1936 Individual Speedway World Championship

First official edition of the World motorcycle speedway championship December 2023 December 2023 1936 Individual Speedway World Championship none 1937 thumb|The 1936 Speedway World Final programme. 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.Oakes Peter 1981 Speedway Yearbook 1981 20–21 Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd 0-86215-017-5http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2013/04/world-speedway-championships.html World Championship 1936-1994 Edinburgh Speedway 5 July 2021Oakes Peter Speedway Yearbook 1990 1990 13 Front Page Books 0-948882-15-8 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.https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/worldchamps1936to94.pdf WORLD FINALS 1936-1994 Speedway Researcher 5 July 2021 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.World Speedway Championship Coventry Evening Telegraph 7 September 1936 22 April 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000337/19360907/116/0008 British Newspaper Archive subscription 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.World Speedway Championship Coventry Evening Telegraph 11 September 1936 22 April 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000337/19360911/169/0010 British Newspaper Archive subscription 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.http://www.speedway.org/history/ HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK Speedway.org 5 July 2021https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/worldfinalindex WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX British Speedway 5 July 2021https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/board/89/world Speedway riders, history and results wwosbackup 5 July 2021 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.Chaplin, John (1990) Speedway Special, 0-9515857-0-3, p. 109–114 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. Van Praag reportedly paid Langton £50 "conscience money" after the race for going back on the agreement. 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.New Era in Speedway Daily News (London) 19 March 1936 30 December 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003214/19360319/296/0016 British Newspaper Archive subscription Qualifying round Top 28 riders qualify for Championship round DateVenueWinner 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. DateVenueWinner 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) Pos. Rider Qual Points c/f1 ENG Eric Langton 66 132 ENG Frank Charles 59123 ENG George Newton 59124 ENG Jack Parker59125 AUS Lionel Van Praag 58126 DNK Morian Hansen 48107 ENG Bob Harrison48108 AUS Vic Huxley 48109 AUS Bluey Wilkinson 481010 AUS Dicky Case 47911 ENG Jack Ormston 47912 USA Jack Milne 45913 USA Cordy Milne 43914 ENG Ginger Lees 37715 ENG Wal Phillips 37716 ENG Joe Abbott 367 Pos. Rider Qual Points c/f17 AUS Ron Johnson 34718 ENG Bill Pitcher 32619 ENG Arthur Atkinson 31 620 ENG Bill Kitchen (res) 29n/a21 ENG Norman Parker 28622 DEN Baltzer Hansen 2723 CAN 1921 Eric Chitty 2424 ENG Bill Clibbett 2425 ENG Broncho Dixon 2226 NZL Wally Kilmister 2227 AUS Mick Murphy2128 ENG Wally Lloyd (res) 1729 ENG Gus Kuhn 1530 ENG Rol Stobbart 1631 ENG Gordon Byers (res) 9 World final 10 September 1936 ENG Wembley Stadium, London Pos. Rider c/f Final Points Final Heats Total Points1 AUS Lionel Van Praag 12 14 (3,3,3,2,3) 26+32 ENG Eric Langton 13 13 (3,3,3,2,2) 26+23 AUS Bluey Wilkinson 10 15 (3,3,3,3,3) 254 USA Cordy Milne 9 11 (2,2,1,3,3) 205 ENG Frank Charles 12 8 (3,3,0,2,0) 206 AUS Dicky Case 9 8 (2,0,3,1,2) 177 ENG Jack Ormston 9 8 (1,1,2,3,1) 178 AUS Vic Huxley 10 7 (1,2,0,2,2) 179 ENG George Newton 12 4 (0,0,3,1,0) 1610 USA Jack Milne 9 6 (1,2,1,0,2) 1511 DNK Morian Hansen 10 5 (2,1,2,0,0) 1512 ENG Bob Harrison 10 5 (0,0,2,0,3) 1513 ENG Wal Phillips 7 5 (1,1,0,2,1) 1214 ENG Jack Parker 12 - -1215 ENG Ginger Lees 7 4 (2,0,1,0,1) 1116 ENG Arthur Atkinson 6 3 (0,2,1,0,0) 917 ENG Bill Pitcher6 2 (0,1,X/-,0,1) 818 ENG Norman Parker (res) 6 1 (1) 719 ENG Joe Abbott 7--7 Podium 16px|Gold AUS Lionel Van Praag 16px|Silver ENG Eric Langton 16px|Bronze AUS Bluey Wilkinson References 1936 Individual World Championship Individual Speedway World Championship Individual Speedway World Championship Category:Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom