The 1985 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 40th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes motorcycle speedway, speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the Association football, footbal ...

, the new home of international speedway 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 ...

after the demise of the

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 ...

and

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 ca ...

tracks, was chosen by the FIM to host the 1985 Final on 31 August 1985; the first time that the final had been held in England at a venue other than Wembley. A crowd of around 30,000 attended the 1985 Final, which was won by defending champion

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 ...

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 ...

from fellow Dane Hans Nielsen and surprise third placing

Sam Ermolenko Guy Allen 'Sudden Sam' Ermolenko (born November 23, 1960 Maywood, California) is a former speedway rider. In 1993 he won the Speedway World Championship in Pocking, Germany.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. All three riders finished the meeting on 13 points and were forced into a run-off to decide the podium placings. The only

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

rider in the field, 21-year-old

Kelvin Tatum Kelvin Martin Tatum MBE (born 8 February 1964, in Epsom, Surrey) is a former British international motorcycle speedway and grasstrack rider. Career Tatum attended Brighton College from 1977 to 1980. He started riding speedway bikes at Hackn ...

, finished 8th with 8 points in his first World Final. He won his first race, but later admitted that he let the occasion get to him which affected his riding.

British Qualification

British Final

*June 6, 1985 *

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 7 to Overseas final plus 1 reserve

Swedish Qualification

Australian Qualification

Australian Final

*January 5, 1985 *

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

*First 2 to Overseas final

Intercontinental Round

Norwegian Final

*May 1, 1985 * Elgane *First to Nordic final

Danish Final

*May 5, 1985 *

Brovst Brovst is a town in North Jutland, Denmark. It is located in Jammerbugt Municipality, 16 km east of Fjerritslev, 14 km southwest of Aabybro and 2 km east and northeast of the villages of Ny Skovsgård and Skovsgård. Until 1 Janu ...

*First 7 to Nordic final

American Final

*June 8, 1985 *

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

, Veterans Memorial Stadium *First 5 to Overseas final

Nordic Final

* June 9, 1985 *

Fjelsted Fjelsted is a town located on the island of Funen in south Denmark, in Middelfart Municipality. Fjelsted is located next to the Funen Motorway three kilometers south of Harndrup, 20 kilometers east of Middelfart and 28 kilometers west of Odense. ...

*First 6 to Intercontinental final plus 1 reserve *

Kai Niemi Kai Juhani Niemi (born 15 September 1955 in Pori, Finland) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who represented the Finland national speedway team. Career He reached four World Championship finals, finishing a career best fourth i ...

Ari Koponen Ari Koponen (born 5 May 1982 in Vantaa) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party at the Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the re ...

and Olli Tyrvainen seeded direct to the Nordic Final

Overseas Final

* July 14, 1985 *

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

* First 10 to the Intercontinental Final plus 1 reserve * David Bargh seeded direct to Overseas Final by the New Zealand Auto Cycle Union

Intercontinental Final

* August 3, 1985 * Vetlanda, Vetlanda Speedway * First 11 plus one reserve to the World Final

Continental Round

Continental Final

* July 21, 1985 *

Pocking Pocking (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Bocking) is a town in the district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austrian border. History A Roman settlement was founded in the a ...

, Rottalstadion * First 5 plus one reserve to the World Final

World Final

*31 August 1985 *

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

References

{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Individual Speedway Individual Speedway Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom