolm Simmons	2									2												2	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	21

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
	(15) Ivan Mauger	14				3			3			2						3	3				14	1
	(7) Zenon Plech	13		3					1					3	3					3			13	2
	(5) Michael Lee	11+3		2			3					3					0					3	11	3
4	(3) Kelly Moran	11+2	1						2				3				2				3		11	4
5	(4) Billy Sanders	11+1	3							3				1				2				2	11	5
6	(10) Ole Olsen	11+0			3			3						2			1		2				11	6
7	(11) Zdeněk Kudrna	8			2				0		3					3						0	8	7
8	(16) Dave Jessup	8				E				1	2						3			2			8	8
9	(12) Edward Jancarz	7			1					2		1			2						1		7	9
10	(13) Finn Thomsen	6				2	E							0		2					2		6	10
11	(1) Peter Collins	6	2				2				1				1				E				6	11
12	(14) John Titman	5				1		2					2		0							1	6	12
13	(2) Mikhail Starostin	3	0					1				0				1				1			3	13
14	(6) Christoph Betzl	2		1				0			0							1			0		2	14
15	(8) Robert Słaboń	2		0						0			1			0			1				2	15
16	(9) Alois Wiesböck	1			0		1						0					0		0			1	16
	(17) Petr Ondrašík	0																					0
	(18) Larry Ross	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