1966 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1966 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 21st edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

In the final in Göteborg New Zealander Barry Briggs equalled the record of Ove Fundin by winning his fourth World title. Norwegian Sverre Harrfeldt took silver and Pole Antoni Woryna took bronze.[7] Ivan Mauger, a 26-year-old New Zealander who had won the European Final qualifier finished fourth.

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed for the 1966 event. With the final to be held in Sweden, six riders from Sweden would be eligible for the World Final by finishing in the top six of the Swedish finals. The remaining Scandinavian riders were pooled in with the British and Commonwealth riders and then the Continental riders, who ultimately would have only 10 places for the World Final.

Two Swedish finals were held during 1966, the three race qualifying for the World Final and another held on 7 October that was separate from the World Championship.[8][9]

First round

Qualification results.[10][11]

British & Commonwealth qualifying

  • Top 32 to British & Commonwealth semi-finals
DateVenueWinner2nd3rd
20 MaySomerton Park, NewportNigel BoocockJon ErskineJack Biggs
20 MayWhite City, GlasgowRon MountfordCharlie MonkEric Boocock
21 MayOld Meadowbank, EdinburghGeorge HunterDoug TempletonNorman Hunter
21 MayBrandon Stadium, CoventryNigel BoocockJim LightfootBill Andrew
21 MayHyde Road, ManchesterBrian BrettJon ErskineCyril Maidment
21 MayWimbledon Stadium, LondonReg LuckhurstBob DugardBob Paulson
23 MayBrough Park, NewcastleIvan MaugerBrian BrettMike Broadbank
23 MayCounty Ground Stadium, ExeterRon MountfordMartin AshbyTrevor Hedge
24 MayLong Eaton Stadium, Long EatonRay WilsonEric BoothroydIvan Mauger
24 MayWest Ham Stadium, LondonBarry BriggsNorman HunterMalcolm Simmons
25 MayKing's Lynn Stadium, King's LynnDavid CraneCyril MaidmentPeter Moore
25 MayWimborne Road, PooleBill AndrewGeoff MudgeDoug Templeton
26 MayOxford Stadium, OxfordEric BoocockJimmy GoochJim Lightfoot
26 MayOwlerton Stadium, SheffieldBilly BalesBarry BriggsCharlie Monk
27 MayHackney Wick Stadium, LondonColin PrattMike BroadbankIvan Mauger
27 MayMonmore Green, WolverhamptonKen McKinlayTerry BettsPeter Jarman
28 MayDudley Wood Stadium, DudleyIvor BrownPeter VandenbergColin Gooddy
28 MayThe Shay, HalifaxEric BoocockEric BoothroydColin Pratt
28 MayAbbey Stadium, SwindonBarry BriggsMartin AshbyArne Pander

Second round

British & Commonwealth semi-finals

Pos.RiderPoints
1 Trevor Hedge12+3
2 Colin Pratt12+2
3 Mike Broadbank11+3
4 Norman Hunter11+2
5 Eric Boocock11+1
6 Dave Younghusband11+0
7 Nigel Boocock10
8 Ken McKinlay10
9 Martin Ashby9
10 Cyril Maidment6
11 Geoff Mudge5
12 Reg Luckhurst4
13 Bill Andrew3
14 Bob Paulson3
15 Eric Boothroyd2
16 Ray Wilson0
17 Ronnie Genz (res)0
Pos.RiderPoints
1 Barry Briggs15
2 Ron Mountford12
3 Peter Moore10+3
4 Roy Trigg10+2
5 Jimmy Gooch10+1
6 Brian Brett10+0
7 George Hunter9
8 Ivan Mauger9
9 Terry Betts7
10 Peter Vandenberg6
11 Arne Pander5
12 Jim Lightfoot5
13 Jon Erskine4
14 Charlie Monk4
15 Doug Templeton2
16 Colin Gooddy2

Continental qualifying

  • Top 32 to Continental semi-finals
DateVenueWinner2nd3rd
8 May Abensberger Stadion, Abensberg Joachim Maj Andrzej Wyglenda Andrzej Pogorzelski
8 May Meissen Speedway Stadium, Meissen Jan Mucha Edmund Migoś Marian Rose
8 May Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc Jerzy Trzeszkowski Zbigniew Podlecki Farid Szajnurov
8 May Gradski stadion, Osijek Gennady Kurilenko Stanisław Tkocz Antoni Woryna

Norwegian qualifying

Pos.RiderPoints
1Sverre Harrfeldt15
2Per Aulie14
3Johnny Faafeng13
4Thorbjorn Nygaard12
5Rolf Westerberg10
6Thorbjorn Aulie10
7Svein Johnsen8
8Ivar Arne Hoffgaard8
9Hans R. Gaarder6
10Olav Aaen6
11Einar Egedius6
12Svein Svensrud4
13Arne Thorbjornsen2
14Jan Terje Gravningen2
15Svein Tollefsen2
16Lars Skjellfoss1

Finnish qualifying

Pos.RiderPoints
1Kalevi Lahtinen15
2Matti Olin14
3Heikki Kaprali12
4Esko Koponen12
5Antero Salasto10
6Jouko Naskali9
7Timo Sinkkonene8
8Reima Lohkovuori8
9Veikko Vesa7
10Eero Mantila6
11Reijo Tolviander6
12Juhani Taipale5
13Toivo Skytta3
14Teijo Naskali3
15Teuvo Morjavaara2
16Martti Myllyntausta0

Third round

British & Commonwealth Final

  • 27 June 1966
  • Wimbledon Stadium, London
  • First 8 to British/Commonwealth/Scandinavian Final plus 1 reserve
PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos21
(3) Barry Briggs123333F121
(8) Ivan Mauger1131232112
(7) Colin Pratt1002323103
4 (9) Mike Broadbank93301294
5 (1) George Hunter90233195
6 (6) Nigel Boocock92022396
7 (15) Brian Brett801133873
8 (4) Ken McKinlay823003882
9 (16) Eric Boocock832111891
10 (2) Trevor Hedge81232F8100
11 (5) Ron Mountford710222711
12 (13) Roy Trigg721112712
13 (14) Norman Hunter613101613
14 (10) Jimmy Gooch521200514
15 (12) Dave Younghusband20EE11215
16 (11) Peter Moore110000116
R1 (R1) Martin Ashby00R1
R2 (R2) Terry Betts00R2
PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos21

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 - insidegate Bgate Cgate D - outside

Nordic Final

Pos.RiderPoints
1 Kalevi Lahtinen14
2 Ole Olsen13
3 Sverre Harrfeldt12
4 Paul Wissing12
5 Matti Olin12
6 Nils Paulsen8
7 Jonny Faafeng8
8 Torbjörn Nygaard7
9 Per Aulie7
10 Börge Christiansen7
11 Jan Holm-Nielsen4
12 Preben Andreasen4
13 Heikki Kaprali4
14 Jörgen Mogensen3
15 Kurt Bøgh2
16 Jouko Naskali1
17 Erik Kastebo1

Continental Semi-finals

Pos.RiderPoints
1 Gennady Kurilenko13
2 Antoni Woryna11
3 Marian Rose10
4 Konstanty Pociejkewicz10
5 Stanislaw Tkocz10
6 Edmund Migos10
7 Viktor Trofimov10
8 Boris Samorodov9
9 Marian Kaiser8
10 Vladimir Sokolov7
11 Jan Mucha6
12 Peter Leibing4
13 Antonín Šváb Sr.4
14 Luboš Tomíček Sr.3
15 Jan Holub I3
16 Hans Jürgen Fritz0
Pos.RiderPoints
1 Andrzej Pogorzelski14
2 Joachim Maj12
3 Pavel Mares12
4 Pawel Waloszek10
5 Andrzej Wyglenda10
6 Stanislav Kubicek9
7 Jaroslav Volf8
8 Igor Plechanov8
9 Jerzy Trzeszkowski
10 Zbigniew Podlecki
11 Gabdrakhman Kadyrov
12 Farid Szajnurov
13 Bohumír Bartoněk
14 Manfred Poschenreider
15 Vaclav Prusa
16 Vladimir Kornev

Fourth round

Swedish Qualifying

Pos.RiderPoints
1Per Olof Söderman15
2Karl-Erik Andersson13
3Olle Nygren13
4Bengt Brannefors10
5Bo Josefsson10
6Gunnar Malmqvist8
7Willy Friberg7
8Bengt Larsson
9Bo Magnusson6
10Therje Henriksson6
11Sune Stark5
12Jan Simensen5
13Bengt Svensson5
14Conny Samuelsson4
15Arne Hansson3
16Sven Sigurd1
Pos.RiderPoints
1Leif Enecrona14
2Göte Nordin15
3Leif Larsson11
4Torbjörn Harrysson10
5Arne Carlsson10
6Björn Knutson9
7Bengt Jansson9
8Kurt Westlund8
9Bernt Persson7
10Anders Michanek7
11Nils Ringström5
12Hasse Holmqvist4
13Yngve Nilsson3
14Ryno Westergren3
15Sture Lindblom2
16Per-Åke Gerhardsson2
17Leif Söderberg1
18Lars Jansson1

Continental Final

PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos21
(14) Andrzej Pogorzelski1233123121
(12) Antoni Woryna1123231112
(13) Konstanty Pociejkewicz1122322113
4 (11) Marian Kaiser1003232104
5 (2) Edmund Migoś1032302105
6 (1) Igor Plechanov1023113106
7 (9) Pawel Waloszek1031231107
8 (7) Stanisław Tkocz931203983
9 (6) Pavel Mares9213X3992
10 (8) Marian Rose912312910
11 (3) Viktor Trofimov512020511
12 (16) Joachim Maj401030412
13 (10) Andrzej Wyglenda31F110313
14 (4) Stanislav Kubíček200020214
15 (5) Boris Samorodov200101215
16 (15) Gennady Kurilenko110000116
R1 (R1) Jaroslav Volf00R1
PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos21

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 - insidegate Bgate Cgate D - outside

British/Commonwealth/Scandinavian Final

PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos21
(14) Barry Briggs1533333151
(11) Ivan Mauger1333331132
(8) Nigel Boocock1233213123
4 (13) Sverre Harrfeldt10E3223104
5 (12) George Hunter1022312105
6 (7) Ken McKinlay1011323106
7 (15) Colin Pratt1022231107
8 (5) Mike Broadbank92113298
9 (6) Brian Brett60212169
10 (4) Kalevi Lahtinen621111610
11 (3) Ole Olsen53F020511
12 (2) Torbjörn Nygaard311010312
13 (16) Nils Paulsen3100E2313
14 (9) Jonny Faafeng210100214
15 (10) Paul Wissing10001E115
16 (1) Börge Christiansen0F----016
R1 (R1) Eric Boocock022020R1
R2 (R2) Gordon Guasco00R2
PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos21

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 - insidegate Bgate Cgate D - outside

Fifth round

Swedish Final

  • Top 6 to World final
DateVenueWinner2nd3rd
31 MayRyavallen, BoråsBengt BranneforsBjörn KnutsonKarl-Erik Andersson
1 JuneRyd Motorstadion, LinköpingBjörn KnutsonPer-Olof SödermanTorbjörn Harrysson
2 JuneUllevi, GöteborgBjörn KnutsonTorbjörn HarryssonLeif Larsson
Pos.RiderPoints
1Björn Knutson41
2Torbjörn Harrysson35
3Leif Enecrona33
4Leif Larsson33
5Per Olof Söderman32
6Göte Nordin31
7Bengt Brannefors27
8Olle Nygren26
9Gunnar Malmqvist25
Pos.RiderPoints
10Bernt Persson18
11Karl-Erik Andersson14
12Bengt Larsson13
13Therje Henriksson7
14Bo Josefsson5
15Bengt Jansson4
16Willy Friberg4
17Kurt Westlund4
18Arne Carlsson3

European Final

PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos21
(14) Ivan Mauger1423333141
(16) Barry Briggs1332332132
(12) Antoni Woryna1113322113
4 (11) Sverre Harrfeldt1023131104
5 (1) Nigel Boocock1022213105
6 (5) Igor Plechanov1013222106
7 (10) Mike Broadbank93221197
8 (13) Stanisław Tkocz8F131388
9 (15) Andrzej Pogorzelski81212289
10 (8) Marian Kaiser73E220710
11 (6) Ken McKinlay621030611
12 (3) Konstanty Pociejkewicz53F101512
13 (2) Edmund Migoś410003413
14 (7) Brian Brett301101314
15 (4) George Hunter20101E215
16 (9) Colin Pratt000E00016
R1 (R1) Pawel Waloszek00R1
PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos21

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 - insidegate Bgate Cgate D - outside

World Final

PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos
(16) Barry Briggs1533333151
(11) Sverre Harrfeldt1433233142
(1) Antoni Woryna1333133133
4 (9) Ivan Mauger1121332114
5 (4) Torbjörn Harrysson1022222105
6 (7) Göte Nordin9323F196
7 (14) Leif Enecrona82122187
8 (13) Igor Plechanov81212288
9 (2) Stanisław Tkocz71321079
10 (3) Björn Knutson5E11E3510
11 (12) Marian Kaiser500311511
12 (6) Andrzej Pogorzelski522010512
13 (8) Mike Broadbank411002413
14 (10) Leif Larsson310020314
15 (15) Nigel Boocock200101215
16 (5) Per Olof Söderman10X010116
R1 (R1) Ken McKinlay00R1
R2 (R2) Bengt Brannefors00R2
PlacingRiderTotal1234567891011121314151617181920PtsPos

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 - insidegate Bgate Cgate D - outside

References