1979 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1979 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 34th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
In his 14th straight World Final appearance, New Zealand's Ivan Mauger won his 6th Speedway World Championship, breaking the previous record of 5 wins held by himself and legendary Swede Ove Fundin. Mauger scored 14 points to defeat local favourite Zenon Plech and young English tearaway Michael Lee, with Lee the only rider to defeat Mauger on the day. Lee also had to defeat Kelly Moran, Billy Sanders and defending champion Ole Olsen in a runoff for third after all four riders finished on 11 points. This would prove to be the last appearance for Ivan Mauger as a rider in a World Final.
Qualification results.

First round

British qualification

Similar to the previous season, the Sunday Mirror sponsored British qualifying rounds for the World Championship doubled up as qualifying rounds for the Berger-sponsored Grand Prix. Therefore, many non-British riders such as Scott Autrey and Ivan Mauger rode in these meetings scoring points towards the Grand Prix qualification - but their scores didn't count towards World Championship qualification. The Rye House track flooded so the event was moved to Hackney.

Second round

Swedish qualification

Top 5 in each heat to Swedish final

Continental Preliminary round

Riders progress to Continental quarter-finals

Date

Venue

Winner

2nd

3rd

22 April

New Zealand Final

21 January 1979
Ruapuna Speedway, Christchurch
First 8 to Australasian Final

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Larry Ross	3,3,3,3,3	15
2	Mitch Shirra	3,3,2,2,2	12
3	Ivan Mauger	2,3,E,3,3	11
4	Roger Wright	2,0,3,3,3	11
5	John Goodall	1,3,3,1,2	10
6	David Bargh	3,0,1,3,2	9
7	Tony Briggs	1,2,1,2,3	9
8	Graeme Stapleton	2,2,2,1,2	9
9	Mike Fullerton	3,1,3,0,1	8
10	James Moore	1,2,0,2,1	6
11	Colin Tucker	0,2,1,2,0	5
12	Patrick Pawson	0,1,2,1,0	4
13	Robin Adlington	0,1,2,0,1	4
14	Max Brown	1,1,0,0,0	2
15	John Brown	0,0,0,0,1	1
16	William Aulsford	ns	0
R1	Paul Fewings	2,1,0	3
R2	Gary Forscutt	0,1	1

Australian Final

11 February 1979
Olympic Park, Mildura
First 8 to Australasian Final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Phil Crump	15
2	Danny Kennedy	13
3	John Boulger	11
4	John Titman	10
5	Steve Koppe	10
6	Billy Sanders	10
7	Gary Guglielmi	9
8	Glyn Taylor	9
9	Rob Maxfield	6
10	Phil Bass	5
11	Glen McDonald	5
12	Mike Farrell	4
13	John Langfield	4
14	David Shields	2
15	Ross Townson	2
16	Kym Amundson	2

Third round

Continental quarter-finals

Top 32 riders to Continental semi-finals

Date

Venue

Winner

2nd

3rd

6 May

American semi-finals

Top 16 to American final

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
16 September 1978	Santa Ana Stadium, Santa Ana	Denny Pyeatt	Bobby Schwartz	Mike Bloom
22 September 1978	Sacramento, Sacramento	Dennis Robinson	Mike Faria	Duane Yarrow

British Final

20 June 1979
Brandon Stadium, Coventry
First 10 to Commonwealth Final plus 1 reserve

Australasian Final

23 February 1979
Rowley Park Speedway, Adelaide
Referee: Sam Bass
First 6 to Commonwealth final plus 1 reserve

Pos.

Rider

Total

Danish Final

6 May 1979
Fjelsted Speedway Stadium, Harndrup
First 4 to Nordic Final

Norwegian Final

To 3 riders to Nordic Final
Elgane, Varhaug

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Reidar Eide	14
2	Rolf Gramstad	13
3	Audun Ove Olsen	11
4	Sigvart Pedersen	10
5	Tom Godal	10
6	Thoralf Holen	10
7	Tormod Langli	9
8	Edgar Stangeland	9
9	Trond Helge Skretting	8
10	Per Arne Hansen	6

Finland Final

3 selected riders to Nordic Final
13 August '78
Kärpänen Speedway, Lahti

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Kai Niemi	12+3
2	Rauli Mäkinen	12+2
3	Martti Väyrynen	10
4	Veijo Tuoriniemi	10
5	Ari Koponen	10
6	Timo Kiansten	9
7	Esko Mylläri	8
8	Olli Turkia	7
9	Seppo Palomäki	7
10	Keijo Mylläri	6
11	Pekka Hautamäki	6
12	Ari Turkia	5
13	Ilkka Teromaa	5
14	Esa Mattila	4
15	Pentti Mattila	3
16	Veikko Haapamäki	3
17	Pekka Paljakka	2
18	Jarmo Puttonen	0

Swedish Final

29 May 1979
Kumla Motorstadion, Kumla
First 5 to Nordic Final + 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Jan Andersson	15
2	Anders Michanek	12
3	Bernt Persson	11
4	Richard Hellsen	11
5	Ake Fridell	11
6	Lars-Åke Andersson	10
7	Bo Wirebrand	9
8	Uno Johansson	8
9	Stefan Salmonsson	7
10	Bengt Jansson	5
11	Hans Danielsson	5
12	Sören Sjösten	4
13	Tommy Nilsson	3
14	Lennart Bengsson	3
15	Gert Carlsson	2
16	Kent Eriksson	1
17	Sören Karlsson	0

Fourth round

American Final

29 December 1978
Santa Ana Stadium, Santa Ana
First 2 to Intercontinental final plus 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Bobby Schwartz	12+3
2	Mike Bast	12+2
3	Kelly Moran	12+1
4	Steve Gresham	12+0
5	Mike Faria	10
6	Steve McConnell	9
7	Bruce Penhall	8
8	Bill Cody	7
9	Rich McMurray	7
10	John Cook	6
11	Gary Hutchinson	6
12	Dennis Robinson	5
13	Duane Yarrow	5
14	Dave Faria	4
15	Denny Pyeatt	3
16	Mike Bloom	2

Commonwealth Final

1 July 1979
White City Stadium, London
First 9 to Intercontinental final plus 1 reserve

Nordic Final

5 June 1979
Norrköping Motorstadion, Norrköping
First 5 to Intercontinental final plus 1 reserve

Fifth round

Continental Final

8 July 1979
Rottalstadion, Pocking
First 4 to World final plus 1 reserve
Polish riders Zenon Plech, Edward Jancarz and Robert Słaboń seeded to World Final

Intercontinental Final

8 August 1979
White City Stadium, London
First 9 to World Final plus 1 reserve

World Final

2 September 1979
Silesian Stadium, Chorzów