1962 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1962 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 17th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

The final was sponsored by the Sunday Pictorial and England's Peter Craven won his second title finishing one point ahead of two time champion Barry Briggs. Three time champion Ove Fundin defeated fellow Swede Björn Knutson in a ride off to claim the bronze medal.^[7]

First round

Qualification results.^[8]^[9]

British & Commonwealth provincial qualifying

Top 16 riders to British Provincial final

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
4 June	Brough Park, Newcastle upon Tyne	Brian Craven	Stan Stevens	Gil Goldfinch
4 June	County Ground, Exeter	Cliff Cox	Len Silver	Chris Julian
6 June	Wimborne Road, Poole	Tony Lewis	Peter Vandenberg	Geoff Mudge
7 June	Cleveland Park Stadium, Middlesbrough	Peter Vandenberg	Eric Boothroyd	Wayne Briggs
7 June	Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield	Guy Allott	Clive Featherby	Dick Campbell
7 June	Pennycross Stadium, Plymouth	Jimmy Squibb	Peter Jarman	Ross Gilbertson
8 June	Monmore Green, Wolverhampton	Willie Templeton	Graham Warren	Norman Hunter
8 June	Leicester Stadium, Leicester	Ivor Brown	Harry Edwards	Gil Goldfinch
8 June	Greenfield Stadium, Bradford	Brian Craven	Cliff Cox	Tommy Roper
9 June	Neath Abbey Stadium, Neath	Eric Boothroyd	Trevor Redmond	Geoff Mudge
9 June	Old Meadowbank, Edinburgh	Wayne Briggs	Clive Featherby	Doug Templeton
9 June	Dudley Wood Stadium, Dudley	Ivor Brown	Ross Gilbertson	Tony Lewis
9 June	Sun Street Stadium, Hanley	Ken Adams	Peter Jarman	Tommy Roper

Norwegian qualifying

22 October 1961
Krohnsminde Idrettsplass, Bergen
Top 5 to Nordic qualification 1962

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Aage Hansen	14
2	Sverre Harrfeldt	12
3	Reidar Kristoffersen	11
4	Egil Bratvold	9
5	Svein Johnsen	9
6	Oystein Mellerud	9
7	Cato Agnor	8
8	Per Aulie	8
9	Bjarne Sorenby	7
10	Odvar Kristiansen	6
11	Jon Odegaard	6
12	Fred Roger Steen	5
13	Haavard Gulbjörnrud	5
14	Reidar Bakken	4
15	Gunnar Skjetene	4

Finnish qualifying

17 September 1961
Turku Hippodrome, Turku
First 5 to Nordic qualification 1962

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Timo Laine	15
2	Antti Pajari	14
3	Ilkka Helminen	13
4	Esko Koponen	12
5	Olavi Turunen	11
6	Antero Salasto	10
7	Veikko Kirjonen	8
8	Martti Assinen	8
9	Nils Staaf	7
10	Jan Ulfingman	6
11	Reijo Saburin	5
12	Martti Koivuoja	5
13	Osmo Hokkannen	2
14	Pertti Petersohn	2
15	Bertil Kollroos	0

Swedish qualifying

Top 15 to Nordic qualifying

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
29 April	Gamla Motorstadion, Målilla	Ove Fundin	Rune Sörmander	Leif Larsson
1 May	Gamla Speedway Track, Visby	Björn Knutson	Curt Eldh	Göte Nordin
3 May	Hammarby IP, Stockholm	Ove Fundin	Björn Knutson	Leif Larsson

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Ove Fundin	30
2	Björn Knutson	27
3	Rune Sörmander	26
4	Leif Larsson	25
5	Curt Eldh	24
6	Per-Tage Svensson	22
7	Göte Nordin	20
8	Bengt Brannefors	20
9	Evert Andersson	19
10	Sören Sjösten	18
11	Joel Jansson	17
12	Arne Carlsson	16
13	Åke Andersson	16

Pos.	Rider	Points
14	Göran Norlén	15
15	Kjell Svensson	12
16	Willihard Thomsson	11
17	Inge Gustafsson	10
18	Göran Carlsson	7
19	Sigvard Johansson	5
20	Jan Ekeroth	5
21	Kurt Westlund	4
22	Thore Kindstrand	2
23	Curt Nyqvist	2
24	Olle Nygren	2
25	Per-Åke Lundgren	2
26	Bengt Jansson	2

Continental qualifying

Top 32 to Continental semi-final

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
7 April	Praterstadion, Vienna	Luboš Tomíček Sr.	Manfred Poschenreider	Josef Bössner
13 May	Rivne Speedway Stadium, Rivne	Joachim Maj	Bedřich Slaný	Viktor Trofimov
13 May	Trade Union Stadium, Ostrava	Antonín Kasper Sr.	Andrzej Domiszewski	Konstanty Pociejkewicz
13 May	Gradski Stadion, Osijek	Paweł Waloszek	Florian Kapała	Igor Plekhanov

Second Round

Nordic Qualifying

24 May
Odense Athletics Stadium, Odense
Top 8 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Björn Knutson	14
2	Ove Fundin	13
3	Leif Larsson	11
4	Göran Norlén	11
5	Sören Sjösten	11
6	Kurt W Petersen	10
7	Sverre Harrfeldt	9
8	Willihard Thomsson	8

27 May
Målilla Motorbana, Målilla
Top 8 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Göte Nordin	15
2	Åke Andersson	12
3	Bengt Brannefors	12
4	Arne Carlsson	11
5	Rune Sörmander	11
6	Inge Gustafsson	9
7	Per-Tage Svensson	9
8	Aage Hansen	9
9	Evert Andersson	8
10	Paul Wissing	6
11	Kalevi Lahtinen	5
12	Esko Koponen	3
13	Timo Laine	4
14	Göran Carlsson	3
15	Olavi Turunen	3
16	Illka Helminen	0
17	Antti Pajari	0

British Provincial final

15 June, Monmore Green Stadium, Wolverhampton
Top 6 riders to British national league round^[10]

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Peter Vandenberg	14
2	Jimmy Squibb	10+3
3	Doug Templeton	10+2
4	Brian Craven	10+1
5	Gil Goldfinch	10+0
6	Trevor Redmond	9
7	Geoff Mudge	9
8	Ivor Brown	8
9	Cliff Cox	8

Pos.	Rider	Points
10	Wayne Briggs	7
11	Ken Adams	6
12	Eric Boothroyd	5
13	Ross Gilbertson	2
14	Stan Stevens	2
15	Tony Lewis	0
16	Pete Jarman	0
17	Tommy Roper	0

Continental semi-finals

3 June

Army Sports Club Stadium, Lviv
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Bedřich Slaný	13
2	Janusz Suchecki	12
3	Jaroslav Volf	11
4	Boris Samorodov	11
5	Joachim Maj	9
6	Konstanty Pociejkewicz	9
7	Bronislaw Rogal	9
8	Antonin Novak	8
9	Farid Szajnurov	7
10	Leonid Drobiazko	7
11	Norbert Świtała	7
12	Wiktor Kuzniecow	5
13	Viktor Trofimov	5
14	Antonín Kasper Sr.	4
15	Andrzej Domiszewski	2
16	Jurij Olenew	1
17	Mieczysław Połukard	0

3 June
Army Stadium, Warsaw
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Marian Kaiser	14
2	Henryk Zyto	13
3	Florian Kapala	12
4	Stanislaw Tkocz	11
5	Luboš Tomíček Sr.	11
6	Pawel Waloszek	10
7	Igor Plechanov	9
8	Stanislav Kubicek	8
9	Jan Malinowski	6
10	Jan Kusiak	6
11	Karel Průša	6
12	Drago Perko	5
13	Josef Bössner	3
14	Valent Medved	3
15	Kurt Wilder	3
16	Alfred Sitzwohl	0

Third round

British & Commonwealth national league round

Top 16 to British & Commonwealth final

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
30 June	Brandon Stadium, Coventry	Ken McKinlay	Ron Mountford	Barry Briggs
30 June	Abbey Stadium, Swindon	Ronnie Moore	Les Owen	Bob Andrews
2 July	Wimbledon Stadium, London	Ronnie Moore	Barry Briggs	Peter Moore
3 July	Banister Court Stadium, Southampton	Alby Golden	Neil Street	Ronnie Genz
5 July	Oxford Stadium, Oxford	Peter Craven	Billy Bales	Mike Broadbanks
6 July	Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich	Barry Briggs	Dick Fisher	Peter Moore
6 July	Leicester Stadium, Leicester	Peter Craven	Ron How	Ian Williams
7 July	The Firs Stadium, Norwich	Ron How	Bob Andrews	Billy Bales
7 July	Hyde Road, Manchester	Peter Craven	Dick Fisher	Gerald Jackson

Nordic Final

July 3, 1962
Selskov Stadium, Hillerød
First 8 to European 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
	(13) Björn Knutson	14				3	3							3		3					2		14	1
	(10) Göte Nordin	14			3			3						2			3		3				14	2
	(4) Ove Fundin	12	3							3				0				3				3	12	3
4	(6) Sören Sjösten	12		3				2			3							1			3		12	4
5	(1) Bengt Brannefors	10	2				2				2				3				1				10	5
6	(9) Arne Carlsson	9			0		1						3					2		3			9	6
7	(2) Aage Hansen	8.5	1					1/2				3				2				2			8.5	7
8	(7) Rune Sörmander	8		2					3					1	2					T			8	8
9	(15) Leif Larsson	8				2			2			2						0	2				8	9
10	(5) Kurt W. Petersen	6		1			0					1					2					2	6	10
11	(12) Sverre Harrfeldt	5			2					2		0			1						F		5	11
12	(11) Per Tage Svensson	4			1				1		1					0						1	4	12
13	(8) Inge Gustafsson	3		0						0			2			1			0				3	13
14	(16) Willihard Thomsson	3				0				1	0						1			1			3	14
15	(14) Åke Andersson	2.5				1		1/2					1		0							-	2.5	15
16	(3) Goran Norlen	1	0						0				0				0				1		1	16
R1	(R1) Evert Andersson	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	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

Continental Final

17 June 1962
Olympic Stadium Wrocław, Wrocław
First 8 to European 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) Marian Kaiser	14	2				3				3				3				3				14	1
	(13) Paweł Waloszek	13				2	2							3		3					3		13	2
	(15) Luboš Tomíček Sr.	12				3			3			3						2	1				12	3
4	(10) Florian Kapała	11			3			3						0			3		2				11	4
5	(7) Igor Plekhanov	10		3					1					2	2					2			10	5
6	(9) Henryk Żyto	9			2		1						F					3		3			9	6
7	(2) Farid Szajnurov	9	3					2				2				1				1			9	7
8	(4) Stanisław Tkocz	8	1							2				1				1				3	8	8
9	(5) Bedřich Slaný	6		2			0					0					2					2	6	9	3
10	(12) Jaroslav Volf	6			0					3		1			0						2		6	10	2
11	(3) Jerzy Suchecki	6	0						2				2				1				1		6	11	F
12	(14) Konstanty Pociejkewicz	5				1		0					3		1							0	5	12
13	(11) Antonin Novak	4			1				0		0					2						1	4	13
14	(6) Joachim Maj	3		1				1			1							0			0		3	14
15	(16) Boris Samorodov	2				0				0	2						0			0			2	15
16	(8) Stanislav Kubíček	2		0						1			1			0			X				2	16
R1	(R1) Bronislaw Rogal	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	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

Fourth round

British & Commonwealth Finals

Three events with the top 8 accumulated scorers going through to World final.^[11]

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
23 July	Wimbledon Stadium, London	Peter Craven	Ronnie Moore	Barry Briggs
24 July	Banister Court Stadium, Southampton	Peter Craven	Barry Briggs	Ken McKinlay
27 July	The Firs Stadium, Norwich	Barry Briggs	Ronnie Moore	Peter Craven

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Peter Craven	41+3
2	Barry Briggs	41+2
3	Ronnie Moore	38
4	Ken McKinlay	33
5	Ron How	30
6	Ron Mountford	29
7	Bob Andrews	29
8	Mike Broadbanks	26

Pos.	Rider	Points
9	Nigel Boocock	22
10	Peter Moore	19
11	Dick Fisher	11
12	Peter Vandenberg	11
13	Cyril Roger	10
14	Brian Craven	7
15	Ian Williams	7
16	Billy Bales	3
17	Ronnie Genz	3

European Final

26 June 1962
Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo
First 8 to World Final plus 1 reserve

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
	(12) Björn Knutson	15			3					3		3			3						3		15	1
	(1) Ove Fundin	12	3				3				3				E				3				12	2
	(10) Göte Nordin	12			2			3						3			2		2				12	3
4	(13) Sören Sjösten	10				3	2							1		2					2		10	4
5	(14) Igor Plekhanov	10				2		2					1		2							3	10	5
6	(2) Arne Carlsson	9	F					1				2				3				3			9	6
7	(3) Paweł Waloszek	9	2						1				2				3				1		9	7
8	(7) Rune Sörmander	9		2					2					2	1					2			9	8
9	(11) Henryk Żyto	7			1				3		0					1						2	7	9
10	(5) Aage Hansen	7		3			1					1					1					1	7	10
11	(8) Marian Kaiser	6		0						2			3			0			1				6	11
12	(9) Florian Kapała	4			0		0						0					3		1			4	12
13	(6) Luboš Tomíček Sr.	3		1				0			2							E			E		3	13
14	(15) Bengt Brannefors	3				1			0			0						2	E				3	14
15	(16) Stanisław Tkocz	2				F				1	1						0			0			2	15
16	(4) Farid Szajnurov	2	1							0				0				1				0	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

World Final

8 September 1962
Wembley Stadium, London^[12]
Referee: C. H. King

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
	(14) Peter Craven	14				3		2					3		3							3	14	1
	(2) Barry Briggs	13	1					3				3				3				3			13	2
	(10) Ove Fundin	10			3			0						1			3		3				10	3	3
4	(6) Björn Knutson	10		3				1			E							3			3		10	4	2
5	(3) Ronnie Moore	9	3						3				E				2				1		9	5
6	(9) Bob Andrews	9			0		3						2					2		2			9	6
7	(7) Ken McKinlay	9		2					2					3	2					F			9	7
8	(1) Göte Nordin	9	2				2				2				1				2				9	8
9	(4) Sören Sjösten	8	0							3				2				1				2	8	9
10	(11) Igor Plekhanov	7			1				1		3					1						1	7	10
11	(13) Rune Sörmander	7				2	1							0		2					2		7	11
12	(12) Ron How	6			2					2		2			0						0		6	12
13	(16) Arne Carlsson	3				0				0	1						1			1			3	13
14	(5) Paweł Waloszek	2		1			0					1					0					0	2	14
15	(15) Mike Broadbank	2				1			E			0						0	1				2	15
16	(8) Ron Mountford	2		0						1			1			0			0				2	16
R1	(R1) Nigel Boocock	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Henryk Żyto	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

References

^ 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 8 July 2021.
^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
^ "Craven had no time to worry". Daily Mirror. 10 September 1962. Retrieved 8 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "1962 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
^ "1962 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
^ "Jarman crashed in first race". Staffordshire Sentinel. 16 June 1962. Retrieved 25 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Craven looks world class". Sunday Mirror. 29 July 1962. Retrieved 8 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

[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 8 July 2021.

[3] "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 8 July 2021.

[4] "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 8 July 2021.

[5] "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 8 July 2021.

[6] "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 8 July 2021.

[7] "Craven had no time to worry". Daily Mirror. 10 September 1962. Retrieved 8 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[8] "1962 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

[9] "1962 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

[10] "Jarman crashed in first race". Staffordshire Sentinel. 16 June 1962. Retrieved 25 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[11] "Craven looks world class". Sunday Mirror. 29 July 1962. Retrieved 8 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[12] Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

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