1985 Individual Speedway World Championship


The 1985 Individual Speedway World Championship was an event in the sport of motorcycle speedway, held at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, United Kingdom on 31 August 1985.
Odsal Stadium, the new home of international speedway in England after the demise of the Wembley Stadium and White City Stadium tracks, was chosen by the FIM to host the 1985 Final; the first time that the final had been held in England at a venue other than Wembley.
A crowd of around 30,000 attended the 1985 Final, which was won by defending champion Erik Gundersen of Denmark from fellow Dane Hans Nielsen and surprise third placing Sam Ermolenko of the United States. All three riders finished the meeting on 13 points and were forced into a run-off to decide the podium placings. The only English rider in the field, 21-year-old Kelvin Tatum, finished 8th with 8 points in his first World Final. He won his first race, but later admitted that he let the occasion get to him which affected his riding.

British Qualification

British Final

Australian Qualification

Australian Final

Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1 Billy Sanders15
2 Phil Crump11
3 Stan Bear11
4 Mark Fiora11
5 Steve Regeling10
6 Allan Rivett10
7 Gary Guglielmi8
8 Rod Hunter8
9 Steve Koppe7
10 Ray Palmer6
11 David Jackson6
12 Steve Baker4
13 Rudy Muts3
14 Brent Nott2
15 Darryl Branfort2
16 Bill Barett0
R1 Craig Drennan4
18 Mal Bedkoper1

Intercontinental Round

Norwegian Final

Pos.RiderTotal
1 Einar Kyllingstad15
2 Roy Otto14
3 Dag Haaland11
4 Ingvar Skogland11
5 Erlend Skretting10
6 Kjel Arvid Gimre10
7 Per Leveng9
8 Arnt Forland9
9 Willi Tjessem7
10 Robert Langaland7
11 Gjermund Aas4
12 Aasger Bjerga3
13 Jan Slaatter3
14 Kurt Ueland3
15 Geir Aasland3
16 Gunnar Tunaem1

Danish Final

Pos.RiderTotal
1 Hans Nielsen15
2 Erik Gundersen13+3
3 Preben Eriksen13+2
4 Tommy Knudsen11
5 Finn Rune Jensen10
6 Jan O. Pedersen10
7 John Jørgensen10
8 Jens Rasmussen9
9 Fleming Pedersen6
10 John Eskilden6
11 Bo Petersen6
12 Sam Nikolajsen3
13 Brian Jacobsen2
14 Aksel Jepsen2
15 Per Sorensen2
16 Frank Andersen1
R1 Helge Hansen1

American Final

Continental Final