Speedway Champions

NATIONAL SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONS
of the collective speedway world

.Tb.1 - UK and its former Dominions
              + Scandinavia & Eastern Europe,
 Tb.2 - other speedway nations, A - Z
(Argentina > Hungary; Italy > Yugoslavia.)
                                for Zimbabwe see Rhodesia.                                                          
.

 UK,  Australia,  New Zealand,  S.Africa,  Canada,  USA              

       West Germany 1981                         Italy 1982                                 Russia  2012                  Finland  2013
                                               ....................................

 Germany 1946                               Italy 1987                              Holland 1981                      Latvia 2005

                                           ....................................

     Reviewing the riders who hold the record for the number of their nations championships, amongst the major speedway nations, (tabled below,) the success of Ole Olsen and Jiri Stancl Snr. stand out, with an amazing 12 wins each. The small number of successes for New Zealand's three World Champions, Moore, Briggs and Mauger, and likewise for fellow antipodean Jason Crump in their own domestic competitions, - 4x, 2x, 2x, 2x - , is no doubt limited by them wintering elsewhere rather than returning home.

    There can often be limited rider numbers and hence lesser challenge amongst some of the minor nations: Matej Zagar's 18th national Slovenian championship success in 2019 no doubt being in part due to the lack of serious domestic competition.
                           

BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP

     Today's British Champions must be of one of the UK's 4 nationalities, but prior to 1975 Commonwealth riders also competed in British Finals, (and in most case won: Briggs 6x, Mauger 4x,) which since 1961 (when uniquely termed the UK Final,) have been qualifier events for the World Championship competition. Before '75 Commonwealth riders raced on a London ACU licence: the Australian ACCA, forerunner of MA (Motorcycling Australia,) gained direct affiliation to FIM in that year; New Zealand did likewise in '83.

    Up to this point, while Wembley held the World Championship, as during the 1950s, no British championship was staged, - the post war Finals of '46-'48 are generally recognised as British championships though, as per the programmes, only the first was so named. The titles for the early '60s have been given in retrospective recognition, Peter Craven's as the top aggregate point-scorer in the World Championship's last UK qualifier rounds of '62 & '63.                  Rt: Simon Wigg, 1988, '89

    In the war years Belle Vue staged a 'British Individual Championship', (won 3x by Canadian Eric Chitty,) initially a Match Race event which morphed to a 12-rider/16-heat event final. The first 'British Individual Championship' was the UK's Match Race championship of 1931 to '35, which changed hands regularly until Tom Farndon's 5 successes. (See GH-MRC page.) Scott Nicholls' 7 British titles make him the most successful British Champion.

 Britain:     1946                                     1965                                     1977                                         2006