1954 Individual Speedway World Championship

In the 1954 Individual Speedway World Championship was the ninth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Ronnie Moore a 21-year-old New Zealander won his first World Championship with a 15-point maximum in front of a 90,000 attendance. He defeated his main rival Olle Nygren in the final heat. Nygren then lost the silver medal ride off to Wembley's teenager Brian Crutcher.^[7] Moore's success was made all the more remarkable because he rode the meeting while still recovering from a broken leg.^[8] Moore's win made him New Zealand's first ever World Champion in all forms of motor racing.^[9]

Qualification

Qualification started on 1 May.^[10]^[11]

Stage 1

Norwegian round

27 September 1953
Lerkendal Stadion, Trondheim
Top 2 (+2 seeded) to Nordic final 1954

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Basse Hveem	15
2	Reidar Kristoffersen	14
3	Sverre Gjömesli	13
4	Odd Johansen	9
5	Erling Simonsen	9
6	Anders Röhme	8
7	Oddvar Gundersgaard	8
8	Rolf Solberg	7
9	Rolf Westerberg	7
10	Nils Kristian Paulsen	6
11	Arne Kristiansen	6
12	Gunnar Dyrseth	5
13	Aage Hansen	5
14	Tore Meiner	5
15	Gunnar Hamsaeter	2
16	Aage W. Jensen	1

Swedish round

Top 16 to Swedish final

1 May 1954
Dagsbergsfältet, Norrköping

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Rune Sörmander	15
2	Ove Fundin	12
3	Bertil Carlsson II	10
4	Curt Fredlund	9
5	Georg Duneborn	9
6	Rune Stenström	9
7	Per Olof Söderman	8
8	Dan Forsberg	8
9	Lars Pettersson	7
10	Bert Lindarw	6
11	Olle Heyman	6
12	Bernt Nilsson	6
13	Gunnar Johansson	5
14	Gunnar Karlsson	4
15	Ove Bodin	3
16	Ulf Ericsson	2

1 May 1954
Grevby Motorstadion, Mariestad

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Olle Nygren	11
2	Olle Segerström	11
3	Allan Nilsson	11
4	Thorsten Carlsson	10
5	Sune Karlsson	10
6	Joel Jansson	10
7	Harry Lindgren	10
8	Evert Hägg	8+3
9	Göte Olsson	8+2
10	Sven Fahlén	7
11	Stig Pramberg	7
12	Birger Forsberg	5
13	Gunnar Hellqvist	4
14	Per-Tage Svensson	2
15	Göran Norlén	2
16	Jan Johnsson	2

Stage 2

Swedish final

9 May 1954
Örebro Motorstadion Adolfsberg, Örebro
Top 8 to Nordic final, 3 to Continental qualification

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Olle Nygren	14
2	Göte Olsson	12
3	Ove Fundin	12
4	Rune Sörmander	11
5	Dan Forsberg	10
6	Joel Jansson	10
7	Sune Karlsson	10
8	Georg Duneborn	8
9	Per Olof Söderman	8
10	Olle Segerström	7
11	Rune Stenström	6
12	Thorsten Carlsson	4
13	Allan Nilsson	2
14	Bertil Carlsson II	2
15	Evert Hägg	2
16	Harry Lindgren	1

Continental Qualification

23 May 1954
Altes Stadion Abensberg, Abensberg
8 to Continental semifinal

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Kjell Carlsson	14+3
2	Josef Kamper	14+2
3	Josef Hofmeister	14+1
4	Fritz Dirtl	11
5	Albin Siegl	11
6	Thei Bisschops	9
7	Karl Killmeyer	9
8	Josef Seidl	7
9	Sven Skoglund	5
10	Franz Aigner	5
11	Fred Aberl	4
12	Nicola Snjaric	4
13	Leopold Killmeyer	3
14	Sebastian Wiesent	3
15	Karl Kiendl	3
16	Valentin Medved	0

Stage 3

Nordic Final

3 June 1954
Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo
First 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Olle Nygren	15
2	Rune Sörmander	14
3	Georg Duneborn	12
4	Sune Karlsson	10
5	Dan Forsberg	10
6	Ove Fundin	9
7	Göte Olsson	9
8	Joel Jansson	9
9	Reidar Kristoffersen	7
10	Kiehn Berthelsen	6
11	Leif Bech	6
12	Aage Hansen	5
13	Werner Lorentzen	4
14	Simo Ylänen	2
15	Kaukko Jousanen	1
16	Erling Simonsen	1

Continental semi-final

13 June 1954
Niederrheinstadion, Oberhausen
8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Kjell Carlsson	14
2	Albin Siegl	12
3	Bill Kitchen	11
4	Sven Skoglund	11
5	Josef Hofmeister	10
6	Olle Segerström	8
7	Jack Parker	8
8	Josef Seidl	8
9	Karl Killmeyer	7
10	Jan Kesselmans	7
11	Per Olof Söderman	5
12	Hans van der Sluis	5
13	Tonny Kroeze	4
14	Thei Bisschops	4
15	Gerrit Kops	2
16	H. van Rijswijk	1

Stage 4

British round

Top 24 to Championship Round^[12]

Date	Venue	Winner
1 July	Foxhall Stadium	Tommy Miller
1 July	Oxford Stadium	Peter Robinson
5 July	County Ground Stadium	Goog Hoskin
5 July	Wimborne Road	Ken Middleditch
6 July	Banister Court Stadium	Charlie May
8 July	Pennycross Stadium	Brian McKeown
9 July	Knowle Stadium	Dick Bradley
9 July	Leicester Stadium	Ken McKinlay
9 July	The Stadium, Motherwell	Derek Close
10 July	Brandon Stadium	Ernie Brecknell
10 July	Old Meadowbank	Ken McKinlay
10 July	Rayleigh Weir Stadium	Peter Clark
10 July	Abbey Stadium	Bob Roger

Continental Final

20 June 1954^[13]
Ryd Motorstadion, Linköping
First 8 to Championship Round

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Ove Fundin	14
2	Rune Sörmander	14
3	Sune Karlsson	12
4	Olle Nygren	10
5	Kjell Carlsson	9
6	Fritz Dirtl	9
7	Joel Jansson	9
8	Olle Segerström	9
9	Bill Kitchen	8
10	Dan Forsberg	7
11	Göte Olsson	6
12	Fred Lang	4
13	Georg Duneborn	3
14	Sven Skoglund	3
15	Thorsten Carlsson	2
16	Josef Kamper	1
17	Per Olof Söderman	1

Stage 5

Championship Round

Top 16 qualify for World final, 17th & 18th reserves for World final

Date	Venue	Winner
14 August	Hyde Road Stadium	Peter Craven
14 August	Perry Barr Stadium	Jack Young
16 August	Wimbledon Stadium	Barry Briggs
18 August	Harringay Stadium	Split Waterman
21 August	The Firs Stadium	Aub Lawson
26 August	Wembley Stadium	Edie Rigg
31 August	West Ham Stadium	Jack Young
1 September	Odsal Stadium	Arthur Forrest

Scores

Top 16 qualify for World final, 17th-18th reserves for World final

Pos.	Rider	Total pts
1	Jack Young	29
2	Peter Craven	28
3	Eddie Rigg	28
4	Ove Fundin	26
5	Brian Crutcher	26
6	Ronnie Moore	26
7	Geoff Mardon	26
8	Aub Lawson	26
9	Arthur Forrest	26
10	Jack Biggs	24
11	Fred Brand	24
12	Split Waterman	23
13	Barry Briggs	23
14	Tommy Price	23
15	Olle Nygren	22
16	Trevor Redmond	22
17	Alan Hunt	22
18	Freddie Williams	21
19	Gerry Hussey	21
20	Eric Williams	19
21	Ron Johnston	18
22	Arthur Wright	17
23	Dick Campbell	17
24	Dick Bradley	17
25	Rune Sörmander	16
26	Cyril Roger	16
27	Derick Close	16
28	Sune Karlsson	15
29	Harry Edwards	15
30	Bert Roger	15
31	Tommy Miller	14
32	Alan Smith	14

Pos.	Rider	Total pts
33	Cyril Brine	14
34	John Fitzpatrick	13
35	Don Perry	13
36	Ken Sharples	13
37	Ken McKinlay	12
38	Alan Quinn	12
39	Fred Rogers	12
40	Ian Williams	12
41	Bob Roger	11
42	Peter Robinson	11
43	Ken Middleditch	11
44	Jack Geran	10
45	Kjell Carlsson	9
46	Ron Mountford	9
47	Dent Oliver	9
48	Joel Jansson	8
49	Eric Boothroyd	8
50	Charlie May	8
51	Brian McKeown	8
52	Jim Lightfoot	9
53	Pete Lansdale	8
54	Olle Segerström	7
55	Fritz Dirtl	7
56	Bob Oakley	7
57	Junior Bainbridge	7
58	Wally Green	6
59	Phil Clarke	6
60	Billy Bales	5
61	Les McGillivray	4
62	Jimmy Squibb	4
63	Dick Seers	4
64	Ernie Brecknell	2

World final

16 September 1954
London, Wembley Stadium^[14]

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Ronnie Moore	(3,3,3,3,3)	15
2	Brian Crutcher	(3,2,2,3,3)	13+3
3	Olle Nygren	(2,3,3,3,2)	13+2
4	Jack Young	(3,1,3,3,1)	11
5	Split Waterman	(2,1,3,1,2)	9
6	Barry Briggs	(1,2,2,2,2)	9
7	Eddie Rigg	(0,3,2,2,0)	7
8	Fred Brand	(3,1,0,2,1)	7
9	Jack Biggs	(1,3,1,1,1)	7
10	Arthur Forrest	(0,1,0,2,3)	5
11	Tommy Price	(1,0,2,0,2)	5
12	Geoff Mardon	(2,2,1,0,0)	5
13	Trevor Redmond	(0,2,1,1,1)	5
14	Aub Lawson	(2,0,0,2,0)	4
15	Peter Craven	(F,0,0,0,3)	3
16	Ove Fundin	(1,0,1,0,F)	2
R1	Alan Hunt	did not ride	–
R2	Freddie Williams	did not ride	–

Classification

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
1	(14) Ronnie Moore	15				3		3					3		3							3	15	1
2	(6) Brian Crutcher	13+3		3				2			2							3			3		13	2
3	(11) Olle Nygren	13+2			2				3		3					3						2	13	3
4	(10) Jack Young	11			3			1						3			3		1				11	4
5	(15) Split Waterman	9				2			1			3						1	2				9	5
6	(7) Barry Briggs	9		1					2					2	2					2			9	6
7	(5) Eddie Rigg	7		0			3					2					2					0	7	7
8	(4) Fred Brand	7	3							1				0				2				1	7	8
9	(16) Jack Biggs	7				1				3	1						1			1			7	9
10	(1) Arthur Forrest	5	0				1				0				1				3				5	10
11	(3) Tommy Price	5	1						0				2				0				2		5	11
12	(8) Geoff Mardon	5		2						2			1			0			0				5	12
13	(13) Trevor Redmond	5				0	2							1		1					1		5	13
14	(2) Aub Lawson	4	2					0				0				2				0			4	14
15	(9) Peter Craven	3			-		0						0					0		3			3	15
16	(12) Ove Fundin	2			1					0		1			0						-		2	16
	(17) Alan Hunt	0																					0
	(18) Freddie Williams	0																					0
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

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

↑ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
↑ "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "Moore Wins World Speedway Title". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 17 September 1954. Retrieved 5 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "Profile". Moore Park Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
↑ "Speedway Star Confounded The Doctors". Edinburgh Evening News. 17 September 1954. Retrieved 27 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "1954 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
↑ "1954 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
↑ "104 riders in Wembley bid". Weekly Dispatch (London). 20 June 1954. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "Monarchs bid for help went unheeded". Edinburgh Evening News. 1 July 1954. Retrieved 12 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

[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 5 July 2021.

[3] "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[4] "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[5] "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[6] "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[7] "Moore Wins World Speedway Title". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 17 September 1954. Retrieved 5 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[8] "Profile". Moore Park Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[9] "Speedway Star Confounded The Doctors". Edinburgh Evening News. 17 September 1954. Retrieved 27 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[10] "1954 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 13 January 2024.

[11] "1954 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 13 January 2024.

[12] "104 riders in Wembley bid". Weekly Dispatch (London). 20 June 1954. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[13] "Monarchs bid for help went unheeded". Edinburgh Evening News. 1 July 1954. Retrieved 12 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[14] Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

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