1982 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1982 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 37th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

The 1982 World Final was held in Los Angeles in the United States. This was the only time the Individual World Final was held outside of England or Europe before the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix series in 1995.

The 400 metres (440 yards) speedway track for the final was laid out over the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum's existing athletics track. The event was held in front of a crowd of approximately 40,000 people, the largest ever motorcycle speedway attendance in the United States.

Controversy

Heat 14 of the championship proved to be the most controversial race of the night, and one of the most controversial heats in the whole of speedway history. After a slow start which saw defending champion Bruce Penhall, and England's Kenny Carter in 3rd and 4th places behind 1976 World Champion Peter Collins and Australian Phil Crump, both riders fought their way past Crump and into 2nd and 3rd behind Collins. Carter moved under Penhall into 2nd place at the end of the 2nd lap, and both riders proceeded to bump each other down the front straight with Carter emerging in front. Carter then went wide through turn 1 which allowed Penhall to come back underneath him. Carter then fell coming onto the back straight and went through the fence causing the race to be stopped. Norwegian referee Torrie Kittlesen then excluded Carter from the race for causing the stoppage. Carter protested claiming that Penhall had hit him in the corner causing him to come off his bike and walked back to the start line in an effort to stop the re-run going ahead without him. Officials and his manager Ivan Mauger were then forced to remove Carter from the track.

Although not shown in the television broadcast of the event, amateur video footage shot from the stands in turns 1 & 2 vindicated Kittlesen's decision. The footage showed that Penhall and Carter did not touch in the turn and that the Englishman had gone down on his own, though years later the debate still rages on about who was at fault.^[6] In a television interview with American broadcaster Ken Squier soon after the heat, Kittlesen told that he excluded Carter as he believed the Englishman had fallen without help from Penhall. He also said that the rough riding such as seen from Penhall and Carter on the front straight was to be expected in a World Final. Phil Crump, who had the best view of the incident as he was directly behind the pair, allegedly agreed with the decision to exclude Carter.

Penhall went on to win the re-run from Collins and Crump. In a twist, the result in the re-run ultimately cost Collins' younger brother Les the World Championship in what was his first and only World Final appearance. Had Penhall finished second in Heat 14 behind Peter Collins, and with later results, he and Les Collins could have finished with 13 points each which would have seen the pair in a runoff for the championship. Les Collins had inflicted Penhall's only loss of the meeting when he out-rode the American in Heat 4 in what many believe was a major upset. Additionally, if Penhall had been excluded from Heat 14 and not Carter, Les Collins would have a small chance of winning the title as he had finished with a 2-point lead over third placed American Dennis Sigalos, however Carter would have had a good chance of winning a re-run Heat 14 which would give him a two-point advantage over Les Collins before they met, so Carter would have been favourite. Had Penhall only finished on 11 points he would have had a runoff with fellow American Kelly Moran for third place.

In another controversial decision, two races later Kittlesen excluded Czechoslovakia's Václav Verner after a clash with West Germany's Georg Hack, the incident being similar to the Penhall / Carter incident. However, on this occasion it was the rider who stayed on his bike, Verner, who was excluded (though video evidence available to Kittlesen at the time clearly showed Verner's back wheel taking out Hack's front wheel).

The controversy did not end there because Penhall then quit speedway immediately to pursue an acting career (specifically for a role in CHiPs). The decision angered many in speedway circles with calls for the American to be stripped of his title.^[7]

First round

British qualification

Top 16 Riders progress to British semi-finals

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
Preliminary Round
13 April	Wessex Stadium, Weymouth	Simon Wigg	Ian Clark	Dave Perks
25 April	Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon	Bob Garrad	Nigel Flatman	Steve Naylor
25 April	Boston Sports Stadium, Boston	Colin Cook	Mark Courtney	Rob Hollingworth
27 April	Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium, Crayford	Steve Wilcock	Mike Ferreira	Barry Thomas
29 April	Oxford Stadium, Oxford	Derek Harrison	Tim Hunt	Neil Collins
Quarter-Final
7 May	East of England Arena, Peterborough	Simon Wigg	Mark Courtney	Mike Ferreira

Swedish qualification

Top 8 in each heat to Swedish final

(7 May, Motala Arena, Motala)
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Lillebror Johansson	12
2	Lennart Bengtsson	12
3	Anders Michanek	12
4	Bernt Persson	10
5	Åke Fridell	10
6	Börje Ring	10
7	Pierre Brannefors	9
8	Jan Ericsson	9
9	Conny Samuelsson	8
10	Per-Ove Gudmundsson	8
11	Lars Johansson	8
12	Åke Axelsson	5
13	Sören Brolin	3
14	Karl-Erik Claesson	3
15	Thomas Hydling	2
16	Peter Danielsson	2

(9 May, Gislaved Motorbana, Gislaved)
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Richard Hellsén	14
2	Hans Danielsson	13
3	Tommy Nilsson	12
4	Björn Andersson	12
5	Uno Johansson	10
6	Tommy Johansson	9
7	Anders Eriksson	8
8	Roger Gustavsson	7
9	Lars Hammarberg	6
10	Gert Carlsson	6
11	Lars Rosberg	6
12	Lars Ericsson	5
13	Anders Kling	4
14	Börje Klingberg	4
15	Ulf Blomqvist	3
16	Lars-Olov Karlsson	1

Australian qualification

Date	Event	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
28 Nov 81	Queensland Final	Pioneer Park Speedway, Ayr	Steve Koppe	Merv Janke	John Titman
2 Jan	Southern Zone Final	Western International Raceway, Melbourne	Phil Crump	Danny Kennedy	Terry Tulloch
3 Jan	Northern Zone Final	Rockhampton Showgrounds, Rockhampton	Gary Guglielmi	Billy Sanders	John Titman

New Zealand qualification

Date	Event	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
16 Jan	South Island Final	Ruapuna Speedway, Christchurch	Larry Ross	Roger Wright	Alan Mason
24 Jan	North Island Final	Kihikihi Speedway, Kihikihi	Mitch Shirra	David Bargh	John Goodall

Second round

Continental preliminary round

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
24 April	Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam	Alfred Siekierka	Václav Verner	Petr Kucera
25 April	Svítkov Stadium, Pardubice	Petr Ondrašík	Viktor Kuznetsov	Milan Špinka
25 April	Speedway Stadium, Targovishte	Roman Jankowski	Mikhail Starostin	Jan Verner
26 April	Gradski stadion, Osijek	Josef Aigner	Valery Gordeev	Nikolaj Manev

British semi-finals

14 May
Hackney Wick Stadium, London
Top 8 to British final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Les Collins	15
2	John Louis	12
3	Dave Jessup	11
4	Michael Lee	11
5	Paul Woods	10
6	Mike Ferreira	9
7	Kevin Jolly	9
8	Chris Morton	8
9	Gordon Kennett	7
10	Sean Willmott	7
11	Colin Richardson	5
12	Colin Cook	4
13	Kevin Smith	4
14	Robert Henry	3
15	Roger Johns	3
16	Derek Harrison	2

14 May
Birchfield Ladbroke Stadium, Birmingham
Top 8 to British final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Alan Grahame	13
2	Kenny Carter	12
3	Andy Grahame	12
4	Phil Collins	12
5	Malcolm Holloway	11
6	Peter Collins	9
7	Simon Wigg	9
8	John Davis	8
9	Melvyn Taylor	8
10	Mark Courtney	7
11	Steve Bastable	6
12	Ian Cartwright	5
13	Dave Morton	2
14	Rob Hollingworth	2
15	Malcolm Simmons	2
16	Neil Collins	1

Third round

Continental quarter-finals

Top 32 to Continental semi-finals

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
9 May	Stadion Wiener Neustadt	Karl Maier	Josef Aigner	Valery Gordeev
9 May	Motodrom Halbemond, Norden	Egon Muller	Georg Hack	Zenon Plech
9 May	Rhein-Main Arena, Diedenbergen	Henny Kroeze	Leonard Raba	Václav Verner
9 May	Hajdú Volán Stadion, Debrecen	Aleš Dryml Sr.	Mikhail Starostin	Zoltan Hajdu

American Final

12 June 1982
Veterans Memorial Stadium, Long Beach
First 3 to Overseas final plus 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Dennis Sigalos	3,3,3,3,3	15
2	Shawn Moran	2,2,3,3,3	13+3
3	Kelly Moran	3,2,2,3,3	13+2
4	Scott Autrey	3,3,3,2,2	13+1
5	John Cook	1,3,1,3,2	10
6	Mike Faria	2,1,2,2,3	10
7	Bobby Schwartz	3,3,1,X,1	8
8	Mike Curosco	0,2,3,1,1	7
9	Brad Oxley	2,1,0,1,2	6
10	Alan Christian	2,F,2,1,0	5
11	Gene Woods	1,0,2,E,1	4
12	Mike Bast	X,2,1,0,0	3
13	Steve Lucero	1,0,0,2,0	3
14	Dave Sims	0,E,1,0,1	2
15	Steve Gresham	1,1,0,-,-	2
16	Paul Orlandi	0,1,F,-,-	1
R1	Keith Christo	2,2	4
R2	John Sandona	0,1,0	1

British Final

2 June 1982
Brandon Stadium, Coventry
First 8 to Overseas 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) Andy Grahame	14		3					3					3	3					2			14	1
	(9) Alan Grahame	13			3		2						2					3		3			13	2
	(14) Kenny Carter	12				2		3					3		2							2	12	3
4	(12) Phil Collins	11			2					3		2			1						3		11	4
5	(16) Chris Morton	10				3				1	3						2			1			10	5
6	(5) Peter Collins	10		2			3					3					1					1	10	6
7	(4) Les Collins	9	0							2				2				2				3	9	7
8	(10) Dave Jessup	8			E			2						0			3		3				8	8
9	(2) Michael Lee	7	3					1				1				2				0			7	9
10	(1) Paul Woods	6	2				1				1				0				2				6	10
11	(6) Mike Ferreira	6		1				0			2							1			2		6	11
12	(13) John Davis	5				0	0							1		3					1		5	12
13	(15) Simon Wigg	4				1			2			0						0	1				4	13
14	(11) Malcolm Holloway	3			1				1		0					1						0	3	14
15	(3) Kevin Jolly	2	1						0				1				0				0		2	15
16	(8) John Louis	0		0						0			0			E			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

Australian Final

13 March 1982
Exhibition Ground, Brisbane
Top 2 to Overseas final

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Billy Sanders	3,3,3,3,3	15
2	Phil Crump	3,3,3,3,2	14
3	Gary Guglielmi	1,3,3,3,1	11
4	Steve Regeling	2,2,1,3,3	11
5	John Titman	3,2,2,2,2	11
6	Ron Schleib	1,3,2,1,3	10
7	Phil Herne	2,2,3,2,1	10
8	Neil Coddington	3,1,2,0,2	8
9	Glyn Taylor	2,1,1,2,X	6
10	Peter Byrne	1,0,0,0,3	4
11	Les Sawyers	2,X,0,2,0	4
12	Mark Johns	0,1,0,1,2	4
13	Graeme Robertson	0,2,0,1,1	4
14	David Foot	1,1,1,0,1	4
15	Steve Baker	0,0,2,0,0	2
16	Peter Carswell	0,0,1,1,0	2

New Zealand Final

27 February 1982
Ruapuna Speedway, Christchurch
Top 2 to Overseas final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Larry Ross	15
2	Ivan Mauger	14
3	Mitch Shirra	13
4	David Bargh	12
5	Alan Mason	11
6	Roger Wright	10
7	Max Brown	9
8	Greame Stapleton	8
9	Kevin Browne	6
10	Trevor Chapman	5
11	Graham Taylor	4
12	Greg Joynt	4
13	Gavin Rhodes	4
14	Lance Begbie	2
15	Steve Hann	1
16	Vayne Brown	0
R1	Philip McClintock	2
R2	Craig Blacket	0

Danish Final

11 May 1982
Fredericia Speedway Stadium, Fredericia
First 6 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Erik Gundersen	13+3
2	Bo Petersen	13+2
3	Hans Nielsen	13+1
4	Ole Olsen	11
5	Preben Eriksen	10
6	Tommy Knudsen	10
7	Finn Thomsen	9
8	Bent Rasmussen	8
9	Jens Rasmussen	7
10	Alf Busk	7
11	Finn Rune Jensen	5
12	Helge R. Hansen	4
13	Jens Henry Nielsen	4
14	John Eskildsen	3
15	Hans Albert Klinge	3
16	Rene Christiansen	0

Norway Final

Geiteryggen Speedwaybane, Skien
9 May 1982, top 2 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Dag Haaland	14
2	Roy Otto	13
3	Trond Helge Skretting	12
4	Sigvart Pedersen	11
5	Asgeir Berga	11
6	Geir Aasland	10
7	Kjell Gimre	8
8	Lars Otto Holt	7
9	Terje Tollefsen	7
10	Roar Rockvaldsen	6
11	Jörn Haugvaldstad

Finland Final

Eteläpuisto, Tampere
10 September 1981, top 2 (+1 seeded rider) to 1982 Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Kai Niemi	15
2	Pekka Hautamaki	14
3	Veijo Tuoriniemi	12
4	Olli Turkia	11
5	Seppo Palomaki	10
6	Ossi Henriksson	10
7	Hannu Lehtonen	9
8	Isto Maja	7
9	Hannu Larronmaa (res)	7
10	Ari Koponen	5
11	Seppo Keskinen	5
12	Ismo Kivela	4
13	Heikki Makinen	4
14	Markku Parkkari	1
15	Esa Jamsalainen	1
16	Risto Jokinen (res)	1
17	Esa Mattila	0
18	Pentti Kallio	0
19	Kari Yrjanainen (res)	0

Swedish finals

Top 4 over three meetings + Jan Andersson (seeded) to Nordic final
R1 (25 May, Gamla Målilla Motorstadion, Målilla)
R2 (26 May, Gubbängens IP, Stockholm)
R3 (27 May, Grevby Motorstadion, Mariestad)

Pos.	Rider	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Richard Hellsén	13	13	11	37
2	Tommy Nilsson	10	13	13	36
3	Björn Andersson	9	12	11	32
4	Lillebror Johansson	10	8	12	31+3
5	Lennart Bengsson	13	8	10	31+2
6	Uno Johansson	11	7	12	30
7	Anders Michanek	7	8	12	27
8	Jan Ericsson	9	9	8	26
9	Hans Danielsson	6	6	7	19
10	Conny Samuelsson	7	5	4	16
11	Åke Fridell	4	10	1	15
12	Roger Gustavsson	6	1	7	14
13	Anders Eriksson	9	2	2	13
14	Börje Ring	2	5	5	12
15	Per-Ove Gudmundsson	0	5	4	9
16	Pierre Brannefors	8	0	0	8
17	Gert Carlsson	0	4	-	4
18	Sören Brolin	0	0	-	0
19	Tommy Johansson	0	-	-	0

Fourth round

Continental semi-finals

13 July
Abensberger Stadion, Abensberg
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Viktor Kuznetsov	12+3
2	Marek Kepa	12+2
3	Rif Saitgareev	11
4	Václav Verner	10
5	Henny Kroeze	10
6	Georg Hack	10
7	Leonard Raba	9
8	Jindrich Dominik	8
9	Christian Brandt	7
10	Wojciech Zabialowicz	6
11	Petr Kucera	6
12	Anatolij Maxsimov	5
13	Alois Wiesböck	4
14	Zenon Plech	4
15	Alfred Siekierka	3
16	Egon Müller	0

13 July
Santa Marina Stadium, Lonigo
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Valerij Gordeev	13
2	Francesco Biginato	12
3	Jiří Štancl	11
4	Aleš Dryml Sr.	11
5	Edward Jancarz	11
6	Michail Starostin	10
7	Gianni Famari	9
8	Josef Aigner	8+3
9	Emil Sova	8+2
10	Roman Jankowski	8+1
11	Istvan Sziracky	4
12	George Gilgenreiner	4
13	Ferenc Farkas	2
14	Karl Maier	2
15	Piotr Belajev (res)	2
16	Zoltan Hajdu	1
17	Zoltán Adorján	1
18	Christoph Betzl (res)	1

Overseas Final

4 July 1982
White City Stadium, London
First 10 to Intercontinental 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) Dave Jessup	13	2					3				3				3				2			13	1
	(16) Kenny Carter	12				1				2	3						3			3			12	2
	(12) Bruce Penhall	11			3					3		2			3						0		11	3
4	(10) Larry Ross	10			2			1						3			1		3				10	4
5	(8) Andy Grahame	8		1						1			2			3			1				8	5
6	(13) Kelly Moran	8				2	1							1		2					2		8	6
7	(3) Dennis Sigalos	8	0						3				0				2				3		8	7
8	(14) Phil Crump	8				0		2					3		0							3	8	8
9	(5) Les Collins	7		3			2					1					0					1	7	9	3
10	(1) Peter Collins	7	3				0				0				2				2				7	10	2
11	(6) Shawn Moran	7		2				0			1							3			1		7	11	1
12	(9) Alan Grahame	6			1		3						1					0		1			6	12
13	(11) Ivan Mauger	6			0				2		2					0						2	6	13
14	(15) Billy Sanders	5				3			1			0						1	0				5	14
15	(4) Chris Morton	5	1							0				2				2				0	5	15
16	(7) Phil Collins	1		0					0					0	1					0			1	16
R1	(R1) Michael Lee	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Scott Autrey	0																					0	R2
R3	(R3) Gary Guglielmi	0																					0	R3
R4	(R4) Mitch Shirra	0																					0	R4
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

4 July 1982
Fjelsted Speedway Stadium, Harndrup
First 6 to Intercontinental final + 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Hans Nielsen	12+3
2	Erik Gundersen	12+2
3	Bo Petersen	11+3
4	Kai Niemi	11+2
5	Ole Olsen	11+1
6	Jan Andersson	10+3
7	Tommy Knudsen	10+2
8	Richard Hellsen	10+1
9	Preben Eriksen	10+0
10	Lillebror Johansson	6
11	Bjorn Andersson	5
12	Ari Koponen	5
13	Tommy Nilsson	3
14	Pekka Hautamaki	2
15	Dag Haaland	1
16	Roy Otto	1

Fifth round

Continental Final

25 July 1982
Alfred Smoczyk Stadium, Leszno
First 5 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
	(1) Jiří Štancl	15	3				3				3				3				3				15	1
	(10) Edward Jancarz	11			2			3						3			1		2				11	2	3
	(5) Václav Verner	11		3			1					3					2					2	11	3	2
4	(16) Georg Hack	10				1				2	1						3			3			10	4
5	(13) Mikhail Starostin	9				2	0							2		2					3		9	5	3
6	(2) Emil Sova	9	1					2				1				3				2			9	6	2
7	(15) Henny Kroeze	8				3			0			2						3	0				8	7
8	(9) Aleš Dryml Sr.	8			1		2						3					2		X			8	8
9	(7) Valery Gordeev	7		2					3					0	2					X			7	9
10	(11) Viktor Kuznetsov	7			0				1		2					1						3	7	10
11	(4) Jiří Dominik	7	2							3				1				1				E	7	11
12	(12) Marek Kepa	6			3					0		0			1						2		6	12
13	(8) Leonard Raba	4		1						1			1			0			1				4	13
14	(3) Francesco Biginato	3	0						2				0				0				1		3	14
15	(14) Rif Saitgareev	3				0		0					2		0							1	3	15
16	(6) Gianni Famari	1		0				1			0							E			0		1	16
R1	(R1) Christian Brandt	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Roman Jankowski	0																					0	R2
R3	(R3) Wojciech Żabiałowicz	0																					0	R3
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

Intercontinental Final

23 July 1982
Vetlanda Motorstadion, Vetlanda
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) Les Collins	12		3					2					3	3					1			12	1
	(3) Kenny Carter	11	2						3				2				2				2		11	2
	(8) Dennis Sigalos	10		2						3			3			2			0				10	3	3
4	(1) Hans Nielsen	10	3				1				2				2				2				10	4	2
5	(13) Kelly Moran	9				3	3							0		3					0		9	5
6	(10) Bruce Penhall	9			3			3						1			1		1				9	6
7	(16) Dave Jessup	8				2				0	3						3			0			8	7
8	(9) Kai Niemi	7			0		2						0					3		2			7	8
9	(12) Phil Crump	7			1					1		3			1						1		7	9
10	(2) Jan Andersson	7	1					1				1				1				3			7	10
11	(11) Peter Collins	6			2				1		0					0						3	6	11	3
12	(6) Andy Grahame	6		0				0			1							2			3		6	12	2
13	(4) Bo Petersen	6	0							2				2				0				2	6	13	1
14	(15) Larry Ross	5				1			0			0						1	3				5	14
15	(14) Ole Olsen	4				0		2					1		0							1	4	15
16	(5) Erik Gundersen	3		1			0					2					0					0	3	16
R1	(R1) Tommy Knudsen	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Shawn Moran	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

28 August 1982
Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles.^[8]
Referee: () Torrie Kittlesen
Attendance: 40,000 (approx)

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	(13) Bruce Penhall	14				2	3							3		3					3		14	1
2	(15) Les Collins	13				3			3			1						3	3				13	2
3	(4) Dennis Sigalos	12	3							2				2				2				3	12	3
4	(1) Kelly Moran	11	2				1				3				3				2				11	4
5	(8) Kenny Carter	10		3						3			3			Fx			1				10	5
6	(10) Dave Jessup	8			3			2						0			3		0				8	6
7	(16) Hans Nielsen	8				1				0	2						2			3			8	7
8	(5) Jan Andersson	8		1			2					2					1					2	8	8
9	(12) Jiří Štancl	7			0					1		3			1						2		7	9
10	(7) Edward Jancarz	7		2					2					1	2					0			7	10
11	(9) Georg Hack	6			2		0						2					1		1			6	11
12	(14) Kai Niemi	5				0		3					1		0							1	5	12
13	(2) Peter Collins	5	1					0				0				2				2			5	13
14	(11) Phil Crump	4			1				1		1					1						0	4	14
15	(6) Václav Verner	2		0				1			0							x			1		2	15
16	(3) Mikhail Starostin	0	0						0				0				0				0		0	16
	(17) Emil Sova	0																					0
	(18) Andy Grahame	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

Television

During the meeting, scenes for an episode of the American television drama series CHiPs were filmed in the pits. One of the stars of CHiPs was World Champion Bruce Penhall who portrayed cadet–probationary officer Bruce Nelson. The episode centered on Nelson winning the World Final, with Penhall acting as Nelson in between races. Actual television coverage of the meeting was also used in the episode, with dubbed over commentary. The episode, which was episode 5 of season 6 ("Speedway Fever") aired in the USA on November 7, 1982, was Penhall's debut in the series.

Penhall later admitted that it felt strange having a bodyguard and having to do make up for shoots in between races, stating that he was nervous enough riding in the World Final in front of his home crowd without the pressure of a television acting debut.

References

↑ "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
↑ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
↑ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
↑ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
↑ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
↑ 1982 World Final Heat 14
↑ "Penhall must keep world crown". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 4 September 1982. Retrieved 21 January 2025 – 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] "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] 1982 World Final Heat 14

[7] "Penhall must keep world crown". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 4 September 1982. Retrieved 21 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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

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