1983 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1983 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 38th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4] It was the first time the World Final had been held in West Germany.[5]

Final summary

An near-capacity crowd of around 50,000 at the 400 metres (440 yards) long Motodrom Halbemond circuit, saw local favourite Egon Müller became the first German rider to win the World Championship. Australian champion Billy Sanders, scored his best ever World Championship placing by finishing second, with England's 1980 World Champion Michael Lee finishing third.[6]

With both Sanders and former champion Lee in good form, and with the winner of the previous two world finals Bruce Penhall having retired from speedway while on the podium at the 1982 world final, the 1983 final was expected to be one of the most open in years. Others including Kenny Carter, Dennis Sigalos, and Danes Ole Olsen, Hans Nielsen and Erik Gundersen, were all expected to challenge. Like surprise winner Jerzy Szczakiel who won at home in Poland in 1973, Egon Müller was expected to do well in front of his home crowd, but wasn't among the pre-meeting favourites.

In his last world final appearance Ole Olsen, the 1971, 1975 and 1978 World Champion, finished 6th with 10 points. Olsen won his last ride, defeating Gundersen, Czechoslovakia's Jiří Štancl, and American Lance King in heat 18.

First round

New Zealand qualification

Date Event Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
?? South Island final Oreti Park Speedway, Invercargill Ivan Mauger Larry Ross Alan Mason
?? North Island final Meeanee Speedway, Napier David Bargh Mitch Shirra Craig Pendlebury

British qualification

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
Preliminary Round
12 April Wessex Stadium, Weymouth Kevin Smith Mike Ferreira Melvyn Taylor
15 April Powderhall Stadium, Edinburgh Alan Emerson Martin Dixon Bobby Beaton
19 April Milton Keynes Stadium, Milton Keynes Charlie McKinna Neil Middleditch Peter Carr
21 April Oxford Stadium, Oxford Simon Wigg Barry Thomas Sean Willmott
27 April Long Eaton Stadium, Long Eaton Colin Richardson David Gagen Joe Owen
Quarter-Final
30 April King's Lynn Stadium, King's Lynn Simon Wigg Sean Willmott Melvyn Taylor

Swedish qualification

  • Top 6 in each heat to Swedish final


Second round

Continental preliminary round

Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
23 April West Germany Ruhpoldinger Stadion, Ruhpolding Italy Giuseppe Marzotto Czechoslovakia Petr Kucera Poland Andrzej Huszcza
24 April Hungary Napos út, Szeged Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka Poland Boleslaw Proch Poland Jerzy Rembas
24 April Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Petišovci Stadium, Lendava Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík Italy Armando Dal Chiele Hungary János Oreskó
24 April West Germany Anton Treffer Stadion, Neustadt Soviet Union Vladimir Klychkov Soviet Union Piotr Belyaev West Germany Peter Wurterle

British semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 John Davis 13
2 Paul Woods 12
3 Dave Jessup 10+3
4 Malcolm Simmons 10+2
5 Gordon Kennett 10+1
6 Phil Collins 9
7 Sean Willmott 9
8 Colin Richardson 8+3
9 Alan Grahame 8+2
10 Joe Owen 8+1
11 Jeremy Doncaster 7
12 John Louis 5
13 Louis Carr 4
14 Kevin Smith 3
15 Neil Middleditch 2
16 Kevin Jolly 2
Pos. Rider Points
1 Peter Collins 13
2 Simon Wigg 12
3 Neil Collins 11+3
4 Michael Lee 11+2
5 Kenny Carter 11+1
6 Chris Morton 10
7 Les Collins 9+3
8 Andy Grahame 9+2
9 Mark Courtney 9+f
10 Steve Bastable 6
11 Melvyn Taylor 5
12 Reg Wilson 4
13 Malcolm Holloway 4
14 Tim Hunt 3
15 Mike Ferreira 2
16 Nigel Flatman 1

Third round

Continental quarter-finals

  • Top 32 to Continental semi-finals
Date Venue Winner 2nd 3rd
6 May Austria Stadion Wiener Neustadt West Germany Karl Maier Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl Poland Marek Kepa
8 May Hungary Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc Soviet Union Mikhail Starostin Poland Bogusław Nowak Soviet Union Rif Saitgareev
8 May Bulgaria Shumen Motopista, Shumen Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík Soviet Union Viktor Kuznetsov Italy Armando Dal Chiele
8 May Italy Santa Marina Stadium, Lonigo West Germany Egon Muller Poland Roman Jankowski Poland Zenon Plech

Sweden Finals

Pos. Rider R1 R2 R3 Total
1 Tommy Nilsson 13 13 14 40
2 Pierre Brannefors 10 15 13 38
3 Uno Johansson 12 11 10 33
4 Anders Kling 10 12 8 30
5 Bernt Persson 5 10 14 29
6 Lillebror Johansson 13 5 9 27
7 Karl Erik Claesson 13 9 2 24
8 Hans Danielsson 3 9 11 23
9 Conny Samuelsson 7 4 8 19
10 Gert Carlsson 6 8 4 18
11 Goran Waltersson 8 4 3 15
12 Per Ove Gudmundsson - 9 6 15
13 Ulf Blomqvist 8 3 3 14
14 Lennart Bengtsson 1 - 9 10
15 Hans Hallén 2 6 0 8
16 Bent Baar 4 2 0 6
17 Dick Jaglard 2 2 0 4
18 Mikael Messing 4 - - 4

Norwegian qualifying

Pos. Rider Points
1 Tormod Langli 15
2 Dag Haland 11+3
3 Dagfinn Jorgensen 11+2
4 Roy Otto 11+1
5 Asgeir Bjerga 10
6 Jörn Haugvaldstad 9
7 Geir Aasland 7
8 Kurt Ueland 7
9 Sigvart Pedersen 7
10 Kjell Gimre 6
11 Tom Fjeldberg 6
12 Arne Svendsen 6
13 Ingve Madland 5
14 Roy Martinsen 4
15 Lars Otto Holt 3
16 Nils O. Haraldsen 0

Finland Final

Pos. Rider Total
1 Kai Niemi 15
2 Ari Koponen 14
3 Olli Tyrvainen 13
4 Veijo Tuoriniemi 11
5 Hannu Lehtonen 11
6 Pekka Hautamaki 8
7 Jari Kortelainen 8
8 Markku Haapala 7
9 Heimo Kaikko 7
10 Seppo Keskinen 7
11 Timo Kiansten 7
12 Kari Valtonen 4
13 Ismo Kivela 3
14 Ari Heinonen 3
15 Pasi Valtonen 1
16 Pekka Turkia 1
17 Markku Parkkari (res) 0
18 Isto Maja (res) 0
19 Seppo Nykanen (res) 0

Danish Final

Pos. Rider Total
1 Hans Nielsen 15
2 Erik Gundersen 13
3 Ole Olsen 12+3
4 Tommy Knudsen 12+2
5 Peter Ravn 11
6 Finn Rune Jensen 8
7 Preben Eriksen 8
8 Hans Ove Cristinsen 7
9 Kent Noer 7
10 Jens Rasmussen 6
11 Finn Thomsen 6
12 Flemming Pedersen 6
13 Alf Busk 6
14 Hans Albert Klinge 2
15 Bent Juul Larsen 1
16 Kjeld Hansen 0

British 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
1 England (4) Chris Morton 12 2 2 3 2 3 12 1
2 England (12) Michael Lee 11 0 3 2 3 3 11 2
3 England (9) Andy Grahame 10 2 0 2 3 3 10 3 3
4 England (5) Kenny Carter 10 2 3 0 3 2 10 4 2
5 England (1) Peter Collins 10 1 1 3 2 3 10 5 1
6 England (13) John Davis 10 2 2 2 2 2 10 6 0
7 England (2) Phil Collins 9 0 3 1 3 2 9 7
8 England (15) Les Collins 8 0 2 3 1 2 8 8
9 England (3) Paul Woods 7 3 1 1 1 1 7 9
10 England (11) Dave Jessup 6 3 3 F M M 6 10
11 England (14) Simon Wigg 6 3 0 3 0 E 6 11
12 England (6) Gordon Kennett 6 3 1 2 0 0 6 12
13 England (16) Colin Richardson 6 1 1 1 2 1 6 13
14 England (10) Malcolm Simmons 5 1 2 1 0 1 5 14
15 England (7) Sean Willmott 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 15
16 England (8) Neil Collins 1 0 0 E 1 0 1 16
R1 England (R1) Kevin Hawkins 1 0 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

American Final

Pos. Rider Total
1 Dennis Sigalos 15
2 Mike Faria 11+3
3 Lance King 11+2
4 Shawn Moran 10+3
5 Rick Miller 10+2
6 John Cook 10+1
7 Dubb Ferrell 9
8 Ron Preston 8
9 Mike Bast 7
10 Kelly Moran 7
11 Bobby Schwartz 7
12 Brad Oxley 5
13 Steve Lucero 3
14 Shawn McConnell 3
15 Alan Christian 2
16 Gene Woods 1

Australian Final

Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Billy Sanders (3,3,3,3,3) 15
2 Glyn Taylor (3,2,2,3,3) 13
3 Phil Crump (3,3,3,X,3) 12
4 Gary Guglielmi (2,1,3,2,3+3) 11+3
5 Rod Hunter (2,2,2,3,2+2) 11+2
6 Danny Kennedy (1,1,3,3,0) 8
7 Les Sawyer (1,3,1,2,1) 8
8 Steve Baker (3,0,2,0,2) 7
9 Mark Fiora (2,2,0,1,2) 7
10 John Titman (X,2,1,2,2) 7
11 Steve Regeling (0,3,0,2,1) 6
12 David Jackson (1,2,0,1,0) 4
13 Dean Johnson (0,1,1,2,1) 4
14 Rob Ashton (2,0,1,1,0) 4
15 Kevin O'Connell (Res) (-,-,2,-,-) 2
16 Wayne Baxter (0,0,0,0,1) 1
17 Tony Boyle (Res) (1,-,-,-,-) 1
18 Chris Higgs (0,0,0,0,0) 0

New Zealand final

Pos. Rider Total
1 Mitch Shirra 14
2 Larry Ross 14
3 David Bargh 13
4 Ivan Mauger 13
5 Alan Mason 11
6 Chris Martin 10
7 Robin Hampton 7
8 Roger Wright 7
9 Barry Free 7
10 Craig Blackett 6
11 Max Brown 6
12 Peter Nightingale 5
13 Craig Williamson 3
14 Merv Salt 2
15 Martin Waygang 2
16 Alan Crosbie 0

Fourth round

Continental semi-finals

Pos. Rider Points
1 West Germany Egon Müller 15
2 Netherlands Henny Kroeze 13
3 Poland Roman Jankowski 10
4 Hungary Zoltan Hajdu 10
5 Soviet Union Michail Starostin 10
6 Czechoslovakia Aleš Dryml Sr. 9
7 Soviet Union Rif Saitgareev 9
8 Czechoslovakia Emil Sova 8+3
9 Poland Zenon Plech 8+2
10 Czechoslovakia Milan Špinka 7
11 Poland Boguslaw Nowak 7
12 Italy Ottaviano Righetto
13 Poland Jerzy Rembaz 3
14 Hungary Zoltán Adorján 3
15 Poland Zbignew Zabialowicz 1
16 West Germany Georg Hack 1
Pos. Rider Points
1 West Germany Karl Maier 15
2 Czechoslovakia Jiří Štancl 12
3 Czechoslovakia Antonín Kasper Jr. 12
4 Poland Andrzej Huszcza 12
5 Italy Armando Dal Chiele 11
6 Soviet Union Valerij Gordeev 10
7 Soviet Union Viktor Kuznetsov 9
8 Czechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík 8
9 Poland Miroslaw Berlinski 7
10 Czechoslovakia Pavel Karnas 7
11 Poland Marek Kepa 7
12 Bulgaria Nikolaj Manev 3
13 Bulgaria Angel Eftimov 3
14 Czechoslovakia Stanislav Urban 1
15 Bulgaria Orlin Jankiev 1
16 West Germany Christian Brandt 1
17 Hungary Janos Oresko (res) 1

Overseas 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
1 England (11) Phil Collins 12 1 3 3 2 3 12 1
2 England (16) Kenny Carter 11 3 3 0 2 3 11 2 3
3 New Zealand (1) Mitch Shirra 11 2 2 1 3 3 11 3 2
4 New Zealand (8) Larry Ross 10 3 2 2 3 0 10 4
5 Australia (2) Billy Sanders 10 3 3 3 1 F 10 5
6 United States (6) Dennis Sigalos 9 0 2 2 2 3 9 6
7 England (7) Chris Morton 9 1 2 3 1 2 9 7
8 England (4) Andy Grahame 9 1 1 2 3 2 9 8
9 England (5) Michael Lee 8 2 3 1 1 1 8 9
10 United States (15) Lance King 8 2 1 2 1 2 8 10
11 United States (14) Shawn Moran 7 1 1 3 2 0 7 11
12 England (10) Les Collins 6 2 0 0 3 1 6 12
13 England (12) John Davis 4 3 0 0 0 1 4 13
14 England (3) Peter Collins 3 E 0 1 0 2 3 14
15 Australia (9) Glyn Taylor 2 E 1 0 0 1 2 15
16 United States (13) Mike Faria 1 0 0 1 E F 1 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

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 Denmark (4) Hans Nielsen 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Denmark (12) Erik Gundersen 14 3 2 3 3 3 14 2
3 Denmark (14) Ole Olsen 12 2 3 3 2 2 12 3
4 Denmark (5) Peter Ravn 11 3 3 1 3 1 11 4
5 Sweden (9) Jan Andersson 11 2 2 2 2 3 11 5
6 Sweden (13) Pierre Brannefors 10 3 1 2 2 2 10 6 3
7 Finland (2) Kai Niemi 10 2 1 2 3 2 10 7 2
8 Denmark (6) Tommy Knudsen 8 1 2 3 1 1 8 8
9 Denmark (15) Finn Rune Jensen 7 1 3 0 F 3 7 9
10 Finland (8) Ari Koponen 5 2 0 1 0 2 5 10
11 Sweden (11) Tommy Nilsson 5 0 2 2 1 0 5 11
12 Norway (3) Tormod Langli 3 0 1 0 2 0 3 12
13 Sweden (16) Uno Johansson 3 0 1 1 0 1 3 13
14 Finland (10) Olli Tyrväinen 3 1 0 1 1 0 3 14
15 Norway (1) Dag Haaland 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 15
16 Sweden (7) Anders Kling 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 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

Fifth round

Continental 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
1 Poland (2) Zenon Plech 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 West Germany (11) Egon Muller 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 2
3 Czechoslovakia (4) Jiří Štancl 12 1 3 3 3 2 12 3
4 Czechoslovakia (3) Petr Ondrašík 11 2 2 2 3 2 11 4
5 Czechoslovakia (13) Antonín Kasper Jr. 10 3 3 2 1 1 10 5
6 West Germany (16) Karl Maier 9 2 2 1 2 2 9 6 3
7 Netherlands (14) Henny Kroeze 9 1 1 3 3 1 9 7 2
8 Poland (6) Andrzej Huszcza 8 3 E 2 E 3 8 8
9 Soviet Union (9) Valery Gordeev 7 2 1 1 2 1 7 9
10 Soviet Union (7) Mikhail Starostin 5 2 0 1 2 0 5 10
11 Czechoslovakia (5) Aleš Dryml Sr. 5 E 2 2 1 0 5 11
12 Hungary (8) Zoltan Hajdu 4 1 1 0 0 2 4 12
13 Czechoslovakia (10) Emil Sova 4 1 2 0 0 1 4 13
14 Soviet Union (1) Rif Saitgareev 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 14
15 Soviet Union (12) Viktor Kuznetsov 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 15
16 Italy (15) Armando Dal Chiele 2 0 1 0 1 X 2 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

Intercontinental 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
1 Denmark (1) Hans Nielsen 14 3 3 3 2 3 14 1
2 England (8) Michael Lee 12 3 2 3 2 2 12 2
3 Denmark (7) Erik Gundersen 11 0 3 3 3 2 11 3
4 United States (14) Dennis Sigalos 10 3 2 2 X 3 10 4
5 England (4) Kenny Carter 10 0 3 2 3 2 10 5
6 Australia (13) Billy Sanders 10 1 2 1 3 3 10 6
7 Denmark (2) Ole Olsen 9 2 3 3 1 0 9 7
8 New Zealand (16) Mitch Shirra 9 2 1 2 1 3 9 8
9 England (6) Chris Morton 7 2 1 0 2 2 7 9
10 United States (3) Lance King 7 1 2 1 3 0 7 10
11 England (12) Phil Collins 6 2 0 2 1 1 6 11
12 Denmark (10) Peter Ravn 6 3 E 0 2 1 6 12
13 Sweden (9) Jan Andersson 3 0 1 0 1 1 3 13
14 Sweden (11) Pierre Brannefors 3 1 0 1 0 1 3 14
15 England (15) Andy Grahame 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 15
16 New Zealand (5) Larry Ross 1 1 E 0 0 0 1 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

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
1 West Germany (12) Egon Müller 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Australia (5) Billy Sanders 12 3 3 2 2 2 12 2
3 England (4) Michael Lee 11 3 2 0 3 3 11 3
4 Denmark (16) Erik Gundersen 10 3 0 2 3 2 10 4
5 England (10) Kenny Carter 10 2 3 3 1 1 10 5
6 Denmark (7) Ole Olsen 10 1 3 1 2 3 10 6
7 Denmark (13) Hans Nielsen 9 2 2 2 3 e 9 7
8 United States (1) Dennis Sigalos 8 2 1 3 0 2 8 8
9 West Germany (15) Karl Maier 8 1 1 1 2 3 8 9
10 England (8) Chris Morton 7 2 1 3 1 0 7 10
11 New Zealand (3) Mitch Shirra 7 1 2 2 0 2 7 11
12 United States (2) Lance King 4 0 2 0 2 0 4 12
13 England (14) Phil Collins 4 0 1 1 1 1 4 13
14 Czechoslovakia (6) Antonín Kasper Jr. 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 14
15 Poland (11) Zenon Plech 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 15
16 Czechoslovakia (9) Jiří Štancl 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 16
Denmark (17) Peter Ravn 0 0
Netherlands (18) Henny Kroeze 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

  1. ^ "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  4. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Egon tops the bill with his champion act". Daily Mirror. 5 September 1983. Retrieved 4 June 2023 – 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