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1936 Individual Speedway World Championship
First official edition of the World motorcycle speedway championship
First official edition of the World motorcycle speedway championship
The 1936 Individual Speedway World Championship was the first ever Speedway World Championship and was won by Lionel Van Praag of Australia. The forerunner to the World Championship was generally regarded to be the Star Riders' Championship.{{cite web|url=http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2013/04/world-speedway-championships.html|title=World Championship 1936-1994
Summary
The World Championship would consist of qualifying heats and then a Championship round, where points would be carried forward to the final to determine the winner. One of the favourites Jack Parker had a broken hand injury and was unable to compete in the final. Joe Abbott was also unable to line up for the final due to injury, despite qualifying for the final. They were replaced by Arthur Atkinson and Bill Pitcher.
Despite being unbeaten in the Final, Australian Bluey Wilkinson only finished third as the Championship was decided by bonus points accumulated in previous rounds plus the score from the final. Van Praag defeated England's Eric Langton in a runoff to be declared the inaugural Speedway World Champion.
As they lined up at the tapes for the runoff, Langton broke them which would ordinarily lead to disqualification. However, Van Praag stated he did not want to win the title by default and insisted that a race should take place. At the restart Langton made it to the first bend in front and led until the final bend on the last lap when Van Praag darted through the smallest of gaps to win by less than wheel length.
Afterwards, controversial allegations were abound that the two riders had 'fixed' the match race, deciding between them that the first person to the first bend would win the race and the Championship and split the prize money; Langton led into the first bend but was overtaken by Van Praag. Van Praag reportedly paid Langton £50 "conscience money" after the race for going back on the agreement.
In the Championship round the top 16 riders over 7 rounds would qualify for the World final. Ron Johnson and Bill Pitcher qualified as first reserves.
Qualifying round
- Top 28 riders qualify for Championship round
| Date | Venue | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 26 May | West Ham Stadium | Jack Parker |
| 30 May | Hyde Road | Bluey Wilkinson |
| 6 June | Harringay Stadium | Frank Charles |
| 19 June | Hackney Wick Stadium | Arthur Atkinson & Jack Ormston |
| 20 June | Wimbledon Stadium | Fred Tate |
| 25 June | Wembley Stadium | Ron Johnson |
| 1 July | New Cross Stadium | Joe Abbott |
Championship round
- The top 16 riders over the 7 qualifying rounds and 7 championship rounds would qualify for the World final.
| Date | Venue | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 11 July | Harringay Stadium | Jack Parker |
| 14 July | West Ham Stadium | Eric Langton |
| 23 July | Wembley Stadium | Lionel Van Praag |
| 29 July | New Cross Stadium | George Newton |
| 8 August | Hyde Road | Eric Langton |
| 10 August | Wimbledon Stadium | Lionel Van Praag |
| 14 August | Hackney Wick Stadium | Frank Charles |
Qualifying points (top 16 qualify, 2 reserves)
| Pos. | Rider | Qual Points | c/f |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ENG Eric Langton | 66 | 13 |
| 2 | ENG Frank Charles | 59 | 12 |
| 3 | ENG George Newton | 59 | 12 |
| 4 | ENG Jack Parker | 59 | 12 |
| 5 | AUS Lionel Van Praag | 58 | 12 |
| 6 | DNK Morian Hansen | 48 | 10 |
| 7 | ENG Bob Harrison | 48 | 10 |
| 8 | AUS Vic Huxley | 48 | 10 |
| 9 | AUS Bluey Wilkinson | 48 | 10 |
| 10 | AUS Dicky Case | 47 | 9 |
| 11 | ENG Jack Ormston | 47 | 9 |
| 12 | USA Jack Milne | 45 | 9 |
| 13 | USA Cordy Milne | 43 | 9 |
| 14 | ENG Ginger Lees | 37 | 7 |
| 15 | ENG Wal Phillips | 37 | 7 |
| 16 | ENG Joe Abbott | 36 | 7 |
| Pos. | Rider | Qual Points | c/f |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | AUS Ron Johnson | 34 | 7 |
| 18 | ENG Bill Pitcher | 32 | 6 |
| 19 | ENG Arthur Atkinson | 31 | 6 |
| 20 | ENG Bill Kitchen (res) | 29 | n/a |
| 21 | ENG Norman Parker | 28 | 6 |
| 22 | DEN Baltzer Hansen | 27 | |
| 23 | CAN Eric Chitty | 24 | |
| 24 | ENG Bill Clibbett | 24 | |
| 25 | ENG Broncho Dixon | 22 | |
| 26 | NZL Wally Kilmister | 22 | |
| 27 | AUS Mick Murphy | 21 | |
| 28 | ENG Wally Lloyd (res) | 17 | |
| 29 | ENG Gus Kuhn | 15 | |
| 30 | ENG Rol Stobbart | 16 | |
| 31 | ENG Gordon Byers (res) | 9 |
World final
- 10 September 1936
- ENG Wembley Stadium, London
| Pos. | Rider | c/f | Final Points | Final Heats | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AUS Lionel Van Praag | 12 | 14 | (3,3,3,2,3) | 26+3 |
| 2 | ENG Eric Langton | 13 | 13 | (3,3,3,2,2) | 26+2 |
| 3 | AUS Bluey Wilkinson | 10 | 15 | (3,3,3,3,3) | 25 |
| 4 | USA Cordy Milne | 9 | 11 | (2,2,1,3,3) | 20 |
| 5 | ENG Frank Charles | 12 | 8 | (3,3,0,2,0) | 20 |
| 6 | AUS Dicky Case | 9 | 8 | (2,0,3,1,2) | 17 |
| 7 | ENG Jack Ormston | 9 | 8 | (1,1,2,3,1) | 17 |
| 8 | AUS Vic Huxley | 10 | 7 | (1,2,0,2,2) | 17 |
| 9 | ENG George Newton | 12 | 4 | (0,0,3,1,0) | 16 |
| 10 | USA Jack Milne | 9 | 6 | (1,2,1,0,2) | 15 |
| 11 | DNK Morian Hansen | 10 | 5 | (2,1,2,0,0) | 15 |
| 12 | ENG Bob Harrison | 10 | 5 | (0,0,2,0,3) | 15 |
| 13 | ENG Wal Phillips | 7 | 5 | (1,1,0,2,1) | 12 |
| 14 | ENG Jack Parker | 12 | - | - | 12 |
| 15 | ENG Ginger Lees | 7 | 4 | (2,0,1,0,1) | 11 |
| 16 | ENG Arthur Atkinson | 6 | 3 | (0,2,1,0,0) | 9 |
| 17 | ENG Bill Pitcher | 6 | 2 | (0,1,X/-,0,1) | 8 |
| 18 | ENG Norman Parker (res) | 6 | 1 | (1) | 7 |
| 19 | ENG Joe Abbott | 7 | - | - | 7 |
Podium
- [[Image:Gold medal blank.svg|16px|Gold]] AUS Lionel Van Praag
- [[Image:Silver medal blank.svg|16px|Silver]] ENG Eric Langton
- [[Image:Bronze medal blank.svg|16px|Bronze]] AUS Bluey Wilkinson
References
References
- Oakes, Peter. (1981). "1981 Speedway Yearbook". Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
- Oakes, Peter. (1990). "Speedway Yearbook 1990". Front Page Books.
- "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994".
- (7 September 1936). "World Speedway Championship". Coventry Evening Telegraph.
- (11 September 1936). "World Speedway Championship". Coventry Evening Telegraph.
- "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK".
- "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX".
- "Speedway riders, history and results".
- Chaplin, John (1990) ''Speedway Special'', {{ISBN. 0-9515857-0-3, p. 109–114
- (19 March 1936). "New Era in Speedway". Daily News (London).
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