The 1966 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 21st edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. In the final in

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 ...

New Zealander

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 ...

equalled the record of

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 ...

by winning his fourth World title. Norwegian Sverre Harrfeldt took silver and Pole

Antoni Woryna Antoni Woryna (born 15 February 1941 in Rybnik, Poland - died 14 December 2002) was an international motorcycle speedway rider who appeared in the Speedway World Championship finals five times, and was the first Polish rider to win a medal at th ...

took bronze.

Ivan Mauger Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson ...

, a 26-year-old New Zealander who had won the European Final qualifier finished fourth.

Format changes

The format of the Championship changed for the 1966 event. With the final to be held in Sweden, six riders from Sweden would be eligible for the World Final by finishing in the top six of the Swedish finals. The remaining Scandinavian riders were pooled in with the British and Commonwealth riders and then the Continental riders, who ultimately would have only 10 places for the World Final. Two Swedish finals were held during 1966, the three race qualifying for the World Final and another held on 7 October that was separate from the World Championship.

First Round

*British & Commonwealth Qualifying - 16 to British & Commonwealth Final

British & Commonwealth Qualifying

Second Round

*British & Commonwealth Final - 8 to British/Commonwealth/Scandinavian Final *Nordic Final - 8 to British/Commonwealth/Scandinavian Final *Continental Qualifying - 16 to Continental Final

British & Commonwealth Final

* June 27, 1966 *

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

* First 8 to British/Commonwealth/Scandinavian Final plus 1 reserve

Nordic Final

*19 May 1966 *

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Danish town with a population of 35,357 (1 January 2022)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 plus 1 reserve

British/Commonwealth/Scandinavian Final

* July 14, 1966 *

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

* First 8 to European Final plus 1 reserve

Fourth Round

*Swedish Finals - 6 to World Final *European Final - 10 to World Final

Swedish Finals

Three races held on 31 May at

Borås Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 66,273 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them th ...

, 1 June at Linköping and 2 June in

European Final

* September 3, 1966 *

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 10 to World Final plus 1 reserve

World Final

*September 23, 1966 *

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

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

References

{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons 1966

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Speedway competitions in Poland