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1961 Individual Speedway World Championship

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The 1961 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 16th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

The final was held outside of Wembley and England for the first time when on the 15 September Ove Fundin retained his title in his home country of Sweden. It was the first time a rider had won three titles and Sweden produced a clean sweep of podium places with Björn Knutson and Göte Nordin finishing second and third.[7]

First round

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Qualification results.[8][9]

Norwegian qualifying

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Pos. Rider Points
1 Aage Hansen 15
2 Oystein Mellerud 13+3
3 Sverre Harrfledt 13+2
4 Rolf Westerberg 12
5 Oddvar Kristiansen 9
6 Gunnar Skvetne 8
7 Jon Odegaard 8
8 Arne Kristiansen 7
9 Bjarne Sörenbye 7
10 Fred Roger Steen 7
11 Reidar Bakken 6
12 Egil H. Kruke 4
13 Egil Bratvold 4
14 Ole Rostad 3
15 Reidar Eide 2
16 Egil Otto Tobiasen 1

Finnish qualifying

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Pos. Rider Points
1 Kalevi Lahtinen 15
2 Olavi Turunen 13
3 Timo Laine 11
4 Yrjö Vuorio 11
5 Antti Pajari 10
6 Antero Salasto 10
7 Ilkka Helminen 8
8 Esko Koponen 7
9 Pertti Petersohn 6
10 Martti Assinen 6
11 Raimo Orastie 5
12 Nils Staaf 5
13 Jan Ulfingman 4
14 Valle Seliverstov 4
15 Heikki Yli Orvola 3
16 Osmo Hokkanen 2

Swedish qualifying

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  • Top 15 to Nordic qualifying
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
30 April Vetlanda Motorstadion, Vetlanda Ove Fundin Rune Sörmander Göran Norlen
1 May Gamla Speedway Track, Visby Ove Fundin Björn Knutson Arne Carlsson
4 May Nya Ullevi, Gothenburg Sören Sjösten Rune Sörmander Evert Andersson
Pos. Rider Points
1 Ove Fundin 30
2 Rune Sörmander 26
3 Björn Knutson 22
4 Evert Andersson 21
5 Arne Carlsson 21
6 Göran Norlén 19
7 Per-Tage Svensson 19
8 Sören Sjösten 19
9 Bert Lindarw 19
10 Joel Jansson 18
11 Leif Larsson 18
12 Göte Nordin 17
13 Bernt Nilsson 16
14 Åke Andersson 15
15 Curt Eldh 15
Pos. Rider Points
16 Olle Segerström 13
17 Inge Gustafsson 9
18 Göran Carlsson 7
19 Kjell Lutteman 7
20 Thore Kindstrand 6
21 Thorvald Karlsson 5
22 Curt Nyqvist 4
23 Kjell Svensson 3
24 Bo Magnusson 1
25 Per-Åke Lundgren 1
26 Hans Hallberg 0
27 Bengt Brannefors 0
28 Olle Andersson IV 0

British & Commonwealth qualifying

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  • Top 64 riders to British & Commonwealth 2nd Round
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
22 May County Ground, Exeter Eric Hockaday Jim Lightfoot Pete Lansdale
24 May Wimborne Road, Poole Maury Mattingley Tony Lewis Ken Middleditch
25 May Cleveland Park Stadium, Middlesbrough Dick Campbell Peter Vandenberg Geoff Mudge
26 May Monmore Green Stadium, Wolverhampton Graham Warren Harry Edwards Eric Hockaday
26 May Rayleigh Weir Stadium, Rayleigh Johnny Fitzpatrick Gil Goldfinch Ken Adams
26 May Pennycross Stadium, Plymouth Jack Scott Tony Lewis Chris Julian
27 May Old Meadowbank, Edinburgh Jim Lightfoot Doug Templeton Dick Campbell
27 May Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley Harry Bastable Ivor Brown Peter Vandenberg
1 June Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield Clive Featherby Clive Cox George Hunter
3 June Hanley Greyhound Stadium, Hanley Maury Mattingley Ken Adams Stan Stevens

Continental qualifying

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  • Top 32 to Continental semi-finals
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
28 May Poland Gwardia Sports Club Stadium, Poznań Czechoslovakia Bohumír Bartoněk Czechoslovakia Bedřich Slaný Poland Stanisław Tkocz
28 May Czechoslovakia Pavlovičky Stadion, Liberec Poland Bronislaw Idzikowski Soviet Union Farid Szajnurov Soviet Union Igor Plekhanov
28 May Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Matija Gubec Stadium, Krsko Poland Konstanty Pociejkewicz Czechoslovakia Bohumil Rednek Poland Henryk Żyto
28 May West GermanyAbensberger Stadion, Abensberg West Germany Josef Hofmeister Poland Marian Kaiser Czechoslovakia Antonín Kasper Sr.

Second round

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British & Commonwealth 2nd round

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  • Top 32 riders to British & Commonwealth semi-finals
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
3 July Wimbledon Stadium, London Ronnie Moore Ron How Jim Tebby
4 July Banister Court Stadium, Southampton Peter Craven Barry Briggs Ray Cresp
5 July New Cross Stadium, London Bob Andrews Split Waterman Ken McKinlay
6 July Oxford Stadium, Oxford Jack Young Ronnie Genz Mike Broadbanks
6 July Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich Peter Moore Johnny Chamberlain Ray Cresp
7 July Leicester Stadium, Leicester Ronnie Moore Ken McKinlay Danny Dunton
8 July Abbey Stadium, Swindon Cyril Maidment Tadeusz Teodorowicz Neil Street
8 July Brandon Stadium, Coventry Peter Moore Bob Duckworth Bob Andrews
8 July The Firs Stadium, Norwich Billy Bales Mike Broadbanks Split Waterman
8 July Hyde Road, Manchester Peter Craven Gerald Jackson Eric Williams

Nordic Qualifying

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Pos. Rider Points
1 Ove Fundin 15
2 Björn Knutson 14
3 Aage Hansen 13
4 Arne Carlsson 12
5 Bernt Nilsson 11
6 Göran Norlén 11
7 Leif Larsson
8 Joel Jansson 7
9 Reidar Kristoffersen 6
10 Kurt W Petersen 6
11 Sverre Harrfeldt 5
12 Torbjörn Nygaard 5
13 Paul Wissing 2
14 Nils Paulsen 2
15 Gunnar Skjetne 2
16 Jon Ödegaard 1
Pos. Rider Points
1 Per-Tage Svensson 14
2 Rune Sörmander 13
3 Arne Pander 12
4 Evert Andersson 11
5 Göte Nordin 11
6 Kalevi Lahtinen 10
7 Sören Sjösten 9
8 Rolf Westerberg 8
9 Timo Laine 7
10 Yrjö Vuorio 7
11 Antti Pajari 6
12 Åke Andersson 3
13 Curt Eldh 3
14 Bert Lindarw 3
15 Olavi Turunen 2
16 Esko Koponen 1

Continental semi-finals

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Pos. Rider Points
1 Josef Hofmeister 15
2 Antonín Kasper Sr. 13
3 Marian Kaiser 12
4 Konstanty Pociejkewicz 11
5 Stanislaw Rurarz 10
6 Bernard Kacperak 10
7 Henryk Zyto 8
8 Kazimierz Bentke 8
9 Valent Medved 7
10 Pawel Waloszek 6
11 Jan Malinowski 6
12 Bohumil Rendek 5
13 Zdeněk Dominik 4
14 Jaroslav Volf Jr. 4
15 Johan Hartl 1
16 Jaroslav Volf Sr. 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Stanislaw Tkocz 14
2 Mieczyslaw Polukard 13
3 Florian Kapala 13
4 Joachim Maj 12
5 Bronislaw Idzikowski 11
6 Igor Plekhanov 11
7 Bohumír Bartoněk 10
8 Bedrich Slany 8
9 Stefan Kepa 7
10 Adolf Slabon 4
11 Milan Spinka 4
12 Libor Dusanek 4
13 Jan Kusiak 2
14 Miloslav Ralis 2
15 Stanislav Kubicek 2
16 Farid Szajnurov 2

Third round

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British & Commonwealth Semi finals

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  • Top 16 to British final
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
31 July Wimbledon Stadium, London Ronnie Moore Barry Briggs Bob Andrews
1 August Banister Court Stadium, Southampton Ron How Peter Craven Cyril Maidment
5 August Hyde Road, Manchester Ronnie Moore Doug Davies Nigel Boocock
5 August The Firs Stadium, Norwich Barry Briggs Peter Craven Billy Bales
Pos. Rider Points
1 New Zealand Ronnie Moore 29
2 New Zealand Barry Briggs 29
3 England Peter Craven 28
4 England Cyril Maidment 24
5 Australia Peter Moore 22
6 England Bob Andrews 21
7 Scotland Ken McKinlay 21
8 England Mike Broadbank 21
9 England Ron How 20
10 England Nigel Boocock 19
11 Australia Jack Scott 19
12 South Africa Doug Davies 18
13 Australia Neil Street 18
14 Australia Jack Young 18
15 England Ronnie Genz 18
16 Australia Ray Cresp 17
Pos. Rider Points
17 Australia Johnny Chamberlain 16
18 Australia Chum Taylor 16
19 England Billy Bales 15
20 England Split Waterman 15
21 England Jimmy Squibb 9
22 United Kingdom Tadeusz Teodorowicz 8
23 England Dick Fisher 8
24 Australia Jack Biggs 7
25 Australia Jack Geran 7
26 Wales Eric Williams 7
27 England Jim Tebby 5
28 England Alby Golden 5
29 England Tony Lewis 4
30 Wales Ian Williams 4
31 England Nick Nicholls 4
32 New Zealand Bob Duckworth 0

Nordic Final

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Pos. Rider Total
1 Sweden Ove Fundin 14
2 Denmark Arne Pander 13
3 Sweden Björn Knutson 13
4 Sweden Per Tage Svensson 12
5 Sweden Evert Andersson 10
6 Sweden Göte Nordin 10
7 Sweden Leif Larsson 8
8 Sweden Rune Sörmander 8
9 Sweden Göran Norlén 7
10 Sweden Arne Carlsson 7
11 Sweden Soren Sjosten 6
12 Sweden Joel Jansson 5
13 Sweden Bernt Nilsson 3
14 Finland Timo Laine 2
15 Norway Rolf Westerberg 1
16 Sweden Curt Eldh 2
R1 Norway Aage Hansen dnr
R1 Finland Kalevi Lahtinen dnr

Continental Final

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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 Poland (2) Florian Kapała 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 1
2 Soviet Union (1) Igor Plekhanov 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 2
3 Poland (6) Stanisław Tkocz 12 2 2 2 3 3 12 3
4 Poland (8) Henryk Żyto 10 3 1 3 1 2 10 4
5 West Germany (7) Josef Hofmeister 9 1 3 3 0 2 9 5
6 Poland (12) Konstanty Pociejkewicz 9 2 2 1 2 2 9 6
7 Poland (4) Kaziemirz Bentke 8 1 X 2 2 3 8 7
8 Poland (15) Marian Kaiser 7 3 2 2 X - 7 8
9 Poland (11) Mieczysław Połukard 7 X 1 1 3 2 7 9
10 Poland (14) Joachim Maj 7 2 1 2 1 1 7 10
11 Czechoslovakia (16) Antonín Kasper Sr. 7 1 3 0 2 1 7 11
12 Czechoslovakia (10) Bedřich Slaný 6 3 0 1 1 1 6 12
13 Poland (9) Stanislaw Rurarz 5 1 2 1 1 0 5 13
14 Poland (3) Bronislaw Idzikowski 3 0 0 0 3 0 3 14
15 Czechoslovakia (13) Bohumír Bartoněk 1 X 0 0 E 1 1 15
16 Poland (5) Bernard Kacperak 1 0 1 E 0 0 1 16
R1 Poland (R1) Stefan Kepa 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 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

Fourth round

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European Final

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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 Sweden (8) Ove Fundin 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Sweden (11) Björn Knutson 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 2
3 Soviet Union (3) Igor Plekhanov 11 3 2 1 3 2 11 3
4 Sweden (4) Rune Sörmander 10 2 1 3 3 1 10 4
5 Poland (6) Florian Kapała 10 2 3 2 2 1 10 5
6 Poland (12) Stanisław Tkocz 10 1 0 3 3 3 10 6
7 Sweden (15) Göte Nordin 9 3 1 2 1 2 9 7
8 West Germany (16) Josef Hofmeister 9 2 2 1 1 3 9 8
9 Sweden (5) Leif Larsson 8 1 2 1 2 2 8 9
10 Poland (9) Henryk Żyto 7 2 3 2 F - 7 10
11 Sweden (2) Evert Andersson 6 1 2 0 1 2 6 11
12 Sweden (10) Per Tage Svensson 3 0 1 2 0 0 3 12
13 Sweden (14) Göran Norlén 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 13
14 Poland (7) Mieczysław Połukard 1 0 0 1 - - 1 14
15 Poland (13) Marian Kaiser 1 1 F E E 0 1 15
16 Poland (1) Kaziemirz Bentke 0 NS NS NS NS NS 0 16
R1 Austria (R1) Josef Bössner 3 1 1 1 3 R1
R2 Austria (R2) Johan Hartl 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

British Final

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  • 2 September 1961
  • England Wembley Stadium, London
  • First 9 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 New Zealand (7) Barry Briggs 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 England (3) Peter Craven 14 3 2 3 3 3 14 2
3 New Zealand (12) Ronnie Moore 12 3 3 3 2 1 12 3
4 Scotland (5) Ken McKinlay 9 0 3 2 1 3 9 4
5 England (1) Ron How 9 2 2 2 0 3 9 5
6 England (4) Bob Andrews 9 1 2 2 3 1 9 6
7 Australia (16) Ray Cresp 8 1 1 3 2 1 8 7
8 England (15) Mike Broadbanks 7 3 1 1 0 2 7 8
9 England (14) Cyril Maidment 7 2 3 1 1 0 7 9
10 England (9) Ronnie Genz 7 1 1 2 1 2 7 10
11 Australia (6) Jack Young 7 1 1 1 2 2 7 11
12 South Africa (11) Doug Davies 5 0 0 0 3 2 5 12
13 Australia (8) Neil Street 5 2 0 0 2 1 5 13
14 Australia (2) Peter Moore 3 0 2 1 0 0 3 14
15 Australia (10) Jack Scott 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 15
16 England (13) Nigel Boocock 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 16
R1 Australia (R1) Chum Taylor 0 0 R1
R2 England (R2) Split Waterman 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

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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 Sweden (6) Ove Fundin 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 1
2 Sweden (4) Björn Knutson 12 3 3 3 F 3 12 2 3
3 Sweden (13) Göte Nordin 12 2 2 2 3 3 12 3 2
4 New Zealand (15) Barry Briggs 12 1 3 3 2 3 12 4 1
5 England (2) Bob Andrews 10 2 2 2 1 3 10 5
6 New Zealand (16) Ronnie Moore 10 3 1 2 2 2 10 6
7 Poland (3) Florian Kapała 8 0 2 2 3 1 8 7
8 Sweden (7) Rune Sörmander 7 2 1 0 3 1 7 8
9 England (9) Ron How 7 2 3 1 1 0 7 9
10 England (8) Peter Craven 6 F 2 3 0 1 6 10
11 Scotland (10) Ken McKinlay 5 3 F 1 1 E 5 11
12 England (12) Cyril Maidment 4 1 0 1 2 0 4 12
13 Soviet Union (1) Igor Plekhanov 4 1 0 1 0 2 4 13
14 Australia (5) Ray Cresp 3 F 1 0 F 2 3 14
15 Poland (11) Stanisław Tkocz 3 0 0 0 2 1 3 15
16 England (14) Mike Broadbank 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 16
R1 Australia (R1) Jack Young 0 0 R1
R2 Sweden (R2) Leif Larsson 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

References

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  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 7 July 2021.
  3. ^ "World Finals 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  4. ^ "History Speedway and Longtrack". Speedway.org. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  6. ^ "World Individual Final �� Rider Index". British Speedway. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Ove Fundin Retains Speedway Title". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 16 September 1961. Retrieved 7 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "1961 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  9. ^ "1961 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
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