1973 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1973 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 28th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The 1973 World Final was won by Polish rider Jerzy Szczakiel following a run-off in with defending champion Ivan Mauger after both riders had finished on 13 points. On the second lap of the run-off, Mauger fell in turn 3 after trying a risky passing move leaving Szczakiel to win easily. Another Polish rider, Zenon Plech finished third. Rank outsider Szczakiel, who had finished last with no points scored in his only other World Final appearance in Sweden in 1971, rode the meeting of his life and was only beaten in his final two rides before defeating Mauger in the run-off.^[7]

The final, held at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland, is believed to have been held in front of the largest crowd in world speedway history, estimated to be around 130,000, though some reports put the size of the crowd as anywhere from 90,000 to 120,000.^[8] The previous record for a final was 95,000 during the 1938 Individual Speedway World Championship at Wembley.

Format changes[]

The format of the Championship changed for the 1973 event. This time the Polish riders were allowed five places in the World Final to be held in Poland. All other nations had to go through the European Final route to provide the remaining 11 riders for the World Final.

First Round[]

• British/Commonwealth Qualifying - 16 to British/Commonwealth Final
• Scandinavian Qualifying - 16 to Nordic Final
• Continental Qualifying - 16 to Continental Final

British/Commonwealth Qualifying[]

Date	Venue	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
Preliminary Round
29 April	Eastbourne	Gordon Kennett	Paul Gachet
29 April	Boston	Graeme Stapleton	John Dews
2 May	Bradford	Neil Street	Billy Sanders	Rick France
7 May	Crewe		Arthur Price
7 May	Birmingham
12 May	Kings Lynn	John Louis	Terry Betts	Malcolm Simmons
14 May	Reading	Martin Ashby	Mick Bell	Geoff Curtis
16 May	Poole	Pete Smith	Ray Wilson	Terry Betts
17 May	Sheffield	Jim McMillan	Arnold Haley	Doug Wyer
18 May	Wolverhampton	George Hunter	Ray Wilson	Gary Peterson
18 May	Hackney	Terry Betts	Bob Valentine	Barry Thomas
19 May	Halifax	John Boulger	Eric Boocock	Bill Andrew
19 May	Cradley Heath	John Louis	Bruce Cribb	Colin Gooddy
19 May	Swindon	Jim McMillan	Doug Wyer	Tony Davey
19 May	Belle Vue	Ivan Mauger	Chris Pusey	Eric Broadbelt
21 May	Exeter	Ivan Mauger	Martin Ashby
22 May	Leicester	John Boulger	Ray Wilson	Bob Kilby
23 May	Newport	Eric Boocock	Roy Trigg	Gary Peterson
24 May	Wimbledon	Peter Collins	Norman Hunter	Ian Turner
24 May	Oxford	Bob Kilby	Malcolm Ballard	Eric Boocock
25 May	Coatbridge	Mick Bell	John Boulger	Chris Julian
26 May	Coventry	Nigel Boocock	Ray Wilson	Bob Kilby
29 May	Ipswich	Ivan Mauger	Tony Davey	Mick Bell
Semi-Finals
5 June	Leicester	Ivan Mauger	John Louis	Chris Pusey
7 June	Wimbledon	John Louis	Martin Ashby	Eric Boocock

Scandinavian Qualifying[]

Date	Venue	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
Qualifications
1 May	Visby		Bernt Persson	Christer Löfqvist
1 May	Malilla	Sören Sjösten	Bengt Jansson	Anders Michanek
5 May	Lindesberg	Hasse Holmqvist	Tommy Jansson	Tomas Pettersson
17 May	Stockholm	Bengt Jansson	Anders Michanek	Göte Nordin
27 May	Skien	Bernt Persson	Tommy Jansson	Odd Fossengen
27 May	Hillerod	Ole Olsen	Christer Löfqvist	Jan Simensen

Continental Qualifying[]

Date	Venue	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
Qualifying Round
29 April	Prelog
6 May	Norden	Jan Hadek		Henny Kroeze
Quarter-Finals
10 May	Pardubice	Vladimir Zapleshny	Jiri Stancl
20 May	Miskolc	Grigory Khlinovsky	Viktor Trofimov	Aleksandr Pavlov
20 May	Krumbach	Milan Špinka	Vladimir Paznikov	Jan Holub I
20 May	Krsko	Anatoly Kuzmin	Vladimir Gordeev	Petr Ondrašík
Semi-Finals
2 June	Rodenbach	Grigory Khlinovsky	Vladimir Gordeev	Václav Verner
2 June	Slany	Valery Gordeev	Jiri Stancl	Anatoly Kuzmin

Second Round[]

• British/Commonwealth Final - 8 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic final
• Nordic Final - 8 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic final

British/Commonwealth Final[]

• June 21, 1973
• Sheffield
• First 8 to British-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
	(15) Ray Wilson	15				3			3			3						3	3				15	1
	(10) Bob Valentine	12			3			3						2			2		2				12	2	3
	(13) Peter Collins	12				2	3							3		2					2		12	3	2
4	(3) John Boulger	12	2						1				3				3				3		12	4	1
5	(2) Ivan Mauger	10	3					1				3				3				T			10	5
6	(7) Eric Boocock	9		2					2					0	3					2			9	6
7	(8) Tony Davey	9		3						2			2			1			1				9	7
8	(16) Rick France	9				1				2	2						1			3			9	8
9	(6) John Louis	7		F				0			3							3			1		7	9
10	(4) Martin Ashby	6	1							3				1				1				0	6	10
11	(5) Garry Middleton	5		1			0					1					0					3	5	11
12	(14) Peter Smith	5				0		2					1		1							1	5	12
13	(9) Terry Betts	4			1		2						F					F		1			4	13
14	(11) Mick Bell	4			2				0		0					0						2	4	14
15	(1) Malcolm Simmons	2	0				1				1				0				0				2	15
16	(12) Jim McMillan	2			0					0		0			2						0		2	16
R1	(R1) Chris Pusey	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

gate A - inside

gate B

gate C

gate D - outside

Nordic Final[]

• June 6, 1973
• Norrköping
• First 8 to British-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
	(6) Ole Olsen	15		3				3			3							3			3		15	1
	(5) Bengt Jansson	14		2			3					3					3					3	14	2
	(7) Anders Michanek	13		1					3					3	3					3			13	3
4	(8) Bernt Persson	12		0						3			3			3			3				12	4
5	(3) Tommy Jansson	10	3						1				2				2				2		10	5
6	(4) Jan Simensen	9	1							2				2				2				2	9	6
7	(13) Reidar Eide	9				3	2							1		2					1		9	7
8	(11) Göte Nordin	8			3				2		1					1						1	8	8	3
9	(1) Christer Löfqvist	8	2				1				2				1				2				8	9	F
10	(9)	5			2		0						1					0		2			5	10
11	(12) Christer Sjösten	4			F					E		2			2						0		4	11
12	(10) Øyvind S. Berg	4			1			1						0			1		1				4	12
13	(2) Dag Lovaas	3	F					2				1				0				0			3	13
14	(15) Hasse Holmqvist	3				2			0			0						1	0				3	14
15	(16) Tommy Johansson	1				1				E	E						-			-			1	15
16	(14) Odd Fossengen	0				0		0					0		0							0	0	16
R1	(R1) Leif Enecrona	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

gate A - inside

gate B

gate C

gate D - outside

Third Round[]

• British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final - 8 to European Final
• Continental Final - 8 to European Final

British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final[]

• August 1, 1973
• Coventry
• 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) Anders Michanek	14				3	3							2		3					3		14	1
	(8) Ole Olsen	11		T						3			3			2			3				11	2
	(4) Ivan Mauger	11	1							2				3				3				2	11	3
4	(2) Tommy Jansson	10	2					3				2				1				2			10	4
5	(7) John Boulger	10		2					3					1	3					1			10	5
6	(11) Peter Collins	9			3				2		3					0						1	9	6
7	(16) Ray Wilson	9				E				1	2						3			3			9	7
8	(15) Bernt Persson	9				2			E			3						2	2				9	8
9	(1) Bob Valentine	8	3				2				0				2				1				8	9
10	(6) Reidar Eide	5		1				2			1							1			0		5	10
11	(14) Göte Nordin	5				1		1					2		1							0	5	11
12	(10) Bengt Jansson	3			2			F						F			1		E				3	12
13	(9) Jan Simensen	2			1		0						1					0		0			2	13
14	(12) Tony Davey	1			0					0		0			0						1		1	14
15	(3) Eric Boocock	0	0						T				-				-				-		0	15
DQ	(5) John Louis	10		3			1					1					2					3	10	DQ
R1	(R1) Garry Middleton	2											T				0				2		2	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

gate A - inside

gate B

gate C

gate D - outside

Continental Final[]

• June 23, 1973
• Leningrad
• First 8 to European 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
	(15) Valery Gordeev	13				3			3			2						2	3				13	1
	(4) Grigory Khlinovsky	12	2							3				3				1				3	12	2
	(16) Vladimir Zapleshny	12				2				2	2						3			3			12	3
4	(6) Vladimir Gordeev	11.5		3				3			1/2							3			2		11.5	4
5	(1) Viktor Trofimov	11.5	3				3				1/2				3				2				11.5	5
6	(12) Aleksandr Pavlov	11			3					0		3			2						3		11	6
7	(8) Anatoly Kuzmin	10		2						1			3			3			1				10	7
8	(11) Vladimir Paznikov	10			1				2		3					2						2	10	8
9	(9) Jiri Stancl	8			2		2						2					0		2			8	9
10	(3) Petr Ondrašík	5	1						1				0				2				1		5	10
11	(14) Milan Špinka	5				1		2					1		X							1	5	11
12	(13) Václav Verner	4				0	1							2		1					0		4	12
13	(5)	3		1			0					1					1					0	3	13
14	(7)	3		0					0					1	1					1			3	14
15	(10)	1			0			1						0			0		0				1	15
16	(2)	0	0					0				0				0				0			0	16
R1	(R1)	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

gate A - inside

gate B

gate C

gate D - outside

Fourth Round[]

• European Final - 11 to World Final
• Polish Qualifications - 5 to World Final

European Final[]

• August 19, 1973
• Abensberg
• First 11 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
	(7) Anders Michanek	15		3					3					3	3					3			15	1
	(5) Ivan Mauger	14		2			3					3					3					3	14	2
	(13) Vladimir Paznikov	12				3	2							1		3					3		12	3
4	(4) Bernt Persson	10	0							3				2				3				2	10	4
5	(9) Vladimir Zapleshny	9			3		0						2					2		2			9	5
6	(16) Peter Collins	9				2				2	3						2			E			9	6
7	(14) Valery Gordeev	8				F		3					3		1							1	8	7
8	(11) Ole Olsen	8			2				2		2					2						-	8	8
9	(1) Grigory Khlinovsky	7	1				1				0				2				3				7	9
10	(3) John Boulger	7	3						1				1				1				1		7	10
11	(2) Ray Wilson	6	2					2				F				1				1			6	11
12	(6) Bengt Jansson	6		1				1			1							1			2		6	12
13	(15) Aleksandr Pavlov	4				1			0			2						0	1				4	13
14	(8) Jiri Stancl	2		0						0			0			0			2				2	14
15	(12) Viktor Trofimov	2			0					1		1			0						0		2	15
16	(10) Anatoly Kuzmin	1			1			0						0			0		0				1	16
R1	(R1)	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

gate A - inside

gate B

gate C

gate D - outside

World Final[]

Final Controversy[]

The Final was surrounded by controversy, with decisions made by Georg Traunspurger, the referee assigned to the meeting by the FIM, seeming to favour the Polish riders. One of his decisions was to have 2nd reserve Andrzej Wyglenda of Poland race in Heat 16 in front of 1st reserve Tommy Jansson of Sweden (after Bernt Persson of Sweden was unable to ride), making it four Polish riders in the race. In the race, second placed Edward Jancarz, who led for the first three laps, seemed to let Zenon Plech take the lead in the final turn, allowing Plech, who had more points at that stage of the meeting, to collect another three points for the win.

His most controversial decision was to exclude Soviet rider Grigory Khlinovsky from heat 19. Khlinovsky had attempted to pass on the inside of Zenon Plech for the lead going into the back straight of the last lap. As he was passed by the Russian, Plech lost control of his bike and fell. Despite protests from riders and the Soviet officials Khlinovskywas excluded and England's Peter Collins, who was in 3rd place at the time of the crash, was awarded the heat win, Plech, who didn't actually finish the race, was awarded 2nd. The result of the two points he gained for second place allowed Plech to finish a clear third in the championship. Had Khlinovsky been the winner of the heat, he would have ended on 13 points, which would have put him in the run-off for the title with Szczakiel and Mauger.^[9]

British television commentator Dave Lanning called the ruling "The craziest piece of speedway regulations in the history of World Championship racing", before adding that "It seems to me that the authorities here in Katowice are making up the rules to suit themselves to get their boys a world title."

Final result[]

• September 2, 1973
• Chorzów, Silesian Stadium^[10]
• Referee: Georg Traunspurger

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
	(16) Jerzy Szczakiel	13				3				3	3						2			2			13	1	3
	(8) Ivan Mauger	13		3						1			3			3			3				13	2	F
	(6) Zenon Plech	12		2				3			2							3			2		12	3
4	(7) Ole Olsen	11		1					2					3	2					3			11	4
5	(3) Grigory Khlinovsky	10	2						3				2				3				X		10	5
6	(2) Vladimir Paznikov	8	3					1				2				1				1			8	6
7	(4) Paweł Waloszek	8	1							2				1				1				3	8	7
8	(12) Valery Gordeev	7			2					0		1			3						1		7	8
9	(11) Jan Mucha	7			1				1		1					2						2	7	9
10	(1) Anders Michanek	6	0				3				X				1				2				6	10
11	(9) Edward Jancarz	6			3		1						0					2		0			6	11
12	(13) Peter Collins	6				1	0							2		0					3		6	12
13	(14) John Boulger	6				2		2					1		0							1	6	13
14	(5) Ray Wilson	5		F			2					3					0					F	5	14
15	(10) Vladimir Zapleshny	2			0			0						0			1		1				2	15
16	(15) Bernt Persson	0				F			0			R						-	-				0	16
R1	(R1) Andrzej Wyglenda	0																0					0	R1
R2	(R2) Tommy Jansson	0																	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

gate A - inside

gate B

gate C

gate D - outside

References[]