1981 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1981 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 36th edition of the official Motorcycle speedway World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5]

It was also the last of a record 26 times that London's world famous Wembley Stadium hosted the World Final. It also marked the final time that the stadium would be used for any speedway. In future years when the final was held in England, it would be held at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford until the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix series in 1995. The 1981 Final was held before a reported crowd of 92,500, just shy of the Wembley record of 95,000 set at the 1938 World Final.

Bruce Penhall became the first American to win the World Championship since Jack Milne in 1937.[6] As a past World Championship winner at Wembley, the 74-year-old Milne was a special guest at the event and saw Penhall end America's 44 year Individual World Championship drought. Though he remained undefeated until his last ride when he only needed to finish 3rd to win the Championship (he finished that race in second behind his rival Kenny Carter), Penhall was forced to work hard for his maiden World Championship. In both Heat 7 and Heat 14 he was second for over 3½ laps behind Ole Olsen and Tommy Knudsen respectively before passing both in the run to the line. Olsen would defeat Knudsen in a runoff for second and third places after both finished on 12 points. The triple World Champion gaining some revenge on his younger countryman after Knudsen had defeated Olsen in the first heat of the meeting.

In Heat 6, Erik Gundersen set a new four lap record of 66.8 seconds for the track and as this was the final speedway meeting at Wembley it will forever be the track record.

First round

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New Zealand qualification

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Event Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
South Island Final19 JanRuapuna Speedway, ChristchurchLarry RossTony BriggsIvan Mauger
North Island Final?Awapuni Speedway, GisborneWayne BrownColin FarquharsonMartin Weygang

Australian qualification

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Event Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
Southern Zone Final16 JanSpeedway Park, AdelaidePhil CrumpJohn BoulgerMick McKeon
Northern Zone Final12 FebExhibition Ground, BrisbaneGary GuglielmiNeil CoddingtonBilly Sanders

British qualification

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Second round

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Continental preliminary round

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Australian Final

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New Zealand Final

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Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1Ivan Mauger3,3,3,3,315
2Mitch Shirra3,3,3,3,214
3Larry Ross3,3,2,2,313
4Wayne Brown1,3,3,3,111
5Mike Fullerton2,2,2,1,310
6David Bargh3,2,1,2,210
7Tony Briggs2,2,2,2,19
8Greame Beardsley1,1,3,2,18
9John Goodall0,1,1,3,38
10Mark Dekok2,1,2,0,05
11Gavin Rhodes2,1,1,1,05
12Greg Joynt0,2,1,0,25
13Max Brown1,0,0,0,23
14Colin Farquharson0,0,0,1,12
15Alan Crosbie0,0,0,1,01
16Patrick Pawson1,0,0,0,-1
R1Bruce Elvey00
R2Kym Maugerns0

Swedish qualification

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  • Top 8 in each heat to Swedish final

British semi-finals

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Third round

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Continental quarter-finals

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Australasian Final

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Pos.RiderTotal
1New Zealand Ivan Mauger15
2Australia Danny Kennedy11+3
3New Zealand Larry Ross11+2
4Australia Phil Herne11+1
5Australia Billy Sanders10+3
6Australia Phil Crump10+2
7Australia Gary Guglielmi9
8New Zealand Mitch Shirra8
9Australia John Titman7
10Australia Mick McKeon7
11New Zealand Tony Briggs6
12New Zealand Wayne Brown5
13New Zealand David Bargh2
14Australia Steve Regeling2
15New Zealand Mike Fullerton1
16New Zealand Graeme Beardsley1
17Australia Robert Maxfield (res)1

American Final

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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
1 United States (1) Bruce Penhall 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 United States (9) Dennis Sigalos 13 3 1 3 3 3 13 2 3
3 United States (3) Kelly Moran 13 2 3 2 3 3 13 3 2
4 United States (5) Scott Autrey 10 2 0 3 2 3 10 4 3
5 United States (16) Shawn Moran 10 3 3 2 1 1 10 5 2
6 United States (13) Alan Christian 10 1 2 3 3 1 10 6 1
7 United States (15) Denny Pyeatt 10 2 2 2 2 2 10 7 0
8 United States (2) Mike Faria 8 0 3 1 2 2 8 8
9 United States (8) Bobby Schwartz 7 3 2 1 0 1 7 9
10 United States (11) Steve Gresham 7 2 1 1 1 2 7 10
11 United States (6) David De Temple 6 1 2 0 1 2 6 11
12 United States (4) Brad Oxley 4 1 1 2 0 0 4 12
13 United States (14) Keith Chrisco 4 0 1 0 2 1 4 13
14 United States (10) Steve Columbo 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 14
15 United States (12) Jefrey Tomlin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15
16 United States (7) Dubb Ferrell 0 0 F - - - 0 16
R1 United States (R1) Bobby McLain 1 1 0 1 R1
R2 United States (R2) Dan McConnell 1 1 1 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

British Final

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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
1 England (3) Steve Bastable 13 2 3 3 3 2 13 1 3
2 England (2) Kenny Carter 13 3 2 3 2 3 13 2 2
3 England (5) John Louis 13 3 3 2 2 3 13 3 1
4 England (4) Les Collins 12 1 3 3 3 2 12 4
5 England (10) Chris Morton 10 3 3 2 1 1 10 5
6 England (6) Dave Jessup 9 2 1 1 2 3 9 6
7 England (16) Michael Lee 8 3 1 3 0 1 8 7
8 England (15) Ian Cartwright 7 2 0 1 1 3 7 8
9 England (13) Malcolm Simmons 6 0 2 1 3 0 6 9 3
10 England (11) Eric Broadbelt 6 0 2 2 1 1 6 10 2
11 England (9) Phil Collins 6 2 0 2 0 2 6 11 1
12 England (7) Melvyn Taylor 5 1 1 0 3 0 5 12
13 England (1) John Davis 5 - 1 0 2 2 5 13
14 England (12) Gordon Kennett 5 1 2 0 1 1 5 14
15 England (14) Kevin Smith 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 15
16 England (8) Kevin Jolly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 England (R1) Keith White 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

Norwegian Final

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Danish Final

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Finland Final

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Pos.RiderTotal
1Kai Niemi15
2Ari Koponen14
3Veijo Tuoriniemi12
4Olli Tyrvainen10
5Veli Pekka Kunelius10
6Ilkka Teromaa9
7Pekka Hautamaki8
8Timo Kiansten7
9Markku Parkkari7
10Ossi Henriksson6
11Veikko Haapamaki6
12Hannu Larronmaa5
13Pekka Turkia4
14Markku Haapala3
15Ari Heinonen1
16Kari Yrjanainen (res)1
17Jarmo Puttonen (res)1
18Seppo Palomaki1
19Heimo Kaikko (res)0

Swedish Final

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Pos.RiderTotal
1Anders Michanek12
2Tommy Nilsson11+3
3Hans Danielsson11+2
4Bernt Persson11+1
5Bo Wirebrand10+3
6Börje Klingberg10+2
7Richard Hellsén9
8Björn Andersson8
9Lennart Bengtsson7
10Tommy Johansson7
11Pierre Brannefors6
12Åke Fridell6
13Gerd Carlsson4
14Lars Rosberg4
15Lillebror Johansson3
16Karl-Erik Claesson1

Fourth round

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Continental semi-finals

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Pos.RiderPoints
1Poland Zenon Plech12
2West Germany Georg Hack12
3Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka11
4Soviet Union Valerij Gordeev11
5Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl11
6Czechoslovakia Aleš Dryml Sr.9
7West Germany Egon Müller9
8West Germany Waldemar Bacik8+3
9Czechoslovakia Jan Verner8+2
10Czechoslovakia Jan Hadek7
11West Germany George Gilgenreiner (res)5
12West Germany Josef Aigner4
13West Germany Christoph Betzl4
14Netherlands Henny Kroeze4
15Soviet Union Anatolij Maximov3
16Soviet Union Viktor Kuznetsov1
17Soviet Union Piotr Pyszny0
18West Germany Wolfgang Mayr0
Pos.RiderPoints
1Poland Edward Jancarz11
2Poland Jerzy Rembas11
3Czechoslovakia Zdenek Kudrna11
4Poland Roman Jankowski10
5Poland Marek Kepa10
6Czechoslovakia Petr Kucera10
7Soviet Union Grigory Khlinovsky10
8Poland Marek Towalski9+3
9Poland Henryk Olszak9+2
10West Germany Alois Wiesböck7
11Soviet Union Michail Starostin6
12Poland Andrzej Huszcza4
13Soviet Union Pavel Khlynovski3
14Czechoslovakia Václav Verner2
15Austria Heinrich Schatzer2
16Hungary Jozsef Sziraczki1

Overseas Final

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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
1 England (14) Dave Jessup 13 3 3 3 3 1 13 1
2 England (7) Chris Morton 11 2 1 3 2 3 11 2
3 United States (9) Bruce Penhall 10 3 2 2 3 X 10 3 3
4 United States (13) Kelly Moran 10 1 3 1 2 3 10 4 2
5 United States (15) Dennis Sigalos 10 2 2 3 1 2 10 5 1
6 New Zealand (11) Larry Ross 9 2 3 3 1 0 9 6
7 England (10) John Louis 9 0 1 2 3 3 9 7
8 England (4) Michael Lee 9 2 2 0 2 3 9 8
9 England (16) Kenny Carter 8 0 3 1 2 2 8 9
10 New Zealand (5) Ivan Mauger 8 3 1 1 1 2 8 10
11 England (1) Les Collins 7 3 0 2 1 1 7 11
12 England (8) Steve Bastable 6 1 1 1 3 0 6 12
13 England (6) Ian Cartwright 4 0 2 0 0 2 4 13
14 United States (2) Scott Autrey 4 1 0 2 0 1 4 14
15 Australia (12) Danny Kennedy 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 15
16 Australia (3) Phil Herne 0 0 0 0 0 E 0 16
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

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Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1Denmark Tommy Knudsen3,3,3,3,315
2Denmark Hans Nielsen2,3,3,2,313
3Denmark Ole Olsen2,3,2,3,212
4Denmark Preben Eriksen3,2,2,2,312
5Sweden Jan Andersson3,2,1,3,211
6Denmark Erik Gundersen2,1,3,3,110+3
7Denmark Bo Petersen3,3,0,2,210+ns
8Finland Kai Niemi1,1,1,2,38
9Finland Ari KoponenE,0,2,1,25
10Sweden Tommy Nilsson1,1,2,1,05
11Sweden Hans Danielsson1,2,0,1,15
12Norway Audun Ove Olsen1,1,1,1,04
13Norway Rolf GramstadE,2,1,0,14
14Sweden Bernt Persson0,F,3,0,-3
15Sweden Anders Michanek2,0,-,-,-2
16Finland Pekka HautamäkiF,0,0,0,11
17Denmark Finn Thomsen (Res)0,00
18Sweden Bo Wirebrand (Res)0,00

Fifth round

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Continental Final

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Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1West Germany Egon Müller3,3,3,3,X12+2+3
2Czechoslovakia Aleš Dryml Sr.3,0,3,3,312+3+2
3Poland Edward Jancarz3,2,2,2,312+2+1
4Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl2,3,2,3,212+2+0
5Poland Zenon Plech2,3,3,3,112+E+E
6Poland Henryk Olszak2,1,2,1,39+3
7Czechoslovakia Jan Verner0,2,3,2,29+2
8Poland Marek Kepa3,1,1,2,18
9Poland Roman Jankowski1,3,1,1,06
10Czechoslovakia Zdeněk Kudrna1,1,0,1,36
11Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka0,2,2,2,-6
12Czechoslovakia Petr Kucera2,0,X,1,25
13West Germany Waldemar Bacik0,1,1,0,13
14Poland Marek Towalski0,2,0,0,02
15West Germany Georg Hack1,X,F,0,-1
16Soviet Union Valery Gordeev1,0,0,0,01
R1Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík0,22
R2Czechoslovakia Antonín Kasper, Jr.11

Intercontinental Final

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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
1 United States (14) Bruce Penhall 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Denmark (10) Erik Gundersen 12 3 2 3 1 3 12 2
3 Denmark (4) Hans Nielsen 11 3 2 2 2 2 11 3 3
4 England (8) Kenny Carter 11 3 1 2 3 2 11 4 2
5 England (16) Dave Jessup 10 1 3 3 0 3 10 5
6 Denmark (15) Tommy Knudsen 9 2 1 2 3 1 9 6
7 England (3) Michael Lee 8 1 3 1 3 F 8 7
8 Sweden (5) Jan Andersson 8 1 1 3 2 1 8 8
9 England (11) Chris Morton 8 2 2 2 2 0 8 9
10 New Zealand (12) Larry Ross 7 1 0 1 2 3 7 10
11 Denmark (2) Ole Olsen 6 2 1 0 1 2 6 11
12 Denmark (13) Preben Eriksen 5 0 2 1 F 2 5 12
13 New Zealand (9) Ivan Mauger 4 0 3 0 1 0 4 13
14 England (7) John Louis 4 2 0 0 1 1 4 14
15 United States (6) Dennis Sigalos 1 0 0 1 0 F 1 15
16 United States (1) Kelly Moran 0 F 0 0 E 0 0 16
R1 Denmark (R1) Bo Petersen 0 0 R1
R2 England (R2) Les Collins 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

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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 United States (11) Bruce Penhall 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 1
2 Denmark (3) Ole Olsen 12+3 2 2 3 2 3 12 2
3 Denmark (2) Tommy Knudsen 12+2 3 2 2 2 3 12 3
4 Denmark (10) Erik Gundersen 11 2 3 0 3 3 11 4
5 England (5) Kenny Carter 11 3 2 3 e 3 11 5
6 Sweden (12) Jan Andersson 9 1 2 1 3 2 9 6
7 West Germany (7) Egon Müller 9 1 1 3 2 2 9 7
8 England (16) Dave Jessup 7 3 3 e e 1 7 8
9 Denmark (15) Hans Nielsen 6 2 0 0 2 2 6 9
10 England (9) Michael Lee 5 0 3 2 0 f 5 10
11 England (8) Chris Morton 5 2 1 1 1 0 5 11
12 Poland (1) Edward Jancarz 5 1 1 1 1 1 5 12
13 New Zealand (4) Larry Ross 4 0 t 1 3 0 4 13
14 Czechoslovakia (13) Aleš Dryml Sr. 3 0 0 2 0 1 3 14
15 Poland (6) Zenon Plech 3 f 0 2 1 0 3 15
16 Czechoslovakia (14) Jiří Štancl 3 1 1 0 0 1 3 16
Res Poland (17) Henryk Olszak 0 0 0 Res
Res Denmark (18) Preben Eriksen 0 0 Res
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

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  1. "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  3. "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  4. "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. "Happy Penhall the ambassador". Birmingham Mai. 7 September 1981. Retrieved 29 August 2024 via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5