The 1981 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 36th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. It was also the last of a record 26 times that

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

's world famous

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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

hosted the World Final. It also marked the final time that the stadium would be used for any Motorcycle speedway. In future years when the final was held in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, it would be held at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford until the advent of the

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...

series in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

. The 1981 Final was held before a reported crowd of 92,500, just shy of the Wembley record of 95,000 set at the 1938 World Final.

Bruce Penhall Bruce Lee Penhall (born May 10, 1957) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway racer who later starred in television and in film. He was the World Speedway Champion in 1981 and 1982 and rode for the successful Cradley Heath Heathen ...

became the first American to win the World Championship since

Jack Milne John Walter Milne (4 June 1907 in Buffalo, New York, United States – 6 December 1995 in Pasadena, California, United States) was an international Speedway rider. He became the first American to win a motorcycling world championship when he won ...

in 1937. As a past World Championship winner at Wembley, the 74-year-old Milne was a special guest at the event and saw Penhall end America's 44 year Individual World Championship drought. Though he remained undefeated until his last ride when he only needed to finish 3rd to win the Championship (he finished that race in second behind his rival

Kenny Carter Kenneth Malcolm Carter (28 March 1961 – 21 May 1986), was a British world class speedway rider. He rode for Newcastle Diamonds (1978), Halifax Dukes (1978–1985) and Bradford Dukes (1986). On Wednesday, 21 May 1986, he shot dead his w ...

), Penhall was forced to work hard for his maiden World Championship. In both Heat 7 and Heat 14 he was second for over 3½ laps behind Ole Olsen and

Tommy Knudsen Tommy Knudsen (born 9 November 1961 in Roager, Denmark) is a former Motorcycle speedway rider who won eight Speedway World Team Cups, and two World Pairs. Career Knudsen first became known when he won the Danish Under-16 ...

respectively before passing both in the run to the line. Olsen would defeat Knudsen in a runoff for second and third places after both finished on 12 points. The triple World Champion gaining some revenge on his younger countryman after Knudsen had defeated Olsen in the first heat of the meeting. In Heat 6,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

's future triple

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Erik Gundersen Erik Gundersen (born 8 October 1959 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider in the late 1970s and 1980s. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time. He was the ...

set the 4 lap record of 66.8 seconds for the long track when he defeated eventual 3rd placed rider

(Denmark),

Jiří Štancl Jiří Štancl (born 18 November 1949 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Czechoslovakia. Career Štancl reached the final of the Speedway World Championship on nine occasions between 1971 and 19 ...

(

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

) and

Zenon Plech Zenon Plech (1 January 1953 – 25 November 2020) was a Polish international motorcycle speedway rider. He finished third in the Speedway World Championship in 1973 and as the runner-up in 1979. Career summary Plech won the Polish National Cha ...

(

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

). As this was the final speedway meeting at Wembley it will forever be the track record.

New Zealand Qualification

New Zealand Final

* 6 February 1981 * Napier * First 8 to Austral-Asian Final

Australian Qualification

Australian Final

* February 14, 1981 *

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

* First 8 to Austral-Asian Final

British Qualification

British Final

*June 3, 1981 *

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the 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 city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

Brandon Stadium Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Satur ...

*First 8 to Overseas final plus 1 reserve

Swedish Qualification

Intercontinental Round

Australasian Final

*February 28, 1981 * Sydney, Liverpool City Raceway *First 4 to Overseas final plus 1 reserve

Norwegian Final

*April 26, 1981 * Elgane *First 2 to Nordic final

Danish Final

*May 10, 1981 *

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...

*First 6 to Nordic final

American Final

*May 30, 1981 *

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Los Angeles Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...

*First 4 to Overseas final

Nordic Final

*June 2, 1981 * Norrköping, Vargarna Speedway *First 6 to Intercontinental final plus 1 reserve

Overseas Final

*July 12, 1981 *

White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock ...

*First 10 to Intercontinental final plus 1 reserve

Intercontinental Final

*July 25, 1981 *

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Vojens Speedway Center The Vojens Speedway Center is a Motorcycle speedway track located in Vojens, Denmark. The track has been part-owned since its opening by Denmark's first three time Speedway World Champion Ole Olsen. Track The Speedway Center is a long track whi ...

*First 11 to World final plus 1 reserve

Continental Round

Continental Final

*July 25, 1981 *

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Marketa Stadium *First 5 to World final plus 1 reserve

World Final

*September 5, 1981 *

Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. *Referee: () Sam Bass *Attendance: 92,500

References

{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

World Individual 1981 in British motorsport Individual Speedway World Championship Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom