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The 1958 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 13th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

In the World final New Zealander Barry Briggs successfully defended his title and was unbeaten after five heat wins. Ove Fundin took the silver medal but there was an incident filled ride off for the bronze medal. Aub Lawson won that ride off after both Peter Craven and Ken McKinlay fell, Craven remounted to take fourth place.^[7]

Qualifying

Qualification started in 1957.^[8]^[9]

Stage 1

Norwegian round

20 October 1957
Tønsberg Stadion, Tønsberg
Top 4 (+4 seeded) to Nordic qualification 1958

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Aage Hansen	15
2	Reidar Kristoffersen	12
3	Roger Steen	11
4	Roger Hansen	10
5	Egil Bratvold	10
6	Arne Kristiansen	10
7	Rolf Westerberg	7
8	Gunnar Hemsaeter	7
9	Erling Simonsen	7
10	Oddvar Wold	7
11	Thorbjorn Nygaard	5
12	Fred Carlsen	4
13	Jan Svaleng	4
14	Roald Kjolso	2
15	Havard Gulbjornrud	2
16	Kjell Berg	1
17	Oystein Mellerud	1

Finnish round

27 October 1957
Helsinki Velodrome, Helsinki
Top 4 (+2 seeded) to Nordic qualification 1958

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Antti Pajari	14+3
2	Aulis Tuominen	14+2
3	Turkka Silvan	12
4	Lasse Mylläri	9
5	Heikki Sorri	9
6	Valle Selivestov	8
7	Kauko Jousanen	7
8	Antero Salasto	7
9	Petti Mikkola	7
10	Kalevi Lahtinen	7
11	Pekka Tenko	6
12	Timo Laine	6
13	Reino Niemi	5
14	Olle Helander	2
15	Esko Koponen	2
16	Timo Pirkkalanniemi	0

Swedish round

1 May 1958
Gamla Speedway Track, Visby
Top 7 to Nordic qualification

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Rune Sörmander	15
2	Per-Olof Söderman	13
3	Evert Andersson	12
4	Joel Jansson	12
5	Bernt Nilsson	11
6	Kjell Wårenius	10
7	Lars Pettersson	10
8	Björn Knutson	7
9	Göte Nordin	6
10	Olle Andersson IV	5
11	Hans Hallberg	5
12	Åke Andersson	4
13	Olle Andersson II	3
14	Per Sjöholm	3
15	Thorsten Carlsson	3
16	Curt Eldh	1
17	Sven-Gunnar Karlstén	0

1 May 1958
Hammarby IP, Stockholm
Top 7 to Nordic qualification

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Birger Forsberg	13
2	Olle Nygren	12
3	Ove Fundin	12
4	Dan Forsberg	12
5	Bengt Eriksson	10
6	Curt Nyqvist	8
7	Olle Segerström	8
8	Göran Norlén	7+3
9	Bert Lindarw	7+2
10	Rune Claesson	7
11	Arne Carlsson	6
12	Alf Jonsson	6
13	Sune Karlsson	3
14	Bengt Brannefors	3
15	Roland Krantz	2
16	Georg Duneborn	1
17	Thorvald Karlsson	0
18	Per-Tage Svensson	0

Stage 2

Nordic qualification

25 May 1958
Grevby Motorstadion, Mariestad
Top 8 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Ove Fundin	15
2	Olle Nygren	14
3	Birger Forsberg	12
4	Dan Forsberg	11
5	Bengt Eriksson	10
6	Göran Norlén	9
7	Timo Laine	8+3
8	Curt Nyqvist	8+2
9	Björn Knutson	8+1
10	Sverre Harrfeldt	6
11	Antti Pajari	5
12	Kalevi Lahtinen	5
13	Lasse Mylläri	4
14	Timo Pirkalanniemi	3
15	Roger Hansen	1
16	Turkka Silvan	1

5 June 1958
Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo
Top 8 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Per-Olof Söderman	15
2	Rune Sörmander	13
3	Nils Paulsen	12
4	Aage Hansen	11
5	Kjell Wårenius	11
6	Arne Pander	9
7	Bernt Nilsson	8
8	Reidar Kristoffersen	8
9	Evert Andersson	7
10	Rolf Westerberg	6
11	Arne Kristiansen	5
12	Lars Pettersson	4
13	Roger Steen	4
14	Kurt W Petersen	4
15	Svend Nissen	2
16	Poul Hansen	1

Continental semi-final

18 May 1958
Abensberger Stadion, Abensberg
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Josef Seidl	13
2	Josef Hofmeister	12
3	Joel Jansson	11
4	Edward Kupczynski	11
5	Stanislaw Tkocz	11
6	Janusz Koscielak	10
7	Joachim Maj	10
8	Konstanty Pociejkowicz	9
9	Olle Segerström
10	Florian Kapała
11	Tadeusz Teodorowicz
12	Paweł Waloszek
13	Albin Aberl
14	Nick van Gorcum
15	Albin Siegl
16	Thei Bischops

18 May 1958
Wiener Stadion, Vienna
Top 8 to Continental final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Marian Kaiser	13
2	Janusz Suchecki	13
3	Henryk Zyto	12
4	Stefan Kwoczala	12
5	Luboš Tomíček Sr.	10
6	Jaroslav Volf	9
7	Karl Killmeyer	8
8	Josef Bössner	7
9	Valentin Unterköfler	7
10	Ligor Dusanek	7
11	Vladimir Uher	6
12	Otto Holoubek	4
13	Hans Sidlo	4
14	Alois Dürrenhammer	4
15	Erich Sidlo	2
16	Ernst Strasser	1

Stage 3

Nordic Final

8 June 1958
Växjö Motorstadion, Växjö
First 8 to European final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Rune Sörmander	15
2	Ove Fundin	12
3	Olle Nygren	12
4	Dan Forsberg	11
5	Göran Norlén	9
6	Per Olof Söderman	9
7	Nils Paulsen	8
8	Birger Forsberg	7
9	Aage Hansen	7
10	Bengt Eriksson	6
11	Arne Pander	5
12	Timo Laine	4
13	Bernt Nilsson	4
14	Curt Nyqvist	3
15	Evert Andersson	2
16	Kjell Wårenius	2
17	Björn Knutson	2
18	Reidar Kristoffersen	dnr

Continental Final

1 June 1958
Niederrheinstadion, Oberhausen
First 8 to European Final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Joel Jansson	14
2	Josef Hofmeister	14
3	Josef Seidl	11
4	Luboš Tomíček Sr.	9
5	Stanisław Tkocz	9
6	Marian Kaiser	9
7	Joachim Maj	8
8	Edward Kupczyński	8
9	Konstanty Pociejkewicz	8
10	Janusz Suchecki	7
11	Henryk Żyto	6
12	Alfred Aberl	6
13	Janusz Koscielak	3
14	Jaroslav Volf	3
15	Josef Bössner	3
16	Karl Killmeyer	1
176	Valentin Unterköfler (res)	0

British & Commonwealth qualifying

Top 32 from 80 qualify for British & Commonwealth semi-finals.^[10]

Date	Venue	Winner
14 July	Wimborne Road	Jack Biggs
14 July	Wimbledon Stadium	Ronnie Moore
15 July	Banister Court Stadium	Ronnie Genz
17 July	Foxhall Stadium	Peter Moore
17 July	Oxford Stadium	Gordon McGregor
18 July	Leicester Stadium	Ken McKinlay
19 July	Hyde Road	Ron Johnston
19 July	Brandon Stadium	Jack Young
19 July	The Firs Stadium	Billy Bales
19 July	Abbey Stadium	Ron How

Stage 4

British/Commonwealth semi-final

Barry Briggs seeded to World final
First 10 to World final + 1 reserve

Date	Venue	Winner
16 August	Hyde Road	Ken McKinklay
18 August	Wimbledon Stadium	Peter Craven
19 August	Banister Court Stadium	Jack Geran
22 August	Leicester Stadium	Brian Crutcher

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Ken McKinlay	27
2	Peter Craven	27
3	Mike Broadbanks	25
4	Ron How	24
5	Peter Moore	24
6	Ronnie Moore	23
7	Aub Lawson	22
8	Ron Johnston	22
9	Gerry Hussey	22
10	Jack Geran	22
11	Brian Crutcher	22
12	Gordon McGregor	20
13	George White	17
14	Dick Bradley	15
15	Billy Bales	14
16	Neil Street	14

Pos.	Rider	Total pts
17	Chum Taylor	13
18	Jack Young	13
19	Alf Hagon	13
20	Jack Unstead	12
21	Jack Biggs	11
22	Bob Duckworth	8
23	Harry Edwards	8
24	Ronnie Genz	7
25	Gerald Jackson	6
26	Charlie New	6
27	Arthur Forrest	5
28	Eric Boothroyd	4
29	Ray Cresp	3
30	Phil Clarke	3
31	Ron Mountford	1

European Final

22 July 1958
Army Stadium, Warsaw
First 5 to World final plus 1 reserve^[11]

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Ove Fundin	15
2	Josef Hofmeister	13
3	Rune Sörmander	12
4	Olle Nygren	11
5	Joel Jansson	10
6	Per Olof Söderman	9
7	Marian Kaiser	9
8	Joseph Seidl	7
9	Joachim Maj	6
10	Nils Paulsen	6
11	Luboš Tomíček Sr.	5
12	Stanisław Tkocz	4
13	Edward Kupczyński	4
14	Dan Forsberg	3
15	Göran Norlén	2
16	Birger Forsberg	2

World final

20 September 1958
London, Wembley Stadium^[12]
Referee: () E. G. Cope

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Barry Briggs	(3,3,3,3,3)	15
2	Ove Fundin	(3,3,2,3,2)	13
3	Aub Lawson	(1,3,3,1,3)	11+3
4	Peter Craven	(2,3,0,3,3)	11+2
5	Ken McKinlay	(2,2,3,2,2)	11+1
6	Ronnie Moore	(3,2,0,1,3)	9
7	Olle Nygren	(3,2,2,2,0)	9
8	Ron Johnston	(1,1,1,3,2)	8
9	Gerry Hussey	(2,0,2,2,1)	7
10	Ron How	(1,1,2,2,1)	7
11	Peter Moore	(0,1,3,1,0)	5
12	Mike Broadbank	(2,0,1,0,2)	5
13	Rune Sörmander	(0,2,1,0,1)	4
14	Jack Geran	(0,1,1,0,1)	3
15	Josef Hofmeister	(1,0,0,1,0)	2
16	Joel Jansson	(0,0,0,0,0)	0
R1	Brian Crutcher	did not ride	-
R2	Per Olof Söderman	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	(4) Barry Briggs	15	3							3				3				3				3	15	1
2	(13) Ove Fundin	13				3	3							2		3					2		13	2
3	(2) Aub Lawson	11+3	1					3				3				1				3			11	3
4	(3) Peter Craven	11+2	2						3				e				3				3		11	4
5	(11) Ken McKinlay	11+0			2				2		3					2						2	11	5
6	(10) Ronnie Moore	9			3			2						0			1		3				9	6
7	(5) Olle Nygren	9		3			2					2					2					e	9	7
8	(7) Ron Johnston	8		1					1					1	3					2			8	8
9	(6) Gerry Hussey	7		2				0			2							2			1		7	9
10	(14) Ron How	7				1		1					2		2							1	7	10
11	(9) Peter Moore	5			f		1						3					1		0			5	11
12	(15) Mike Broadbank	5				2			0			1						0	2				5	12
13	(16) Rune Sörmander	4				0				2	1						0			1			4	13
14	(8) Jack Geran	3		f						1			1			0			1				3	14
15	(12) Josef Hofmeister	2			1					0		0			1						0		2	15
16	(1) Joel Jansson	0	0				0				0				0				0				0	16
	(17) Brian Crutcher	0																					0
	(18) Per Olof Söderman	0																					0
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

^ 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 5 July 2021.
^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "World Speedway, It's Briggs". Weekly Dispatch London. 21 September 1958. Retrieved 6 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "1958 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
^ "1958 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
^ "£650 for 25 miles". Sunday Mirror. 13 July 1958. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "1958". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5