The 1961 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 16th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. The final was held outside of Wembley and England for the first time when on the 15 September

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 ...

retained his title in his home country of Sweden. It was the first time a rider had won three titles and Sweden produced a clean sweep of podium places with

Björn Knutsson Björn Knutsson (born 1938 in Sweden) is a former speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship in 1965 and was a four-time winner of the World Team Cup. He gained the nickname 'The Crown Prince' for his speedway success. World Final ...

and Göte Nordin finishing second and third.

First round

*British & Commonwealth Qualifying - 32 riders to British & Commonwealth semi finals *Scandinavian Qualifying - 16 to Nordic Final *Continental Qualifying - 16 to Continental Final

British & Commonwealth Qualifying

Scandinavian Qualifying

Continental Qualifying

Second round

*British & Commonwealth semi finals - 16 to British & Commonwealth final *Scandinavian Final - 8 to European Final *Continental Final - 8 to European Final

British & Commonwealth Semi finals

Nordic Final

*11 June 1961 *

Gislaved Gislaved () is a locality and the seat of Gislaved Municipality, Jönköping County Jönköping County ( sv, Jönköpings län) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötl ...

* First 8 to European Final

Continental Final

* 23 July 1961 *

Slany Slaný or Slany (; feminine form Slaná or Slana ) is a Czech and Slovak surname. It is derived from the Czech–Slovak word ''slaný'' for "salty." It may be a metonymic occupational name for a producer or seller of salt or an habitational name ...

* First 8 to European Final

Third round

*British & Commonwealth Final - 8 to World Final *European Final - 8 to World Final

European Final

*26 August 1961 *

Wieden Wieden (; Central Bavarian: ''Wiedn'') is the 4th municipal district of Vienna, Austria (german: 4. Bezirk). It is near the centre of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but its borders were changed later. Wieden is a small region ...

* First 8 to World Final plus 1 reserve

British Final

*2 September 1961 *

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

* First 8 to World final plus 1 reserve

World Final

*15 September 1961 *

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

Malmö Stadion Malmö Stadion, often known simply as Stadion before the construction of the new Stadion between 2007 and 2009, is a multi-purpose stadium in Malmö, Sweden. As of 2015, it is the home of association football club IFK Malmö, presently of Div ...

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

References

{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

World Individual 1961 in Swedish motorsport Speedway competitions in Sweden