The 1986 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 41st edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. Hans Nielsen finally won his first world title after finishing in second place during the two previous Championships. He lost his first ride to arch rival and 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 ...

but then won his next four rides to be crowned the champion. Fellow Dane

Jan O. Pedersen Jan Osvald Pedersen (born 9 November 1962 in Middelfart, Denmark) is a former Speedway rider who became Speedway World Champion in 1991 after finishing runner-up in 1986 and in third place in 1988 behind fellow Danes Erik ...

took silver and England's

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 Hackney' ...

took the bronze while Gundersen faded into tenth place. It was the fourth final to be held at the

Silesian Stadium Silesian as an adjective can mean anything from or related to Silesia. As a noun, it refers to an article, item, or person of or from Silesia. Silesian may also refer to: People and languages *Silesians, inhabitants of Silesia, either a West Sla ...

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 populous ...

British Qualification

British Final

* June 1, 1986 *

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 ...

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 ...

* Top 9 to Commonwealth Final plus 1 reserve

Swedish Qualification

Swedish Final

* May 21, 22 & 23 *

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...

, Nassjo &

Kumla Kumla is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Kumla Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with a population of 21,640 as of 2018. Geography Kumla is situated roughly 15 kilometres south of neighbouring city Örebro, and is connected t ...

* First 4 to Nordic Final plus 1 reserve * Jan Andersson seeded to Nordic Final

Australian Qualification

Australian Final

* January 11, 1986 *

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 Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

Pioneer Park Speedway Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

* Top 4 to Commonwealth Final plus 1 reserve

Intercontinental Round

New Zealand Final

* January 25, 1986 * Gisborne, Gisborne Speedway * Top 3 to Commonwealth Final

Danish Final

* May 8, 1986 *

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. ...

, Hele Fyns Speedway Center * Top 5 to Nordic Final plus 1 reserve *

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 Speedway World Pairs Championship, World Pairs. Career Knudsen first became kno ...

seeded to Nordic Final

Commonwealth Final

* June 8, 1986 *

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Belle Vue Stadium Belle Vue Stadium was a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedway, as the home ground of Elite League t ...

* Top 11 to the Overseas Final plus 1 reserve

American Final

* June 21, 1986 *

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. Incorporate ...

, Veterans Memorial Stadium * Top 5 to the Overseas Final

Overseas Final

* June 19, 1986 *

* Top 9 to Intercontinental Final plus 1 reserve

Nordic Final

* July 4, 1986 *

Kumla Speedway The Glottra Skog Arena or Sannaheds Motorstadion is a 15,000-capacity motorcycle speedway stadium, south of Kumla in Sweden. The Arena is the home venue of the speedway team called Indianerna who race in the Eliserien, which is the highest lea ...

* Top 7 to Intercontinental Final plus 1 reserve

Intercontinental Final

* July 20, 1986 *

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 ...

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 speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

* Top 11 to World Final plus 1 reserve

Continental Round

Continental Final

* July 20, 1986 *

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

, ÖAMTC Zweigverein * Top 4 to World Final plus 1 reserve *

Ryszard Dołomisiewicz Ryszard Dołomisiewicz (born 1 February 1966) is a former international speedway rider from Poland. Speedway career Dołomisiewicz reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1986 Individual Speedway World Championship. He rode ...

(

) seeded to World Final

World Final

*August 30, 1986 *

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; german: link=no, Königshütte ; szl, Chorzōw) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population ...

References

{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Individual Speedway World

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