# 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship was the tenth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
In a very competitive World final Peter Craven of England finished one point ahead of three other riders who had to ride off for the silver medal. The defending champion Ronnie Moore won the ride off to claim silver from fellow countryman Barry Briggs and Welshman Eric Williams who both crashed leaving Moore an easy victory, Briggs took third place from Williams who missed out on a medal.

## Qualification

Qualification started on 29 April.

### Stage 1
#### Norwegian round

* 26 September 1954
* Briskebyen Utstillingsplassen, Hamar
* Top 3 (+2 seeded) to Nordic round 1955
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Reidar Kristoffersen | 15 |
| 2 | Rolf Westerberg | 14 |
| 3 | Nils Paulsen | 13 |
| 4 | Sverre Gjomesli | 11 |
| 5 | Rolf Solberg | 9 |
| 6 | Odd Johansen | 8 |
| 7 | Erling Simonsen | 8 |
| 8 | Gunnar Hilsen | 7 |
| 9 | Aage W. Jensen | 7 |
| 10 | Tore Meiner | 6 |
| 11 | Erling Cae | 5 |
| 12 | Oddvar Wold | 5 |
| 13 | Tor Bjorkkvist | 4 |
| 14 | Odd Kleiven | 4 |
| 15 | Knut Bjorge | 2 |
| 16 | Jens Georg Walle | 0 |

#### Swedish round

| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Ove Fundin | 15 |
| 2 | Ulf Ericsson | 12 |
| 3 | Lars Pettersson | 12 |
| 4 | Kjell Carlsson | 11 |
| 5 | Rune Claesson | 10 |
| 6 | Gunnar Johansson | 9 |
| 7 | Olle Andersson II | 8 |
| 8 | Stig Pramberg | 8 |
| 9 | Olle Segerström | 8 |
| 10 | Kaj Forsberg | 8 |
| 11 | Göte Nordin | 5 |
| 12 | Thorsten Carlsson | 5 |
| 13 | Allan Nilsson | 3 |
| 14 | Rune Stenström | 3 |
| 15 | Bert Engman | 3 |
| 16 | Bertil Carlsson II | 0 |
| 17 | Stig Sköldberg | 0 |
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Bert Lindarw | 14 |
| 2 | Göran Norlén | 14 |
| 3 | Birger Forsberg | 13 |
| 4 | Olle Andersson I | 11 |
| 5 | Joel Jansson | 9 |
| 6 | Olle Heyman | 9 |
| 7 | Sven Fahlén | 9 |
| 8 | Bernt Nilsson | 9 |
| 9 | Per-Tage Svensson | 8 |
| 10 | Bengt Nilsson | 8 |
| 11 | Göte Olsson | 4 |
| 12 | Dan Forsberg | 4 |
| 13 | Alf Jonsson | 3 |
| 14 | Evert Andersson | 3 |
| 15 | Sven Skoglund | 2 |
| 16 | Olle Broms | 0 |
| 17 | Sten Cederlöv | 0 |

### Stage 2
#### Nordic round

| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Ove Fundin | 15 |
| 2 | Ulf Ericsson | 14 |
| 3 | Sven Fahlén | 11 |
| 4 | Kaukko Jousanen | 10 |
| 5 | Reidar Kristoffersen | 10 |
| 6 | Olle Heyman | 10 |
| 7 | Birger Forsberg | 10 |
| 8 | Antti Pajari | 10 |
| 9 | Olle Andersson I | 8 |
| 10 | Reino Niemi | 5 |
| 11 | Rauno Aaltonen | 5 |
| 12 | Aulis Tuominen | 4 |
| 13 | Aage Hansen | 3 |
| 14 | Simo Ylänen | 3 |
| 15 | Antti Mattila | 2 |
| 16 | Ilkka Helminen | 0 |
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Göran Norlén | 15 |
| 2 | Joel Jansson | 12 |
| 3 | Lars Pettersson | 11 |
| 4 | Basse Hveem | 10 |
| 5 | Henry Andersen | 10 |
| 6 | Kjell Carlsson | 9 |
| 7 | Rune Claesson | 8 |
| 8 | Bert Lindarw | 8 |
| 9 | Kiehn Berthelsen | 6 |
| 10 | Leif Bech | 6 |
| 11 | Arne Pander | 6 |
| 12 | Nils Paulsen | 5 |
| 13 | Erling Simonsen | 4 |
| 14 | Eivind Petersen | 4 |
| 15 | Rolf Westerberg | 3 |
| 16 | Axel Möller | 3 |

#### Continental round

| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Karel Kiendl | 13 |
| 2 | Fred Aberl | 12 |
| 3 | Sebastian Wiesent | 12 |
| 4 | Nicola Snjaric | 11 |
| 5 | Valentin Medved | 11 |
| 6 | Drago Regvart | 10 |
| 7 | Branko Regvart | 9 |
| 8 | Max Aebi | 9 |
| 9 | Josip Klemencic | 8 |
| 10 | Cornel Bijman | 7 |
| 11 | Gerhard Hofemeister | 5 |
| 12 | Josef Sinzinger | 5 |
| 13 | Alois Strasser | 4 |
| 14 | Moritz Künzl | 2 |
| 15 | Leo Petzwinkler | 2 |
| 16 | Jakob Dietrich | 0 |
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Josef Seidl | 14 |
| 2 | Per-Olof Söderman | 12 |
| 3 | Sune Karlsson | 12 |
| 4 | Georg Duneborn | 11 |
| 5 | Josef Hofmeister | 9 |
| 6 | Karl Killmeyer | 8 |
| 7 | Marius Metzelaar | 8 |
| 8 | Albin Siegl | 8 |
| 9 | T van Gorcum | 8 |
| 10 | Anton Kroeze | 7 |
| 11 | Howdy Byford | 7 |
| 12 | Alan Smith | 4 |
| 13 | Leopold Killmeyer | 3 |
| 14 | J van der Sluis | 3 |
| 15 | Thei Bischops | 2 |
| 16 | Alex Jakob | 1 |
| 17 | Kurt Pieper | 1 |

### Stage 3
#### Nordic Final

* 8 June 1955
* Lerkendal Stadion, Trondheim
* First 6 to European final
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Ove Fundin | 14 |
| 2 | Henry Andersen | 14 |
| 3 | Basse Hveem | 12 |
| 4 | Ulf Ericsson | 10 |
| 5 | Birger Forsberg | 10 |
| 6 | Kjell Carlsson | 9 |
| 7 | Sven Fahlén | 9 |
| 8 | Joel Jansson | 8 |
| 9 | Rune Claesson | 7 |
| 10 | Bert Lindarw | 7 |
| 11 | Olle Heyman | 6 |
| 12 | Lars Pettersson | 5 |
| 13 | Reidar Kristoffersen | 5 |
| 14 | Göran Norlén | 3 |
| 15 | Antti Pajari | 2 |
| 16 | Kaukko Jousanen | 1 |

#### Continental Final

* 13 June 1955
* Altes Stadion, Abensberg
* First 6 to European Final
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Fritz Dirtl | 15 |
| 2 | Josef Kamper | 12 |
| 3 | Georg Duneborn | 12 |
| 4 | Josef Hofmeister | 11 |
| 5 | Josef Seidl | 11 |
| 6 | Per Olof Söderman | 10+3 |
| 7 | Karl Killmeyer | 10+2 |
| 8 | Sune Karlsson | 8 |
| 9 | Nicvan Gorcum | 7 |
| 10 | Fred Aberl | 6 |
| 11 | Sebastian Wiesent | 6 |
| 12 | Branko Regvart | 4 |
| 13 | Tinus Metzelaar | 3 |
| 14 | Karl Kiendl | 2 |
| 15 | Drago Regvart | 2 |
| 16 | Nicola Snjaric | 1 |

#### British & Commonwealth round

* Top 21 qualify for Championship round.
| Date | Venue | Winner |
| 4 July | Wimborne Road | Ken Middleditch |
| 5 July | Banister Court Stadium | Dick Bradley |
| 7 July | Foxhall Stadium | Junior Bainbridge |
| 7 July | Oxford Stadium | Ronnie Genz |
| 8 July | Leicester Stadium | Ken Middleditch |
| 9 July | Brandon Stadium | Tommy Miller |
| 9 July | Rayleigh Weir Stadium | Bert Roger |
| 9 July | Abbey Stadium | Ian Williams |
| 11 July | County Ground Stadium | Ken McKinlay |

### Stage 4
#### Championship Round

* Top 12 qualify for World final + 2 reserves
| Date | Venue | Winner |
| 8 August | Wimbledon Stadium | Barry Briggs |
| 9 August | West Ham Stadium | Jack Young |
| 11 August | Wembley Stadium | Brian Crutcher |
| 13 August | Perry Barr Stadium | Doug Davies |
| 13 August | Odsal Stadium | Arthur Wright |
| 20 August | Hyde Road Stadium | Peter Craven |
| 20 August | The Firs Stadium | Aub Lawson |
Scores
* First 12 to World final + 2 reserves
| Pos. | Rider | Total pts |
| 1 | Peter Craven | 29 |
| 2 | Jack Young | 29 |
| 3 | Barry Briggs | 28 |
| 4 | Ron Johnston | 26 |
| 5 | Ronnie Moore | 26 |
| 6 | Arthur Wright | 26 |
| 7 | Doug Davies | 26 |
| 8 | Cyril Roger | 25 |
| 9 | Arthur Forrest | 24 |
| 10 | Aub Lawson | 24 |
| 11 | Phil Clarke | 24 |
| 12 | Brian Crutcher | 23 |
| 13 | Eric Williams | 23 |
| 14 | Billy Bales | 23 |
| 15 | Gerry Hussey | 22 |
| 16 | Ken McKinlay | 22 |
| 17 | Freddie Williams | 21 |
| 18 | Alf Hagon | 19 |
| 19 | Ken Middleditch | 19 |
| 20 | Ron Mountford | 18 |
| 21 | Jack Geran | 18 |
| 22 | Jack Biggs | 17 |
| 23 | Alan Hunt | 17 |
| 24 | Les McGillivray | 17 |
| 25 | Peter Moore | 15 |
| 26 | Ron How | 14 |
| 27 | Harry Bastable | 14 |
| 28 | Peter Clark | 14 |
| Pos. | Rider | Total pts |
| 29 | Tommy Price | 14 |
| 30 | Fred Rogers | 14 |
| 31 | Dick Bradley | 12 |
| 32 | Bob Mark | 11 |
| 33 | Ian Williams | 11 |
| 34 | Split Waterman | 11 |
| 35 | Bob Duckworth | 11 |
| 36 | Tommy Miller | 10 |
| 37 | Reg Reeves | 10 |
| 38 | Allan Kidd | 10 |
| 39 | Alan Smith | 9 |
| 40 | Fred Brand | 9 |
| 41 | Neil Street | 9 |
| 42 | Guy Allott | 8 |
| 43 | Junior Bainbridge | 8 |
| 44 | Harry Edwards | 7 |
| 45 | Gordon McGregor | 7 |
| 46 | Bob Roger | 6 |
| 47 | Charlie New | 6 |
| 48 | Jimmy Gooch | 5 |
| 49 | Bill Holden | 5 |
| 50 | Eric French | 4 |
| 51 | Ron Clarke | 3 |
| 52 | John Fitzpatrick | 3 |
| 53 | Ken Sharples | 1 |
| 54 | Bob Sharp | 1 |
| 55 | Eddie Rigg | 0 |
| 56 | Jim Lightfoot | 0 |

#### European Final

* 4 July 1955
* Bislett Stadium, Oslo
* First 4 to World final
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
| 1 | Henry Andersen | 14 |
| 2 | Olle Nygren | 12 |
| 3 | Kjell Carlsson | 11 |
| 4 | Ove Fundin | 11 |
| 5 | Per Olof Söderman | 11 |
| 6 | Basse Hveem | 10 |
| 7 | Josef Kamper | 9 |
| 8 | Ulf Ericsson | 8 |
| 9 | Fritz Dirtl | 7 |
| 10 | Birger Forsberg | 7 |
| 11 | Georg Duneborn | 6 |
| 12 | Alf Hagon | 5 |
| 13 | Rune Sörmander | 4 |
| 14 | Cyril Maidment | 3 |
| 15 | Joseph Seidl | 2 |
| 16 | Josef Hofmeister | 0 |
| 17 | Reidar Kristoffersen | 0 |

## World final

* 15 September 1955
* Wembley Stadium, London
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
| 1 | Peter Craven | (3,3,2,3,2) | 13 |
| 2 | Ronnie Moore | (3,1,3,2,3) | 12+3 |
| 3 | Barry Briggs | (3,2,3,2,2) | 12+2 |
| 4 | Eric Williams | (3,1,2,3,3) | 12+1 |
| 5 | Brian Crutcher | (2,2,3,Fx,3) | 10 |
| 6 | Ove Fundin | (2,1,1,3,3) | 10 |
| 7 | Jack Young | (1,3,1,3,2) | 10 |
| 8 | Olle Nygren | (0,3,2,2,2) | 9 |
| 9 | Arthur Forrest | (0,2,3,1,1) | 7 |
| 10 | Arthur Wright | (1,3,0,1,1) | 6 |
| 11 | Billy Bales | (2,0,1,2,1) | 6 |
| 12 | Ron Johnston | (1,1,2,1,1) | 6 |
| 13 | Kjell Carlsson | (0,2,0,1,0) | 3 |
| 14 | Phil Clarke | (2,0,0,0,0) | 2 |
| 15 | Henry Andersen | (1,0,1,0,0) | 2 |
| 16 | Cyril Roger | (0,0,0,0,Fx) | 0 |
| R1 | Gerry Hussey | did not ride | - |
| R2 | Ken McKinlay | did not ride | - |
* Note - Aub Lawson withdrew injured, Doug Davies withdrew with meningitis,

### 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 | (8) Peter Craven | 13 | | 3 | | | | | | 3 | | | 2 | | | 3 | | | 2 | | | | 13 | 1 |
| 2 | (2) Ronnie Moore | 12+3 | 3 | | | | | 1 | | | | 3 | | | | 2 | | | | 3 | | | 12 | 2 |
| 3 | (14) Barry Briggs | 12+2 | | | | 3 | | 2 | | | | | 3 | | 2 | | | | | | | 2 | 12 | 3 |
| 4 | (12) Eric Williams | 12+1 | | | 3 | | | | | 1 | | 2 | | | 3 | | | | | | 3 | | 12 | 4 |
| 5 | (1) Brian Crutcher | 10 | 2 | | | | 2 | | | | 3 | | | | - | | | | 3 | | | | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | (5) Ove Fundin | 10 | | 2 | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | | | 3 | | | | | 3 | 10 | 6 |
| 7 | (9) Jack Young | 10 | | | 1 | | 3 | | | | | | 1 | | | | | 3 | | 2 | | | 10 | 7 |
| 8 | (6) Olle Nygren | 9 | | 0 | | | | 3 | | | 2 | | | | | | | 2 | | | 2 | | 9 | 8 |
| 9 | (4) Arthur Forrest | 7 | 0 | | | | | | | 2 | | | | 3 | | | | 1 | | | | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 10 | (3) Arthur Wright | 6 | 1 | | | | | | 3 | | | | 0 | | | | 1 | | | | 1 | | 6 | 10 |
| 11 | (10) Billy Bales | 6 | | | 2 | | | 0 | | | | | | 1 | | | 2 | | 1 | | | | 6 | 11 |
| 12 | (7) Ron Johnston | 6 | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | | | 2 | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | 6 | 12 |
| 13 | (11) Kjell Carlsson | 3 | | | 0 | | | | 2 | | 0 | | | | | 1 | | | | | | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| 14 | (13) Phil Clarke | 2 | | | | 2 | 0 | | | | | | | 0 | | 0 | | | | | 0 | | 2 | 14 |
| 15 | (16) Henry Andersen | 2 | | | | 1 | | | | 0 | 1 | | | | | | 0 | | | 0 | | | 2 | 15 |
| 16 | (15) Cyril Roger | 0 | | | | 0 | | | 0 | | | 0 | | | | | | 0 | - | | | | 0 | 16 |
| | (17) Gerry Hussey | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | |
| | (18) Ken McKinlay | 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 |