# 1956 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1956 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 11th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
The World final was sponsored by the Sunday Dispatch and was televised live. Despite being televised a crowd of 65,000 saw the first Scandinavian winner in 23 year old Ove Fundin from Sweden.

## Qualification

Qualification started in 1955.

### Stage 1
#### Norwegian qualification

The October 1955 Norwegian final was cancelled due to bad weather, resulting in riders being seeded to Nordic round

#### Finnish round

* 23 October 1955
* Helsinki Velodrome, Helsinki
* First 7 (+seeded riders) to 1956 Nordic round
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Kauko Jousanen | 15 |
| 2 | Antti Pajari | 14 |
| 3 | Simo Ylänen | 11 |
| 4 | Janne Rihkajrvi | 11 |
| 5 | Aulis Tuominen | 10 |
| 6 | Pertti Mikkola | 9 |
| 7 | Erkki Ala Sippola | 9 |
| 8 | Paavo Mikkola | 7 |
| 9 | Pekka Tenko | 7 |
| 10 | Raimo Kivinen | 6 |
| 11 | Toimi Koskela | 4 |
| 12 | Nils Staaf | 4 |
| 13 | Reino Niemi | 4 |
| 14 | Pentti Paajanen | 3 |
| 15 | Kalevi Lahtinen | 3 |
| 16 | Antti Mattila | 2 |

#### Swedish round

| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Dan Forsberg | 14 |
| 2 | Ulf Ericsson | 13 |
| 3 | Bernt Nilsson | 13 |
| 4 | Birger Forsberg | 11 |
| 5 | Lars Pettersson | 11 |
| 6 | Per-Tage Svensson | 9 |
| 7 | Sune Karlsson | 8 |
| 8 | Sven Fahlén | 8 |
| 9 | Bert Lindarw | 7 |
| 10 | Olle Segerström | 6 |
| 11 | Rune Claesson | 6 |
| 12 | Bengt Eriksson | 6 |
| 13 | Göte Nordin | 5 |
| 14 | Alf Jonsson | 2 |
| 15 | Thorsten Carlsson | 2 |
| 16 | Thorvald Karlsson | 0 |
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Rune Sörmander | 15 |
| 2 | Olle Andersson II | 13 |
| 3 | Göran Norlén | 11 |
| 4 | Stig Pramberg | 11 |
| 5 | Allan Nilsson | 10 |
| 6 | Per-Olof Söderman | 10 |
| 7 | Olle Heyman | 9 |
| 8 | Bertil Carlsson II | 8 |
| 9 | Kaj Forsberg | 7 |
| 10 | Joel Jansson | 6 |
| 11 | Roger Forsberg | 6 |
| 12 | Evert Andersson | 5 |
| 13 | Olle Andersson I | 5 |
| 14 | Bengt Gustafsson | 2 |
| 15 | Per Sjöholm | 1 |
| 16 | Åke Andersson | 1 |
| 17 | Bo Sandin | 0 |

### Stage 2
#### Nordic round

| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Henry Andersen | 14 |
| 2 | Göran Norlén | 11 |
| 3 | Rune Sörmander | 11 |
| 4 | Reidar Kristoffersen | 11 |
| 5 | Olle Andersson II | 11 |
| 6 | Per-Olof Söderman | 10 |
| 7 | Stig Pramberg | 10 |
| 8 | Aage Hansen | 9 |
| 9 | Antti Pajari | 9 |
| 10 | Jörgen Stabirk | 5 |
| 11 | Werner Lorentzen | 5 |
| 12 | Roger Steen | 4 |
| 13 | Torbjörn Ludvigsen | 4 |
| 14 | Erling Cae | 2 |
| 15 | Odd Johansen | 2 |
| 16 | Erhard Fisker | 2 |
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Bernt Nilsson | 13 |
| 2 | Ulf Ericsson | 13 |
| 3 | Birger Forsberg | 12 |
| 4 | Lars Pettersson | 11 |
| 5 | Rolf Westerberg | 11 |
| 6 | Dan Forsberg | 10 |
| 7 | Kaukko Jousanen | 9 |
| 8 | Simo Ylänen | 9 |
| 9 | Per-Tage Svensson | 8 |
| 10 | Aulis Tuominen | 8 |
| 11 | Erkki Ala-Sippola | 4 |
| 12 | Juha Rihkajärvi | 4 |
| 13 | Esko Koponen | 3 |
| 14 | Tore Mellby | 2 |
| 15 | Kalevi Lathinen | 2 |
| 16 | Pertti Mikkola | 0 |

#### Continental round

| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Florian Kapala | 13 |
| 2 | Edward Kupczynski | 12 |
| 3 | Janusz Suchecki | 11 |
| 4 | Edmund Nazimek | 11 |
| 5 | Marian Kaiser | 11 |
| 6 | Hugo Rosak | 10 |
| 7 | Tadeusz Teodorowicz | 10 |
| 8 | Mieczyslaw Polukard | 10 |
| 9 | Wlodzimierz Szwendrowski | 10 |
| 10 | Josef Kysilka | 5 |
| 11 | Richard Janicek | 4 |
| 12 | Rudolf Havelka | 4 |
| 13 | Miloslav Špinka | 4 |
| 14 | Karel Polak | 4 |
| 15 | Jaroslav Machac | 1 |
| 16 | Alois Jarolim | 0 |
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Josef Hofmeister | 15 |
| 2 | Josef Siedl | 14 |
| 3 | Andrzej Krzesiński | 13 |
| 4 | Albin Siegl | |
| 5 | Paul Cardang | |
| 6 | Sebastian Wiesent | |
| 7 | Alfred Aberl | |
| 8 | Fritz Dirtl | |
| 9 | Josef Kamper | |

### Stage 3
#### British & Commonwealth round

* Top 21 qualify for Championship round.
| Date | Venue | Winner |
| 10 July | Banister Court Stadium | Ian Williams |
| 12 July | Foxhall Stadium | Ken McKinlay |
| 12 July | Oxford Stadium | Howdy Byford |
| 13 July | Leicester Stadium | Dick Bradley |
| 14 July | Rayleigh Weir Stadium | Gerald Jackson |
| 25 July | Brandon Stadium | Bert Edwards |
| 25 July | Abbey Stadium | Bob Roger |

#### Nordic Final

* 8 June 1956
* Ryd Motorstadion, Linköping
* First 7 to European final
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Dan Forsberg | 15 |
| 2 | Ulf Ericsson | 14 |
| 3 | Rune Sörmander | 13 |
| 4 | Bernt Nilsson | 12 |
| 5 | Göran Norlén | 11 |
| 6 | Per Olof Söderman | 9 |
| 7 | Birger Forsberg | 9 |
| 8 | Ole Andersson | 7 |
| 9 | Per Tage Svensson | 6 |
| 10 | Aage Hansen | 5 |
| 11 | Rolf Westerberg | 5 |
| 12 | Stig Pramberg | 3 |
| 13 | Lars Pettersson | 1 |
| 14 | Antti Pajari | 1 |
| 15 | Simo Ylänen | 0 |
| 16 | Reidar Kristoffersen | dnr |
| 17 | Kaukko Jousanen | dnr |

#### Continental Final

Fritz Dirtl was tragically killed competing in the Continental final. He was involved in a crash with fellow Austrian rider Josef Kamper and the fell into the path of Mieczysław Połukard.
* 10 June 1956
* Niederrheinstadion, Oberhausen
* First 7 to European Final
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Kjell Carlsson | 14 |
| 2 | Josef Seidl | 14 |
| 3 | Andrzej Krzesiński | 11 |
| 4 | Włodzimierz Szwendrowski | 10 |
| 5 | Tadeusz Teodorowicz | 10 |
| 6 | Edward Kupczyński | 9 |
| 7 | Florian Kapała | 9 |
| 8 | Mieczysław Połukard | 9 |
| 9 | Albin Siegl | 7 |
| 10 | Hugo Rosák | 7 |
| 11 | Josef Hofmeister | 5 |
| 12 | Paul Cardang | 5 |
| 13 | Sebastian Wiesent | 5 |
| 14 | Alfred Aberl | 2 |
| 15 | Fritz Dirtl | 0 |
| 16 | Josef Kamper | 0 |
| 17 | Janusz Suchecki | dnr |
| 18 | Edmund Nazimek | dnr |
| 19 | Marian Kaiser | dnr |

### Stage 4
#### Championship Round

* Top 11 qualify, 1 reserve for World final
| Date | Venue | Winner |
| 20 August | Wimbledon Stadium | Ronnie Moore |
| 22 August | Wimborne Road | Jack Biggs |
| 23 August | Wembley Stadium | Brian Crutcher |
| 25 August | Hyde Road Stadium | Brian Crutcher |
| 29 August | Odsal Stadium | Barry Briggs |
| 31 August | Perry Barr Stadium | Alan Hunt / Doug Davies |
| 1 September | The Firs Stadium | Gerry Hussey |
* (Peter Craven seeded to World final)
Scores First 11 to World final + 1 reserve
| Pos. | Rider | Total pts |
| 1 | Brian Crutcher | 29 |
| 2 | Ronnie Moore | 27 |
| 3 | Gerry Hussey | 26 |
| 4 | Alan Hunt | 26 |
| 5 | Ken McKinlay | 26 |
| 6 | Doug Davies | 25 |
| 7 | Barry Briggs | 25 |
| 8 | Arthur Forrest | 25 |
| 9 | Dick Fisher | 24 |
| 10 | Eric Boothroyd | 24 |
| 11 | Peter Moore | 23 |
| 12 | Jack Biggs | 23 |
| 13 | Nigel Boocock | 23 |
| 14 | Aub Lawson | 22 |
| 15 | Split Waterman | 22 |
| 16 | Ron How | 20 |
| 17 | Ron Johnston | 18 |
| 18 | Les McGillivray | 17 |
| 19 | Bob Roger | 17 |
| 20 | Billy Bales | 17 |
| 21 | Bob Duckworth | 17 |
| 22 | Guy Allott | 17 |
| 23 | Gerald Jackson | 16 |
| 24 | Eric French | 14 |
| 25 | Peter Williams | 14 |
| 26 | Ron Clarke | 14 |
| 27 | Bert Edwards | 13 |
| 28 | Ken Middleditch | 13 |
| 29 | Harry Bastable | 13 |
| Pos. | Rider | Total pts |
| 30 | Cyril Roger | 12 |
| 31 | Bert Roger | 12 |
| 32 | Ray Cresp | 12 |
| 33 | Ken Sharples | 12 |
| 34 | Phil Clarke | 11 |
| 35 | Cyril Maidment | 10 |
| 36 | Jim Tolley | 10 |
| 37 | Dick Bradley | 9 |
| 38 | Alby Golden | 9 |
| 39 | Arthur Wright | 9 |
| 40 | George White | 8 |
| 41 | Howdy Byford | 8 |
| 42 | Ronnie Genz | 8 |
| 43 | Bob Sharp | 8 |
| 44 | Trevor Redmond | 7 |
| 45 | Reg Trott | 6 |
| 46 | Pete Lansdale | 6 |
| 47 | Jack Geran | 5 |
| 48 | Junior Bainbridge | 5 |
| 49 | Bill Holden | 4 |
| 50 | Ron Mountford | 4 |
| 51 | Allan Kidd | 4 |
| 52 | Cyril Brine | 4 |
| 53 | Barry East | 3 |
| 54 | Neil Mortimer | 2 |
| 55 | Gordon McGregor | 2 |
| 56 | Alf Hagon | 2 |
| 57 | Derek Tailby | 2 |
| 58 | Bill Andrew | 1 |

#### European Final

* 8 July 1956
* Bislett Stadium, Oslo
* First 4 to World final plus 1 reserve
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
| 1 | Ove Fundin | 15 |
| 2 | Per Olof Söderman | 13 |
| 3 | Ole Andersson | 12 |
| 4 | Ulf Ericsson | 11 |
| 5 | Rune Sörmander | 10 |
| 6 | Henry Andersen | 8 |
| 7 | Florian Kapała | 8 |
| 8 | Edward Kupczyński | 7 |
| 9 | Göran Norlén | 7 |
| 10 | Dan Forsberg | 6 |
| 11 | Birger Forsberg | 5 |
| 12 | Bernt Nilsson | 4 |
| 13 | Włodzimierz Szwendrowski | 2 |
| 14 | Mieczysław Połukard | 2 |
| 15 | Marian Kaiser | 2 |
| 16 | Tadeusz Teodorowicz | 2 |

## World final

* 22 September 1956
* Wembley Stadium, London
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
| 1 | Ove Fundin | (1,3,3,3,3) | 13 |
| 2 | Ronnie Moore | (2,2,2,3,3) | 12 |
| 3 | Arthur Forrest | (3,1,3,2,2) | 11+3 |
| 4 | Peter Craven | (3,1,2,2,3) | 11+2 |
| 5 | Ken McKinlay | (2,2,3,3,0) | 10 |
| 6 | Per Olof Söderman | (0,3,2,2,3) | 10 |
| 7 | Barry Briggs | (3,2,1,3,1) | 10 |
| 8 | Brian Crutcher | (1,3,3,0,2) | 9 |
| 9 | Peter Moore | (2,1,1,2,2) | 8 |
| 10 | Eric Boothroyd | (2,3,1,1,0) | 7 |
| 11 | Alan Hunt | (3,0,1,1,1) | 6 |
| 12 | Dick Fisher | (0,0,2,1,2) | 5 |
| 13 | Doug Davies | (1,2,0,0,1) | 4 |
| 14 | Ole Andersson | (1,1,0,0,0) | 2 |
| 15 | Ulf Ericsson | (0,0,0,1,1) | 2 |
| 16 | Gerry Hussey | (0,0,0,0,0) | 0 |
| R1 | Rune Sörmander | absent | - |
| R2 | Jack Biggs | did not ride | - |
| R3 | Nigel Boocock | did not ride | - |

### Classification

| Placing | Rider | Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pts | Pos |
| 1 | (4) Ove Fundin | 13 | 1 | | | | | | | 3 | | | | 3 | | | | 3 | | | | 3 | 13 | 1 |
| 2 | (3) Ronnie Moore | 12 | 2 | | | | | | 2 | | | | 2 | | | | 3 | | | | 3 | | 12 | 2 |
| 3 | (5) Arthur Forrest | 11+3 | | 3 | | | 1 | | | | | 3 | | | | | 2 | | | | | 2 | 11 | 3 |
| 4 | (2) Peter Craven | 11+2 | 3 | | | | | 1 | | | | 2 | | | | 2 | | | | 3 | | | 11 | 4 |
| 5 | (8) Ken McKinlay | 10 | | 2 | | | | | | 2 | | | 3 | | | 3 | | | 0 | | | | 10 | 5 |
| 6 | (1) Per Olof Söderman | 10 | 0 | | | | 3 | | | | 2 | | | | 2 | | | | 3 | | | | 10 | 6 |
| 7 | (14) Barry Briggs | 10 | | | | 3 | | 2 | | | | | 1 | | 3 | | | | | | | 1 | 10 | 7 |
| 8 | (6) Brian Crutcher | 9 | | 1 | | | | 3 | | | 3 | | | | | | | 0 | | | 2 | | 9 | 8 |
| 9 | (15) Peter Moore | 8 | | | | 2 | | | 1 | | | 1 | | | | | | 2 | 2 | | | | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | (11) Eric Boothroyd | 7 | | | 2 | | | | 3 | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | | | | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 11 | (10) Alan Hunt | 6 | | | 3 | | | 0 | | | | | | 1 | | | 1 | | 1 | | | | 6 | 11 |
| 12 | (7) Dick Fisher | 5 | | 0 | | | | | 0 | | | | | 2 | 1 | | | | | 2 | | | 5 | 12 |
| 13 | (13) Doug Davies | 4 | | | | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | 0 | | 0 | | | | | 1 | | 4 | 13 |
| 14 | (12) Ole Andersson | 2 | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | 0 | | | 0 | | | | | | 0 | | 2 | 14 |
| 15 | (9) Ulf Ericsson | 2 | | | 0 | | 0 | | | | | | 0 | | | | | 1 | | 1 | | | 2 | 15 |
| 16 | (16) Gerry Hussey | 0 | | | | 0 | | | | 0 | 0 | | | | | | 0 | | | 0 | | | 0 | 16 |
| | (17) Jack Biggs | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | |
| | (18) Nigel Boocock | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | |
| Placing | Rider | Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pts | Pos |
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fell • ns - non-starter • nc - non-classify
| gate A - inside | gate B | gate C | gate D - outside |