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1972 Individual Speedway World Championship

Motorcycle speedway world championship season

Summary

Motorcycle speedway world championship season

The 1972 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 27th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.

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.

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.

First round

Qualification results.

Continental qualifying

Riders progress to Continental quarter-finals

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
7 May	YUG Kovinar Stadium, Maribor	CSK Petr Ondrašík	CSK Jan Verner	HUN Sandor Csato
11 May	ITA Stadio Moretti, Udine	YUG Draško Oreško	AUT Gunther Walla	BUL Nedialko Nedialkov

Second round

Pos.		width=200px	Rider		width=40px	Points
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Finnish qualifying (top 9)

FIN (3 rounds) First (+2 seeded riders) to Nordic qualification 1972
R1 (9 Aug '71, Eteläpuisto, Tampere)
R2 (28 Aug '71, Kärpänen Speedway, Lahti)
R3 (12 Sep '71 Eteläpuisto, Tampere)

Pos.		width=200px	Rider		width=80px	Points		width=40px	Points
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

British/Commonwealth preliminaries

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

Top 16 to Continental semi-finals

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
21 May	HUN Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc	HUN Janosh Szőke	USSR Oleg Dzyadyk	USSR Aleksandr Pavlov
21 May	CSK Pavlovický Stadion, Liberec	USSR Viktor Trofimov	USSR Yury Dubinin	POL Jan Mucha
21 May	FRG Abensberger Stadion, Abensberg	POL Henryk Glucklich	CSK Jan Holub I	USSR Grigory Khlinovsky
21 May	POL Stadion żużlowy, Gorzów Wielkopolski	POL Edward Jancarz	POL Zenon Plech	USSR Valery Gordeev

Swedish qualification

Top 6 in each heat to Nordic qualification

(27 April, Gubbängens IP
Stockholm)	Pos	Rider	Points
1	Anders Michanek	14
2	Karl-Erik Claesson	13
3	Hasse Holmqvist	13
4	Lars-Inge Hultberg	12
5	Bo Wirebrand	10
6	Göte Nordin	9
7	Åke Dovhed	9
8	Dirk van der Voet	7
9	Tommy Nilsson	6
10	Jan-Inge Karlsson	5
11	Bertil Andersson	5
12	Åke Andersson	5
13	Sune Eriksson	5
14	Harald Sandberg	3
15	Sune Stark	3
16	Bengt Brannefors	0
17	Kjell Marrsson (res)	0

(30 April, Målilla (Motorbana)
Målilla)	Pos	Rider	Points
1	Jan Simensen	12
2	Tommy Johansson	12
3	Per-Olof Söderman	11
4	Torbjörn Harrysson	11
5	Christer Sjösten	10
6	Stephan Johansson	9
7	Anders Jansson	9
8	Roy Dantanus	9
9	Berndt Johansson	7
10	Willy Karlsson	7
11	Bengt Olsson	7
12	Floyd Ohlsson	5
13	Lars-Olov Karlsson	4
14	Anders Lövgren	4
15	Claes-Ingvar Svensson	2
16	Curt Nyqvist	0
17	Kalle Lindgren (res)	0

(1 May, Motorbanen Hagalund
Lindesberg)	Pos	Rider	Points
1	Bernt Persson	15
2	Sören Sjösten	14
3	Lars Jansson	13
4	Bengt Larsson	12
5	Hans Johansson	11
6	Tommy Wedén	9
7	Stefan Salmonsson	9
8	Casimir Nilsson	8
9	Sigvard Johansson	6
10	Therje Henriksson	6
11	Lars Jennefors	5
12	Lars-Åke Andersson	4
13	Sören Karlsson	4
14	Inge Gustavsson	4
15	Hans Engzell	1
16	Leif Söderberg	0

(1 May, Gamla Galgberget
Visby)	Pos	Rider	Points
1	Christer Löfqvist	15
2	Tommy Jansson	13
3	Leif Enecrona	13
4	Rolf Johansson	12
5	Bengt Jansson	12
6	Claes Löfstrand	8
7	Ragnar Holm	8
8	Bo Magnusson	7
9	Käll Haage	7
10	Håkan Karlsson	6
11	Torbjörn Karlsson	4
12	Kenneth Selmosson	4
13	Kurt Sigurdh	3
14	Börje Klingberg	3
15	Reine Södergren	1
16	Ove Helander	0

Third round

British/Commonwealth qualifiers

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

Top 5 in each heat to Nordic final

(11 May, Gislaved Motorbana, Gislaved)	Pos	Rider
1	SWE Bernt Persson	15
2	SWE Tommy Jansson	13
3	SWE Torbjörn Harrysson	12
4	SWE Leif Enecrona	12
5	SWE Christer Löfqvist	11
6	SWE Jan Simensen	10
7	NOR Odd Fossengen	9
8	SWE Karl-Erik Claesson	8
9	NOR Svein Kaasa	7
10	DEN Jörn Mogensen	6
11	SWE Claes Löfstrand	5
12	NOR Tormod Langli	4
13	FIN Kari Vuoristo	3
14	DEN Preben Bollerup	3
15	DEN Kurt Bögh	2
16	NOR Hans Erik Fuglerud	0

(11 May, Avestavallen, Avesta	Pos	Rider
1	SWE Hasse Holmqvist	15
2	SWE Sören Sjösten	12
3	SWE Tommy Johansson	12
4	SWE Göte Nordin	12
5	NOR Dag Lövaas	12
6	SWE Bengt Larsson	10
7	SWE Lars Jansson	8
8	NOR Edgar Stangeland	7
9	DEN Henning Hansen	6
10	DEN Fred Hansen	6
11	DEN Erik Tillgaard	6
12	SWE Bo Wirebrand	5
13	FIN Hannu Känkänen	5
14	SWE Lars-Inge Hultberg	2
15	NOR Niels Heraldsen	1
16	NOR Knud Heia	0

(12 May, Gamla Ryd Motorstadion, Linköping)	Pos	Rider
1	SWE Anders Michanek	15
2	NOR Reidar Eide	14
3	SWE Bengt Jansson	13
4	SWE Per-Olof Söderman	11
5	NOR Öyvind Berg	11
6	SWE Christer Sjösten	10
7	DEN Bent Nörregaard-Jensen	10
8	SWE Hans Johansso	7
9	DEN Krause Kjaer	6
10	SWE Ragnar Holm	6
11	SWE Tommy Wedén	6
12	DEN Nils Schelde	4
13	SWE Stephan Johansson	3
14	NOR Dagfinn Dahl	3
15	NOR Kjell Skievelan	1
16	FIN Matti Olin	0

Continental semi-finals

Pos.		width=200px	Rider		width=40px	Points
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

4 June
POL Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium, Bydgoszcz
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.		width=200px	Rider		width=40px	Points
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Fourth round

British/Commonwealth semi-finals

Pos.		width=200px	Rider		width=40px	Points
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

22 June
ENG Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield
Top 8 to British/Commonwealth final

Pos.		width=200px	Rider		width=40px	Points
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Nordic Final

1 June 1972
SWE Norrköping Motorstadion
First 8 to European Final plus 1 reserve

Pos.		width=200px	Rider		width=70px	Heat Scores		width=50px	Total
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
R1
R2

Continental Final

25 June 1972
USSR Dombay Motodrom, Cherkessk
First 8 to European Final plus 1 reserve

Pos.		width=200px	Rider		width=70px	Heat Scores		width=50px	Total
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
R1
R2

Fifth round

British/Commonwealth Final

2 August 1972
ENG Brandon Stadium, Coventry
First 5 to World Final

European Final

3 September 1972
POL Olympic Stadium, Wrocław
First 11 to World Final plus 1 reserve

World Final

16 September 1972
ENG Wembley Stadium, London
Referee: FRG Georg Traunspurger

References

Oakes, Peter. (1981). "1981 Speedway Yearbook". Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
"World Championship 1936-1994".
"WORLD FINALS 1936-1994".
"HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK".
"Speedway riders, history and results".
"WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX".
(17 September 1972). "4-Timer Mauger". Sunday Mirror.
(17 September 1972). "Fourth World title for Mauger". Birmingham Weekly Mercury.
"1972 World Championship".
"1972 World Championship".
Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN. 0-7524-2402-5

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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