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1972 Individual Speedway World Championship

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The 1972 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 27th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

The 1972 final attendance at Wembley Stadium was 75,000. New Zealander Ivan Mauger joined Barry Briggs on four title wins (2nd only behind Ove Fundin) by defeating Bernt Persson in a run-off after both riders finished on 13 points.[7]

In heat five, Briggs was involved in an accident which all but ended his speedway career. Going into the first turn his front wheel was hit by Bernt Persson's bike which caused him to fall. He was then hit by the Russian riders Grigory Khlinovsky and Valery Gordeev. Briggs suffered a severe hand injury and lost the index finger on his left hand which caused him to temporarily retire from racing. Briggs had been considered one of the pre-meeting favourites and his favouritism had been firmed when he had beaten fellow New Zealander Ivan Mauger in heat 2.

To the boos of the 75,000 strong Wembley crowd, FIM referee Georg Traunspurger did not exclude Persson. Defending champion Ole Olsen was unlucky not to retain his title because in his first ride (heat 4) while challenging Swede Christer Löfqvist he fell and would score no points. He won his next four rides to finish in a clear third place.

Before the final, the Russian riders had three of their bikes stolen and had to borrow equipment to compete.[8]

First round

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Qualification results.[9][10]

Continental qualifying

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  • Riders progress to Continental quarter-finals
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
7 May Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Kovinar Stadium, Maribor Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík Czechoslovakia Jan Verner Hungary Sandor Csato
11 May Italy Stadio Moretti, Udine Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Draško Oreško Austria Gunther Walla Bulgaria Nedialko Nedialkov

Second round

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Norwegian qualifying

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Pos. Rider Points
1 Reidar Eide 15
2 Dag Lovaas 13
3 Svein Kaasa 12
4 Tormod Langli 11
5 Odd Fossengen 11
6 Jan Terje Gravningen 10
7 Dagfinn Dahl 9
8 Edgar Stangeland 8
9 Oyvind S. Berg 7
10 Johnny Larsen 6
11 Nils Otto Haraldsen 5
12 Kjell Thomas Skjëveland 4
13 Eidar Egedius 4
14 Helge Langli 3
15 Ole Fjötland

Finnish qualifying (top 9)

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Pos. Rider Points Points
1 Matti Olin 8+6+8 16
2 Kalevi Lahtinen 4+8+0 12
3 Hannu Känkänen 3+4+6 10
4 Reima Lohkovuori 6+2+3 9
5 Heikki Ahonen 0+3+4 7
6 Kari Vuoristo 2+1+0 3
7 Matti Touru 0+0+2 2
8 Ari Hiljanen 1+0+0 1
9 Rauli Mäkinen 0+0+1 1

British/Commonwealth premilinaries

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  • Top riders to British/Commonwealth qualifiers
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
15 April Kingsmead Stadium, Canterbury Bob Young Malcolm Ballard Brian Foote
16 April Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon Dave Kennett Bob Humphreys Barry Crowson
21 April East of England Arena, Peterborough Geoff Maloney Phil Crump Kevin Holden
27 April Holker Street, Barrow-in-Furness John Harrhy Alan Wilkinson Malcolm Shakespeare
28 April Derwent Park, Workington Alan Knapkin George Major Russ Dent

Continental quarter-finals

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  • Top 16 to Continental semi-finals
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
21 May Hungary Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc Hungary Janosh Szőke Soviet Union Oleg Dzyadyk Soviet Union Aleksandr Pavlov
21 May Czechoslovakia Pavlovický Stadion, Liberec Soviet Union Viktor Trofimov Soviet Union Yury Dubinin Poland Jan Mucha
21 May West Germany Abensberger Stadion, Abensberg Poland Henryk Glucklich Czechoslovakia Jan Holub I Soviet Union Grigory Khlinovsky
21 May Poland Stadion żużlowy, Gorzów Wielkopolski Poland Edward Jancarz Poland Zenon Plech Soviet Union Valery Gordeev

Swedish qualification

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  • Top 6 in each heat to Nordic qualification

Third round

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British/Commonwealth qualifiers

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  • Top 32 to British/Commonwealth semi-finals
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
20 May The Shay, Halifax Eric Boocock Bob Kilby Ray Wilson
20 May King's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn Terry Betts Malcolm Simmons Howard Cole
20 May Hyde Road, Manchester Ivan Mauger Chris Pusey Jim McMillan
22 May Reading Stadium, Reading Ronnie Moore Dave Jessup Mick Bell
22 May County Ground Stadium, Exeter Howard Cole Bob Kilby Barry Briggs
25 May Oxford Stadium, Oxford Terry Betts Garry Middleton Malcolm Simmons
25 May Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield Arnie Haley Ivan Mauger Bobby Beaton
25 May Wimbledon Stadium, London Ronnie Moore Bob Andrews Barry Briggs
25 May Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich David Kennett John Harrhy George Hunter
26 May Hackney Wick Stadium, London Geoff Curtis Barry Thomas Chris Pusey
26 May Monmore Green, Wolverhampton Dave Gifford Peter Collins Norman Hunter
27 May Abbey Stadium, Swindon Barry Briggs Martin Ashby Phil Crump
27 May Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley Bob Andrews Arnie Haley Bob Kilby
27 May Brandon Stadium, Coventry Nigel Boocock Tony Lomas John Louis
30 May Wimborne Road, Poole Nigel Boocock Geoff Curtis Howard Cole
2 June Hampden Park, Glasgow Bobby Beaton Jim McMillan John Louis
2 June Somerton Park, Newport Bruce Cribb Tony Clarke Mike Broadbanks
6 June Leicester Stadium, Leicester Dave Jessup Ivan Mauger Malcolm Shakespeare

Nordic qualifying

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  • Top 5 in each heat to Nordic final

Continental semi-finals

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Pos. Rider Points
1 Poland Edward Jancarz 15
2 Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka 11
3 Poland Zenon Plech 10
4 Soviet Union Anatolij Kuzmin 10
5 Soviet Union Viktor Trofimov 9
6 Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík 9
7 Soviet Union Vladimir Baturin 8
8 Soviet Union Valerij Gordeev 8
9 Soviet Union Anatolij Mironov 8
10 Soviet Union Yury Dubinin 8
11 Czechoslovakia Václav Verner (res) 8
12 Poland Ryszard Dziatkowiak 7
13 Poland Antoni Woryna 4
14 Soviet Union Gennadij Ivanov 3
15 Poland Jan Mucha 2
16 Czechoslovakia Stanislav Kubíček 0
17 Poland Zdzislaw Dobrucki 0
18 Czechoslovakia Zdenek Novotny (res) 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 Poland Marek Cieslak 15
2 Poland Paweł Waloszek 13
3 Poland Henryk Glücklich 11
4 Soviet Union Viktor Kalmykov 11
5 Poland Zbigniew Friedek 11
6 Soviet Union Grigory Khlinovsky 10
7 Soviet Union Vladimir Paznikov 8
8 Poland Jerzy Szczakiel 8
9 Poland Andrzej Koselski (res) 8
10 Soviet Union Alexander Pavlov 6
11 Soviet Union Oleg Dziadyk 6
12 Czechoslovakia Jan Verner 6
13 Czechoslovakia Miroslav Verner 3
14 Hungary Janos Szöke 2
15 Czechoslovakia Jan Holub I 1
16 Poland Benedykt Kosek (res) 1
17 Hungary Istvan Sziraczky 0

Fourth round

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British/Commonwealth semi-finals

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Pos. Rider Points
1 England Terry Betts 14+3
2 New Zealand Ronnie Moore 14+2
3 England Arnie Haley 13
4 Australia Garry Middleton 12
5 New Zealand Barry Briggs 11
6 England John Louis 8
7 England Trevor Hedge 8
8 Scotland George Hunter (res) 8
9 England Nigel Boocock 6
10 Australia Geoff Curtis 6
11 England Chris Pusey 6
12 Australia Phil Crump 4
13 England Dave Younghusband 4
14 Scotland Bobby Beaton 2
15 England Pete Smith 2
16 England Tony Clarke 1
17 Wales Howard Cole 0
Pos. Rider Points
1 New Zealand Ivan Mauger 15
2 Scotland Jim McMillan 13
3 Australia John Boulger 12
4 England Martin Ashby 10
5 England Ray Wilson 10
6 England Eric Boocock 10
7 England Dave Jessup 9
8 England Peter Collins 9
9 England Norman Hunter 9
10 England Tony Lomas 4
11 England Bob Kilby 4
12 England John Harrhy 4
13 England Bob Andrews 4
14 England Barry Thomas 3
15 England Mick Bell 2
16 England Mike Broadbank 2

Nordic Final

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Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Sweden Bengt Jansson 3,2,3,3,3 14
2 Sweden Anders Michanek 3,3,3,1,3 13
3 Denmark Ole Olsen 3,2,2,3,2 12
4 Sweden Bernt Persson 1,2,3,2,3 11
5 Sweden Hasse Holmqvist 2,3,2,2,2 11
6 Sweden Christer Löfqvist 3,3,3,0,1 10
7 Sweden Jan Simensen 2,0,2,3,3 10
8 Norway Reidar Eide 1,3,1,2,2 9
9 Sweden Tommy Jansson 2,1,2,3,E 8
10 Norway Dag Lovaas 1,1,1,2,0 5
11 Sweden Tommy Johansson 0,1,0,1,2 4
12 Norway Øyvind S. Berg 1,0,0,1,1 3
13 Sweden Göte Nordin 0,2,1,0,- 3
14 Sweden Leif Enecrona 0,0,1,1,1 3
15 Sweden Per Olof Söderman 2,0,0,0,0 2
16 Sweden Sören Sjösten 0,1,0,0,- 1
R1 Sweden Christer Sjösten E 0
R2 Sweden Runo Wedin 0 0

Continental Final

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Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Soviet Union Viktor Trofimov 2,3,3,3,3 14
2 Soviet Union Viktor Kalmykov 3,3,3,2,2 13
3 Soviet Union Anatoly Kuzmin 2,2,2,3,3 12
4 Soviet Union Valery Gordeev 3,1,1,3,3 11
5 Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka 1,3,3,2,1 10
6 Soviet Union Grigory Khlinovsky 3,2,F,1,3 9
7 Poland Paweł Waloszek 0,3,2,2,2 9
8 Soviet Union Aleksandr Pavlov 2,2,2,1,2 9
9 Poland Zenon Plech F,2,2,3,F 7
10 Soviet Union Anatoly Mironov 1,1,1,2,1 6
11 Poland Zygfryd Friedek X,1,1,1,2 5
12 Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík 3,X,0,0,1 4
13 Soviet Union Vasily Baturin F,X,3,X,0 3
14 Poland Marek Cieślak 0,1,1,1,0 3
15 Poland Henryk Glucklich 2,E,X,0,X 2
16 Poland Edward Jancarz 1,X,E,E,1 2
R1 Soviet Union Gennady Kurilenko 1,0,0,X 1
R2 Soviet Union Vladimir Kubanov 0,0,0 0

Fifth round

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British/Commonwealth 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 New Zealand (6) Ivan Mauger 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 1
2 England (12) Nigel Boocock 12 3 2 2 3 2 12 2
3 New Zealand (4) Barry Briggs 11 1 3 3 1 3 11 3 3
4 England (8) John Louis 11 2 1 3 3 2 11 4 E
5 England (9) Eric Boocock 10 2 2 1 3 2 10 5 3
6 Scotland (2) Jim McMillan 10 3 1 3 0 3 10 6 2
7 England (15) Terry Betts 9 3 2 1 0 3 9 7
8 England (10) Ray Wilson 7 T 2 1 3 1 7 8
9 England (11) Dave Jessup 7 1 3 T 2 1 7 9
10 Australia (13) John Boulger 7 0 3 2 1 1 7 10
11 England (3) Martin Ashby 6 2 1 2 1 0 6 11
12 England (16) Arnold Haley 5 1 0 1 2 1 5 12
13 Australia (5) Garry Middleton 4 1 1 0 0 2 4 13
14 England (1) Peter Collins 3 0 E 2 1 0 3 14
15 England (7) Trevor Hedge 2 0 E 0 2 0 2 15
16 New Zealand (14) Ronnie Moore 2 2 E 0 0 0 2 16
R1 England (R1) Pete Bailey 0 0 0 R1
R2 England (R2) Norman Hunter 0 F 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

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 Poland (12) Paweł Waloszek 13 3 1 3 3 3 13 1
2 Denmark (8) Ole Olsen 11 3 3 2 1 2 11 2
3 Sweden (13) Anders Michanek 11 3 3 1 3 1 11 3
4 Soviet Union (16) Aleksandr Pavlov 10 1 0 3 3 3 10 4
5 Soviet Union (4) Anatoly Kuzmin 10 2 2 3 3 0 10 5
6 Soviet Union (3) Grigory Khlinovsky 9 3 3 3 0 0 9 6
7 Sweden (10) Christer Löfqvist 8 2 1 2 2 1 8 7
8 Soviet Union (11) Viktor Trofimov 8 1 2 2 2 1 8 8
9 Sweden (2) Bernt Persson 7 1 3 1 0 2 7 9
10 Soviet Union (6) Valery Gordeev 7 2 2 E 1 2 7 10
11 Soviet Union (14) Viktor Kalmykov 7 2 F 1 2 2 7 11
12 Sweden (5) Jan Simensen 6 F 2 0 1 3 6 12
13 Czechoslovakia (15) Milan Špinka 5 0 1 2 0 2 5 13
14 Sweden (9) Bengt Jansson 3 0 E 0 2 1 3 14
15 Sweden (1) Hasse Holmqvist 2 F E 1 1 0 2 15
16 Norway (7) Reidar Eide 0 E 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 Sweden (R1) Tommy Jansson 0 0 R1
R2 Poland (R2) Zenon Plech 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

[edit]
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 (6) Ivan Mauger 13 2 3 2 3 3 13 1 3
2 Sweden (13) Bernt Persson 13 2 3 3 3 2 13 2 2
3 Denmark (16) Ole Olsen 12 F 3 3 3 3 12 3
4 Sweden (15) Christer Löfqvist 11 3 2 3 0 3 11 4
5 England (14) John Louis 11 1 2 3 2 3 11 5
6 Soviet Union (7) Aleksandr Pavlov 8 1 3 0 3 1 8 6
7 Sweden (4) Anders Michanek 8 X 2 2 2 2 8 7
8 Poland (3) Paweł Waloszek 6 3 1 0 1 1 6 8
9 Soviet Union (8) Viktor Trofimov 6 0 0 2 2 2 6 9
10 England (12) Nigel Boocock 6 2 1 2 1 0 6 10
11 Soviet Union (10) Viktor Kalmykov 6 1 1 1 2 1 6 11
12 Soviet Union (11) Anatoly Kuzmin 4 3 0 0 1 0 4 12
13 Soviet Union (1) Grigory Khlinovsky 4 2 1 1 0 0 4 13
14 New Zealand (5) Barry Briggs 3 3 F - - - 3 14
15 England (2) Eric Boocock 2 X 0 0 0 2 2 15
16 Soviet Union (9) Valery Gordeev 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 16
R1 Sweden (R1) Jan Simensen 2 2 0 2 R1
R2 Scotland (R2) Jim McMillan 2 1 1 2 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 9 July 2021.
  3. ^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  4. ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  6. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  7. ^ "4-Timer Mauger". Sunday Mirror. 17 September 1972. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Fourth World title for Mauger". Birmingham Weekly Mercury. 17 September 1972. Retrieved 1 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "1972 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. ^ "1972 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  11. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
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