1973 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1973 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 28th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

The 1973 World Final was won by Polish rider Jerzy Szczakiel following a run-off in with defending champion Ivan Mauger after both riders had finished on 13 points. On the second lap of the run-off, Mauger fell in turn 3 after trying a risky passing move leaving Szczakiel to win easily. Another Polish rider, Zenon Plech finished third. Rank outsider Szczakiel, who had finished last with no points scored in his only other World Final appearance in Sweden in 1971, rode the meeting of his life and was only beaten in his final two rides before defeating Mauger in the run-off.[7]

The final, held at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland, is believed to have been held in front of the largest crowd in world speedway history, estimated to be around 130,000, though some reports put the size of the crowd as anywhere from 90,000 to 120,000.[8] The previous record for a final was 95,000 during the 1938 Individual Speedway World Championship at Wembley.

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed for the 1973 event. This time the Polish riders were allowed five places in the World Final to be held in Poland. All other nations had to go through the European Final route to provide the remaining 11 riders for the World Final.

First Round
  • British/Commonwealth Qualifying - 16 to British/Commonwealth Final
  • Scandinavian Qualifying - 16 to Nordic Final
  • Continental Qualifying - 16 to Continental Final

British/Commonwealth Qualifying
DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Preliminary Round
29 April Eastbourne Gordon Kennett Paul Gachet Bobby McNeil
29 April Boston Graeme Stapleton John Dews Russ Osborne
2 May Bradford Neil Street Billy Sanders Rick France
7 May Crewe Mitch Graham Arthur Price Les Owen
7 May Birmingham Jim Ryman Bob Paulson Ted Howgego
12 May Kings Lynn John Louis Terry Betts Malcolm Simmons
14 May Reading Martin Ashby Mick Bell Geoff Curtis
16 May Poole Pete Smith Ray Wilson Terry Betts
17 May Sheffield Jim McMillan Arnold Haley Doug Wyer
18 May Wolverhampton George Hunter Ray Wilson Gary Peterson
18 May Hackney Terry Betts Bob Valentine Barry Thomas
19 May Halifax John Boulger Eric Boocock Bill Andrew
19 May Cradley Heath John Louis Bruce Cribb Colin Gooddy
19 May Swindon Jim McMillan Doug Wyer Tony Davey
19 May Belle Vue Ivan Mauger Chris Pusey Eric Broadbelt
21 May Exeter Ivan Mauger Martin Ashby Bob Coles
22 May Leicester John Boulger Ray Wilson Bob Kilby
23 May Newport Eric Boocock Roy Trigg Gary Peterson
24 May Wimbledon Peter Collins Norman Hunter Ian Turner
24 May Oxford Bob Kilby Malcolm Ballard Eric Boocock
25 May Coatbridge Mick Bell John Boulger Chris Julian
26 May Coventry Nigel Boocock Ray Wilson Bob Kilby
29 May Ipswich Ivan Mauger Tony Davey Mick Bell
Semi-Finals
5 June Leicester Ivan Mauger John Louis Chris Pusey
7 June Wimbledon John Louis Martin Ashby Eric Boocock

Scandinavian Qualifying
DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Qualifications
1 May Visby Lars Jansson Bernt Persson Christer Löfqvist
1 May Malilla Sören Sjösten Bengt Jansson Anders Michanek
5 May Lindesberg Hasse Holmqvist Tommy Jansson Tomas Pettersson
17 May Stockholm Bengt Jansson Anders Michanek Göte Nordin
27 May Skien Bernt Persson Tommy Jansson Odd Fossengen
27 May Hillerod Ole Olsen Christer Löfqvist Jan Simensen

Continental Qualifying
DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Qualifying Round
29 April Prelog Zdenek Majstr Evzen Erban Jozef Haider
6 May Norden Jan Hadek Jiri Dominik Henny Kroeze
Quarter-Finals
10 May Pardubice Vladimir Zapleshny Jiri Stancl Miroslav Verner
20 May Miskolc Grigory Khlinovsky Viktor Trofimov Aleksandr Pavlov
20 May Krumbach Milan Špinka Vladimir Paznikov Jan Holub I
20 May Krsko Anatoly Kuzmin Vladimir Gordeev Petr Ondrašík
Semi-Finals
2 June Rodenbach Grigory Khlinovsky Vladimir Gordeev Václav Verner
2 June Slany Valery Gordeev Jiri Stancl Anatoly Kuzmin

Second Round
  • British/Commonwealth Final - 8 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic final
  • Nordic Final - 8 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic final

British/Commonwealth Final
  • June 21, 1973
  • Sheffield
  • First 8 to British-Nordic Final
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
(15) Ray Wilson 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
(10) Bob Valentine 12 3 3 2 2 2 12 2 3
(13) Peter Collins 12 2 3 3 2 2 12 3 2
4 (3) John Boulger 12 2 1 3 3 3 12 4 1
5 (2) Ivan Mauger 10 3 1 3 3 T 10 5
6 (7) Eric Boocock 9 2 2 0 3 2 9 6
7 (8) Tony Davey 9 3 2 2 1 1 9 7
8 (16) Rick France 9 1 2 2 1 3 9 8
9 (6) John Louis 7 F 0 3 3 1 7 9
10 (4) Martin Ashby 6 1 3 1 1 0 6 10
11 (5) Garry Middleton 5 1 0 1 0 3 5 11
12 (14) Peter Smith 5 0 2 1 1 1 5 12
13 (9) Terry Betts 4 1 2 F F 1 4 13
14 (11) Mick Bell 4 2 0 0 0 2 4 14
15 (1) Malcolm Simmons 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 15
16 (12) Jim McMillan 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 16
R1 (R1) Chris Pusey 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

Nordic Final
  • June 6, 1973
  • Norrköping
  • First 8 to British-Nordic Final
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
(6) Ole Olsen 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
(5) Bengt Jansson 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 2
(7) Anders Michanek 13 1 3 3 3 3 13 3
4 (8) Bernt Persson 12 0 3 3 3 3 12 4
5 (3) Tommy Jansson 10 3 1 2 2 2 10 5
6 (4) Jan Simensen 9 1 2 2 2 2 9 6
7 (13) Reidar Eide 9 3 2 1 2 1 9 7
8 (11) Göte Nordin 8 3 2 1 1 1 8 8 3
9 (1) Christer Löfqvist 8 2 1 2 1 2 8 9 F
10 (9) Lars Jansson 5 2 0 1 0 2 5 10
11 (12) Christer Sjösten 4 F E 2 2 0 4 11
12 (10) Øyvind S. Berg 4 1 1 0 1 1 4 12
13 (2) Dag Lovaas 3 F 2 1 0 0 3 13
14 (15) Hasse Holmqvist 3 2 0 0 1 0 3 14
15 (16) Tommy Johansson 1 1 E E - - 1 15
16 (14) Odd Fossengen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 (R1) Leif Enecrona 1 0 1 1 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

Third Round
  • British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final - 8 to European Final
  • Continental Final - 8 to European Final

British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final
  • August 1, 1973
  • Coventry
  • First 8 to European Final
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
(13) Anders Michanek 14 3 3 2 3 3 14 1
(8) Ole Olsen 11 T 3 3 2 3 11 2
(4) Ivan Mauger 11 1 2 3 3 2 11 3
4 (2) Tommy Jansson 10 2 3 2 1 2 10 4
5 (7) John Boulger 10 2 3 1 3 1 10 5
6 (11) Peter Collins 9 3 2 3 0 1 9 6
7 (16) Ray Wilson 9 E 1 2 3 3 9 7
8 (15) Bernt Persson 9 2 E 3 2 2 9 8
9 (1) Bob Valentine 8 3 2 0 2 1 8 9
10 (6) Reidar Eide 5 1 2 1 1 0 5 10
11 (14) Göte Nordin 5 1 1 2 1 0 5 11
12 (10) Bengt Jansson 3 2 F F 1 E 3 12
13 (9) Jan Simensen 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 13
14 (12) Tony Davey 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 14
15 (3) Eric Boocock 0 0 T - - - 0 15
DQ (5) John Louis 10 3 1 1 2 3 10 DQ
R1 (R1) Garry Middleton 2 T 0 2 2 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

Continental Final
  • June 23, 1973
  • Leningrad
  • First 8 to European 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
(15) Valery Gordeev 13 3 3 2 2 3 13 1
(4) Grigory Khlinovsky 12 2 3 3 1 3 12 2
(16) Vladimir Zapleshny 12 2 2 2 3 3 12 3
4 (6) Vladimir Gordeev 11.5 3 3 1/2 3 2 11.5 4
5 (1) Viktor Trofimov 11.5 3 3 1/2 3 2 11.5 5
6 (12) Aleksandr Pavlov 11 3 0 3 2 3 11 6
7 (8) Anatoly Kuzmin 10 2 1 3 3 1 10 7
8 (11) Vladimir Paznikov 10 1 2 3 2 2 10 8
9 (9) Jiri Stancl 8 2 2 2 0 2 8 9
10 (3) Petr Ondrašík 5 1 1 0 2 1 5 10
11 (14) Milan Špinka 5 1 2 1 X 1 5 11
12 (13) Václav Verner 4 0 1 2 1 0 4 12
13 (5) Miroslav Verner 3 1 0 1 1 0 3 13
14 (7) Gunter Angermuller 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 14
15 (10) Karol Vobornik 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 15
16 (2) Petr Kucera 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 (R1) Oleg Dzyadyk 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
  • European Final - 11 to World Final
  • Polish Qualifications - 5 to World Final

European Final
  • August 19, 1973
  • Abensberg
  • First 11 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
(7) Anders Michanek 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
(5) Ivan Mauger 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 2
(13) Vladimir Paznikov 12 3 2 1 3 3 12 3
4 (4) Bernt Persson 10 0 3 2 3 2 10 4
5 (9) Vladimir Zapleshny 9 3 0 2 2 2 9 5
6 (16) Peter Collins 9 2 2 3 2 E 9 6
7 (14) Valery Gordeev 8 F 3 3 1 1 8 7
8 (11) Ole Olsen 8 2 2 2 2 - 8 8
9 (1) Grigory Khlinovsky 7 1 1 0 2 3 7 9
10 (3) John Boulger 7 3 1 1 1 1 7 10
11 (2) Ray Wilson 6 2 2 F 1 1 6 11
12 (6) Bengt Jansson 6 1 1 1 1 2 6 12
13 (15) Aleksandr Pavlov 4 1 0 2 0 1 4 13
14 (8) Jiri Stancl 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 14
15 (12) Viktor Trofimov 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 15
16 (10) Anatoly Kuzmin 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 16
R1 (R1) Otto Barth 0 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

World Final

Final Controversy

The Final was surrounded by controversy, with decisions made by Georg Traunspurger, the referee assigned to the meeting by the FIM, seeming to favour the Polish riders. One of his decisions was to have 2nd reserve Andrzej Wyglenda of Poland race in Heat 16 in front of 1st reserve Tommy Jansson of Sweden (after Bernt Persson of Sweden was unable to ride), making it four Polish riders in the race. In the race, second placed Edward Jancarz, who led for the first three laps, seemed to let Zenon Plech take the lead in the final turn, allowing Plech, who had more points at that stage of the meeting, to collect another three points for the win.

His most controversial decision was to exclude Soviet rider Grigory Khlinovsky from heat 19. Khlinovsky had attempted to pass on the inside of Zenon Plech for the lead going into the back straight of the last lap. As he was passed by the Russian, Plech lost control of his bike and fell. Despite protests from riders and the Soviet officials Khlinovskywas excluded and England's Peter Collins, who was in 3rd place at the time of the crash, was awarded the heat win, Plech, who didn't actually finish the race, was awarded 2nd. The result of the two points he gained for second place allowed Plech to finish a clear third in the championship. Had Khlinovsky been the winner of the heat, he would have ended on 13 points, which would have put him in the run-off for the title with Szczakiel and Mauger.[9]

British television commentator Dave Lanning called the ruling "The craziest piece of speedway regulations in the history of World Championship racing", before adding that "It seems to me that the authorities here in Katowice are making up the rules to suit themselves to get their boys a world title."

Final result
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
(16) Jerzy Szczakiel 13 3 3 3 2 2 13 1 3
(8) Ivan Mauger 13 3 1 3 3 3 13 2 F
(6) Zenon Plech 12 2 3 2 3 2 12 3
4 (7) Ole Olsen 11 1 2 3 2 3 11 4
5 (3) Grigory Khlinovsky 10 2 3 2 3 X 10 5
6 (2) Vladimir Paznikov 8 3 1 2 1 1 8 6
7 (4) Paweł Waloszek 8 1 2 1 1 3 8 7
8 (12) Valery Gordeev 7 2 0 1 3 1 7 8
9 (11) Jan Mucha 7 1 1 1 2 2 7 9
10 (1) Anders Michanek 6 0 3 X 1 2 6 10
11 (9) Edward Jancarz 6 3 1 0 2 0 6 11
12 (13) Peter Collins 6 1 0 2 0 3 6 12
13 (14) John Boulger 6 2 2 1 0 1 6 13
14 (5) Ray Wilson 5 F 2 3 0 F 5 14
15 (10) Vladimir Zapleshny 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 15
16 (15) Bernt Persson 0 F 0 R - - 0 16
R1 (R1) Andrzej Wyglenda 0 0 0 R1
R2 (R2) Tommy Jansson 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

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 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. "Unknown Pole wins crown from Mauger". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 3 September 1973. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. Katowice 1973
  9. YouTube
  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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