1989 Individual Speedway World Championship

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The 1989 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 44th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1][2][3] It was the second time the championship was held in West Germany after previously being held in Norden in 1983.[4]

The World Final was held at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. Hans Nielsen made up for his 1988 run-off defeat to fellow Dane Erik Gundersen by scoring a 15-point maximum to take his third World Championship. Nielsen joined fellow Danes Ole Olsen and Erik Gundersen as a three time Speedway World Champion.[5]

Simon Wigg from England finished second with the slick, 400 metres (440 yards) track suiting his long track style. Wigg defeated fellow Englishman Jeremy Doncaster in a run-off for second and third places.[6] In what would prove to be his last World Final before his career ending crash in the World Team Cup Final at the Odsal Stadium in England just two weeks later, Erik Gundersen finished in fourth place. His chances of an outright second-place finish (after having finished second behind Nielsen in Heat 4) ended when his bike's engine seized while leading heat 9 causing him to not finish the race. In a sad twist, it was also seized engine in Heat 1 of the World Team Cup Final that would cause Gundersen's career ending crash.

Australian rider Troy Butler had a lucky passage to the World Final. After finishing fourth in the Australian Championship, he replaced countryman Jamie Fagg in the Commonwealth Final, finishing eighth to qualify for the Overseas Final. He then finished tenth in the Overseas Final to be the first reserve for the Intercontinental Final. He then got a start in the Intercontinental Final at Bradford when Overseas champion Sam Ermolenko injured his back in a horrific Long track motorcycle racing crash and was forced to withdraw (the American would be out for over 6 months). Butler would finish twelfth in the IC Final to become a reserve for the World Final where he once again came in as an injury replacement when Dane Jan O. Pedersen was forced to pull out. The 1986 Australian Champion ultimately finished twelfth in Munich, finishing with 4 points (two second places) from his 5 rides.

Overseas Series[]

New Zealand Qualification[]

  • First 3 from New Zealand final to Commonwealth final
Date Venue Winner Runner-up 3rd place
South Island Final
?? New Zealand New Zealand Mark Thorpe ?? ??
North Island Final
?? New Zealand New Zealand Gary Allan ?? ??
New Zealand Final
?? New ZealandWestern Springs Stadium New Zealand Larry Ross New Zealand Gary Allan New Zealand Mark Thorpe

Australian Qualification[]

  • First 3 from Australian final to Commonwealth final
Date Venue Winner Runner-up 3rd place
Northern Territory Championship
26.11.1988 AustraliaTennant Creek Speedway Australia Australia Robbie War
Victorian Championship
26.12.1988 Australia Australia Leigh Adams Australia Phil Crump Nigel Alderton
New South Wales Championship
21.12.1988 AustraliaLiverpool City Raceway Australia Australia Craig Boyce Australia
South Australian Championship
23 December AustraliaNorth Arm Speedway Australia Australia Mark Fiora Australia Shane Parker
Queensland Championship
12.11.1988 Australia Australia Troy Butler Steve Regelin Mark Pearce
Western Australian Championship
25.11.1988 AustraliaClaremont Speedway Australia Glenn Doyle Andy Smith Glyn Taylor
Australian Championship Final
15.01.1989 AustraliaNewcastle Motordrome Australia Glenn Doyle Australia

Swedish Qualification[]

Date Venue Winner Runner-up 3rd place
Semi-Finals
30 April Sweden Målilla Sweden Conny Ivarsson Sweden Peter Nahlin Sweden
1 May Sweden Visby Sweden Tony Olsson Sweden Per Jonsson Sweden Jan Andersson
Final
16 May Sweden Nässjö Sweden Jimmy Nilsen Sweden Per Jonsson Sweden Mikael Blixt
17 May Sweden Nyköping Sweden Per Jonsson Sweden Mikael Blixt Sweden Jan Andersson
18 May Sweden Karlstad Sweden Per Jonsson Sweden Erik Stenlund Sweden Mikael Blixt

Swedish Final[]

  • May 16, 17 & 18
  •  SWE Nässjö, Nyköping & Karlstad
  • First 5 to Nordic Final plus 1 reserve
Pos. Rider Scores Total
1 Sweden Per Jonsson 13+15+14 42
2 Sweden Mikael Blixt 13+13+11 37
3 Sweden Jan Andersson 11+12+11 34
4 Sweden Jimmy Nilsen 14+11+8 33
5 Sweden Erik Stenlund 9+10+13 32
6 Sweden Tony Olsson 11+8+11 30
7 Sweden 7+8+9 24
8 Sweden Peter Karlsson 8+9+5 22
9 Sweden 6+6+8 20
10 Sweden Conny Ivarsson 8+4+7 19
11 Sweden Dennis Löfqvist 5+7+3 15
12 Sweden 1+4+10 15
13 Sweden 6+1+3 10
14 Sweden Peter Nahlin 4+6+ns 10
15 Sweden Tommy Nilsson 3+5+0 8
16 Sweden ns+ns+5 5
17 Sweden 1+1+ns 2

Danish Final[]

Pos. Rider Total
1 Denmark Erik Gundersen 14+3
2 Denmark Jan O. Pedersen 14+2
3 Denmark Brian Karger 14+1
4 Denmark Hans Nielsen 12
5 Denmark John Jørgensen 11
6 Denmark Peter Ravn 9
7 Denmark 9
8 Denmark 7+3
9 Denmark 7+2
10 Denmark Jan Stæchmann 6
11 Denmark Per Sorensen 5
12 Denmark 3
13 Denmark 3
14 Denmark 3
15 Denmark 2
16 Denmark (Res) 1
17 Denmark Torben Hansen 0

British Final[]

  • First 10 to Commonwealth final plus 1 reserve
Pos. Rider Points Details
Gold England Simon Wigg 14 (2,3,3,3,3)
Silver England Kelvin Tatum 12+3 (3,3,3,0,3)
Bronze England Alan Grahame 12+2 (3,2,1,3,3)
4 England Les Collins 11 (1,3,2,3,2)
5 England Andy Phillips 10 (3,1,3,1,2)
6 England Andy Grahame 7 (2,3,X,2,0)
7 England Martin Dugard 7 (0,2,3,2,0)
8 England Neil Collins 7 (3,2,1,X,1)
9 England Andy Smith 7 (2,0,1,2,2)
10 England Jeremy Doncaster 7 (1,2,2,X,2)
11 England Neil Evitts 6 (2,1,2,X,1)
12 England John Davis 5 (X,0,0,2,3)
13 England Mark Courtney 5 (1,1,1,1,1)
14 England Graham Jones 4 (0,1,0,3,X)
15 England Andrew Silver 4 (1,0,2,1,0)
16 EnglandMarvyn Cox 2 (0,X,0,1,1)
17 England Neville Tatum DNS
18 England Simon Cross DNS

American Final[]

Pos. Rider Total
1 United States Sam Ermolenko 19+3
2 United States Shawn Moran 19+2
3 United States Ronnie Correy 19+1
4 United States Lance King 17
5 United States Rick Miller 16
6 United States Bobby Schwartz 14
7 United States Mike Faria 14
8 United States Gary Hicks 12
9 United States Bart Bast 12
10 United States Billy Hamill 10
11 United States 8
12 United States Greg Hancock 7
13 United States 7
14 United States 7
15 United States Steve Lucero 7
16 United States Brad Oxley 5
17 United States 3
18 Canada 1
19 United States 1
20 Canada 1

Commonwealth Final[]

Pos. Rider Total
1 England Simon Wigg 13
2 New Zealand Mitch Shirra* 12+3
3 England Neil Collins 12+2
4 England Andy Grahame 9
5 England Kelvin Tatum 9
6 England Andy Smith 9
7 England Jeremy Doncaster 8
8 Australia Troy Butler* 7
9 England Andy Phillips 7
10 England Martin Dugard 7
11 Australia 7
12 England Andy Grahame 7
13 England Les Collins 6
14 New Zealand Gary Allan 5
15 Australia Glenn Doyle 0
16 New Zealand * 0

*Mitch Shirra and replaced Larry Ross and Mark Thorpe. Troy Butler replaced .

Nordic Final[]

Pos. Rider Total
1 Denmark Hans Nielsen 14+3
2 Denmark Jan O. Pedersen 14+2
3 Denmark Erik Gundersen 12
4 Denmark Peter Ravn 10
5 Sweden Tony Olsson 9
6 Denmark John Jørgensen 8+3
7 Finland Olli Tyrväinen 8+2
8 Sweden Erik Stenlund 8+1
9 Sweden Mikael Blixt 7
10 Finland Kai Niemi 7
11 Norway Lars Gunnestad 6
12 Sweden Per Jonsson 5
13 Denmark Brian Karger 5
14 Sweden Jimmy Nilsen 4
15 Sweden Peter Karlsson 2
16 Norway 1

Overseas Final[]

Pos. Rider Total
1 United States Sam Ermolenko 13
2 England Kelvin Tatum 12
3 United States Ronnie Correy 11+3
4 England Simon Wigg 11+2
5 England Andy Grahame 9
6 New Zealand Mitch Shirra 9
7 England Andy Grahame 8
8 England Jeremy Doncaster 8
9 England Andy Smith 8
10 Australia Troy Butler 6+3
11 England Martin Dugard 6+2
12 United States Lance King 5
13 Australia 5
14 United States Rick Miller* 4
15 England Neil Collins 4
16 England Andy Phillips 1

* Rick Miller replaced Shawn Moran. Bobby Schwartz came in as the reserve rider

Continental Final[]

  • August 12
  • Hungary Debrecen,
  • First 5 to World final plus 1 reserve
Pos. Rider Total
1 Hungary Zoltán Adorján 14
2 West Germany Karl Maier 10+
3 Czech Republic Roman Matoušek 10+
4 West Germany Gerd Riss 10+
5 Czech Republic Bohumil Brhel 10+
6 Hungary 10+
7 Soviet Union Rif Saitgareev 10+
8 Hungary Antal Kocso 10+
9 Czech Republic Antonín Kasper, Jr. 8
10 Hungary Sándor Tihanyi 8
11 Poland Ryszard Dołomisiewicz 7
12 Czech Republic Zdeněk Tesař 4
13 Soviet Union 3
14 Poland (Res) 3
15 Soviet Union 2
16 Czech Republic 1
17 Poland Roman Jankowski 0

Intercontinental Final[]

Pos. Rider Total
1 England Kelvin Tatum 13+3
2 Denmark Erik Gundersen 13+2
3 Denmark Hans Nielsen 12+3
4 New Zealand Mitch Shirra 12+2
5 Denmark Jan O. Pedersen 9
6 England Simon Wigg 9
7 Sweden Tony Olsson 8
8 England Jeremy Doncaster 7
9 England Andy Smith 6
10 Finland Olli Tyrväinen 5+3
11 United States Ronnie Correy 5+2
12 Australia Troy Butler* 5+1
13 England Andy Grahame 5+0
14 Denmark Peter Ravn 4
15 England Alan Grahame 3
16 Denmark John Jørgensen 3
R1 England Martin Dugard 1
R2 Sweden Erik Stenlund 0

*Troy Butler replaced the injured Sam Ermolenko. Martin Dugard came in as the reserve rider.

World final[]

  • September 2, 1989
  • West Germany Munich, Olympic Stadium[7]
  • Referee: (Netherlands) Henry van den Boomen
Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total
1 Denmark Hans Nielsen (3,3,3,3,3) 15
2 England Simon Wigg (1,3,3,3,2) 12+3
3 England Jeremy Doncaster (3,2,1,3,3) 12+2
4 Denmark Erik Gundersen (2,3,R,3,3) 11
5 England Kelvin Tatum (3,3,2,2,Fx) 10
6 New Zealand Mitch Shirra (2,2,3,2,1) 10
7 United Kingdom Andy Smith (1,2,2,2,3) 10
8 Sweden Tony Olsson (1,1,3,1,2) 8
9 West Germany Gerd Riss (3,1,1,0,Fx) 5
10 Czech Republic Roman Matoušek (0,2,0,1,2) 5
11 West Germany Karl Maier (2,1,1,0,1) 5
12 Australia Troy Butler* (2,0,2,0,0) 4
13 Finland Olli Tyrväinen (0,0,2,0,2) 4
14 United States Ronnie Correy (0,0,1,2,1) 4
15 Hungary Zoltán Adorján (1,1,0,1,1) 4
16 Czech Republic Bohumil Brhel (0,0,0,1,0) 1
R1 England Andy Grahame did not ride -
R2 Hungary did not ride -

* Troy Butler replaced the injured Jan O. Pedersen. Andy Grahame came in as the reserve rider.

Classification[]

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 Denmark (13) Hans Nielsen 15 3 3 3 3 3 15 1
2 England (6) Simon Wigg 12+3 1 3 3 3 2 12 2
3 England (1) Jeremy Doncaster 12+2 3 2 1 3 3 12 3
4 Denmark (16) Erik Gundersen 11 2 3 e 3 3 11 4
5 England (11) Kelvin Tatum 10 3 3 2 2 Fx 10 5
6 New Zealand (3) Mitch Shirra 10 2 2 3 2 1 10 6
7 England (4) Andy Smith 10 1 2 2 2 3 10 7
8 Sweden (15) Tony Olsson 8 1 1 3 1 2 8 8
9 Germany (8) Gerd Riss 5 3 1 1 0 Fx 5 9
10 Czech Republic (14) Roman Matoušek 5 0 2 0 1 2 5 10
11 Germany (5) Karl Maier 5 2 1 1 0 1 5 11
12 Australia (12) Troy Butler 4 2 0 2 0 0 4 12
13 Finland (9) Olli Tyrväinen 4 0 0 2 0 2 4 13
14 United States (7) Ronnie Correy 4 0 0 1 2 1 4 14
15 Hungary (10) Zoltán Adorján 4 1 1 0 1 1 4 15
16 Czech Republic (2) Bohumil Brhel 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 16
England (17) Andy Grahame 0 0
Hungary (18) 0 0
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

References[]

  1. ^ "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  3. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Nielsen topples King Eric". Sandwell Evening Mail. 4 September 1989. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  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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