1949 Individual Speedway World Championship Explained
The 1949 Individual Speedway World Championship was the fourth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
It was the first running of the event since its suspension in 1939, due to World War II. The World final at London's Wembley Stadium, was held in front of a reported 93,000 strong crowd and the Championship was won Tommy Price.[7]
First qualifying round
- The top 96 riders qualify for the second qualifying round, where they will be joined by seeded division 2 riders.[8]
| width=100 | Date | width=200 | Venue | width=250 | Winner |
|---|
| 16 May | | Jack Mountford |
| 18 May | | Vic Emms |
| 18 May | | Paddy Mills |
| 18 May | | Basse Hveem |
| 19 May | | Bruce Semmens |
| 19 May | | Andy Menzies |
| 20 May | | Charlie May |
| 21 May | | Stan Williams |
| 21 May | | Billy Hole |
| 21 May | | Alan Hunt / Will Lowther | |
Second qualifying round
- The top 42 riders qualify for the Third qualifying round.[8]
| width=100 | Date | width=200 | Venue | width=250 | Winner |
|---|
| 10 June | | Gil Craven |
| 11 June | | Ken Le Breton |
| 11 June | | Jack Young |
| 11 June | | Bob Leverenz |
| 13 June | | Fred Tuck |
| 13 June | | Jim Boyd | |
Third qualifying round
- The top 2 riders from each meeting qualify for the Championship round, where they will meet 32 seeded division 1 riders.[8]
| width=100 | Date | width=200 | Venue | width=300 | Winner/2nd |
|---|
| 4 July | | Tommy Price / Ray Duggan |
| 5 July | | Ken Le Breton / Freddie Williams |
| 5 July | | Fred Tuck / Roy Craighead |
| 6 July | | Charles Cullum / Ken Sharples |
| 6 July | | Geoff Bennett / Gil Craven | |
Championship round
- The top 16 riders qualify for the world final.[8]
| width=100 | Date | width=200 | Venue | width=250 | Winner |
|---|
| 8 August | | Aub Lawson |
| 10 August | | Cyril Roger |
| 22 August | | Graham Warren |
| 25 August | | Wilbur Lamoreaux |
| 27 August | | Dent Oliver |
| 27 August | | Tommy Price |
| 30 August | | Cliff Watson |
| 2 September | | Dent Oliver | |
Scores
- Top 16 qualify for World final, 17th & 18th reserves for World final
| width=50% valign=top | | width=25px | Pos. | width=200px | Rider | width=40px | Total pts |
|---|
| 1 | | 38 | | 2 | | 38 | | 3 | | 37 | | 4 | | 37 | | 5 | | 36 | | 6 | | 35 | | 7 | | 34 | | 8 | | 34 | | 9 | | 33 | | 10 | | 31 | | 11 | | 30 | | 12 | | 30 | | 13 | | 30 | | 14 | | 29 | | 15 | | 29 | | 16 | | 27 | | 17 | | 27 | | 18 | | 25 | | 19 | | 25 | |
| width=50% valign=top | | width=25px | Pos. | width=200px | Rider | width=40px | Total pts |
|---|
| 20 | | 25 | | 21 | | 23 | | 22 | | 23 | | 23 | | 20 | | 24 | | 18 | | 25 | | 18 | | 26 | | 17 | | 27 | | 17 | | 28 | | 15 | | 29 | | 15 | | 30 | | 15 | | 31 | | 14 | | 32 | | 14 | | 33 | | 13 | | 34 | | 13 | | 35 | | 12 | | 36 | | 11 | | 37 | | 9 | | 38 | | 2 | |
| |
World final
| width=25px | Pos. | width=200px | Rider | width=40px | Points | width=70px | Heats |
|---|
| 1 | | 15 | (3,3,3,3,3) |
| 2 | | 14 | (3,3,3,2,3) |
| 3 | | 13 | (2,2,3,3,3) |
| 4 | | 10 | (3,3,2,2,0) |
| 5 | | 9 | (2,2,3,0,2) |
| 6 | | 9 | (3,1,2,2,1) |
| 7 | | 8 | (1,0,2,3,2) |
| 8 | | 8 | (1,3,1,1,2) |
| 9 | | 8 | (1,2,2,1,2) |
| 10 | | 7 | (2,0,1,1,3) |
| 11 | | 6 | (2,1,3,0,0) |
| 12 | | 5 | (0,2,0,2,1) |
| 13 | | 4 | (1,0,1,1,1) |
| 14 | | 2 | (0,1,0,0,1) |
| 15 | | 1 | (0,1,0,0,0) |
| 16 | | 0 | (0,0,-,-,-) |
| Oliver Hart (res) | 1 | (1,0,0) |
| Alec Statham (res) | – | – | |
Notes and References
- Book: Oakes, Peter. 1981 Speedway Yearbook. 1981. 20–21. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-86215-017-5.
- Web site: World Championship 1936-1994. Edinburgh Speedway. 5 July 2021.
- Web site: WORLD FINALS 1936-1994. Speedway Researcher. 5 July 2021.
- Web site: HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK. Speedway.org. 5 July 2021.
- Web site: WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX. British Speedway. 5 July 2021.
- Web site: Speedway riders, history and results. wwosbackup. 5 July 2021.
- News: Price Wins World Speedway Title For England . Western Daily Press . 23 September 1949 . 5 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
- News: World Championship . Hastings and St Leonards Observer . 14 May 1949 . 2 January 2024 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
