1968 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1968 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 23rd edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Ivan Mauger won his first World title. Fellow countryman Barry Briggs finished second and Pole Edward Jancarz took the bronze medal.[7][8]

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed again for the 1968 event. It reverted back to the 1966 system whereby six riders from the Swedish section would qualify for the World Final direct to be held in Sweden. All other nations had to go through various events to establish the other ten riders to qualify for the final.

First Round
  • British/Commonwealth Qualifying - 16 to British/Commonwealth Final

British/Commonwealth Qualifying
DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Preliminary Round
25 May Kings Lynn Malcolm Simmons Terry Betts Ray Wilson
25 May Halifax Jim Airey Dave Younghusband Greg Kentwell
25 May Coventry Nigel Boocock Norman Hunter Dave Hemus
25 May Belle Vue Ivan Mauger Tommy Roper Charlie Monk
27 May Newcastle Ivan Mauger Barry Briggs Bert Harkins
27 May Exeter Martin Ashby Jimmy Squibb Eric Boocock
28 May West Ham Norman Hunter Nigel Boocock Ivan Mauger
28 May Leicester Bill Andrew Bob Kilby John Boulger
29 May Poole John Boulger Bill Andrew Geoff Mudge
30 May Oxford Colin Gooddy Terry Betts Ronnie Genz
30 May Wimbledon Martin Ashby Nigel Boocock Trevor Hedge
30 May Sheffield Charlie Monk Colin Pratt John Dews
31 May Wolverhampton James Bond Jim Airey Peter Vandenberg
31 May Hackney Barry Briggs Colin Pratt Les McGillivray
31 May Newport Cyril Francis Chris Julian Eric Boothroyd
31 May Glasgow Bob Kilby Bert Harkins Jim McMillan
1 June Cradley Heath Bill Andrew Trevor Hedge Reg Luckhurst
1 June Swindon Barry Briggs Bob Kilby Mike Broadbanks
1 June Coatbridge Martin Ashby Ray Wilson Colin Pratt
Semi-Finals
27 July Sheffield Barry Briggs Bill Andrew Norman Hunter
2 July Poole Ivan Mauger Martin Ashby Terry Betts

Second Round
  • British/Commonwealth Final - 10 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final
  • Nordic Final - 6 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final
  • Continental Qualifying - 16 to Continental Final

British/Commonwealth Final
  • July 11, 1968
  • Wimbledon
  • First 10 to British-Nordic 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
(12) Ivan Mauger 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
(14) Barry Briggs 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 2
(5) Eric Boocock 13 3 3 2 3 2 13 3
4 (11) Martin Ashby 10 1 3 2 3 1 10 4
5 (6) Trevor Hedge 10 2 2 3 3 0 10 5
6 (10) Nigel Boocock 9 2 1 1 2 3 9 6
7 (13) Norman Hunter 9 1 2 3 2 1 9 7
8 (4) Jim McMillan 8 3 1 2 2 0 8 8
9 (1) Terry Betts 7 2 1 1 1 2 7 9
10 (3) Dave Younghusband 6 1 0 2 1 2 6 10
11 (15) Geoff Mudge 6 2 1 1 1 1 6 11
12 (8) Charlie Monk 5 1 2 1 1 0 5 12
13 (16) Mike Broadbanks 3 0 0 E 0 3 3 13
14 (2) Ray Wilson 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 14
15 (9) Peter Vandenberg 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 15
16 (7) Bill Andrew 0 F - - - - 0 16
R1 (R1) Reg Luckhurst 2 2 F 2 R1
R2 (R2) Jim Airey 0 X 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

Nordic Final
  • June 2, 1968
  • Hillerød
  • First 6 to British-Nordic 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
(10) Reidar Eide 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 1
(1) Øyvind S. Berg 13 3 3 2 3 2 13 2
(11) Odd Fossengen 12 1 3 3 3 2 12 3
4 (5) Sverre Harrfeldt 11 3 1 1 3 3 11 4
5 (2) Ole Olsen 11 2 2 2 2 3 11 5
6 (9) Godtfred Andreasen 11 2 2 2 3 2 11 6
7 (3) Per J.Aulie 9 1 2 3 0 3 9 7
8 (16) Ole Todnem 9 3 3 1 1 1 9 8
9 (15) Kurt Bøgh 7 F 1 3 2 1 7 9
10 (13) Preben Moller Christensen 6 2 0 2 0 2 6 10
11 (8) Jens Ring 6 2 2 1 1 0 6 11
12 (14) Helgie Langlie 3 F 0 - 2 1 3 12
13 (4) Matti Olin 3 0 1 1 1 0 3 13
14 (6) Eidar Egedius 2 1 1 E F - 2 14
15 (7) Timo Laine 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 15
16 (12) Jouko Naskali 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 (R1) Per Ehlert 1 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

Continental Qualifying
DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Quarter-Finals
4 May Meissen Boris Samorodov Jan Holub I Antoni Woryna
5 May Svetozarevo Gennady Kurilenko Joachim Maj Yuri Chekranov
5 May Miskolc Konstanty Pociejkewicz Henryk Glucklich Viktor Trofimov
5 May Abensberg Jan Mucha Igor Plekhanov Luboš Tomíček Sr.
Semi-Finals
26 May Mseno Luboš Tomíček Sr. Konstanty Pociejkewicz Jerzy Trzeszkowski
27 May Rybnik Antoni Woryna Joachim Maj Andrzej Wyglenda

Third Round
  • Swedish Qualifying - 16 to Swedish finals
  • British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final - 8 to European Final
  • Continental Final - 8 to European Final

Swedish Qualifying
DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Qualifications
28 April Malilla Ove Fundin Bengt Jansson Anders Michanek
1 May Visby Sören Sjösten Torbjörn Harrysson Olle Nygren

British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final
  • August 6, 1968
  • West Ham
  • 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
(11) Ivan Mauger 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
(5) Nigel Boocock 13 3 3 3 2 2 13 2 3
(16) Reidar Eide 13 2 3 2 3 3 13 3 2
4 (7) Martin Ashby 11 2 2 3 3 1 11 4
5 (15) Sverre Harrfeldt 10 3 0 1 3 3 10 5
6 (9) Terry Betts 10 2 1 3 2 2 10 6
7 (1) Trevor Hedge 9 3 2 1 2 1 9 7
8 (3) Eric Boocock 7 2 1 2 1 1 7 8
9 (13) Norman Hunter 6 1 0 1 1 3 6 9
10 (12) Barry Briggs 6 1 F 2 1 2 6 10
11 (10) Odd Fossengen 5 0 3 2 0 0 5 11
12 (8) Jim McMillan 5 0 2 1 0 2 5 12
13 (6) Øyvind S. Berg 4 1 2 0 1 0 4 13
14 (2) Ole Olsen 4 1 1 0 2 F 4 14
15 (4) Dave Younghusband 1 0 1 0 0 F 1 15
16 (14) Godtfred Andreasen 0 0 0 0 - - 0 16
R1 (R1) Per J.Aulle 1 0 1 1 R1
R2 (R2) Geoff Mudge 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

Continental Final
  • June 21, 1968
  • Ufa
  • 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
(2) Gennady Kurilenko 12 3 1 3 3 2 12 1
(6) Paweł Waloszek 10 2 3 3 2 0 10 2
(16) Vladimir Smirnov 10 3 0 2 2 3 10 3
4 (15) Edward Jancarz 10 2 1 1 3 3 10 4
5 (13) Jerzy Trzeszkowski 10 1 3 3 2 1 10 5
6 (12) Antoni Woryna 9 2 2 2 1 2 9 6
7 (11) Igor Plekhanov 8 3 3 0 0 2 8 7 3
8 (3) Konstanty Pociejkewicz 8 2 0 F 3 3 8 8 2
9 (7) Jerzy Padewski 8 3 2 0 3 F 8 9 1
10 (9) Jan Holub I 7 1 1 3 1 1 7 10
11 (1) Andrzej Wyglenda 7 1 2 1 2 1 7 11
12 (8) Zygmunt Pytko 6 0 3 2 1 0 6 12
13 (10) Boris Samorodov 6 0 2 1 1 2 6 13
14 (5) Jan Mucha 4 1 0 0 0 3 4 14
15 (4) Joachim Maj 4 0 1 2 0 1 4 15
16 (14) Luboš Tomíček Sr. 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 16
R1 (R1) Gerhard Ulenbrock 0 0 R1
R2 (R2) Václav Verner 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

Fourth Round
  • Swedish Finals - 6 to World Final
  • European Final - 10 to World Final

Swedish Finals

Three races held on 27 May at Malmo, 28 May at Göteborg and 30 May in Linköping

RiderPoints
Gunnar Malmqvist38
Ove Fundin35
Torbjörn Harrysson31
Bernt Persson30
Anders Michanek29
Hasse Holmqvist28
Bengt Jansson27
Bengt Larsson25
Sören Sjösten23
Therje Henriksson22
Bo Josefsson15
Bengt Svensson15
Christer Löfqvist14
Olle Nygren10
Tommy Johansson9
Per Olof Söderman8
Conny Samuelsson2
Runo Wedin1

European Final
  • August 25, 1968
  • Wroclaw
  • First 10 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
(3) Paweł Waloszek 13 3 2 3 2 3 13 1
(5) Antoni Woryna 11 3 3 3 X 2 11 2
(16) Jerzy Trzeszkowski 11 2 2 2 3 2 11 3
4 (11) Ivan Mauger 10 1 3 1 2 3 10 4
5 (8) Barry Briggs 9 1 3 1 3 1 9 5
6 (1) Gennady Kurilenko 9 2 2 3 0 2 9 6
7 (14) Reidar Eide 8 3 1 0 3 1 8 7
8 (10) Edward Jancarz 8 3 3 2 F - 8 8
9 (12) Nigel Boocock 7 2 1 0 2 2 7 9
10 (2) Martin Ashby 6 1 2 1 1 1 6 10 3
11 (9) Igor Plekhanov 6 0 0 2 3 1 6 11 2
12 (6) Vladimir Smirnov 5 2 0 E 2 1 5 12
13 (4) Trevor Hedge 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 13
14 (7) Terry Betts 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 14
15 (13) Sverre Harrfeldt 2 1 1 F - - 2 15
16 (15) Konstanty Pociejkewicz 0 0 - - - - 0 16
R1 (R1) Jerzy Padewski 7 1 2 1 3 7 R1
R2 (R2) Václav Verner 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
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) Ivan Mauger 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
(5) Barry Briggs 12 2 2 3 3 2 12 2
(7) Edward Jancarz 11 1 3 1 3 3 11 3 3
4 (9) Gennady Kurilenko 11 2 3 3 1 2 11 4 2
5 (4) Paweł Waloszek 10 F 2 3 2 3 10 5
6 (12) Torbjörn Harrysson 10 3 3 2 1 1 10 6
7 (1) Anders Michanek 9 3 1 2 2 1 9 7
8 (10) Hasse Holmqvist 9 1 2 2 2 2 9 8
9 (15) Ove Fundin 7 3 0 1 0 3 7 9
10 (11) Gunnar Malmqvist 7 0 2 1 3 1 7 10
11 (2) Martin Ashby 5 2 1 0 2 0 5 11
12 (16) Antoni Woryna 5 2 1 R 1 1 5 12
14 (8) Reidar Eide 3 0 0 2 1 F 3 14
13 (3) Jerzy Trzeszkowski 4 1 1 0 0 2 4 13
15 (14) Bernt Persson 1 E 0 1 0 0 1 15
16 (13) Nigel Boocock 1 1 0 0 X E 1 16
R1 (R1) Igor Plekhanov 0 0 R1
R2 (R2) Bengt Jansson 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. "Sports in Brief". The Times. 7 September 1968. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via Gale Primary Sources.
  8. "Boocock last in Sweden". Covntry Evening Telegraph. 7 September 1968. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
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