Speedway Champions

 

1             NATIONAL SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONS            
of the collective speedway world

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

plus 
  1.3  - British Championship                     
                                 1.4  - Alternative National Championships                             
                               .

 1.1
          WINNERS  & VENUES,  UK & Dominions (p.1)  + Scandinavia & E.Europe (p.2):  

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

                                 Sweden,  Denmark,  Poland,  Czechia,  USSR,  Russia
.
   Tb.1a/b  Click on thumbnail to view 2x2 full-size up-to-date pages.
    
                  British 2001                        Denmark 1988                     Czechia 2010                        USA 1997

        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.

                           
 1.2 
         WINNERS & VENUES,    Minor speedway nations:
     Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia,  Finland, France, Germany, (West & East),;
        Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Rhodesia, Rumania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine,
            Yugoslavia. ( for Zimbabwe see   Rhodesia.)

   Tb.1c  sections below for full-size up-to-date tables.
    
.
      Germany  2010                     Slovenia 1980                         Italy 2022                       Norway 1970  

     Successful champions from amongst these other speedway nations are:-
 - Martin Smolinski,14 German championships and 'German Opens', plus 4 Long Track Championships and 4 ADAC Helmets, Gold and Silver;
 - Matej Zagar of Slovenia, - 18 consecutive national championships between 2002 and 2019, undoubtedly related to the sparcity of domestic competition;
 - Jurica Pavlić, Croatia, where family construction and ownership of the national Millenium Stadium, home of the Croatia SGP, allowed unlimited access and practice to bear fruit with 12 titles in 14 years;
 - Armando Castagna, 12 times Italian champion toward the end of the century, now FIM supremo;
 - Hennie Kroeze of Netherlands and Halifax Dukes, - 10x Dutch champ and double Golden Helmet winner;
 - Norwegian Lars Gunnestad, a 10x national champion between 1988 to 2003, and a Poole Pirate, 1993 - 2002;
      

 1.3
  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

1.4.
 1.4  
 ALTERNATIVE NATIONAL SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Winners of additional or alternative national championships held in Australia, S.Africa, USA, Canada and Argentina, are listed on the following 3 web pages,  e.g.
             Australia:   2-, 3-, 4-lap championships,
             S. Africa:    National, Open, MRC championships,
             U.S.A.   :     AMA, SRA, 'US Open'  championships,
             Canada:      single and 'Series' championships,
             Argentina:  Summer series,  Winter series.


More National Championship programmes HERE