# 1957 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1957 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 12th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
The event was sponsored by the Sunday Dispatch and the attendance was 51,000. New Zealander Barry Briggs won the title after a ride off against defending champion Ove Fundin after the pair tied on 14 points after five rides each. In the ride off Fundin took the lead before Briggs forced his way to the front and with a lap to go Fundin lost control and crashed into the safety fence. Briggs duly won the £500 first prize with Fundin bruised but collecting £200. Peter Craven won the bronze and £100 after another ride off for third place.

## Qualifying

Qualification started in 1956 and featured an extra round.

### Stage 1

| Norwegian qualification 21 October 1956 Geiteryggen Speedwaybane, Skien Top 8 to Nordic qualification 1957 Pos.RiderPoints 1Aage Hansen15 2Rolf Westerberg14 3Reidar Kristoffersen13 4Nils Paulsen12 5Erling Simonsen11 6Odd Johansen10 7Arne Kristiansen9 8Roger Steen9 9Gunnar Dyrseth7 10Oddbjorn Blaasmo5 11Thorbjorn Nygaard4 | Finnish qualification 7 October 1956 Turku Hippodrome, Turku Top 8 to Nordic qualification 1957 Pos.RiderPoints 1Antti Pajari15 2Simo Ylanen14 3Kauko Jousanen12 4Reino Niemi10 5Pekka Tenko9 6Raimo Kivinen8 7Erkki Ala Sippola8 8Timo Laine8 9Paavo Mikkola7 10Kalevi Lahtinen7 11Rauno Aaltonen6 12Heikki Sorii4 13Aulis Tuominen3 14Valle Seliverstov3 15Jorma Rihkajarvi2 16Nils Staaf2 17Orvo Ahlqvist1 |

#### Swedish qualification

| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Per-Olof Söderman | 14 |
| 2 | Olle Nygren | 14 |
| 3 | Olle Segerström | 11 |
| 4 | Göte Nordin | 10 |
| 5 | Sven Fahlén | 10 |
| 6 | Lars Pettersson | 10 |
| 7 | Sune Karlsson | 9 |
| 8 | Kjell Wårenius | 7 |
| 9 | Bernt Nilsson | 7 |
| 10 | Roger Forsberg | 7 |
| 11 | Evert Andersson | 5 |
| 12 | Alf Jonsson | 5 |
| 13 | Thorsten Carlsson | 5 |
| 14 | Roland Krantz | 4 |
| 15 | Bo Sandin | 2 |
| 16 | Nils Johansson | 0 |
| 17 | Per-Åke Lundgren | 0 |
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Rune Sörmander | 15 |
| 2 | Dan Forsberg | 11 |
| 3 | Bengt Eriksson | 11 |
| 4 | Bertil Carlsson II | 10 |
| 5 | Olle Andersson IV | 9 |
| 6 | Per-Tage Svensson | 8+3 |
| 7 | Bert Lindarw | 8+2 |
| 8 | Stig Pramberg | 8+1 |
| 9 | Allan Nilsson | 8+0 |
| 10 | Thorvald Karlsson | 7 |
| 11 | Rune Claesson | 6 |
| 12 | Kaj Forsberg | 6 |
| 13 | Björn Knutson | 5 |
| 14 | Gunnar Johansson | 3 |
| 15 | Göran Norlén | 2 |
| 16 | Bengt Brannefors | 2 |

### Stage 2
#### Nordic qualification

| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Olle Nygren | 15 |
| 2 | Reidar Kristoffersen | 11 |
| 3 | Sune Karlsson | 11 |
| 4 | Bertil Carlsson II | 10 |
| 5 | Olle Segerström | 10 |
| 6 | Rolf Westerberg | 10 |
| 7 | Aage Hansen | 9 |
| 8 | Bengt Eriksson | 9 |
| 9 | Olle Andersson IV | 8 |
| 10 | Arne Pander | 8 |
| 11 | Erik Kastebo | 5 |
| 12 | Erling Simonsen | 4 |
| 13 | Arne Kristiansen | 4 |
| 14 | Erik Wincentz | 3 |
| 15 | Fred Carlsen | 1 |
| 16 | Svend Nissen | 1 |
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Per-Olof Söderman | 13 |
| 2 | Dan Forsberg | 13 |
| 3 | Lars Pettersson | 12 |
| 4 | Rune Sörmander | 12 |
| 5 | Bert Lindarw | 11 |
| 6 | Nils Paulsen | 11 |
| 7 | Aulis Tuominen | 8 |
| 8 | Kauko Jousanen | 8 |
| 9 | Roger Steen | 6 |
| 10 | Raimo Kivinen | 6 |
| 11 | Sven Fahlén | 5 |
| 12 | Erkki Ala-Sippola | 5 |
| 13 | Pertti Mikkola | 5 |
| 14 | Timo Laine | 3 |
| 15 | Esko Koponen | 2 |
| 16 | Kalevi Lahtinen | 0 |

#### Continental round

| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Josef Hofmeister | 15 |
| 2 | Josef Seidl | 14 |
| 3 | Andrzej Krzesinski | 13 |
| 4 | Birger Forsberg | 10 |
| 5 | Josef Kamper | 10 |
| 6 | Josef Kysilka | 10 |
| 7 | Joel Jansson | 8 |
| 8 | Simo Ylänen | 7 |
| 9 | Tony Kroeze | 6 |
| 10 | Alfred Aberl | 6 |
| 11 | Jarosłav Wolf | 6 |
| 12 | Mieczysław Połukard | 5 |
| 13 | Antti Pajari | 4 |
| 14 | Leopold Killmeyer | 3 |
| 15 | Albin Siegl | 2 |
| 16 | Thei Bishops | 1 |
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Florian Kapała | 14 |
| 2 | Rudolf Havelka | 13.5 |
| 3 | Joachim Maj | 12 |
| 4 | Marian Kaiser | 10.5 |
| 5 | Marian Philipp | 9 |
| 6 | Janusz Suchecki | 9 |
| 7 | Stanislaw Tkocz | 9 |
| 8 | Milan Spinka | 8 |
| 9 | Tadeusz Teodorowicz | 7 |
| 10 | Richard Janicek | 7 |
| 11 | Edward Kupczyński | 7 |
| 12 | Valentin Unterköfler | 5 |
| 13 | Jaroslav Machac | 4 |
| 14 | Erich Sidlo | 2 |
| 15 | Hans Sidlo | 2 |
| 16 | Franz Schenk | 0 |

### Stage 3

| Nordic Final 7 June 1957 Dælenenga idrettspark, Oslo First 8 to European final Pos.RiderPoints 1 Aage Hansen14 2 Per Olof Söderman13 3 Rune Sörmander12 4 Dan Forsberg11 5 Nils Paulsen11 6 Olle Nygren10 7 Reidar Kristoffersen10 8 Rolf Westerberg7 9 Bert Lindarw7 10 Arne Pander7 11 Lars Pettersson6 12 Bengt Eriksson5 13 Ole Andersson3 14 Sune Karlsson2 15 Kauko Jousanen2 16 Aulis Tuominen0 17 Bertil Carlssondnr 18 Olle Segerströmdnr | Continental Final 23 June 1957 Stadion Wien, Vienna First 8 to European Final Pos.RiderPoints 1 Josef Hofmeister15 2 Josef Seidl12 3 Stanisław Tkocz11 4 Birger Forsberg10 5 Joel Jansson10 6 Josef Kamper10 7 Florian Kapała10 8 Marian Kaiser9 9 Janusz Suchecki8 10 Jaroslav Volf7 11 Joachim Maj5 12 Josef Kysilka5 13 Tadeusz Teodorowicz4 14 Erich Sidlo2 15 Rudolf Havelka1 16 Otto Holoubek0 17 Marian Philipp0 18 Andrzej Krzesińskidnr 19 Simo Ylänendnr |

#### British & Commonwealth qualifying

* Top 32 qualify for British & Commonwealth semi-final.
| Date | Venue | Winner |
| 13 July | Brandon Stadium | Ron Johnston |
| 13 July | The Firs Stadium | Brian Crutcher |
| 13 July | Rayleigh Weir Stadium | Ken McKinlay |
| 13 July | Abbey Stadium | Ian Williams |
| 15 July | Wimbledon Stadium | Peter Craven |
| 16 July | Banister Court Stadium | Brian Crutcher |
| 18 July | Foxhall Stadium | Cyril Roger |
| 18 July | Oxford Stadium | Jack Geran |
| 19 July | Leicester Stadium | Ken McKinlay |

### Stage 4
#### British/Commonwealth semi-final

| Pos. | Rider | Total |
| 1 | Peter Craven | 13 |
| 2 | Ron Johnston | 13 |
| 3 | Ian Williams | 12 |
| 4 | Aub Lawson | 12 |
| 5 | Ron How | 11 |
| 6 | Brian Crutcher | 10 |
| 7 | Ken Middleditch | 10 |
| 8 | Billy Bales | 9 |
| 9 | Les McGillivray | 7 |
| 10 | Gerald Jackson | 6 |
| 11 | Brian Hanham | 5 |
| 12 | Charlie New | 5 |
| 13 | Maurice McDermott | 3 |
| 14 | Arthur Forrest | 3 |
| 15 | Cyril Maidment | 1 |
| 16 | Ronnie Genz | 1 |
| 17 | Eric French | 0 |
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
| 1 | Bob Roger | 14 |
| 2 | Ken McKinlay | 14 |
| 3 | Barry Briggs | 13 |
| 4 | George White | 12 |
| 5 | Jack Geran | 11 |
| 6 | Jack Biggs | 10 |
| 7 | Alf Hagon | 9 |
| 8 | Neil Street | 7 |
| 9 | Ron Mountford | 7 |
| 10 | Eric Boothroyd | 6 |
| 11 | Dick Bradley | 5 |
| 12 | Phil Clarke | 5 |
| 13 | Jim Lightfoot | 4 |
| 14 | Peter Moore | 3 |
| 15 | Jack Unstead | 2 |
| 16 | Mike Broadbank | 0 |

#### European Final

* 7 July 1957
* Växjö Motorstadion, Växjö
* Ove Fundin seeded to World final
* First 5 to World final plus 1 reserve
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
| 1 | Rune Sörmander | 14 |
| 2 | Per Olof Söderman | 13 |
| 3 | Josef Hofmeister | 12 |
| 4 | Olle Nygren | 11 |
| 5 | Aage Hansen | 11 |
| 6 | Dan Forsberg | 9 |
| 7 | Rolf Westerberg | 9 |
| 8 | Stanisław Tkocz | 7 |
| 9 | Josef Kamper | 6 |
| 10 | Florian Kapała | 6 |
| 11 | Joseph Seidl | 5 |
| 12 | Marian Kaiser | 4 |
| 13 | Joel Jansson | 3 |
| 14 | Nils Paulsen | 3 |
| 15 | Reidar Kristoffersen | 2 |
| 16 | Birger Forsberg | 2 |
| 17 | Bert Lindarw | 2 |
* Note: Olle Nygren injured and replaced by Dan Forsberg in final

## World final

* 21 September 1957
* Wembley Stadium, London
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
| 1 | Barry Briggs | (3,2,3,3,3) | 14+3 |
| 2 | Ove Fundin | (3,3,2,3,3) | 14+2 |
| 3 | Peter Craven | (2,1,3,2,3) | 11+3 |
| 4 | Aub Lawson | (3,3,1,2,2) | 11+2 |
| 5 | Rune Sörmander | (1,3,3,1,3) | 11+1 |
| 6 | Ron Johnston | (3,2,1,1,2) | 9 |
| 7 | Ken McKinlay | (0,0,3,3,2) | 8 |
| 8 | Bob Roger | (2,1,2,2,1) | 8 |
| 9 | Per Olof Söderman | (1,2,0,3,1) | 7 |
| 10 | Jack Geran | (1,3,1,1,1) | 7 |
| 11 | Ron How | (1,2,2,0,2) | 7 |
| 12 | Aage Hansen | (0,0,2,2,0) | 4 |
| 13 | George White | (2,1,0,1,0) | 4 |
| 14 | Ian Williams | (2,0,1,0,0) | 3 |
| 15 | Dan Forsberg | (0,1,0,0,1) | 2 |
| 16 | Josef Hofmeister | (0,0,0,0,0) | 0 |
| R1 | Jack Biggs | did not ride | - |
| R2 | Rolf Westerberg | 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 | (10) Barry Briggs | 14+3 | | | 3 | | | 2 | | | | | | 3 | | | 3 | | 3 | | | | 14 | 1 |
| 2 | (4) Ove Fundin | 14+2 | 3 | | | | | | | 3 | | | | 2 | | | | 3 | | | | 3 | 14 | 2 |
| 3 | (2) Peter Craven | 11+3 | 2 | | | | | 1 | | | | 3 | | | | 2 | | | | 3 | | | 11 | 3 |
| 4 | (5) Aub Lawson | 11+2 | | 3 | | | 3 | | | | | 1 | | | | | 2 | | | | | 2 | 11 | 4 |
| 5 | (3) Rune Sörmander | 11+1 | 1 | | | | | | 3 | | | | 3 | | | | 1 | | | | 3 | | 11 | 5 |
| 6 | (13) Ron Johnston | 9 | | | | 3 | 2 | | | | | | | 1 | | 1 | | | | | 2 | | 9 | 6 |
| 7 | (1) Ken McKinlay | 8 | 0 | | | | 0 | | | | 3 | | | | 3 | | | | 2 | | | | 8 | 7 |
| 8 | (15) Bob Roger | 8 | | | | 2 | | | 1 | | | 2 | | | | | | 2 | 1 | | | | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | (11) Per Olof Söderman | 7 | | | 1 | | | | 2 | | 0 | | | | | 3 | | | | | | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 10 | (6) Jack Geran | 7 | | 1 | | | | 3 | | | 1 | | | | | | | 1 | | | 1 | | 7 | 10 |
| 11 | (16) Ron How | 7 | | | | 1 | | | | 2 | 2 | | | | | | 0 | | | 2 | | | 7 | 11 |
| 12 | (14) Aage Hansen | 4 | | | | 0 | | 0 | | | | | 2 | | 2 | | | | | | | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 13 | (12) George White | 4 | | | 2 | | | | | 1 | | 0 | | | 1 | | | | | | 0 | | 4 | 13 |
| 14 | (8) Ian Williams | 3 | | 2 | | | | | | 0 | | | 1 | | | 0 | | | 0 | | | | 3 | 14 |
| 15 | (9) Dan Forsberg | 2 | | | 0 | | 1 | | | | | | 0 | | | | | 0 | | 1 | | | 2 | 15 |
| 16 | (7) Josef Hofmeister | 0 | | 0 | | | | | 0 | | | | | 0 | 0 | | | | | 0 | | | 0 | 16 |
| | (17) Rolf Westerberg | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | |
| | (18) Jack Biggs | 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 |