1968 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1968 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 23rd edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Ivan Mauger won his first World title. Fellow countryman Barry Briggs finished second and Pole Edward Jancarz took the bronze medal.^[7]^[8]

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed again for the 1968 event. It reverted back to the 1966 system whereby six riders from the Swedish section would qualify for the World Final direct to be held in Sweden. All other nations had to go through various events to establish the other ten riders to qualify for the final.

First round

British/Commonwealth Qualifying - 16 to British/Commonwealth Final

British/Commonwealth Qualifying

Date	Venue	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
Preliminary Round
25 May	Kings Lynn	Malcolm Simmons	Terry Betts	Ray Wilson
25 May	Halifax	Jim Airey	Dave Younghusband	Greg Kentwell
25 May	Coventry	Nigel Boocock	Norman Hunter	Dave Hemus
25 May	Belle Vue	Ivan Mauger	Tommy Roper	Charlie Monk
27 May	Newcastle	Ivan Mauger	Barry Briggs	Bert Harkins
27 May	Exeter	Martin Ashby	Jimmy Squibb	Eric Boocock
28 May	West Ham	Norman Hunter	Nigel Boocock	Ivan Mauger
28 May	Leicester	Bill Andrew	Bob Kilby	John Boulger
29 May	Poole	John Boulger	Bill Andrew	Geoff Mudge
30 May	Oxford	Colin Gooddy	Terry Betts	Ronnie Genz
30 May	Wimbledon	Martin Ashby	Nigel Boocock	Trevor Hedge
30 May	Sheffield	Charlie Monk	Colin Pratt	John Dews
31 May	Wolverhampton	James Bond	Jim Airey	Peter Vandenberg
31 May	Hackney	Barry Briggs	Colin Pratt	Les McGillivray
31 May	Newport	Cyril Francis	Chris Julian	Eric Boothroyd
31 May	Glasgow	Bob Kilby	Bert Harkins	Jim McMillan
1 June	Cradley Heath	Bill Andrew	Trevor Hedge	Reg Luckhurst
1 June	Swindon	Barry Briggs	Bob Kilby	Mike Broadbanks
1 June	Coatbridge	Martin Ashby	Ray Wilson	Colin Pratt
Semi-Finals
27 July	Sheffield	Barry Briggs	Bill Andrew	Norman Hunter
2 July	Poole	Ivan Mauger	Martin Ashby	Terry Betts

Second round

British/Commonwealth Final - 10 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final
Nordic Final - 6 to British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final
Continental Qualifying - 16 to Continental Final

British/Commonwealth Final

July 11, 1968
Wimbledon
First 10 to British-Nordic 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
	(12) Ivan Mauger	15			3					3		3			3						3		15	1
	(14) Barry Briggs	14				3		3					3		2							3	14	2
	(5) Eric Boocock	13		3			3					2					3					2	13	3
4	(11) Martin Ashby	10			1				3		2					3						1	10	4
5	(6) Trevor Hedge	10		2				2			3							3			0		10	5
6	(10) Nigel Boocock	9			2			1						1			2		3				9	6
7	(13) Norman Hunter	9				1	2							3		2					1		9	7
8	(4) Jim McMillan	8	3							1				2				2				0	8	8
9	(1) Terry Betts	7	2				1				1				1				2				7	9
10	(3) Dave Younghusband	6	1						0				2				1				2		6	10
11	(15) Geoff Mudge	6				2			1			1						1	1				6	11
12	(8) Charlie Monk	5		1						2			1			1			0				5	12
13	(16) Mike Broadbanks	3				0				0	E						0			3			3	13
14	(2) Ray Wilson	2	0					0				0				0				2			2	14
15	(9) Peter Vandenberg	1			0		0						0					0		1			1	15
16	(7) Bill Andrew	0		F					-					-	-					-			0	16
R1	(R1) Reg Luckhurst	2							2						F								2	R1
R2	(R2) Jim Airey	0												X						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

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

Nordic Final

June 2, 1968
Hillerød
First 6 to British-Nordic 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
	(10) Reidar Eide	14			3			3						3			2		3				14	1
	(1) Øyvind S. Berg	13	3				3				2				3				2				13	2
	(11) Odd Fossengen	12			1				3		3					3						2	12	3
4	(5) Sverre Harrfeldt	11		3			1					1					3					3	11	4
5	(2) Ole Olsen	11	2					2				2				2				3			11	5
6	(9) Godtfred Andreasen	11			2		2						2					3		2			11	6
7	(3) Per J.Aulie	9	1						2				3				0				3		9	7
8	(16) Ole Todnem	9				3				3	1						1			1			9	8
9	(15) Kurt Bøgh	7				F			1			3						2	1				7	9
10	(13) Preben Moller Christensen	6				2	0							2		0					2		6	10
11	(8) Jens Ring	6		2						2			1			1			0				6	11
12	(14) Helgie Langlie	3				F		0					-		2							1	3	12
13	(4) Matti Olin	3	0							1				1				1				0	3	13
14	(6) Eidar Egedius	2		1				1			E							F			-		2	14
15	(7) Timo Laine	1		0					0					0	1					0			1	15
16	(12) Jouko Naskali	0			0					0		0			0						0		0	16
R1	(R1) Per Ehlert	1																			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

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

Continental Qualifying

Date	Venue	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
Quarter-Finals
4 May	Meissen	Boris Samorodov	Jan Holub I	Antoni Woryna
5 May	Svetozarevo	Gennady Kurilenko	Joachim Maj	Yuri Chekranov
5 May	Miskolc	Konstanty Pociejkewicz	Henryk Glucklich	Viktor Trofimov
5 May	Abensberg	Jan Mucha	Igor Plekhanov	Luboš Tomíček Sr.
Semi-Finals
26 May	Mseno	Luboš Tomíček Sr.	Konstanty Pociejkewicz	Jerzy Trzeszkowski
27 May	Rybnik	Antoni Woryna	Joachim Maj	Andrzej Wyglenda

Third round

Swedish Qualifying - 16 to Swedish finals
British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final - 8 to European Final
Continental Final - 8 to European Final

Swedish Qualifying

Date	Venue	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
Qualifications
28 April	Malilla	Ove Fundin	Bengt Jansson	Anders Michanek
1 May	Visby	Sören Sjösten	Torbjörn Harrysson	Olle Nygren

British/Commonwealth/Nordic Final

August 6, 1968
West Ham
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
	(11) Ivan Mauger	15			3				3		3					3						3	15	1
	(5) Nigel Boocock	13		3			3					3					2					2	13	2	3
	(16) Reidar Eide	13				2				3	2						3			3			13	3	2
4	(7) Martin Ashby	11		2					2					3	3					1			11	4
5	(15) Sverre Harrfeldt	10				3			0			1						3	3				10	5
6	(9) Terry Betts	10			2		1						3					2		2			10	6
7	(1) Trevor Hedge	9	3				2				1				2				1				9	7
8	(3) Eric Boocock	7	2						1				2				1				1		7	8
9	(13) Norman Hunter	6				1	0							1		1					3		6	9
10	(12) Barry Briggs	6			1					F		2			1						2		6	10
11	(10) Odd Fossengen	5			0			3						2			0		0				5	11
12	(8) Jim McMillan	5		0						2			1			0			2				5	12
13	(6) Øyvind S. Berg	4		1				2			0							1			0		4	13
14	(2) Ole Olsen	4	1					1				0				2				F			4	14
15	(4) Dave Younghusband	1	0							1				0				0				F	1	15
16	(14) Godtfred Andreasen	0				0		0					0		-							-	0	16
R1	(R1) Per J.Aulle	1													0							1	1	R1
R2	(R2) Geoff Mudge	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

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

Continental Final

June 21, 1968
Ufa
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
	(2) Gennady Kurilenko	12	3					1				3				3				2			12	1
	(6) Paweł Waloszek	10		2				3			3							2			0		10	2
	(16) Vladimir Smirnov	10				3				0	2						2			3			10	3
4	(15) Edward Jancarz	10				2			1			1						3	3				10	4
5	(13) Jerzy Trzeszkowski	10				1	3							3		2					1		10	5
6	(12) Antoni Woryna	9			2					2		2			1						2		9	6
7	(11) Igor Plekhanov	8			3				3		0					0						2	8	7	3
8	(3) Konstanty Pociejkewicz	8	2						0				F				3				3		8	8	2
9	(7) Jerzy Padewski	8		3					2					0	3					F			8	9	1
10	(9) Jan Holub I	7			1		1						3					1		1			7	10
11	(1) Andrzej Wyglenda	7	1				2				1				2				1				7	11
12	(8) Zygmunt Pytko	6		0						3			2			1			0				6	12
13	(10) Boris Samorodov	6			0			2						1			1		2				6	13
14	(5) Jan Mucha	4		1			0					0					0					3	4	14
15	(4) Joachim Maj	4	0							1				2				0				1	4	15
16	(14) Luboš Tomíček Sr.	1				0		0					1		0							0	1	16
R1	(R1) Gerhard Ulenbrock	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Václav Verner	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

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

Fourth round

Swedish Finals - 6 to World Final
European Final - 10 to World Final

Swedish Finals

Three races held on 27 May at Malmo, 28 May at Göteborg and 30 May in Linköping

Rider	Points
Gunnar Malmqvist	38
Ove Fundin	35
Torbjörn Harrysson	31
Bernt Persson	30
Anders Michanek	29
Hasse Holmqvist	28
Bengt Jansson	27
Bengt Larsson	25
Sören Sjösten	23
Therje Henriksson	22
Bo Josefsson	15
Bengt Svensson	15
Christer Löfqvist	14
Olle Nygren	10
Tommy Johansson	9
Per Olof Söderman	8
Conny Samuelsson	2
Runo Wedin	1

European Final

August 25, 1968
Wroclaw
First 10 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
	(3) Paweł Waloszek	13	3						2				3				2				3		13	1
	(5) Antoni Woryna	11		3			3					3					X					2	11	2
	(16) Jerzy Trzeszkowski	11				2				2	2						3			2			11	3
4	(11) Ivan Mauger	10			1				3		1					2						3	10	4
5	(8) Barry Briggs	9		1						3			1			3			1				9	5
6	(1) Gennady Kurilenko	9	2				2				3				0				2				9	6
7	(14) Reidar Eide	8				3		1					0		3							1	8	7
8	(10) Edward Jancarz	8			3			3						2			F		-				8	8
9	(12) Nigel Boocock	7			2					1		0			2						2		7	9
10	(2) Martin Ashby	6	1					2				1				1				1			6	10	3
11	(9) Igor Plekhanov	6			0		0						2					3		1			6	11	2
12	(6) Vladimir Smirnov	5		2				0			E							2			1		5	12
13	(4) Trevor Hedge	3	0							0				3				0				0	3	13
14	(7) Terry Betts	2		0					0					1	1					0			2	14
15	(13) Sverre Harrfeldt	2				1	1							F		-					-		2	15
16	(15) Konstanty Pociejkewicz	0				0			-			-						-	-				0	16
R1	(R1) Jerzy Padewski	7							1			2						1	3				7	R1
R2	(R2) Václav Verner	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

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

World Final

September 6, 1968
Göteborg, Ullevi^[9]

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) Ivan Mauger	15		3				3			3							3			3		15	1
	(5) Barry Briggs	12		2			2					3					3					2	12	2
	(7) Edward Jancarz	11		1					3					1	3					3			11	3	3
4	(9) Gennady Kurilenko	11			2		3						3					1		2			11	4	2
5	(4) Paweł Waloszek	10	F							2				3				2				3	10	5
6	(12) Torbjörn Harrysson	10			3					3		2			1						1		10	6
7	(1) Anders Michanek	9	3				1				2				2				1				9	7
8	(10) Hasse Holmqvist	9			1			2						2			2		2				9	8
9	(15) Ove Fundin	7				3			0			1						0	3				7	9
10	(11) Gunnar Malmqvist	7			0				2		1					3						1	7	10
11	(2) Martin Ashby	5	2					1				0				2				0			5	11
12	(16) Antoni Woryna	5				2				1	R						1			1			5	12
14	(8) Reidar Eide	3		0						0			2			1			F				3	14
13	(3) Jerzy Trzeszkowski	4	1						1				0				0				2		4	13
15	(14) Bernt Persson	1				E		0					1		0							0	1	15
16	(13) Nigel Boocock	1				1	0							0		X					E		1	16
R1	(R1) Igor Plekhanov	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Bengt Jansson	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

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

^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
^ "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
^ "Sports in Brief". The Times. 7 September 1968. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via Gale Primary Sources.
^ "Boocock last in Sweden". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 7 September 1968. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

[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 9 July 2021.

[3] "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

[4] "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

[5] "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

[6] "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

[7] "Sports in Brief". The Times. 7 September 1968. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via Gale Primary Sources.

[8] "Boocock last in Sweden". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 7 September 1968. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[9] Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5

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v t e Individual Speedway World Championship and Speedway Grand Prix seasons
Speedway World Championship	1936 1937 1938 1939 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Speedway Grand Prix (SGP)	1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
See also	Medalists Medal Classification Grands Prix SGP riders Super Prix SGP Statistics