The 1972 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 27th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. The 1972 final attendance at Wembley Stadium was 75,000. New Zealander

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 ...

joined

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 Speedwa ...

on four title wins (2nd only behind

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 defeating

Bernt Persson Bernt Eveart Persson (24 June 1946 to 20 September 2020) was a Swedish international speedway rider who finished runner up in the 1972 Speedway World Championship final. He rode in Britain for the Edinburgh Monarchs, the Cradley Heath Heathens (f ...

in a run-off after both riders finished on 13 points. In heat five, Briggs was involved in an accident which all but ended his

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 ...

career. Going into the first turn his front wheel was hit by

's bike which caused him to fall. He was then hit by the Russian riders

Grigory Khlinovsky Grigory Khlinovsky is a former international speedway rider from the Soviet Union. Speedway career Khlinovsky reached the final of the Speedway World Championship on three consecutive years, in the 1972 Individual Speedway World Championship, ...

and

Valery Gordeev Valery Gordeev (born 28 August 1952 in Balakovo, Soviet Union) is a former Soviet international speedway rider who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship five times. His older brother Vladimir Gordeev is also a former rider who qua ...

. Briggs suffered a severe hand injury and lost the index finger on his left hand which caused him to temporarily retire from racing. Briggs had been considered one of the pre-meeting favourites and his favouritism had been firmed when he had beaten fellow

New Zealander New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in heat 2. To the boos of the 75,000 strong

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 ...

crowd,

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

referee Georg Traunspurger did not exclude Persson. Defending champion Ole Olsen was unlucky not to retain his title because in his first ride (heat 4) while challenging Swede

Christer Löfqvist Christer Löfqvist (born 4 June 1944 in Visby, Gotland, Sweden - died 1 February 1978) was an international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1974.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the Wo ...

he fell and would score no points. He won his next four rides to finish in a clear third place.

First Round

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

British/Commonwealth Qualifying

Scandinavian Qualifying

Continental Qualifying

Third Round

*Nordic Final - 8 to European Final *Continental Final - 8 to European Final

Nordic Final

*1 June 1972 *

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

* First 8 to European Final plus 1 reserve

Continental Final

*25 June 1972 *

Cherkessk Cherkessk (russian: Черке́сск) is the capital city of Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, as well as its political, economic, and cultural center. Population: It was previously known as ''Batalpashinskaya'' (until 1931), ''Batalpashinsk'' (un ...

* First 8 to European Final plus 1 reserve

Fourth Round

*European Final - 11 to World Final *British/Commonwealth Final - 5 to World Final

British/Commonwealth Final

*2 August 1972 *

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

* First 5 to World Final

European Final

* 3 September 1972 * Wroclaw * First 11 to World Final plus 1 reserve

World Final

*16 September 1972 *

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. *Referee: Georg Traunspurger

References

{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

Individual Speedway Individual Speedway Individual Speedway Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom