The 1988 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 43rd edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
The final was held at the
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 ...
, owned by former World Champion Ole Olsen. Despite the country having won seven World Individual Championships between three riders since 1971 (Olsen,
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 ...
hosted the World Final.
Gundersen renewed his fierce rivalry with Nielsen as both finished on 13 points to tie for the lead of the Championship. However it was Gundersen that won the toss to choose his starting gate for the run-off. He chose the outside and on a wet track he won his third title by defeating Nielsen in the run-off. 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 ...
completed a clean sweep for Denmark by taking the bronze medal.
New Zealand Qualification
New Zealand Final
*
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
* Marked in green to Commonwealth Final
Australian Qualification
''* Due to the rules,
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 ...
's Rob Woffinden did not progress to the
Australian Championship
The National Second Division (NSD) – also referred to under the working title The Championship – is a proposed Australian national second-tier men's, soccer league, to be run by Football Australia and the Association of Australian Football ...
''
Australian Final
* January 23, 1988
* Murray Bridge
* Marked in green to Commonwealth Final
British Qualification
British Final
* May 22, 1988
*
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 Commonwealth Final
Swedish Qualification
Swedish Final
* May 17, 18 & 19, 1988
* - 3 Rounds (
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...
Per Jonsson
Per Jonsson (born 21 March 1966 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship in 1990, and finished runner-up in 1992.
Career
In 1985, his second season with the Reading Racers, the team won six major ...
and
Jimmy Nilsen
Jimmy Nilsen (born 16 November 1966) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden.
Career
Jimmy Nilsen was Swedish Champion in 1996 after finishing 3rd in 1994. Nilsen also rode in five World Finals as well as representing ...
seeded to Nordic Final
Intercontinental Round
Finnish Final
* April 28, 1988
*
Karhula
Karhula is a former market town ('' kauppala'') and a former municipality of Finland in the former Kymi Province, now in the Kymenlaakso region. It was consolidated with the town of Kotka in 1977.
Its seat was in Helilä, however the municip ...
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 ...
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 9 to Intercontinental Final plus 1 reserve
Nordic Final
*July 25
*
Sandnes
Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies ...
, Sandnes Stadion
*First 7 to Intercontinental final plus 1 reserve
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 ...
, 3 September - Natschbach-Loipersbach
* Marked in green to Continental Qualification 1989
German Final
* October 2, 1988
*
Brokstedt
Brokstedt is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...
* Marked in green to Continental Qualification 1989
Hungarian Final
* Marked in green to Continental Qualification 1989
Yugoslavian Final
* Marked in green to Continental Qualification 1989
Czechoslovakian Final
* Marked in green to Continental Qualification 1989
USSR Final
* October 2, 1988
* Rovno
* Marked in green to Continental Qualification 1989
Continental Round
Nederlands Final
* 3 April -
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club (association football), football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names bef ...
, 26 June, 11 September -
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, 2 October - Blijham
* Marked in green to Continental Qualification
Continental Final
* August 16, 1988
*
Leszno
Leszno (german: Lissa, 1800–1918 ''Lissa in Posen'') is a historic city in western Poland, within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Previously, it ...
Vojens
Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center
References
{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...