The 1959 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 14th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. The event was sponsored by the Sunday Pictorial. New Zealand continued their recent domination as

Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He played for many different clubs in a care ...

won his second title with a 15 point maximum and New Zealand won their fourth title in six years.

Ove Fundin Ove Fundin (born 23 May 1933) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1951 to 1970. Fundin is notable for winning the Speedway World Champ ...

finished second and defending champion

Barry Briggs Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former speedway rider. Career He won the World Individual Championship title four times – in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedw ...

, returning from retirement won the bronze medal ride off.

First Round

*Scandinavian Qualifying - 16 to Scandinavian Final *Continental Qualifying - 16 to Continental Final

Scandinavian Qualifying

Continental Qualifying

Second Round

*Ove Fundin - seeded to European Final *British & Commonwealth Qualifying - 32 to British & Commonwealth semi-finals *Nordic Final - 9 to European Final *Continental Final - 6 to European Final

British & Commonwealth Qualifying

Top 32 riders based on points accumulated during round would progress

Nordic Final

* May 31, 1959 *

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

* First 9 to European Final

Continental Final

* June 21, 1959 *

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

* First 6 to European Final

Third Round

*Barry Briggs - seeded to World Final *British & Commonwealth semi-finals - 9 to World Final *European Final - 6 to World Final

British & Commonwealth Semi finals

Top 9 riders based on points accumulated over two rides would progress + indicates qualifier for World Final (

Aub Lawson Aubrey "Aub" Lawson (born 5 April 1914 in Kelly's Gully, Warialda, New South Wales - died 20 January 1977) was an Australian international speedway rider who featured in ten World Championship finals including the 1939 final which was never run ...

was the ninth rider to qualify)

European Final

* July 17, 1959 *

Göteborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a p ...

* First 6 to World final plus 1 reserve

World Final

*19 September 1959 *

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

References

{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

Individual World Championship

Individual Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official champion ...

Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom