Wimbledon Internationale

Wimbledon Internationale
Categorymotorcycle speedway
CountryUnited Kingdom
Inaugural season1961
Folded1982

The Wimbledon Internationale sponsored by Embassy was an individual motorcycle speedway event that was hosted annually at Wimbledon Stadium in London, England.[1][2]

History

The event was first run during July 1961, as compensation to the British public for losing the rights to host the Speedway World Championship every year. The first final of the event was awarded to Harringay Stadium[3] by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme but passed to Wimbledon permanently from 1962. The event was significant because it attracted entries from most of the world's leading riders. In 1961, there were ten qualifying events.[4]

It was discontinued after the 1981 edition.

Past winners

Year First Second Third
1961 Sweden Ove Fundin New Zealand Ronnie Moore England Peter Craven
1962 Sweden Ove Fundin[5] New Zealand Barry Briggs England Peter Craven
1963 Sweden Ove Fundin Sweden Björn Knutson Norway Sverre Harrfeldt
1964 New Zealand Barry Briggs Scotland Ken McKinlay Sweden Ove Fundin
1965 Australia Charlie Monk Sweden Björn Knutson Sweden Göte Nordin
1966 Sweden Göte Nordin New Zealand Barry Briggs Sweden Ove Fundin
1967 Sweden Göte Nordin Sweden Torbjörn Harrysson New Zealand Ivan Mauger
1968 England Nigel Boocock Sweden Bengt Jansson New Zealand Barry Briggs
1969 England Trevor Hedge New Zealand Ivan Mauger New Zealand Barry Briggs
1970 New Zealand Ivan Mauger England Trevor Hedge New Zealand Ronnie Moore
1971 New Zealand Ivan Mauger Australia Garry Middleton New Zealand Ronnie Moore
1972 New Zealand Ivan Mauger New Zealand Ronnie Moore Sweden Bengt Jansson
1973 Denmark Ole Olsen Sweden Anders Michanek Sweden Tommy Jansson
1974 England Peter Collins England Ray Wilson Denmark Ole Olsen
1975 Denmark Ole Olsen Australia Phil Crump England Ray Wilson
1976 England Malcolm Simmons England Chris Morton England Michael Lee
1977 Poland Edward Jancarz New Zealand Larry Ross Australia Phil Crump
1978 England Peter Collins England Malcolm Simmons England John Davis
1979 England Michael Lee England John Davis Poland Edward Jancarz
1980 England Dave Jessup United States Bruce Penhall Denmark Hans Nielsen
1981 Denmark Hans Nielsen England Kenny Carter Sweden Jan Andersson

References

  1. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  2. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. ^ "Bees' Pair Disappoint in Harringay Final". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 3 July 1961. Retrieved 29 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Internationale". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 10 June 1961. Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Fundin zips to victory". Streatham News. 15 June 1962. Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.