1936 Individual Speedway World Championship
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The 1936 Individual Speedway World Championship was the first ever Speedway World Championship and was won by Lionel Van Praag of Australia. The forerunner to the World Championship was generally regarded to be the Star Riders' Championship.[1][2][3] The final was held at London's Wembley Stadium in front of 74,000. It was the first of a record 26 times that Wembley would host the World Final with the last being in 1981.[4]
Summary
The World Championship would consist of qualifying heats and then a Championship round, where points would be carried forward to the final to determine the winner. One of the favourites Jack Parker had a broken hand injury and was unable to compete in the final.[5] Joe Abbott was also unable to line up for the final due to injury, despite qualifying for the final. They were replaced by Arthur Atkinson and Bill Pitcher.[3][6]
Despite being unbeaten in the Final, Australian Bluey Wilkinson only finished third as the Championship was decided by bonus points accumulated in previous rounds plus the score from the final. Van Praag defeated England's Eric Langton in a runoff to be declared the inaugural Speedway World Champion.[7][8][9]
As they lined up at the tapes for the runoff, Langton broke them which would ordinarily lead to disqualification. However, Van Praag stated he did not want to win the title by default and insisted that a race should take place. At the restart Langton made it to the first bend in front and led until the final bend on the last lap when Van Praag darted through the smallest of gaps to win by less than wheel length.[10]
Afterwards, controversial allegations were abound that the two riders had 'fixed' the match race, deciding between them that the first person to the first bend would win the race and the Championship and split the prize money; Langton led into the first bend but was overtaken by Van Praag.[10] Van Praag reportedly paid Langton £50 "conscience money" after the race for going back on the agreement.[10]
In the Championship round the top 16 riders over 7 rounds would qualify for the World final. Ron Johnson and Bill Pitcher qualified as first reserves.[11]
Qualifying round
- Top 28 riders qualify for Championship round
| Date | Venue | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 26 May | West Ham Stadium | Jack Parker |
| 30 May | Hyde Road | Bluey Wilkinson |
| 6 June | Harringay Stadium | Frank Charles |
| 19 June | Hackney Wick Stadium | Arthur Atkinson & Jack Ormston |
| 20 June | Wimbledon Stadium | Fred Tate |
| 25 June | Wembley Stadium | Ron Johnson |
| 1 July | New Cross Stadium | Joe Abbott |
Championship round
- The top 16 riders over the 7 qualifying rounds and 7 championship rounds would qualify for the World final.
| Date | Venue | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 11 July | Harringay Stadium | Jack Parker |
| 14 July | West Ham Stadium | Eric Langton |
| 23 July | Wembley Stadium | Lionel Van Praag |
| 29 July | New Cross Stadium | George Newton |
| 8 August | Hyde Road | Eric Langton |
| 10 August | Wimbledon Stadium | Lionel Van Praag |
| 14 August | Hackney Wick Stadium | Frank Charles |
Qualifying points (top 16 qualify, 2 reserves)
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World final
- 10 September 1936
- Template:Flagicon Wembley Stadium, London
| Pos. | Rider | c/f | Final Points | Final Heats | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Flagicon Lionel Van Praag | 12 | 14 | (3,3,3,2,3) | 26+3 |
| 2 | Template:Flagicon Eric Langton | 13 | 13 | (3,3,3,2,2) | 26+2 |
| 3 | Template:Flagicon Bluey Wilkinson | 10 | 15 | (3,3,3,3,3) | 25 |
| 4 | Template:Flagicon Cordy Milne | 9 | 11 | (2,2,1,3,3) | 20 |
| 5 | Template:Flagicon Frank Charles | 12 | 8 | (3,3,0,2,0) | 20 |
| 6 | Template:Flagicon Dicky Case | 9 | 8 | (2,0,3,1,2) | 17 |
| 7 | Template:Flagicon Jack Ormston | 9 | 8 | (1,1,2,3,1) | 17 |
| 8 | Template:Flagicon Vic Huxley | 10 | 7 | (1,2,0,2,2) | 17 |
| 9 | Template:Flagicon George Newton | 12 | 4 | (0,0,3,1,0) | 16 |
| 10 | Template:Flagicon Jack Milne | 9 | 6 | (1,2,1,0,2) | 15 |
| 11 | Template:Flagicon Morian Hansen | 10 | 5 | (2,1,2,0,0) | 15 |
| 12 | Template:Flagicon Bob Harrison | 10 | 5 | (0,0,2,0,3) | 15 |
| 13 | Template:Flagicon Wal Phillips | 7 | 5 | (1,1,0,2,1) | 12 |
| 14 | Template:Flagicon Jack Parker | 12 | - | - | 12 |
| 15 | Template:Flagicon Ginger Lees | 7 | 4 | (2,0,1,0,1) | 11 |
| 16 | Template:Flagicon Arthur Atkinson | 6 | 3 | (0,2,1,0,0) | 9 |
| 17 | Template:Flagicon Bill Pitcher | 6 | 2 | (0,1,X/-,0,1) | 8 |
| 18 | Template:Flagicon Norman Parker (res) | 6 | 1 | (1) | 7 |
| 19 | Template:Flagicon Joe Abbott | 7 | - | - | 7 |
Podium
- Gold Template:Flagicon Lionel Van Praag
- Silver Template:Flagicon Eric Langton
- Bronze Template:Flagicon Bluey Wilkinson
References
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- ↑ a b c Chaplin, John (1990) Speedway Special, Template:ISBN, p. 109–114
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