1957 Individual Speedway World Championship

12th edition of the World motorcycle speedway championship

The 1957 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 12th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

The event was sponsored by the Sunday Dispatch and the attendance was 51,000. New Zealander Barry Briggs won the title after a ride off against defending champion Ove Fundin after the pair tied on 14 points after five rides each. In the ride off Fundin took the lead before Briggs forced his way to the front and with a lap to go Fundin lost control and crashed into the safety fence. Briggs duly won the £500 first prize with Fundin bruised but collecting £200. Peter Craven won the bronze and £100 after another ride off for third place.[7]

Qualifying

Qualification started in 1956.[8][9]

Stage 1

Norwegian qualification

  • 21 October 1956
  • Norway Geiteryggen Speedwaybane, Skien
  • Top 8 to Nordic qualification 1957
Pos. Rider Points
1 Aage Hansen 15
2 Rolf Westerberg 14
3 Reidar Kristoffersen 13
4 Nils Paulsen 12
5 Erling Simonsen 11
6 Odd Johansen 10
7 Arne Kristiansen 9
8 Roger Steen 9
9 Gunnar Dyrseth 7
10 Oddbjorn Blaasmo 5
11 Thorbjorn Nygaard 4

Finnish qualification

  • 7 October 1956
  • Finland Turku Hippodrome, Turku
  • Top 8 to Nordic qualification 1957
Pos. Rider Points
1 Antti Pajari 15
2 Simo Ylanen 14
3 Kauko Jousanen 12
4 Reino Niemi 10
5 Pekka Tenko 9
6 Raimo Kivinen 8
7 Erkki Ala Sippola 8
8 Timo Laine 8
9 Paavo Mikkola 7
10 Kalevi Lahtinen 7
11 Rauno Aaltonen 6
12 Heikki Sorii 4
13 Aulis Tuominen 3
14 Valle Seliverstov 3
15 Jorma Rihkajarvi 2
16 Nils Staaf 2
17 Orvo Ahlqvist 1

Swedish qualification

  • 10 May 1957
  • Sweden Hammarby IP, Stockholm
  • Top 6 to Nordic qualification
Pos. Rider Points
1 Per-Olof Söderman 14
2 Olle Nygren 14
3 Olle Segerström 11
4 Göte Nordin 10
5 Sven Fahlén 10
6 Lars Pettersson 10
7 Sune Karlsson 9
8 Kjell Wårenius 7
9 Bernt Nilsson 7
10 Roger Forsberg 7
11 Evert Andersson 5
12 Alf Jonsson 5
13 Thorsten Carlsson 5
14 Roland Krantz 4
15 Bo Sandin 2
16 Nils Johansson 0
17 Per-Åke Lundgren 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Rune Sörmander 15
2 Dan Forsberg 11
3 Bengt Eriksson 11
4 Bertil Carlsson II 10
5 Olle Andersson IV 9
6 Per-Tage Svensson 8+3
7 Bert Lindarw 8+2
8 Stig Pramberg 8+1
9 Allan Nilsson 8+0
10 Thorvald Karlsson 7
11 Rune Claesson 6
12 Kaj Forsberg 6
13 Björn Knutson 5
14 Gunnar Johansson 3
15 Göran Norlén 2
16 Bengt Brannefors 2

Stage 2

Nordic qualification

Pos. Rider Points
1 Olle Nygren 15
2 Reidar Kristoffersen 11
3 Sune Karlsson 11
4 Bertil Carlsson II 10
5 Olle Segerström 10
6 Rolf Westerberg 10
7 Aage Hansen 9
8 Bengt Eriksson 9
9 Olle Andersson IV 8
10 Arne Pander 8
11 Erik Kastebo 5
12 Erling Simonsen 4
13 Arne Kristiansen 4
14 Erik Wincentz 3
15 Fred Carlsen 1
16 Svend Nissen 1
Pos. Rider Points
1 Per-Olof Söderman 13
2 Dan Forsberg 13
3 Lars Pettersson 12
4 Rune Sörmander 12
5 Bert Lindarw 11
6 Nils Paulsen 11
7 Aulis Tuominen 8
8 Kauko Jousanen 8
9 Roger Steen 6
10 Raimo Kivinen 6
11 Sven Fahlén 5
12 Erkki Ala-Sippola 5
13 Pertti Mikkola 5
14 Timo Laine 3
15 Esko Koponen 2
16 Kalevi Lahtinen 0

Continental round

Pos. Rider Points
1 Josef Hofmeister 15
2 Josef Seidl 14
3 Andrzej Krzesinski 13
4 Birger Forsberg 10
5 Josef Kamper 10
6 Josef Kysilka 10
7 Joel Jansson 8
8 Simo Ylänen 7
9 Tony Kroeze 6
10 Alfred Aberl 6
11 Jarosłav Wolf 6
12 Mieczysław Połukard 5
13 Antti Pajari 4
14 Leopold Killmeyer 3
15 Albin Siegl 2
16 Thei Bishops 1
Pos. Rider Points
1 Florian Kapała 14
2 Rudolf Havelka 13.5
3 Joachim Maj 12
4 Marian Kaiser 10.5
5 Marian Philipp 9
6 Janusz Suchecki 9
7 Stanislaw Tkocz 9
8 Milan Spinka 8
9 Tadeusz Teodorowicz 7
10 Richard Janicek 7
11 Edward Kupczyński 7
12 Valentin Unterköfler 5
13 Jaroslav Machac 4
14 Erich Sidlo 2
15 Hans Sidlo 2
16 Franz Schenk 0

Stage 3

Nordic Final

Pos. Rider Points
1 Norway Aage Hansen 14
2 Sweden Per Olof Söderman 13
3 Sweden Rune Sörmander 12
4 Sweden Dan Forsberg 11
5 Norway Nils Paulsen 11
6 Sweden Olle Nygren 10
7 Norway Reidar Kristoffersen 10
8 Norway Rolf Westerberg 7
9 Sweden Bert Lindarw 7
10 Denmark Arne Pander 7
11 Sweden Lars Pettersson 6
12 Sweden Bengt Eriksson 5
13 Sweden Ole Andersson 3
14 Sweden Sune Karlsson 2
15 Finland Kauko Jousanen 2
16 Finland Aulis Tuominen 0
17 Sweden Bertil Carlsson dnr
18 Sweden Olle Segerström dnr

Continental Final

Pos. Rider Points
1 West Germany Josef Hofmeister 15
2 West Germany Josef Seidl 12
3 Poland Stanisław Tkocz 11
4 Sweden Birger Forsberg 10
5 Sweden Joel Jansson 10
6 Austria Josef Kamper 10
7 Poland Florian Kapała 10
8 Poland Marian Kaiser 9
9 Poland Janusz Suchecki 8
10 Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Volf 7
11 Poland Joachim Maj 5
12 Czechoslovakia Josef Kysilka 5
13 Poland Tadeusz Teodorowicz 4
14 Austria Erich Sidlo 2
15 Czechoslovakia Rudolf Havelka 1
16 Austria Otto Holoubek 0
17 Poland Marian Philipp 0
18 Poland Andrzej Krzesiński dnr
19 Finland Simo Ylänen dnr

British & Commonwealth qualifying

  • Top 32 qualify for British & Commonwealth semi-final.[10]
Date Venue Winner
13 July Brandon Stadium Ron Johnston
13 July The Firs Stadium Brian Crutcher
13 July Rayleigh Weir Stadium Ken McKinlay
13 July Abbey Stadium Ian Williams
15 July Wimbledon Stadium Peter Craven
16 July Banister Court Stadium Brian Crutcher
18 July Foxhall Stadium Cyril Roger
18 July Oxford Stadium Jack Geran
19 July Leicester Stadium Ken McKinlay

Stage 4

British/Commonwealth semi-final

  • 24 August 1958
  • England Hyde Road, Manchester
  • First 5 to World final
Pos. Rider Total
1 England Peter Craven 13
2 New Zealand Ron Johnston 13
3 Wales Ian Williams 12
4 Australia Aub Lawson 12
5 England Ron How 11
6 England Brian Crutcher 10
7 England Ken Middleditch 10
8 England Billy Bales 9
9 England Les McGillivray 7
10 England Gerald Jackson 6
11 England Brian Hanham 5
12 New Zealand Charlie New 5
13 England Maurice McDermott 3
14 England Arthur Forrest 3
15 England Cyril Maidment 1
16 England Ronnie Genz 1
17 England Eric French 0
  • 24 August 1958
  • England Brandon Stadium, Coventry
  • First 5 to World final plus 1 reserve
Pos. Rider Total
1 England Bob Roger 14
2 Scotland Ken McKinlay 14
3 New Zealand Barry Briggs 13
4 England George White 12
5 Australia Jack Geran 11
6 Australia Jack Biggs 10
7 England Alf Hagon 9
8 Australia Neil Street 7
9 England Ron Mountford 7
10 England Eric Boothroyd 6
11 England Dick Bradley 5
12 England Phil Clarke 5
13 England Jim Lightfoot 4
14 Australia Peter Moore 3
15 England Jack Unstead 2
16 England Mike Broadbank 0

European Final

Pos. Rider Total
1 Sweden Rune Sörmander 14
2 Sweden Per Olof Söderman 13
3 West Germany Josef Hofmeister 12
4 Sweden Olle Nygren 11
5 Norway Aage Hansen 11
6 Sweden Dan Forsberg 9
7 Norway Rolf Westerberg 9
8 Poland Stanisław Tkocz 7
9 Austria Josef Kamper 6
10 Poland Florian Kapała 6
11 Austria Joseph Seidl 5
12 Poland Marian Kaiser 4
13 Sweden Joel Jansson 3
14 Norway Nils Paulsen 3
15 Norway Reidar Kristoffersen 2
16 Sweden Birger Forsberg 2
17 Sweden Bert Lindarw 2
  • Note: Olle Nygren injured and replaced by Dan Forsberg in final

World final

  • 21 September 1957
  • England Wembley Stadium, London[11]
Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 New Zealand Barry Briggs (3,2,3,3,3) 14+3
2 Sweden Ove Fundin (3,3,2,3,3) 14+2
3 England Peter Craven (2,1,3,2,3) 11+3
4 Australia Aub Lawson (3,3,1,2,2) 11+2
5 Sweden Rune Sörmander (1,3,3,1,3) 11+1
6 New Zealand Ron Johnston (3,2,1,1,2) 9
7 Scotland Ken McKinlay (0,0,3,3,2) 8
8 England Bob Roger (2,1,2,2,1) 8
9 Sweden Per Olof Söderman (1,2,0,3,1) 7
10 Australia Jack Geran (1,3,1,1,1) 7
11 England Ron How (1,2,2,0,2) 7
12 Norway Aage Hansen (0,0,2,2,0) 4
13 England George White (2,1,0,1,0) 4
14 Wales Ian Williams (2,0,1,0,0) 3
15 Sweden Dan Forsberg (0,1,0,0,1) 2
16 West Germany Josef Hofmeister (0,0,0,0,0) 0
R1 Australia Jack Biggs did not ride -
R2 Norway Rolf Westerberg did not ride -

Classification

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 New Zealand (10) Barry Briggs 14+3 3 2 3 3 3 14 1
2 Sweden (4) Ove Fundin 14+2 3 3 2 3 3 14 2
3 England (2) Peter Craven 11+3 2 1 3 2 3 11 3
4 Australia (5) Aub Lawson 11+2 3 3 1 2 2 11 4
5 Sweden (3) Rune Sörmander 11+1 1 3 3 1 3 11 5
6 New Zealand (13) Ron Johnston 9 3 2 1 1 2 9 6
7 Scotland (1) Ken McKinlay 8 0 0 3 3 2 8 7
8 England (15) Bob Roger 8 2 1 2 2 1 8 8
9 Sweden (11) Per Olof Söderman 7 1 2 0 3 1 7 9
10 Australia (6) Jack Geran 7 1 3 1 1 1 7 10
11 England (16) Ron How 7 1 2 2 0 2 7 11
12 Norway (14) Aage Hansen 4 0 0 2 2 0 4 12
13 England (12) George White 4 2 1 0 1 0 4 13
14 Wales (8) Ian Williams 3 2 0 1 0 0 3 14
15 Sweden (9) Dan Forsberg 2 0 1 0 0 1 2 15
16 Germany (7) Josef Hofmeister 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
Norway (17) Rolf Westerberg 0 0
Australia (18) Jack Biggs 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

  1. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  2. ^ "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  3. ^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  4. ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  6. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL – RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Speedway ace crashes in Final battle". Weekly Dispatch London. 22 September 1957. Retrieved 6 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "1957 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  9. ^ "1957 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Hunters beaten". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 July 1957. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5