1981 Speedway World Team Cup

The 1981 Speedway World Team Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.^[1][2]

1981 Speedway World Team Cup

Previous

1980

Next

1982

The final took place at the Olching Speedwaybahn in Olching, West Germany.^[3] Denmark won their second title. Ominously for the rest of the world the team contained a youthful Hans Nielsen and Erik Gundersen.^[4][5]

Qualification stage 1

Day	Venue	Winner
Stage 1
17 May	Reading	England
17 May	Brokstedt	West Germany
17 May	Debrecen	USSR
28 May	Tampere	Denmark
26 June	Badia Polesine	USSR

Commonwealth round

• 17 May
• Smallmead Stadium, Reading
• Referee: C. Ringstrom
• Att: 7,000

Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20
1	England	36	3	5	8	9	11	13	15	17	19	22	24	27	30	33	34	36		36	36	36	36
	(9) Dave Jessup	10			3		2					3						2	10
	(10) Gordon Kennett	6				1		2			2						1		6
	(11) Chris Morton	9		2						2			2			3			9
	(12) Michael Lee	11	3						2					3	3				11
	(19) John Davis	0																	0
2	United States	32	2	5	7	9	10	13	13	16	17	18	21	22	24	26	29	32		32	32	32	32
	(5) Bruce Penhall	11	2					3					3					3	11
	(6) Bobby Schwartz	8		3			1							1			3		8
	(7) Dennis Sigalos	3				2			F			1				-			3
	(8) Scott Autrey	8			2					3	1				2				8
	(18) Kelly Moran	2														2			2
3	Australia	20	1	1	1	4	7	8	11	12	12	14	15	17	17	17	19	20		20	20	20	20
	(13) Phil Crump	4		0					3		0							1	4
	(14) John Titman	6	1							1		2					2		6
	(15) Danny Kennedy	0			0			-						-		X			0
	(16) Billy Sanders	7				3	3						1		0				7
	(20) Gary Guglielmi	3						1						2					3
4	New Zealand	8	0	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	6	6	6	6	7	8	8	8		8	8	8	8
	(1) Ivan Mauger	0				0				0				0				-	0
	(2) Mitch Shirra	2			1				1				-				0		2
	(3) Bruce Cribb	1		1				0				0			-				1
	(4) Larry Ross	1	0				0				-					1			1
	(17) Tony Briggs	4									3		0		1			0	4
Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20

M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell

Helmet colours were permanent for each team (Red, Blue, White and Yellow/Black). Colours in diagrams indicate gate positions:
gate A – inside	gate B	gate C	gate D – outside

* England & USA to Intercontinental Final

Scandinavian round

• 28 May
• Eteläpuisto, Tampere

1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Denmark - 37 Hans Nielsen - 11 Bo Petersen - 10 Erik Gundersen - 8 Tommy Knudsen - 8	Sweden - 30 Jan Andersson - 10 Hans Danielsson - 8 Richard Hellsen - 6 Tommy Nilsson - 6	Finland - 19 Ari Koponen - 5 Kai Niemi - 5 Olli Tyrväinen - 4 Pekka Hautamaki - 3 Veijo Tuoriniemi - 2	Norway - 10 Rolf Gramstad - 8 Dag Haaland - 2 Jorn Haugvalstad - 0 Yngve Madland - 0 Roy Otto - 0

* Denmark & Sweden to Intercontinental Final

Continental round

• 17 May
• Holsteinring, Brokstedt

Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20
1	West Germany	43	2	5	8	11	11	14	17	20	23	26	29	32	34	37	40	43		43	43	43	43
	(13) Egon Müller	12		3					3		3							3	12
	(14) Georg Hack	11	2							3		3					3		11
	(15) Alois Wiesböck	12			3			3						3		3			12
	(16) Georg Gilgenreiner	8				3	0						3		2				8
	(20) Waldemar Bacik	0																	0
2	Nederlands	24	3	5	7	9	12	12	14	16	16	18	19	19	19	20	22	24		24	24	24	24
	(9) Henny Kroeze	9			2		3					2						2	9
	(10) Frits Koppe	4				2		0			-						2		4
	(11) Rudi Muts	6		2						2			1			1			6
	(12) Henk Steman	5	3						2					0	0				5
	(19) Wil Stroes	0									0								0
3	Austria	22	0	1	2	3	5	7	8	8	10	11	13	15	18	20	21	22		22	22	22	22
	(1) Adi Funk	4				1				0				2				1	4
	(2) Herbert Szerecs	5			1				1				2				1		5
	(3) Walter Grubmuler	7		1				2				1			3				7
	(4) Heinrich Schatzer	6	0				2				2					2			6
	(17) Robert Funk	0																	0
4	Bulgaria	7	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	4	5	5	5	6	7	7	7	7		7	7	7	7
	(5) Nikolai Manev	2	1					1					0					0	2
	(6) Orlin Janakiev	2		0			1							1			0		2
	(7) Veselin Markov	0				0			0			0				0			0
	(8) Angel Eftimov	3			0					1	1				1				3
	(18) Zachari Zachariev	0																	0
Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20

M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell

Helmet colours were permanent for each team (Red, Blue, White and Yellow/Black). Colours in diagrams indicate gate positions:
gate A – inside	gate B	gate C	gate D – outside

* West Germany & Netherlands to Continental Semi-Final

• 17 May
• Gázvezeték Street Sports Complex, Debrecen

Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20
1	Soviet Union	39	2	5	7	9	12	14	16	19	22	24	27	29	31	33	36	39		39	39	39	39
	(1) Mikhail Starostin	10				2				3				2				3	10
	(2) Grigory Khlinovsky	10			2				2				3				3		10
	(3) Valery Gordeev	9		3				2				2			2				9
	(4) Viktor Kuznetsov	10	2				3				3					2			10
	(17) Anatoly Maksimov	0																	0
2	Hungary	37	3	5	8	9	11	14	17	19	21	24	26	27	30	33	35	37		37	37	37	37
	(13) Zoltan Hajdu	9		2					3		2							2	9
	(14) Istvan Sziraczki	10	3							2		3					2		10
	(15) Zoltán Adorján	10			3			3						1		3			10
	(16) Ferenc Farkash	3				1	-						2		-				3
	(20) Janos Oresko	5					2								3				5
3	Italy	14	1	2	3	6	6	7	8	9	9	10	11	11	12	13	14	14		14	14	14	14
	(9) Mauro Ferraccioli	1			1		0					-						0	1
	(10) Giuseppe Marzotto	5				3		1			0						1		5
	(11) Armando Dal Chiele	3		1						1			1			-			3
	(12) Giovanni Brizzolari	3	1						1					0	1				3
	(19) Gianni Famari	2										1				1			2
4	Yugoslavia	6	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	5	5	5	5	6		6	6	6	6
	(5) Vlado Kocuvan	1	0					0					0					1	1
	(6) Stefan Kekec	4		0			1							3			0		4
	(7) Darko Tominac	0				0			0			-				0			0
	(8) Krešo Omerzel	1			-					-	1				0				1
	(18) Ladislav Smidt	0			0					0		0							0
Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20

M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell

Helmet colours were permanent for each team (Red, Blue, White and Yellow/Black). Colours in diagrams indicate gate positions:
gate A – inside	gate B	gate C	gate D – outside

* Soviet Union & Hungary to Continental Semi-Final

Semifinal

• 28 June 28
• Stadio Ottorino Verzaro, Badia Polesine

1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Soviet Union - 33 Mikhail Starostin - 10 Viktor Kuznetsov - 9 Anatoly Maksimov - 9 Grigory Khlinovsky - 5	West Germany - 32 Karl Maier - 11 Georg Hack - 10 Frits Bauer - 4 Georg Gilgenreiner - 3 Egon Müller - 3	Hungary - 18 Istvan Sziraczki - 9 Ferenc Farkash - 4 Laszlo Meszaros - 2 Janos Oresko - 2 Zoltán Adorján - 1	Netherlands - 13 Henny Kroeze - 5 Frits Koppe - 4 Rudi Muts - 2 Henk Steman - 2

* Soviet Union & West Germany to Continental Final

Qualification stage 2

Day	Venue	Winner
Stage 2
26 June	King's Lynn	Denmark
7 July	Leningrad	West Germany

Continental Final

• 11 July
• Leningrad Speedway Stadium, Leningrad

Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20
1	West Germany	32	2	4	5	6	6	9	12	15	18	19	22	25	26	26	29	32		32	32	32	32
	(1) Karl Maier	10				1				3				3				3	10
	(2) Alois Wiesböck	1			1				-				-				-		1
	(3) Georg Hack	7		2				3				1			1				7
	(4) Georg Gilgenreiner	3	-				0				3					0			3
	(17) Egon Müller	11	2						3				3				3		11
2	Soviet Union	27	3	6	9	11	13	14	15	17	17	19	21	21	23	24	26	27		27	27	27	27
	(9) Grigory Khlinovsky	8			3		2					2						1	8
	(10) Anatoly Maksimov	5				2		1			-						2		5
	(11) Viktor Kuznetsov	8		3						2			2			1			8
	(12) Mikhail Starostin	6	3						1					X	2				6
	(19) Georgy Ivanov	0									0								0
3	Czechoslovakia	21	0	1	3	3	4	4	6	6	8	11	11	13	16	18	19	21		21	21	21	21
	(13) Aleš Dryml Sr.	7		1					2		2							2	7
	(14) Václav Verner	4	0							X		3					1		4
	(15) Milan Špinka	2			2			F						-		-			2
	(16) Zdeněk Kudrna	0				0	-						X		-				0
	(20) Jiří Štancl	8					1							2	3	2			8
4	Poland	14	1	1	1	4	7	9	9	9	10	10	11	11	11	14	14	14		14	14	14	14
	(5) Edward Jancarz	4	1					2					1					0	4
	(6) Zenon Plech	3		F			3							F			-		3
	(7) Roman Jankowski	6				3			F			0				3			6
	(8) Jerzy Rembas	1			E					T	1				0				1
	(18) Marek Kepa	0															0		0
Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20

M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell

Helmet colours were permanent for each team (Red, Blue, White and Yellow/Black). Colours in diagrams indicate gate positions:
gate A – inside	gate B	gate C	gate D – outside

* West Germany & Soviet Union to World Final

Intercontinental Final

• 28 July
• Norfolk Arena, King's Lynn
• Referee: Sam Bass

Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20
1	Denmark	31	0	2	2	2	5	7	10	13	15	18	21	24	26	27	28	31		31	31	31	31
	(1) Ole Olsen	9				0				3				3				3	9
	(2) Tommy Knudsen	7			0				3				3				1		7
	(3) Erik Gundersen	9		2				2				3			2				9
	(4) Hans Nielsen	6	0				3				2					1			6
	(17) Preben Eriksen	0																	0
2	England	30	2	2	5	8	10	11	13	14	17	19	19	20	23	26	28	30		30	30	30	30
	(9) Michael Lee	9			3		2					2						2	9
	(10) Chris Morton	9				3		1			3						2		9
	(11) Steve Bastable	4		E						1			-			3			4
	(12) Dave Jessup	8	2						2					1	3				8
	(19) Kenny Carter	0											0						0
3	United States	26	3	6	8	10	10	13	14	16	17	18	20	22	23	25	25	26		26	26	26	26
	(5) Bruce Penhall	9	3					3					2					1	9
	(6) Kelly Moran	5		3			0							2			0		5
	(7) Bobby Schwartz	6				2			1			1				2			6
	(8) Dennis Sigalos	6			2					2	1				1				6
	(18) Scott Autrey	0																	0
4	Sweden	9	1	2	3	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	9	9		9	9	9	9
	(13) Anders Michanek	1		1					0		-							-	1
	(14) Jan Andersson	4	1							0		0					3		4
	(15) Richard Hellsen	1			1			0						0		0			1
	(16) Tommy Nilsson	3				1	1						1		0				3
	(20) Hans Danielsson	0									0							0	0
Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20

M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell

Helmet colours were permanent for each team (Red, Blue, White and Yellow/Black). Colours in diagrams indicate gate positions:
gate A – inside	gate B	gate C	gate D – outside

* Denmark & England to World Final

World Final

• 16 August
• Olching Speedwaybahn, Olching^[6]
• Referee: C. Bergstrom

Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20
1	Denmark	36	3	5	8	10	13	16	17	20	23	26	28	29	31	33	35	36		36	36	36	36
	(13) Ole Olsen	6		2					1		3							-	6
	(14) Hans Nielsen	11	3							3		3					2		11
	(15) Erik Gundersen	9			3			3						1		2			9
	(16) Tommy Knudsen	9				2	3						2		2				9
	(20) Finn Thomsen	1																1	1
2	England	29	0	3	4	7	9	10	12	14	16	17	18	21	21	24	27	29		29	29	29	29
	(5) Dave Jessup	3	E					1					-					2	3
	(6) Chris Morton	11		3			2							3			3		11
	(7) Kenny Carter	9				3			2			1				3			9
	(8) John Davis	5			1					2	2				E				5
	(18) Gordon Kennett	1											1						1
3	West Germany	28	2	2	4	5	6	8	11	12	13	15	18	20	23	24	25	28		28	28	28	28
	(9) Karl Maier	8			2		1					2						3	8
	(10) Georg Hack	5				1		2			1						1		5
	(11) Georg Gilgenreiner	5		0						1			3			1			5
	(12) Egon Müller	10	2						3					2	3				10
	(19) Alois Wiesböck	0																	0
4	Soviet Union	3	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3		3	3	3	3
	(1) Valery Gordeev	0				0				0				0				0	0
	(2) Mikhail Starostin	0			0				0				F				-		0
	(3) Viktor Kuznetsov	2		1				0				0			1				2
	(4) Nikolay Kornev	1	1				-				-						E		1
	(17) Anatoly Maksimov	0					0				0						0		0
Placing	Team / Rider name	Total	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	17	18	19	20

M - exclusion for exceeding two-minute time allowance • T - exclusion for touching the tapes • X - other exclusion • E - retired or mechanical failure • F - fell

Helmet colours were permanent for each team (Red, Blue, White and Yellow/Black). Colours in diagrams indicate gate positions:
gate A – inside	gate B	gate C	gate D – outside

See also

• 1981 Individual Speedway World Championship
• 1981 Speedway World Pairs Championship

References

1. Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Guinness Superlatives. p. 290. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
2. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 25–26. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
3. "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
4. "World Team Cup 1960-1990". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
5. "FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP/ SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS" (PDF). Motor Sport Top 20. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
6. "1981 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 15 July 2021.