The 1936 Individual Speedway World Championship was the first ever Speedway World Championship and was won by Lionel Van Praag of Australia. The forerunner to the World Championship was generally regarded to be the Star Riders' Championship.[1][2][3] The final was held at London's Wembley Stadium in front of 74,000. It was the first of a record 26 times that Wembley would host the World Final with the last being in 1981.[4]
Summary
editThe World Championship would consist of qualifying heats and then a Championship round, where points would be carried forward to the final to determine the winner. One of the favourites Jack Parker had a broken hand injury and was unable to compete in the final.[5] Joe Abbott was also unable to line up for the final due to injury, despite qualifying for the final. They were replaced by Arthur Atkinson and Bill Pitcher.[3][6]
Despite being unbeaten in the Final, Australian Bluey Wilkinson only finished third as the Championship was decided by bonus points accumulated in previous rounds plus the score from the final. Van Praag defeated England's Eric Langton in a runoff to be declared the inaugural Speedway World Champion.[7][8][9]
As they lined up at the tapes for the runoff, Langton broke them which would ordinarily lead to disqualification. However, Van Praag stated he did not want to win the title by default and insisted that a race should take place. At the restart Langton made it to the first bend in front and led until the final bend on the last lap when Van Praag darted through the smallest of gaps to win by less than wheel length.[10]
Afterwards, controversial allegations were abound that the two riders had 'fixed' the match race, deciding between them that the first person to the first bend would win the race and the Championship and split the prize money; Langton led into the first bend but was overtaken by Van Praag.[10] Van Praag reportedly paid Langton £50 "conscience money" after the race for going back on the agreement.[10]
In the Championship round the top 16 riders over 7 rounds would qualify for the World final. Ron Johnson and Bill Pitcher qualified as first reserves.[11]
Qualifying round
edit- Top 28 riders qualify for Championship round
| Date | Venue | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 26 May | West Ham Stadium | Jack Parker |
| 30 May | Hyde Road | Bluey Wilkinson |
| 6 June | Harringay Stadium | Frank Charles |
| 19 June | Hackney Wick Stadium | Arthur Atkinson & Jack Ormston |
| 20 June | Wimbledon Stadium | Fred Tate |
| 25 June | Wembley Stadium | Ron Johnson |
| 1 July | New Cross Stadium | Joe Abbott |
Championship round
edit- The top 16 riders over the 7 qualifying rounds and 7 championship rounds would qualify for the World final.
| Date | Venue | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 11 July | Harringay Stadium | Jack Parker |
| 14 July | West Ham Stadium | Eric Langton |
| 23 July | Wembley Stadium | Lionel Van Praag |
| 29 July | New Cross Stadium | George Newton |
| 8 August | Hyde Road | Eric Langton |
| 10 August | Wimbledon Stadium | Lionel Van Praag |
| 14 August | Hackney Wick Stadium | Frank Charles |
Qualifying points (top 16 qualify, 2 reserves)
|
|
World final
edit- 10 September 1936
Wembley Stadium, London
| Pos. | Rider | c/f | Final Points | Final Heats | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lionel Van Praag |
12 | 14 | (3,3,3,2,3) | 26+3 |
| 2 |  Eric Langton |
13 | 13 | (3,3,3,2,2) | 26+2 |
| 3 | Bluey Wilkinson |
10 | 15 | (3,3,3,3,3) | 25 |
| 4 |  Cordy Milne |
9 | 11 | (2,2,1,3,3) | 20 |
| 5 | Frank Charles |
12 | 8 | (3,3,0,2,0) | 20 |
| 6 | Dicky Case |
9 | 8 | (2,0,3,1,2) | 17 |
| 7 | Jack Ormston |
9 | 8 | (1,1,2,3,1) | 17 |
| 8 | Vic Huxley |
10 | 7 | (1,2,0,2,2) | 17 |
| 9 | George Newton |
12 | 4 | (0,0,3,1,0) | 16 |
| 10 | Jack Milne |
9 | 6 | (1,2,1,0,2) | 15 |
| 11 |  Morian Hansen |
10 | 5 | (2,1,2,0,0) | 15 |
| 12 | Bob Harrison |
10 | 5 | (0,0,2,0,3) | 15 |
| 13 | Wal Phillips |
7 | 5 | (1,1,0,2,1) | 12 |
| 14 | Jack Parker |
12 | - | - | 12 |
| 15 | Ginger Lees |
7 | 4 | (2,0,1,0,1) | 11 |
| 16 | Arthur Atkinson |
6 | 3 | (0,2,1,0,0) | 9 |
| 17 | Bill Pitcher |
6 | 2 | (0,1,X/-,0,1) | 8 |
| 18 | Norman Parker (res) |
6 | 1 | (1) | 7 |
| 19 | Joe Abbott |
7 | - | - | 7 |
Podium
edit
References
edit- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ a b Oakes, Peter (1990). Speedway Yearbook 1990. Front Page Books. p. 13. ISBN 0-948882-15-8.
- ^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "World Speedway Championship". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 7 September 1936. Retrieved 22 April 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "World Speedway Championship". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 11 September 1936. Retrieved 22 April 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ a b c Chaplin, John (1990) Speedway Special, ISBN 0-9515857-0-3, p. 109–114
- ^ "New Era in Speedway". Daily News (London). 19 March 1936. Retrieved 30 December 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.