The 1983 Individual Speedway World Championship was the first time the World Final had been held in West Germany.
Final summary
An almost capacity crowd of around 50,000 at the 400 metres (440 yards) long Motodrom Halbemond saw local favourite Egon Müller became the first German rider to win the World Championship. As of 2016 he is the only German to have obtained the honour. Australian Champion Billy Sanders, in career best form and always at his best on the longer tracks like those in his native Australia, scored his best ever World Championship placing by finishing second, with England's 1980 World Champion Michael Lee finishing third.
With both Sanders and former champion Lee in good form, and with the winner of the previous two World Finals Bruce Penhall having retired from speedway while on the podium at the 1982 World Final, the 1983 final was expected to be one of the most open in years. Others including Kenny Carter (England), Dennis Sigalos (United States), and Danes Ole Olsen, Hans Nielsen and Erik Gundersen, were all expected to challenge. Like surprise winner Jerzy Szczakiel who won at home in Poland in 1973, Egon Müller was expected to do well in front of his home crowd, but wasn't among the pre-meeting favourites.
In his last World Final appearance, "The Great Dane" Ole Olsen, the 1971, 1975 and 1978 World Champion, finished 6th with 10 points. He fittingly won his last ride, defeating Gundersen, Czechoslovakia's Jiří Štancl, and American Lance King in Heat 18.
New Zealand Qualification
New Zealand Final
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
|---|
| 1 |  Mitch Shirra | | 14 |
| 2 | Larry Ross | | 14 |
| 3 | David Bargh | | 13 |
| 4 | Ivan Mauger | | 13 |
| 5 | Alan Mason | | 11 |
| 6 | Chris Martin | | 10 |
| 7 | Robin Hampton | | 7 |
| 8 | Roger Wright | | 7 |
| 9 | Barry Free | | 7 |
| 10 | Craig Blackett | | 6 |
| 11 | Max Brown | | 6 |
| 12 | Peter Nightingale | | 5 |
| 13 | Craig Williamson | | 3 |
| 14 | Merv Salt | | 2 |
| 15 | Martin Waygang | | 2 |
| 16 | Alan Crosbie | | 0 |
| R1 | Graham McEwan | | 0 |
| R2 | Steve Hann | | 0 |
British Qualification
British Final
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 |
Swedish Qualification
| Date | Venue | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place | |
|---|
| Semi-Finals |
| 7 May |
 Nassjo | Hans Danielsson | Bjorn Andersson | Lennart Bengtsson |
|
| 9 May |
Motala | Lillebror Johansson | Bernt Persson | Conny Samuelsson |
|
| 9 May |
Malilla | Uno Johansson | Pierre Brannefors | Mikael Blixt |
|
| Final |
| 24 May |
Karlstad | Tommy Nilsson | Lillebror Johansson | Karl Eric Claesson |
| 25 May |
Gubbangen | Pierre Brannefors | Tommy Nilsson | Anders Kling |
| 27 May |
Eskilstuna | Bernt Persson | Tommy Nilsson | Pierre Brannefors |
Sweden Final
- First 4 to Scandinavian final
| Pos. | Rider | Total |
|---|
| 1 | Tommy Nilsson | 40 |
| 2 | Pierre Brannefors | 38 |
| 3 | Uno Johansson | 33 |
| 4 | Anders Kling | 30 |
| 5 | Bernt Persson | 29 |
| 6 | Lillebror Johansson | 27 |
| 7 | Karl Erik Claesson | 24 |
| 8 | Hans Danielsson | 23 |
| 9 | Conny Samuelsson | 19 |
| 10 | Gert Carlsson | 18 |
| 11 | Goran Waltersson | 15 |
| 12 | Per Ove Gudmundsson | 15 |
| 13 | Ulf Blomqvist | 14 |
| 14 | Lennart Bengtsson | 10 |
| 15 | Hans Hallen | 8 |
| 16 | Bent Baar | 6 |
| 17 | Dick Jaglard | 4 |
| 18 | Mikael Messing | 4 |
Intercontinental Round
Australian Final
- January 21, 1983
Adelaide- Referee: () Sam Bass
- First 2 to Overseas final
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
|---|
| 1 | Billy Sanders | (3,3,3,3,3) | 15 |
| 2 | Glyn Taylor | (3,2,2,3,3) | 13 |
| 3 | Phil Crump | (3,3,3,X,3) | 12 |
| 4 | Gary Guglielmi | (2,1,3,2,3+3) | 11+3 |
| 5 | Rod Hunter | (2,2,2,3,2+2) | 11+2 |
| 6 | Danny Kennedy | (1,1,3,3,0) | 8 |
| 7 | Les Sawyer | (1,3,1,2,1) | 8 |
| 8 | Steve Baker | (3,0,2,0,2) | 7 |
| 9 | Mark Fiora | (2,2,0,1,2) | 7 |
| 10 | John Titman | (X,2,1,2,2) | 7 |
| 11 | Steve Regeling | (0,3,0,2,1) | 6 |
| 12 | David Jackson | (1,2,0,1,0) | 4 |
| 13 | Dean Johnson | (0,1,1,2,1) | 4 |
| 14 | Rob Ashton | (2,0,1,1,0) | 4 |
| 15 | Kevin O'Connell (Res) | (-,-,2,-,-) | 2 |
| 16 | Wayne Baxter | (0,0,0,0,1) | 1 |
| 17 | Tony Boyle (Res) | (1,-,-,-,-) | 1 |
| 18 | Chris Higgs | (0,0,0,0,0) | 0 |
|
Danish Final
- May 9, 1983
Fjelsted- First 6 to Scandinavian final
Overseas Final
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 |
Intercontinental Final
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 |
World Final
- September 4, 1983
Norden, Motodrom Halbemond[1]- Referee: () Rolf Randborg
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 |
References
- ↑ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.
ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
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| Speedway World Championship | | |
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| Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) | |
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| See also | |
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