1980 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1980 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 35th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

With 1979 World Champion Ivan Mauger failing to qualify for a World Final for the first time since 1966, and Ole Olsen only qualifying as a reserve, the 1980 World Final at the Ullevi Stadium in Göteborg, Sweden was seen as an open final with a number of potential winners. Michael Lee, Bruce Penhall, Dave Jessup and Billy Sanders considered the favourites with Jan Andersson (the only Swedish rider in the World Final), John Davis, Hans Nielsen, Zenon Plech, Intercontinental Final winner Chris Morton and 1976 World Champion Peter Collins all expected to challenge.

Twenty-one-year-old English ace Lee who had only finished 7th in the Intercontinental Final at White City, won his only World Championship with 14 points from his 5 rides. Dave Jessup finished second after defeating Billy Sanders in a runoff when both riders finished on 12 points to give England a 1-2 finish in a World Final.

Michael Lee became only the fifth rider from Great Britain to win Motorcycle speedway's ultimate individual prize, joining Welshman Freddie Williams (1950), and fellow Englishmen Tommy Price (1949), Peter Craven (1955 and 1962) and Peter Collins (1976) as a Speedway World Champion.

British Qualification

DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Preliminary Round
8 April United KingdomMilton KeynesUnited Kingdom Mike LanhamUnited Kingdom Rob HollingworthUnited Kingdom David Kennett
9 April United KingdomNottinghamUnited Kingdom Dave PerksUnited Kingdom Dave MortonUnited Kingdom Paul Woods
11 April United KingdomPeterboroughUnited Kingdom Andy HinesUnited Kingdom Nicky AllottUnited Kingdom Nigel Flatman
11 April United KingdomEllesmere PortZimbabwe Peter PrinslooUnited Kingdom Derek RichardsonUnited Kingdom David Gagen
13 April United KingdomRye HouseUnited Kingdom Melvyn TaylorUnited Kingdom Bob GarradUnited Kingdom Ian Clark
Quarter-Final
27 April United KingdomHalifaxUnited Kingdom Mike LanhamUnited Kingdom Kevin HawkinsUnited Kingdom Dave Morton
Semi-Finals
21 May United KingdomPooleUnited Kingdom Peter CollinsUnited Kingdom Gordon KennettUnited Kingdom Kevin Jolly
22 May United KingdomSheffieldUnited Kingdom Dave JessupUnited Kingdom Chris MortonUnited Kingdom Dave Morton
Final
4 June United KingdomCoventryUnited Kingdom Dave JessupUnited Kingdom Michael LeeUnited Kingdom Phil Collins result

British Final

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1United Kingdom Dave Jessup(3,3,3,3,3)15
2United Kingdom Michael Lee(3,3,3,3,2)14
3United Kingdom Phil Collins(1,2,2,3,3)11
4United Kingdom Peter Collins(3,3,0,3,1)10
5United Kingdom Gordon Kennett(2,2,2,2,2)10
6United Kingdom John Louis(3,1,3,1,1)9
7United Kingdom John Davis(X,2,1,2,3)8
8United Kingdom Chris Morton(0,1,1,2,3)7
9United Kingdom Melvyn Taylor(2,1,X,2,2)7
10United Kingdom Reg Wilson(2,2,1,1,0)6+3
11Scotland Bobby Beaton(0,1,3,0,2)6+2
12United Kingdom Ian Cartwright(1,0,2,1,1)5
13United Kingdom Dave Morton(1,3,0,0,0)4
14United Kingdom Kevin Jolly(2,0,1,0,1)4
15Zimbabwe Peter Prinsloo(2,1,0,1,0)4
16United Kingdom Mike Lanham(0,0,0,0,0)0

Swedish Qualification

DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Semi-Finals
4 May SwedenMalillaSweden Tommy JohanssonSweden Tommy NilssonSweden Conny Samuelsson
4 May SwedenGislavedSweden Anders MichanekSweden Bo WirebrandSweden Hasse Danielsson
8 May SwedenLinköpingSweden Bernt PerssonSweden Richard HellsenSweden Borje Klingberg
Final
20 May SwedenNorrköpingSweden Jan AnderssonSweden Richard HellsenSweden Tommy Johansson

Swedish Final

  • May 20, 1980
  • Sweden Norrköping
  • Winner to World Final, riders 2-5 to 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
1 Sweden (13) Jan Andersson 13 2 3 3 2 3 13 1
2 Sweden (15) Richard Hellsen 12 3 3 3 X 3 12 2
3 Sweden (2) Tommy Johansson 12 2 3 2 3 2 12 3
4 Sweden (8) Anders Michanek 11 3 3 2 1 2 11 4
5 Sweden (14) Bernt Persson 11 1 2 3 2 3 11 5
6 Sweden (9) Bengt Jansson 10 1 2 1 3 3 10 6
7 Sweden (11) Tommy Nilsson 9 2 2 3 0 2 9 7
8 Sweden (16) Borje Klingberg 7 0 1 2 3 1 7 8
9 Sweden (1) Hans Danielsson 7 1 1 1 3 1 7 9
10 Sweden (10) Rolf Sundberg 6 3 X 1 2 0 6 10
11 Sweden (6) Per-Ove Gundmundsson 6 2 1 0 1 2 6 11
12 Sweden (4) Bo Wirebrand 5 3 0 2 X - 5 12
13 Sweden (7) Conny Samuelsson 3 1 1 0 1 0 3 13
14 Sweden (12) Lillebror Johansson 2 0 2 E - - 2 14
15 Sweden (5) Bengt Gustavsson 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 15
16 Sweden (3) Jan Eriksson 0 E F F - - 0 16
R1 Sweden (R1) Karl-Erik Claesson 4 0 2 1 1 4 R1
R2 Sweden (R2) Uno Johansson 1 1 0 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

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

New Zealand Final

  • 2 February 1980
  • New Zealand Aucland
  • First 8 to Austral-Asian Final
Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1New Zealand Larry Ross3,3,2,3,314
2New Zealand David Bargh3,3,3,3,214
3New Zealand Tony Briggs2,3,2,2,312
4New Zealand Graeme Stapleton3,2,3,2,111
5New Zealand Mitch Shirra1,3,1,3,311
6New Zealand Wayne Brown3,2,3,3,-11
7New Zealand Mike Fullerton2,1,1,2,39
8New Zealand Colin Tucker2,0,2,1,27
9New Zealand Roger Wright1,2,3,1,07
10New Zealand Max Brown0,2,2,1,16
11New Zealand Neil Abrahams2,1,0,0,25
12New Zealand Greg Joynt1,1,1,2,x5
13New Zealand Colin Farquharson1,F,0,0,23
14New Zealand Greame Beardsley0,F,1,-,-1
15New Zealand Paul FewingsF,1,F,-,-1
16New Zealand James MooreE,0,-,-,-0
R1New Zealand William Aulsfold0,0,1,12
R2New Zealand Roger Pauling0,00

Intercontinental Round

DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
American Final
16 November 1979 United StatesAnaheimUnited StatesBruce PenhallUnited StatesScott AutreyUnited StatesDennis Sigalos
Austral-Asian Final
16 February New ZealandChristchurchAustralia Billy SandersAustralia John TitmanNew Zealand Larry Ross
Danish Final
6 May DenmarkFredericiaDenmark Bo PetersenDenmark Preben EriksenDenmark Bent Rasmussen
Norwegian Final
18 May NorwaySkienNorway Reidar EideNorway Audun Ove OlsenNorway Rolf Gramstad
Nordic Final
15 June NorwaySkienDenmark Hans NielsenDenmark Ole OlsenDenmark Finn Thomsen
Commonwealth Final
5 July United KingdomWimbledonUnited Kingdom Dave JessupUnited Kingdom John LouisNew Zealand Ivan Mauger
Intercontinental Final
3 August United KingdomWhite CityUnited Kingdom Chris MortonUnited States Bruce PenhallAustralia Billy Sanders

American Final

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1United States Bruce Penhall14
2United States Scott Autrey13+3
3United States Dennis Sigalos13+2
4United States Ron Preston13+1
5United States Shawn Moran10
6United States Gene Woods10
7United States John Cook9
8United States Mike Faria7
9United States Bobby Schwartz5
10United States Alan Christian5
11United States Denny Pyeatt5
12United States Duane Yarrow5
13United States Brad Oxley4
14United States John Santona4
15United States Dan McNeill3
16United States Kelly Moran1
17United States Larry Kosta0

Austral-Asian 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 Australia (10) Billy Sanders 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 Australia (1) John Titman 13 3 3 2 3 2 13 2
3 New Zealand (16) Larry Ross 12 3 3 3 2 1 12 3
4 New Zealand (2) Mitch Shirra 12 2 2 3 3 2 12 4
5 Australia (4) Phil Crump 11 1 2 2 3 3 11 5 3
6 New Zealand (7) Tony Briggs 11 2 3 1 2 3 11 6 2
7 Australia (6) Mike Farrell 10 3 1 1 2 3 10 7
8 Australia (14) Phil Herne 8 2 0 3 1 2 8 8
9 Australia (3) Steve Koppe 7 0 2 2 1 2 7 9
10 Australia (11) Glyn Taylor 5 2 1 0 2 0 5 10
11 Australia (5) Gleen McDonald 5 0 2 2 0 1 5 11
12 New Zealand (15) Graeme Stapleton 3 1 0 0 1 1 3 12
13 Australia (13) Keith Wright 2 0 1 0 0 1 2 13
14 New Zealand (9) David Bargh 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 14
15 New Zealand (8) Mike Fullerton 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 15
16 New Zealand (12) Wayne Brown 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 16
R1 New Zealand (R1) Roger Wright 0 0 R1
R2 New Zealand (R2) Max Brown 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

Danish Final

  • May 4, 1980
  • Denmark Fredericia
  • First 3 to Nordic final (Olsen, Nielsen & Thomsen seeded through)
Pos.RiderTotal
1Denmark Bo Petersen15
2Denmark Preben Eriksen13
3Denmark Bent Rasmussen12+3
4Denmark Finn Rune Jensen12+2
5Denmark Finn Thomsen10
6Denmark Mike Lohmann8
7Denmark Alf Busk8
8Denmark Jens Henry Nielsen7
9Denmark Lars Vinding6
10Denmark Arne Cruse6
11Denmark Gunnar Hansen6
12Denmark Finn Lundahl5
13Denmark Steen Mastrup5
14Denmark Hans Ove Cristiansen3
15Denmark Svend Lund3
16Denmark Gunnar Svendsen1

Norwegian Final

  • May 18, 1980
  • Norway Skien
  • First 3 to Nordic final
Pos.RiderTotal
1Norway Reidar Eide14
2Norway Audun Ove Olsen13
3Norway Rolf Gramstad12+3
4Norway Dag Haaland12+2
5Norway Trond Helge Skretting10
6Norway Terje Tollefsen8
7Norway Sigvart Pedersen7
8Norway Kjell Gimre7
9Norway Jon Hovind6
10Norway Roy Otto6
11Norway Jorn Haugvaldstad6
12Norway Toralf Holen6
13Norway Asgeir Bjerga4
14Norway Geir Aasland4
15Norway Rolf Havirstad2
16Norway Dagvinn Jorgensen2

Nordic Final

  • June 15, 1980
  • Norway Skien
  • First 5 to Intercontinental Final
Pos.RiderTotal
1Denmark Hans Nielsen15
2Denmark Ole Olsen14
3Denmark Finn Thomsen13
4Denmark Bent Rasmussen12
5Finland Kai Niemi10
6Finland Ila Teromaa8
7Denmark Bo Petersen8
8Sweden Hans Danielsson7
9Sweden Tommy Johansson7
10Denmark Preben Eriksen6
11Norway Rolf Gramstad5
12Sweden Bernt Persson5
13Finland Veijo Tyoriniemi4
14Norway Audun Ove Olsen2
15Norway Reidar Eide1
16Sweden Bengt Jansson0

Commonwealth 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 United Kingdom (2) Dave Jessup 14 3 2 3 3 3 14 1
2 United Kingdom (14) John Louis 13 2 3 2 3 3 13 2
3 New Zealand (3) Ivan Mauger 12 2 3 1 3 3 12 3
4 United Kingdom (8) John Davis 11 1 2 3 2 3 11 4
5 Australia (9) Billy Sanders 10 3 3 0 3 1 10 5
6 United Kingdom (4) Chris Morton 11 0 3 3 3 2 11 6
7 United Kingdom (5) Michael Lee 9 3 2 2 1 1 9 7
8 New Zealand (7) Mitch Shirra 9 2 2 1 2 2 9 8
9 United Kingdom (10) Peter Collins 7 1 0 3 2 1 7 9
10 United Kingdom (15) Gordon Kennett 6 3 1 1 1 0 6 10 3
11 New Zealand (1) Larry Ross 6 1 1 1 1 2 6 11 E
12 United Kingdom (12) Phil Collins 5 2 1 0 0 2 5 12
13 Australia (6) John Titman 4 0 1 3 0 E 4 13
14 United Kingdom (11) Melvyn Taylor 3 F 0 2 1 0 3 14
15 Australia (13) Phil Crump 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 15
16 United Kingdom (16) Reg Wilson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 Australia (R1) Phil Herne 0 0 R1
R2 Scotland (R2) Bobby Beaton 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

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
1 England (1) Chris Morton 12 2 1 3 3 3 12 1 3
2 United States (5) Bruce Penhall 12 3 3 1 3 2 12 2 2
3 Australia (15) Billy Sanders 11 1 3 3 2 2 11 3 3
4 Finland (3) Kai Niemi 11 3 2 2 1 3 11 4 2
5 Denmark (16) Finn Thomsen 10 2 2 1 2 3 10 5
6 England (8) Dave Jessup 9 2 3 E 3 1 9 6
7 England (13) Michael Lee 9 3 0 3 1 2 9 7
8 England (9) John Davis 9 1 2 3 1 2 9 8
9 Denmark (4) Hans Nielsen 8 1 1 X 3 3 8 9
10 England (2) Peter Collins 7 0 3 2 2 0 7 10
11 Denmark (7) Ole Olsen 6 1 1 2 1 1 6 11
12 United States (11) Scott Autrey 6 3 0 2 0 1 6 12
13 New Zealand (14) Ivan Mauger 5 0 2 1 2 0 5 13
14 England (12) John Louis 3 2 0 0 0 1 3 14
15 New Zealand (6) Mitch Shirra 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 15
16 Denmark (10) Bent Leif Rasmussen 0 0 0 X E - 0 16
R1 England (R1) Gordon Kennett 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

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

Continental Round

DateVenueWinnerRunner-up3rd place
Preliminary Round
19 April West GermanyLandshutWest Germany Egon MullerWest Germany Waldemar BacikPoland Edward Jancarz
20 April PolandBydgoszczCzechoslovakia Zdeněk KudrnaPoland Jerzy RembasPoland Marek Ziarnik
20 April ItalyTrevisoCzechoslovakia Milan ŠpinkaCzechoslovakia Václav VernerAustria Herbert Szerecz
20 April Czech RepublicŽarnovicaCzechoslovakia Petr OndrašíkCzechoslovakia Jan HadekCzechoslovakia Petr Kučera
Quarter-Finals
3 May CzechoslovakiaSlanySoviet Union Mikhail StarostinCzechoslovakia Jiří ŠtanclCzechoslovakia Jan Verner
4 May Socialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaPrelogNetherlands Henny KroezeCzechoslovakia Václav VernerCzechoslovakia Milan Špinka
4 May AustriaWiener NeustadtCzechoslovakia Zdeněk KudrnaPoland Jerzy RembasPoland Piotr Pyszny
Semi-Finals
25 May West GermanyNordenCzechoslovakia Jiří ŠtanclPoland Edward JancarzCzechoslovakia Petr Ondrašík
27 May BulgariaTargovishteCzechoslovakia Zdeněk KudrnaCzechoslovakia Václav VernerCzechoslovakia Aleš Dryml Sr.
Final
27 July ItalyLonigoPoland Zenon PlechCzechoslovakia Jiří ŠtanclCzechoslovakia Aleš Dryml Sr.

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
1 Poland (16) Zenon Plech 14 3 3 3 3 2 14 1 3
2 Czechoslovakia (13) Jiří Štancl 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 2 2
3 Czechoslovakia (7) Aleš Dryml Sr. 12 1 3 2 3 3 12 3
4 West Germany (1) Egon Müller 11 3 1 2 2 3 11 4
5 Czechoslovakia (5) Petr Ondrašík 11 2 2 2 2 3 11 5
6 Czechoslovakia (6) Václav Verner 9 3 1 1 2 2 9 6
7 Soviet Union (4) Mikhail Starostin 7 2 2 F 3 E 7 7
8 Poland (8) Jerzy Rembas 7 X 1 3 1 2 7 8
9 West Germany (14) Georg Hack 7 1 2 2 F 2 7 9
10 Czechoslovakia (11) Milan Špinka 6 3 2 0 0 1 6 10
11 Czechoslovakia (10) Zdeněk Kudrna 6 X 3 1 1 1 6 11
12 Poland (2) Andrzej Huszcza 6 F E 3 2 1 6 12
13 West Germany (3) Andy Cusworth 3 1 0 1 0 1 3 13
14 Poland (12) Wojciech Żabiałowicz 2 1 0 0 1 F 2 14
15 Soviet Union (15) Nikolay Kornev 2 0 1 1 E F 2 15
16 Poland (9) Edward Jancarz 0 F - - - 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

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

  • 5 September 1980
  • Sweden Göteborg, Ullevi[7]
  • Referee: (Norway) Torrie Kittlesen
  • Attendance: 35,000 (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 21
1 United Kingdom (9) Michael Lee 14 2 3 3 3 3 14 1
2 United Kingdom (10) Dave Jessup 12 3 2 2 2 3 12 2 3
3 Australia (13) Billy Sanders 12 3 1 3 2 3 12 3 2
4 Sweden (5) Jan Andersson 11 3 0 2 3 3 11 4
5 United States (1) Bruce Penhall 9 3 2 1 1 2 9 5
6 United Kingdom (2) John Davis 9 2 1 1 3 2 9 6
7 United Kingdom (11) Peter Collins 8 1 3 3 1 0 8 7
8 Finland (12) Kai Niemi 8 0 1 3 2 2 8 8
9 United Kingdom (7) Chris Morton 8 2 1 1 3 1 8 9
10 Denmark (14) Finn Thomsen 7 2 3 1 0 1 7 10
11 Denmark (4) Hans Nielsen 7 1 2 0 2 2 7 11
12 Czechoslovakia (8) Aleš Dryml Sr. 5 0 3 2 0 0 5 12
13 Czechoslovakia (15) Jiří Štancl 5 1 2 0 1 1 5 13
14 West Germany (6) Egon Muller 4 1 0 2 E 1 4 14
15 Poland (16) Zenon Plech 1 E 0 0 1 0 1 15
16 Czechoslovakia (3) Petr Ondrašík 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
R1 Denmark (R1) Ole Olsen 0 0 R1
R2 Czechoslovakia (R2) Václav Verner 0 0 R2
R3 Sweden (R3) Hans Danielsson 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

References

  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 10 July 2021.
  3. "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  4. "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  7. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
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