1953 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1953 Individual Speedway World Championship was the eighth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

1953 Individual Speedway World Championship

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1952

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1954

Welshman Freddie Williams became the second rider to win a second title in front of a 90,000 attendance at Wembley Stadium. Williams won 4 of his 5 races, only dropping one point in heat 13 to Jeff Lloyd. Geoff Mardon defeated Olle Nygren in the bronze medal ride off.^[7]

Qualification

Qualification started on 1952.^[8][9]

Stage 1

Norwegian round 28 September 1952 Lerkendal Stadion, Trondheim First 3 (+1 seeded) to Nordic round 1953 Pos. Rider Points 1 Basse Hveem 14+3 2 Henry Andersen 14+2 3 Reidar Kristoffersen 13 4 Sverre Gjomesli 11 5 Werner Lorentzen 10 6 Thorleif Andreassen 10 7 Erik Storm Larsen 10 8 Rolf Naess 6 9 Oddvan Gundersgaard 5 10 Edvin Fredriksen 5 11 Erling Simonsen 4 12 Odd Johansen 4 13 Magne Flaaten 3 14 Gunnar Hilsen 2 15 Karl Andreassen 1 16 Olgar Torholen 1

Swedish round 20 May 1953 Eslöv Motorstadion, Eslöv First 8 to Nordic final Pos. Rider Points 1 Stig Pramberg 12 2 Olle Segerström 11 3 Olle Nygren 11 4 Dan Forsberg 10 5 Rune Sörmander 10 6 Sune Karlsson 9 7 Bert Lindarw 8 8 Thorsten Carlsson 8 9 Joel Jansson 8 10 Bertil Carlsson II 7 11 Ove Fundin 6 12 Ove Bodin 4 13 Göte Olsson 4 14 Bernt Nilsson 4 15 Sven Skoglund 3 16 Evert Andersson 3 17 Gunnar Hellqvist 2

Stage 2

Continental qualifier

• 17 May 1953
• Altes Stadion Abensberg, Abensberg
• First 6 to Continental round

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Josef Kamper	15
2	Kjell Carlsson	13
3	Fritz Dirtl	12
4	Sven Skoglund	11
5	Karl Killmeyer	10
6	Albin Siegl	9
7	Tony Kroeze	9
8	Josef Hofmeister	8
9	Wilf Plant	5
10	Fred Aberl	5
11	Gerit Jonker	5
12	Jack Winstanley	5
13	Karl Kiendl	4
14	Co Boef	4
15	Walter Dirtl	3
16	Leopold Killmeyer	2
17	Alfred Hamberger	1
18	Hans Müller	0

Nordic Final

• 31 May 1953
• Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo
• First 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Dan Forsberg	15
2	Basse Hveem	14
3	Olle Nygren	11
4	Olle Segerström	10
5	Henry Andersen	10
6	Rune Sörmander	9
7	Thorsten Carlsson	9
8	Stig Pramberg	9
9	Sune Karlsson	7
10	Leif Bech	7
11	Reidar Kristoffersen	7
12	Bert Lindarw	5
13	Thorleif Andreasen	3
14	Joel Jansson	3
15	Kaukko Jousanen	1
16	Simo Ylänen	0
17	Kiehn Berthelsen	0

Stage 3

Continental Final

• 21 June 1953
• Kumla Motorstadion, Kumla
• First 8 to International Round

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Basse Hveem	15
2	Olle Nygren	13
3	Dan Forsberg	12
4	Sune Karlsson	12
5	Rune Sörmander	10
6	Olle Segerström	9
7	Phil Clarke	9
8	Stig Pramberg	8
9	Thorsten Carlsson	7
10	Henry Andersen	6
11	Karl Killmeyer	6
12	Kjell Carlsson	4
13	Josef Kamper	3
14	Bob Roger	3
15	Fritz Dirtl	2
16	Sven Skoglund	1
17	Albin Siegl	dnr

British qualifying round

• The top riders qualify for the International round.

Date	Venue	Winner
26 May	Banister Court Stadium	Maury Mattingley
26 May	Cornish Stadium	Goog Hoskin
28 May	Oxford Stadium	Jim Boyd
29 May	Pennycross Stadium	Harold Fairhurst
30 May	Rayleigh Weir Stadium	Peter Clark

Stage 4

International round

• The top 54 riders qualify for the Championship round.

Date	Venue	Winner
6 July	Stanley Stadium	Tommy Miller
6 July	Wimborne Road	Basse Hveem
7 July	Yarmouth Stadium	Fred Brand
8 July	White City Stadium, Glasgow	Tommy Miller
10 July	Leicester Stadium	Olle Nygren
10 July	The Stadium, Motherwell	Ron Mountford
11 July	Brandon Stadium	Charlie New
11 July	Sun Street Stadium	Brian Crutcher
18 July	Old Meadowbank	Don Cuppleditch
24 July	Monmore Green Stadium	Harry Bastable

Stage 5

Championship Round

• Top 16 qualify for World final, 17th-20th reserves for World final

Date	Venue	Winner
14 August	Knowle Stadium	Dick Bradley
15 August	Harringay Stadium	Olle Nygren
17 August	Wimbledon Stadium	Ronnie Moore
18 August	West Ham Stadium	Jack Young
20 August	Wembley Stadium	Jack Biggs
22 August	Hyde Road Stadium	Ronnie Moore
22 August	Odsal Stadium	Arthur Forrest
26 August	Perry Barr Stadium	Graham Warren
28 August	The Firs Stadium	Aub Lawson

Scores

• Top 16 qualify for World final, 17th-20th reserves for World final

Pos. Rider Total pts 1 Ronnie Moore 29 2 Olle Nygren 28 3 Jack Young 27 4 Arthur Forrest 26 5 Jack Biggs 25 6 Dick Bradley 25 7 Freddie Williams 25 8 Aub Lawson 25 9 Alan Hunt 25 10 Jeff Lloyd 24 11 Split Waterman 24 12 Eric Williams 24 13 Geoff Mardon 24 14 Brian Crutcher 23 15 Rune Sörmander 23 16 Graham Warren 23 17 Dent Oliver 23 18 Arthur Payne 22 19 Louis Lawson 21 20 Maury Dunn 21 21 Wally Green 20 22 Len Williams 20 23 Ron How 19 24 Ken Walsh 19 25 Harry Edwards 18 26 Howdy Byford 18 27 Don Cuppleditch 17 28 Billy Hole 17 29 Tommy Miller 16 30 Ron Johnston 16 31 Bill Kitchen 16 32 Dan Forsberg 14 33 Dick Seers 14 34 Fred Brand 14 35 Eric Boothroyd 14 36 Charlie New 13

Pos. Rider Total pts 37 Bob Fletcher 13 38 Ken Middleditch 13 39 Peter Moore 12 40 Bob Mark 11 41 Jack Parker 11 42 Ron Clarke 11 43 Terry Small 11 44 John Reason 11 45 Harry Bastable 11 46 Jim Tolley 11 47 Olle Segerström 11 48 Stig Pramberg 11 49 Peter Clark 10 50 Harry Welsh 10 51 Ken McKinlay 9 52 Fred Rogers 9 53 Les Hewitt 8 54 Sune Karlsson 8 55 Reg Reeves 7 56 Phil Clarke 7 57 Charlie May 7 58 Barry Briggs 6 59 Geoff Pymar 6 60 Peter Robinson 6 61 Malcolm Craven 6 62 Trevor Redmond 5.5 63 Pat Clark 5 64 Bill Holden 4 65 Alan Kidd 3 66 Don Potter 3 67 Ron Mountford 3 68 Basse Hveem 3 69 Dick Campbell 2 70 Bob Baker 2 71 Gordon McGregor 2

World final

• 17 September 1953
• London, Wembley Stadium^[10]

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Freddie Williams	(3,3,3,2,3)	14
2	Split Waterman	(3,3,3,3,1)	13
3	Geoff Mardon	(3,2,3,1,3)	12+3
4	Olle Nygren	(2,3,2,3,2)	12+2
5	Jack Young	(3,2,3,2,F)	10
6	Ronnie Moore	(F,1,2,3,3)	9
7	Jeff Lloyd	(2,2,F,3,1)	8
8	Arthur Forrest	(2,2,0,0,3)	7
9	Aub Lawson	(1,3,2,1,0)	7
10	Brian Crutcher	(1,1,1,2,1)	6
11	Rune Sörmander	(0,0,1,2,2)	5
12	Graham Warren	(0,0,2,1,2)	5
13	Eric Williams	(1,1,1,1,F)	4
14	Alan Hunt	(0,0,1,0,2)	3
15	Dick Bradley	(2,F,0,0,0)	2
16	Jack Biggs	(1,1,0,0,-)	2
R1	Dent Oliver	(1)	1
R2	Arthur Payne	did not ride	-

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	(1) Freddie Williams	14	3				3				3				2				3				14	1
2	(10) Split Waterman	13			3			3						3			3		1				13	2
3	(14) Geoff Mardon	12+3				3		2					3		1							3	12	3
4	(15) Olle Nygren	12+2				2			3			2						3	2				12	4
5	(5) Jack Young	10		3			2					3					2					-	10	5
6	(13) Ronnie Moore	9				-	1							2		3					3		7	6
7	(12) Jeff Lloyd	9			2					2		-			3						1		2	7
8	(7) Arthur Forrest	7		2					2					0	0					3			7	8
9	(8) Aub Lawson	7		1						3			2			1			0				7	9
10	(2) Brian Crutcher	6	1					1				1				2				1			6	10
11	(4) Rune Sörmander	5	0							0				1				2				2	5	11
12	(6) Graham Warren	5		0				0			2							1			2		5	12
13	(16) Eric Williams	4				1				1	1						1			-			4	13
14	(9) Alan Hunt	3			0		0						1					0		2			3	14
15	(3) Dick Bradley	2	2						-				0				0				0		2	15
16	(11) Jack Biggs	2			1				1		0					0						-	2	16
17	(17) Dent Oliver	1																				1	1	17
18	(18) Arthur Payne	0																					0	18
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. 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 5 July 2021.
3. "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
4. "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
5. "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
6. "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL – RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
7. "Fred Williams wind the speed championship". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 18 September 1953. Retrieved 5 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "1953 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
9. "1953 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
10. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5