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1981 Individual Speedway World Championship

{{Short description|Motorcycle speedway world championship season}}

{{Use British English|date=February 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}

{{Motorsport season

|title = Individual Speedway World Championship

|link = Individual Speedway World Championship

|year = 1981

}}

The 1981 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 36th edition of the official Motorcycle speedway World Championship to determine the world champion rider.{{cite web|url=http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2013/04/world-speedway-championships.html|title=World Championship 1936-1994|website=Edinburgh Speedway|access-date=10 July 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/worldchamps1936to94.pdf|title=WORLD FINALS 1936-1994|website=Speedway Researcher|access-date=10 July 2021}}{{cite web|url=http://www.speedway.org/history/|title=HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK|website=Speedway.org|access-date=10 July 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/board/89/world|title=Speedway riders, history and results|website=wwosbackup|access-date=10 July 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/worldfinalindex|title=WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX|website=British Speedway|access-date=10 July 2021}}

It was also the last of a record 26 times that London's world famous Wembley Stadium hosted the World Final. It also marked the final time that the stadium would be used for any speedway. In future years when the final was held in England, it would be held at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford until the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix series in 1995. The 1981 Final was held before a reported crowd of 92,500, just shy of the Wembley record of 95,000 set at the 1938 World Final.

Bruce Penhall became the first American to win the World Championship since Jack Milne in 1937.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002139/19810907/028/0028 |title=Happy Penhall the ambassador |website=Birmingham Mai |date=7 September 1981 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=29 August 2024}} As a past World Championship winner at Wembley, the 74-year-old Milne was a special guest at the event and saw Penhall end America's 44 year Individual World Championship drought. Though he remained undefeated until his last ride when he only needed to finish 3rd to win the Championship (he finished that race in second behind his rival Kenny Carter), Penhall was forced to work hard for his maiden World Championship. In both Heat 7 and Heat 14 he was second for over 3½ laps behind Ole Olsen and Tommy Knudsen respectively before passing both in the run to the line. Olsen would defeat Knudsen in a runoff for second and third places after both finished on 12 points. The triple World Champion gaining some revenge on his younger countryman after Knudsen had defeated Olsen in the first heat of the meeting.

In Heat 6, Erik Gundersen set a new four lap record of 66.8 seconds for the track and as this was the final speedway meeting at Wembley it will forever be the track record.

First round

= New Zealand qualification =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
width=200|Event

!width=80|Date

!width=280|Venue

!width=180|Winner

!width=180|2nd

!width=180|3rd

align=center|South Island Final19 Jan|Ruapuna Speedway, ChristchurchLarry RossTony BriggsIvan Mauger
align=center|North Island Final?|Awapuni Speedway, GisborneWayne BrownColin FarquharsonMartin Weygang

= Australian qualification =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
width=200|Event

!width=80|Date

!width=280|Venue

!width=180|Winner

!width=180|2nd

!width=180|3rd

align=center| Southern Zone Final16 JanSpeedway Park, AdelaidePhil CrumpJohn BoulgerMick McKeon
align=center| Northern Zone Final12 FebExhibition Ground, BrisbaneGary GuglielmiNeil CoddingtonBilly Sanders

= British qualification =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
width=100|Date

!width=280|Venue

!width=180|Winner

!width=180|2nd

!width=180|3rd

colspan=6| Preliminary Round
align=center| 7 AprilWessex Stadium, WeymouthNeil MiddleditchSimon WiggKevin Smith
align=center| 10 AprilEast of England Arena, PeterboroughLouis CarrKevin HawkinsNicky Allott
align=center| 12 AprilRye House Stadium, HoddesdonKeith WhiteMelvyn TaylorBob Garrad
align=center| 12 AprilBoston Sports Stadium, BostonSteve LomasDavid GagenEric Broadbelt
align=center| 14 AprilCrayford & Bexleyheath Stadium, CrayfordBarry ThomasIan GledhillDave Morton
colspan=6| Quarter-Final
align=center| 27 AprilBrough Park, NewcastleEric BroadbeltKevin HawkinsNeil Middleditch

Second round

= Continental preliminary round =

  • Riders progress to Continental quarter-finals

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
width=100|Date

!width=280|Venue

!width=180|Winner

!width=180|2nd

!width=180|3rd

align=center| 25 April{{flagicon|YUG}} Petišovci Stadium, Lendava{{flagicon|AUT}} Herbert Szerecz{{flagicon|FRG}} Alois Wiesböck{{flagicon|POL}} Mariusz Okoniewski
align=center| 26 April{{flagicon|FRG}} Breitenthal Stadium, Krumbach{{flagicon|HUN}} Ferenc Farkaš{{flagicon|CSK}} Jan Verner{{flagicon|NED}} Henny Kroeze
align=center| 26 April{{flagicon|BUL}} Shumen Motopista, Shumen{{flagicon|POL}} Henryk Olszak{{flagicon|CSK}} Ladislav Hradecky{{flagicon|POL}} Andrzej Huszcza
align=center| 26 April{{flagicon|CSK}} Speedway Žarnovica, Žarnovica{{flagicon|FRG}} Waldemar Bacik{{flagicon|FRG}} Andreas Niedemaier{{flagicon|FRG}} Kurt Prastbo

= Australian Final =

class=wikitable

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=50px|Total
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left| Billy Sanders14
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left| Phil Crump12
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left|John Titman10
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left|Danny Kennedy10
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|5

align=left| Phil Herne9
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|6

align=left| Gary Guglielmi8
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|7

align=left| Steve Regeling8
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|8

align=left|Mick McKeon8
align=center

|9

align=left| John Boulger7
align=center

|10

align=left| Robert Maxfield7
align=center

|11

align=left| Steve Koppe7
align=center

|12

align=left| Neil Coddington7
align=center

|13

align=left| Tim Nunan6
align=center

|14

align=left| Bob Chitchcock3
align=center

|15

align=left| Glenn McDonald2
align=center

|16

align=left|Lou Sansom2

= New Zealand Final =

class=wikitable

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=70px|Heat Scoreswidth=50px|Total
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left|Ivan Mauger3,3,3,3,315
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left| Mitch Shirra3,3,3,3,214
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left| Larry Ross3,3,2,2,313
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left| Wayne Brown1,3,3,3,111
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|5

align=left| Mike Fullerton2,2,2,1,310
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|6

align=left|David Bargh3,2,1,2,210
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|7

align=left| Tony Briggs2,2,2,2,19
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|8

align=left| Greame Beardsley1,1,3,2,18
align=center

|9

align=left| John Goodall0,1,1,3,38
align=center

|10

align=left| Mark Dekok2,1,2,0,05
align=center

|11

align=left|Gavin Rhodes2,1,1,1,05
align=center

|12

align=left| Greg Joynt0,2,1,0,25
align=center

|13

align=left|Max Brown1,0,0,0,23
align=center

|14

align=left| Colin Farquharson0,0,0,1,12
align=center

|15

align=left| Alan Crosbie0,0,0,1,01
align=center

|16

align=left| Patrick Pawson1,0,0,0,-1
align=center

|R1

align=left|Bruce Elvey00
align=center

|R2

align=left|Kym Maugerns0

= Swedish qualification =

  • Top 8 in each heat to Swedish final

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

class="wikitable"
colspan="6"|(3 May, Motala Arena, Motala)
width=20|Pos

!width=180|Rider

!width=40|Points

{{speedway color|7}}

|1

style="text-align:left;" | Tommy Nilsson14
{{speedway color|7}}

|2

style="text-align:left;" | Tommy Johansson12
{{speedway color|7}}

|3

style="text-align:left;" | Hans Danielsson12
{{speedway color|7}}

|4

style="text-align:left;" |Lillebror Johansson11
{{speedway color|7}}

|5

style="text-align:left;" | Bo Wirebrand10
{{speedway color|7}}

|6

style="text-align:left;" | Börje Klingberg1
{{speedway color|7}}

|7

style="text-align:left;" | Björn Andersson10
{{speedway color|7}}

|8

style="text-align:left;" | Gert Carlsson7+3
9style="text-align:left;" | Åke Axelsson7+2
10style="text-align:left;" | Lars Hammarberg6
11style="text-align:left;" |Thomas Hydling5
12style="text-align:left;" | Alf Trofast5
13style="text-align:left;" | Conny Samuelsson4
14style="text-align:left;" | Sören Karlsson4
15style="text-align:left;" | Tommy Steen2
16style="text-align:left;" | Bengt Gustavsson1
17style="text-align:left;" | Ulf Blomqvist (res)0

{{col-2}}

class="wikitable"
colspan="6"|(8 May, Grevby Motorstadion, Mariestad)
width=20|Pos

!width=180|Rider

!width=40|Points

{{speedway color|7}}

|1

style="text-align:left;" | Anders Michanek14
{{speedway color|7}}

|2

style="text-align:left;" | Bernt Persson13
{{speedway color|7}}

|3

style="text-align:left;" | Karl-Erik Claesson12
{{speedway color|7}}

|4

style="text-align:left;" |Lennart Bengtsson12
{{speedway color|7}}

|5

style="text-align:left;" | Åke Fridell11
{{speedway color|7}}

|6

style="text-align:left;" | Pierre Brannefors9
{{speedway color|7}}

|7

style="text-align:left;" |Lars Rosberg8+3
{{speedway color|7}}

|8

style="text-align:left;" | Richard Hellsén8+2
9style="text-align:left;" | Uno Johansson8+1
10style="text-align:left;" | Bengt Jansson5
11style="text-align:left;" |Sören Brolin4
12style="text-align:left;" | Anders Eriksson (res)4
13style="text-align:left;" | Raymond Forsberg3
14style="text-align:left;" | Börje Ring3
15style="text-align:left;" | Jan Ericsson3
16style="text-align:left;" | Lars Ericsson1
17style="text-align:left;" | Per-Ove Gudmundsson1
18style="text-align:left;" |Håkan Andersson (res)1

{{col-end}}

= British semi-finals =

width=100%

|width=50% valign=top|

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=40px|Points
{{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left| Dave Jessup13
{{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left| Steve Bastable13
{{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left| Gordon Kennett12
{{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left| John Davis11
{{speedway color|7}}

|5

align=left| Phil Collins11
{{speedway color|7}}

|6

align=left| Kevin Jolly9
{{speedway color|7}}

|7

align=left| Kevin Smith9
{{speedway color|7}}

|8

align=left| Malcolm Simmons9
9align=left| Roger Johns8
10align=left| Bob Garrad6
11align=left| Paul Woods5
12align=left| Dave Morton4
13align=left| Neil Middleditch4
14align=left| Nigel Flatman3
15align=left| Andy Grahame2
16align=left|Alan Molyneux0

|width=50% valign=top|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=40px|Points
{{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left| Les Collins14
{{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left| Chris Morton13
{{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left| Kenny Carter13
{{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left| Michael Lee11
{{speedway color|7}}

|5

align=left| Melvyn Taylor11
{{speedway color|7}}

|6

align=left| John Louis9
{{speedway color|7}}

|7

align=left| Ian Cartwright9
{{speedway color|7}}

|8

align=left| Eric Broadbelt8
9align=left| Alan Grahame7
10align=left| Kevin Hawkins6
11align=left| Jim McMillan6
12align=left| Joe Owen5
13align=left| Peter Prinsloo3
14align=left| Doug Wyer3
15align=left| Reg Wilson2
16align=left|Ian Gledhill0

|}

Third round

= Continental quarter-finals =

Top 32 to Continental semi-finals

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
width=100|Date

!width=280|Venue

!width=180|Winner

!width=180|2nd

!width=180|3rd

align=center| 10 May{{flagicon|ITA}} Santa Marina Stadium, Lonigo{{flagicon|NED}} Henny Kroeze{{flagicon|FRG}} Georg Hack{{flagicon|CSK}} Aleš Dryml Sr.
align=center| 10 May{{flagicon|FRG}} Breitwangbahn, Bopfingen{{flagicon|FRG}} Egon Muller{{flagicon|POL}} Zenon Plech{{flagicon|USSR}} Valery Gordeev
align=center| 10 May{{flagicon|HUN}} Borsod Volán Stadion, Miskolc{{flagicon|POL}} Roman Jankowski{{flagicon|CSK}} Zdeněk Kudrna{{flagicon|HUN}} Zoltan Adorjan
align=center| 10 May{{flagicon|AUT}} Stadion Wiener Neustadt{{flagicon|POL}} Jerzy Rembas{{flagicon|POL}} Andrzej Huszcza{{flagicon|USSR}} Mikhail Starostin

= Australasian Final =

class=wikitable

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=70px|Total
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left|{{flagicon|NZL}} Ivan Mauger15
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left|{{flagicon|AUS}} Danny Kennedy11+3
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left|{{flagicon|NZL}} Larry Ross11+2
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left|{{flagicon|AUS}} Phil Herne11+1
align=center {{speedway color|r}}

|5

align=left|{{flagicon|AUS}} Billy Sanders10+3
align=center

|6

align=left|{{flagicon|AUS}} Phil Crump10+2
align=center

|7

align=left|{{flagicon|AUS}} Gary Guglielmi9
align=center

|8

align=left|{{flagicon|NZL}} Mitch Shirra8
align=center

|9

align=left|{{flagicon|AUS}} John Titman7
align=center

|10

align=left|{{flagicon|AUS}} Mick McKeon7
align=center

|11

align=left|{{flagicon|NZL}} Tony Briggs6
align=center

|12

align=left|{{flagicon|NZL}} Wayne Brown5
align=center

|13

align=left|{{flagicon|NZL}} David Bargh2
align=center

|14

align=left|{{flagicon|AUS}} Steve Regeling2
align=center

|15

align=left|{{flagicon|NZL}} Mike Fullerton1
align=center

|16

align=left|{{flagicon|NZL}} Graeme Beardsley1
align=center

|17

align=left|{{flagicon|AUS}} Robert Maxfield (res)1

= American Final =

{{Speedway event 20heats|x|RIDERS=

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P1|1|USA|Bruce Penhall| |3|3|3|3|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P2|9|USA|Dennis Sigalos| |3|1|3|3|3| |x|3 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P3|3|USA|Kelly Moran| |2|3|2|3|3| |x|2 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|4|5|USA|Scott Autrey| |2|0|3|2|3| |x|3 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|5|16|USA|Shawn Moran| |3|3|2|1|1| |x|2 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|6|13|USA|Alan Christian| |1|2|3|3|1| |x|1 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|7|15|USA|Denny Pyeatt| |2|2|2|2|2| |x|0 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|8|2|USA|Mike Faria| |0|3|1|2|2| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|9|8|USA|Bobby Schwartz| |3|2|1|0|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|10|11|USA|Steve Gresham| |2|1|1|1|2| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|11|6|USA|David De Temple| |1|2|0|1|2| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|12|4|USA|Brad Oxley| |1|1|2|0|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|13|14|USA|Keith Chrisco| |0|1|0|2|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|14|10|USA|Steve Columbo| |1|0|0|0|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|15|12|USA|Jefrey Tomlin| |0|0|0|0|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|16|7|USA|Dubb Ferrell| |0||||| |x| |7i=F |12i=- |13i=- |18i=- }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/reserve|R1|R1|USA|Bobby McLain| |12h=y |12p=1 |18h=w |18p=0}}

{{Speedway event 20heats/reserve|R2|R2|USA|Dan McConnell| |13h=r |13p=1 }}

}}

= British Final =

{{Speedway event 20heats|x|RIDERS=

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P1|3|ENG|Steve Bastable| |2|3|3|3|2| |x|3 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P2|2|ENG|Kenny Carter| |3|2|3|2|3| |x|2 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P3|5|ENG|John Louis| |3|3|2|2|3| |x|1 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|4|4|ENG|Les Collins| |1|3|3|3|2| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|5|10|ENG|Chris Morton| |3|3|2|1|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|6|6|ENG|Dave Jessup| |2|1|1|2|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|7|16|ENG|Michael Lee| |3|1|3|0|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|8|15|ENG|Ian Cartwright| |2|0|1|1|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|9|13|ENG|Malcolm Simmons| |0|2|1|3|0| |x|3 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|10|11|ENG|Eric Broadbelt| |0|2|2|1|1| |x|2 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|11|9|ENG|Phil Collins| |2|0|2|0|2| |x|1 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|12|7|ENG|Melvyn Taylor| |1|1|0|3|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|13|1|ENG|John Davis| ||1|0|2|2| |x| |1i=- }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|14|12|ENG|Gordon Kennett| |1|2|0|1|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|15|14|ENG|Kevin Smith| |1|0|1|0|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|16|8|ENG|Kevin Jolly| |0|0|0|0|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/reserve|R1|R1|ENG|Keith White| |1h=r |1p=0 }}

}}

= Norwegian Final =

class=wikitable

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=70px|Total
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left| Rolf Gramstad15
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left| Audun Ove Olsen13
align=center

|3

align=left| Jorn Haufvalstad12
align=center

|4

align=left| Trond Helge Skretting11
align=center

|5

align=left| Dag Haaland10
align=center

|6

align=left| Ingve Madland9
align=center

|7

align=left| Terje Tollefsen7
align=center

|8

align=left| Kurt Ueland7
align=center

|9

align=left| Geir Aasland7
align=center

|10

align=left| Roy Otto6
align=center

|11

align=left| Asgeir Bjerga6
align=center

|12

align=left|Dagfin Jorgensen5
align=center

|13

align=left| Sigvart Pedersen5
align=center

|14

align=left| Kjell Gimre5
align=center

|15

align=left| Rolf Havirstad2
align=center

|16

align=left| Oddmund Bye0

= Danish Final =

class=wikitable

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=70px|Total
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left| Ole Olsen15
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left| Bo Petersen13
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left| Erik Gundersen12+3
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left| Tommy Knudsen12+2
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|5

align=left| Hans Nielsen12+1
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|6

align=left|Jens Henry Nielsen8+3
align=center

|7

align=left| Finn Thomsen8+2
align=center

|8

align=left|Preben Eriksen8+1
align=center

|9

align=left| Finn Rune Jensen7
align=center

|10

align=left|Mikael Lohmann7
align=center

|11

align=left| Bent Rasmussen5
align=center

|12

align=left|Steen Mastrup5
align=center

|13

align=left| Hans Ove Christiansen4
align=center

|14

align=left|Bent Juul Larsen3
align=center

|15

align=left| Svend Lund0
align=center

|16

align=left| Klaus Lohman0
align=center

|R1

align=left| Finn Lundahl1

= Finland Final =

  • {{flagicon|FIN}} Pippo Speedway, Lahti
  • 7 September 1980, top 2 (+1 seeded rider) to 1981 Nordic final

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=40px|Total
{{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left| Kai Niemi15
{{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left|Ari Koponen14
3align=left| Veijo Tuoriniemi12
4align=left|Olli Tyrvainen10
5align=left|Veli Pekka Kunelius10
6align=left|Ilkka Teromaa9
7align=left|Pekka Hautamaki8
8align=left| Timo Kiansten7
9align=left| Markku Parkkari7
10align=left|Ossi Henriksson6
11align=left| Veikko Haapamaki6
12align=left| Hannu Larronmaa5
13align=left| Pekka Turkia4
14align=left| Markku Haapala3
15align=left| Ari Heinonen1
16align=left|Kari Yrjanainen (res)1
17align=left|Jarmo Puttonen (res)1
18align=left| Seppo Palomaki1
19align=left|Heimo Kaikko (res)0

= Swedish Final =

class=wikitable

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=70px|Total
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left| Anders Michanek12
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left| Tommy Nilsson11+3
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left| Hans Danielsson11+2
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left| Bernt Persson11+1
align=center {{speedway color|r}}

|5

align=left| Bo Wirebrand10+3
align=center

|6

align=left|Börje Klingberg10+2
align=center

|7

align=left| Richard Hellsén9
align=center

|8

align=left|Björn Andersson8
align=center

|9

align=left| Lennart Bengtsson7
align=center

|10

align=left| Tommy Johansson7
align=center

|11

align=left|Pierre Brannefors6
align=center

|12

align=left| Åke Fridell6
align=center

|13

align=left|Gerd Carlsson4
align=center

|14

align=left| Lars Rosberg4
align=center

|15

align=left| Lillebror Johansson3
align=center

|16

align=left| Karl-Erik Claesson1

Fourth round

= Continental semi-finals =

width=100%

|width=50% valign=top|

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=40px|Points
{{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Zenon Plech12
{{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Georg Hack12
{{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Milan Špinka11
{{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left|{{flagicon|USSR}} Valerij Gordeev11
{{speedway color|7}}

|5

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Jiří Štancl11
{{speedway color|7}}

|6

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Aleš Dryml Sr.9
{{speedway color|7}}

|7

align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Egon Müller9
{{speedway color|7}}

|8

align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Waldemar Bacik8+3
9align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Jan Verner8+2
10align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Jan Hadek7
11align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} George Gilgenreiner (res)5
12align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Josef Aigner4
13align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Christoph Betzl4
14align=left|{{flagicon|NED}} Henny Kroeze4
15align=left|{{flagicon|USSR}} Anatolij Maximov3
16align=left|{{flagicon|USSR}} Viktor Kuznetsov1
17align=left|{{flagicon|USSR}} Piotr Pyszny0
18align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Wolfgang Mayr0

|width=50% valign=top|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=40px|Points
{{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Edward Jancarz11
{{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Jerzy Rembas11
{{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Zdenek Kudrna11
{{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Roman Jankowski10
{{speedway color|7}}

|5

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Marek Kepa10
{{speedway color|7}}

|6

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Petr Kucera10
{{speedway color|7}}

|7

align=left|{{flagicon|USSR}} Grigory Khlinovsky10
{{speedway color|7}}

|8

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Marek Towalski9+3
9align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Henryk Olszak9+2
10align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Alois Wiesböck7
11align=left|{{flagicon|USSR}} Michail Starostin6
12align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Andrzej Huszcza4
13align=left|{{flagicon|USSR}} Pavel Khlynovski3
14align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Václav Verner2
15align=left|{{flagicon|AUT}} Heinrich Schatzer2
16align=left|{{flagicon|HUN}} Jozsef Sziraczki1

|}

= Overseas Final =

  • 12 July 1981
  • {{flagicon|ENG}} White City Stadium, London
  • First 10 to Intercontinental final plus 1 reserve

{{Speedway event 20heats|x|RIDERS=

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P1|14|ENG|Dave Jessup| |3|3|3|3|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P2|7|ENG|Chris Morton| |2|1|3|2|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P3|9|USA|Bruce Penhall| |3|2|2|3|| |x|3 |18i=X }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|4|13|USA|Kelly Moran| |1|3|1|2|3| |x|2 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|5|15|USA|Dennis Sigalos| |2|2|3|1|2| |x|1 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|6|11|NZL|Larry Ross| |2|3|3|1|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|7|10|ENG|John Louis| |0|1|2|3|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|8|4|ENG|Michael Lee| |2|2|0|2|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|9|16|ENG|Kenny Carter| |0|3|1|2|2| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|10|5|NZL|Ivan Mauger| |3|1|1|1|2| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|11|1|ENG|Les Collins| |3|0|2|1|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|12|8|ENG|Steve Bastable| |1|1|1|3|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|13|6|ENG|Ian Cartwright| |0|2|0|0|2| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|14|2|USA|Scott Autrey| |1|0|2|0|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|15|12|AUS|Danny Kennedy| |1|0|0|0|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|16|3|AUS|Phil Herne| |0|0|0|0|| |x| |19i=E }}

}}

= Nordic Final =

class=wikitable

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=70px|Heat Scoreswidth=50px|Total
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left|{{flagicon|DEN}} Tommy Knudsen3,3,3,3,315
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left|{{flagicon|DEN}} Hans Nielsen2,3,3,2,313
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left|{{flagicon|DEN}} Ole Olsen2,3,2,3,212
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left|{{flagicon|DEN}} Preben Eriksen3,2,2,2,312
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|5

align=left|{{flagicon|SWE}} Jan Andersson3,2,1,3,211
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|6

align=left|{{flagicon|DEN}} Erik Gundersen2,1,3,3,110+3
align=center {{speedway color|r}}

|7

align=left|{{flagicon|DEN}} Bo Petersen3,3,0,2,210+ns
align=center

|8

align=left|{{flagicon|FIN}} Kai Niemi1,1,1,2,38
align=center

|9

align=left|{{flagicon|FIN}} Ari KoponenE,0,2,1,25
align=center

|10

align=left|{{flagicon|SWE}} Tommy Nilsson1,1,2,1,05
align=center

|11

align=left|{{flagicon|SWE}} Hans Danielsson1,2,0,1,15
align=center

|12

align=left|{{flagicon|NOR}} Audun Ove Olsen1,1,1,1,04
align=center

|13

align=left|{{flagicon|NOR}} Rolf GramstadE,2,1,0,14
align=center

|14

align=left|{{flagicon|SWE}} Bernt Persson0,F,3,0,-3
align=center

|15

align=left|{{flagicon|SWE}} Anders Michanek2,0,-,-,-2
align=center

|16

align=left|{{flagicon|FIN}} Pekka HautamäkiF,0,0,0,11
align=center

|17

align=left|{{flagicon|DEN}} Finn Thomsen (Res)0,00
align=center

|18

align=left|{{flagicon|SWE}} Bo Wirebrand (Res)0,00

Fifth round

= Continental Final =

class=wikitable

!width=25px|Pos.

width=200px|Riderwidth=70px|Heat Scoreswidth=50px|Total
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|1

align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Egon Müller3,3,3,3,X12+2+3
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|2

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Aleš Dryml Sr.3,0,3,3,312+3+2
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|3

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Edward Jancarz3,2,2,2,312+2+1
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|4

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Jiří Štancl2,3,2,3,212+2+0
align=center {{speedway color|7}}

|5

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Zenon Plech2,3,3,3,112+E+E
align=center {{speedway color|r}}

|6

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Henryk Olszak2,1,2,1,39+3
align=center

|7

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Jan Verner0,2,3,2,29+2
align=center

|8

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Marek Kepa3,1,1,2,18
align=center

|9

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Roman Jankowski1,3,1,1,06
align=center

|10

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Zdeněk Kudrna1,1,0,1,36
align=center

|11

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Milan Špinka0,2,2,2,-6
align=center

|12

align=left|{{flagicon|TCH}} Petr Kucera2,0,X,1,25
align=center

|13

align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Waldemar Bacik0,1,1,0,13
align=center

|14

align=left|{{flagicon|POL}} Marek Towalski0,2,0,0,02
align=center

|15

align=left|{{flagicon|FRG}} Georg Hack1,X,F,0,-1
align=center

|16

align=left|{{flagicon|USSR}} Valery Gordeev1,0,0,0,01
align=center

|R1

align=left|{{flagicon|CSK}} Petr Ondrašík0,22
align=center

|R2

align=left|{{flagicon|CSK}} Antonín Kasper, Jr.11

= Intercontinental Final =

{{Speedway event 20heats|x|RIDERS=

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P1|14|USA|Bruce Penhall| |3|3|3|3|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P2|10|DEN|Erik Gundersen| |3|2|3|1|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|P3|4|DEN|Hans Nielsen| |3|2|2|2|2| |x|3 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|4|8|ENG|Kenny Carter| |3|1|2|3|2| |x|2 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|5|16|ENG|Dave Jessup| |1|3|3|0|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|6|15|DEN|Tommy Knudsen| |2|1|2|3|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|7|3|ENG|Michael Lee| |1|3|1|3|| |x| |19i=F }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|8|5|SWE|Jan Andersson| |1|1|3|2|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|9|11|ENG|Chris Morton| |2|2|2|2|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|10|12|NZL|Larry Ross| |1|0|1|2|3| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|11|2|DEN|Ole Olsen| |2|1|0|1|2| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|12|13|DEN|Preben Eriksen| |0|2|1||2| |x| |14i=F}}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|13|9|NZL|Ivan Mauger| |0|3|0|1|0| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|14|7|ENG|John Louis| |2|0|0|1|1| |x| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|15|6|USA|Dennis Sigalos| |0|0|1|0|| |x| |19i=F }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|16|1|USA|Kelly Moran| ||0|0||0| |x| |1i=F |13i=E }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/reserve|R1|R1|DEN|Bo Petersen| }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/reserve|R2|R2|ENG|Les Collins| }}

}}

World Final

  • 5 September 1981
  • {{flagicon|ENG}} Wembley Stadium, London.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7524-2402-5}}
  • Referee: ({{flagicon|AUS}}) Sam Bass
  • Attendance: 92,500

{{Speedway event 20heats| RIDERS=

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|1|11|USA|Bruce Penhall| |3|3|3|3|2| pts=14 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|2|3|DEN|Ole Olsen| |2|2|3|2|3| pts=12+3 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|3|2|DEN|Tommy Knudsen| |3|2|2|2|3| pts=12+2 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|4|10|DEN|Erik Gundersen| |2|3|0|3|3| pts=11 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|5|5|ENG|Kenny Carter| |3|2|3||15i=e|3| pts=11 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|6|12|SWE|Jan Andersson| |1|2|1|3|2| pts=9 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|7|7|FRG|Egon Müller| |1|1|3|2|2| pts=9 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|8|16|ENG|Dave Jessup| |3|3||9i=e||15i=e|1| pts=7 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|9|15|DEN|Hans Nielsen| |2|0|0|2|2| pts=6 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|10|9|ENG|Michael Lee| |0|3|2|0||18i=f| pts=5 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|11|8|ENG|Chris Morton| |2|1|1|1|0| pts=5 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|12|1|POL|Edward Jancarz| |1|1|1|1|1| pts=5 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|13|4|NZL|Larry Ross| |0||8i=t|1|3|0| pts=4 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|14|13|CSK|Aleš Dryml Sr.| |0|0|2|0|1| pts=3 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|15|6|POL|Zenon Plech| ||2i=f|0|2|1|0| pts=3 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/rider|16|14|CSK|Jiří Štancl| |1|1|0|0|1| pts=3 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/reserve|Res|17|POL|Henryk Olszak |8h=r |8p=0| pts=0 }}

{{Speedway event 20heats/reserve|Res|18|DEN|Preben Eriksen | pts=0 }}

}}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons}}

1981

World Individual

Category:1981 in British motorsport

Individual Speedway World Championship

Category:Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom