1993 Individual Speedway World Championship

The 1993 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 48th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^[1]^[2]^[3]

"Sudden" Sam Ermolenko of the United States won his only Speedway World Championship^[4] to become the first American winner since Bruce Penhall in 1982.^[5] Triple World Champion Hans Nielsen finished second with England's Chris Louis finishing third.^[6]^[7]^[8]

First round

British qualifiers

Top 32 to British-Semi finals

Second round

British semi-finals

Top 16 to British final

Australian qualification

Date	Championship	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
?	Victorian	Olympic Park, Mildura	Mark Lemon	Leigh Adams	Jason Lyons
?	Queensland	Townsville Speedway, Townsville	Troy Butler	Tony Langdon	Mark Carlson
?	Northern Territory	Tennant Creek Speedway	Wayne Bridgeford	Glen Baxter	Wayne Lorymer
?	South Australian	North Arm Speedway, Gillman	Scott Norman	Shane Bowes	Shane Parker
12 Jan	New South Wales	Newcastle Motordrome, Tomago	Craig Boyce	Mick Poole	Stephen Davies
?	West Australian	Claremont Speedway, Perth	Glenn Doyle	Craig Hodgson	David Cheshire

Third round

Continental Preliminary round

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
25 April	Ilirija Sports Park, Ljubljana	Gregor Pintar	Paolo Salvatelli	Anatoly Khlynov
25 April	Tarnów Municipal Stadium, Tarnów	Jacek Rempala	Rif Saitgareev	Dariusz Stenka
25 April	Marmande Speedway, Marmande	Marvyn Cox	Marek Hucko	Tomáš Topinka
25 April	Ludwigslust Speedway, Ludwigslust	Csaba Hell	Armando Castagna	Toni Pilotto

British Final

Top 10 to Commonwealth final plus 1 reserve

Swedish qualification

Top 8 in each heat to Swedish final

(2 May, Gubbängens IP, Stockholm)
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Tony Rickardsson	15
2	Per Jonsson	14
3	Mikael Karlsson	12
4	Dennis Löfqvist	11
5	Niklas Klingberg	11
6	Robert Johansson	9
7	Conny Ivarsson	8+3
8	Stefan Dannö	8+2
9	Christer Rohlén	8+1
10	Jimmy Engman	7
11	Mikael Teurnberg	5
12	Joakim Karlsson	4
13	Raymond Smedh	4
14	Robert Eriksson	2
15	Göran Flood	2
16	Jörgen Hultgren	0
17	Frank Richt (res)	0

(2 May, Ljungheden, Västervik)
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Claes Ivarsson	14
2	Henrik Gustafsson	13
3	Kenneth Nyström	11
4	Jimmy Nilsen	11
5	Peter Karlsson	10
6	Peter Nahlin	10
7	Stefan Andersson	8
8	Kenneth Lindby	8
9	Marcus Andersson	7
10	Tony Olsson	7
11	Niklas Karlsson	5
12	Stefan Ekberg	3
13	Anders Kling	3
14	Patrik Olsson	3
15	Jonathan Forsgren	3
16	Magnus Zetterström	2
17	Tony Zetterström (res)	2
18	Mikael Olsson (res)	0

Australian Final

First 4 to Commonwealth Final plus 1 reserve

New Zealand Final

31 Mar 1993
Ruapuna Speedway, Christchurch
First 2 to Commonwealth Final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Mark Thorpe	15
2	Mark Lyndon	14
3	Andy Waker	13
4	Craig Wilkie	11
5	Daniel Ornsby	10
6	Paul Atkins	9
7	Justin Monk	9
8	Mike Wilson	9
9	Jacqui Mauger	6
10	Rhys Hamburger	6
11	Daniel Burbery	5
12	Steve Mudgway	4
13	Scott Boyce	4
14	Graham Hartshome	0
15	Mark Jamiesson	0
16	Darrin Wilson	0

Fourth round

Continental Quarter-finals

Top 32 to Continental semi-finals

Date	Venue	Winner	2nd	3rd
22 May	Ellermühle Speedway Stadium, Landshut	Jacek Krzyzaniak	Antal Kocso	Robert Nagy
22 May	Stadion Wiener Neustadt	Armando Castagna	Dariusz Stenka	Zoltán Adorján
23 May	Speedway Stadium, Gorzów	Tomasz Gollob	Piotr Świst	Antonín Kasper, Jr.
23 May	Cserénfa Speedway, Cserénfa	Zoltán Hajdú	László Bódi	Paolo Salvatelli

Commonwealth Final

First 11 to Overseas Final plus 1 reserve

American Final

top 5 to Overseas final plus 1 reserve

Danish Final

2 rounds, top 5 to Nordic Final plus 1 reserve
R1 (29 May, Fladbro Speedway, Randers)
R2 (31 May, Fjelsted Speedway Stadium, Harndrup)
Gert Handberg seeded to Nordic Final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Hans Nielsen	28
2	Tommy Knudsen	27
3	John Jørgensen	22
4	Brian Karger	21
5	Jan Staechmann	21
6	Hans Clausen	17
7	Jacob Olsen	15
8	Kenneth Arnfred	14
9	Peter Ravn	13
10	Tom P. Knudsen	13
11	Ole Hansen	11
12	Ronni Pedersen	10
13	Morten Andersen	10
14	Kurt Hansen	8
15	Allan Johansen	4
16	Lars - Henrik Jorgensen	2

Norwegian Final

Elgane Speedway, Elgane
6 Sep '92, top 1 (+1 nomination) to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Lars Gunnestad	14+3
2	Arnt Forland	14+2
3	Rune Holta	12+3
4	Odd Pettersen	12+2
5	Einar Kyllingstad	12+1
6	Robert Langeland	9
7	Atle Knutse	8
8	Ronny Erga	7
9	Ingvar Hvamstad	7
10	Ingvar Skoglund	6
11	John A. Pollestad	5
12	Eivind Reppen	5
13	Jorn Arve Ardal	3
14	Gjermund Aas	3
15	Björn Arild Tonnesen	2
16	Jan Arild Slatta	1

Finland Final

Vauhtipuisto, Hyvinkää
23 Aug '92, top 2 to Nordic final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Vesa Ylinen	15
2	Roy Malminheimo	13
3	Arto Orjo	12
4	Petri Nurmesniemi	11
5	Mika Pellinen	10
6	Kai Laukkanen	10
7	Petri Vaatsio	10
8	Tomi Havu	9
9	Janne Koivula	7
10	Aarre Soivuori	6
11	Petri Kokko	4
12	Jarno Kosonen	3
13	Petri Hyvönen	2
14	Kai Pohjasniemi	1
15	Marko Jumisko (res)	2
16	Marko Laine (res)	2
17	Tomi Kalliomäki (res)	2
18	Mika Laukkanen	1
19	Jyri Viemerö	1

Swedish Final

R1 (11 May, Grevby Motorstadion, Mariestad)
R2 (12 May, Norrköping Motorstadion, Norrköping)
R3 (13 May, Orionparken, Hallstavik)
- 3 rounds, top 5 to Nordic Final plus 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Scores	Total
1	Henrik Gustafsson	11+14+15	40
2	Per Jonsson	14+12+13	39
3	Tony Rickardsson	12+14+11	37
4	Jimmy Nilsen	13+9+13	35
5	Peter Karlsson	10+10+12	32
6	Stefan Andersson	7+10+10	27
7	Peter Nahlin	9+10+6	25
8	Claes Ivarsson	9+6+7	22
9	Dennis Löfqvist	5+8+9	22
10	Niklas Klingberg	5+5+6	16
11	Conny Ivarsson	3+6+6	15
12	Stefan Dannö	6+7+2	15
13	Kenneth Lindby	5+4+5	14
14	Mikael Karlsson	7+1+ns	8
15	Marcus Andersson (Res)	ns+1+4	5
16	Robert Johansson	2+1+1	4
17	Kenneth Nyström	2+0+ns	2
18	Christer Rohlén (Res)	ns+0+ns	0

Fifth round

Overseas Final

First 9 plus 1 reserve to World Semi-final

Nordic Final

13 June 1993
Seinäjoki Speedway, Seinäjoki
First 9 plus 1 reserve to World Semi-final

Pos.	Rider	Total
1	Tommy Knudsen	14
2	Per Jonsson	13
3	Tony Rickardsson	12
4	Brian Karger	11
5	Peter Karlsson	10
6	Hans Nielsen	9
7	Henrik Gustafsson	9
8	John Jørgensen	9
9	Gert Handberg	7
10	Jimmy Nilsen	6
11	Hans Clausen	5
12	Einar Kyllingstad	4
13	Roy Malminheimo	2
14	Jan Staechmann	2
15	Lars Gunnestad	2
16	Vesa Ylinen	1
Res	Peter Nahlin	ns
Res	Rune Holta	ns

Continental Semi-finals

12 June
Markéta Stadium, Prague
Top 7 to World semi-final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Armando Castagna	13
2	Zoltán Adorján	12
3	Antal Kocso	11
4	Bohumil Brhel	10
5	Jacek Krzyzaniak	10
6	Slawomir Drabik	9
7	Gerd Riss	9
8	Róbert Nagy	8+3
9	Petr Vandírek	8+2
10	Dariusz Stenka	8+1
11	Roman Matoušek	6
12	József Petrikovics	5
13	Jaroslaw Olszewski	4
14	Nikolaj Kokins	3
15	Mirosław Kowalik	3
16	Jacek Rempala	1

14 June
Zielona Góra Speedway Stadium, Zielona Góra
Top 7 to World semi-final

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Tomasz Gollob	12+3
2	Piotr Swist	12+2
3	Marvyn Cox*	11
4	Václav Milík Sr.	10
5	Antonín Kasper Jr.	10
6	Zoltan Hajdu	9
7	Piotr Paluch	9
8	Laszlo Bodi	8+3
9	Mikhail Starostin	8+2
10	Slawomir Dudek	8+1
11	Krzysztof Kuczwalski	7
12	Tomáš Topinka	6
13	Zsolt Böszermenyi	5
14	Flur Kalimulin	3
15	Paolo Salvatelli	2
16	Valentino Furlanetto	0
17	Marek Hucko (res)	0

Cox rode on a Polish licence

Sixth round

World Semi-Finals

24 July 1993
Santa Marina Stadium, Lonigo
First 8 to World final plus 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Hans Nielsen	13+3
2	Billy Hamill	13+2
3	Greg Hancock	12
4	Leigh Adams	11
5	Armando Castagna	9
6	Gary Havelock	9
7	Gerd Riss	9
8	Andy Smith	8+3
9	Brian Karger	8+2
10	Martin Dugard	7
11	Antonín Kasper, Jr.	6
12	John Jørgensen	6
13	Zoltán Hajdú	6
14	Sławomir Drabik	2
15	Václav Milík, Sr.	1
16	Piotr Paluch	0
Res	Robert Nagy	0
Res	Jimmy Nilsen	0

6 August 1993
Vetlanda Motorstadion, Vetlanda
First 8 to World final plus 1 reserve

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Joe Screen	12
2	Tomasz Gollob	11+3
3	Henrik Gustafsson	11+2
4	Tony Rickardsson	10
5	Sam Ermolenko	10
6	Per Jonsson	10
7	Chris Louis	9+3
8	Peter Karlsson	9+2
9	Ronnie Correy	9+1
10	Tommy Knudsen	7
11	Marvyn Cox	6
12	Bohumil Brhel	5
13	Jacek Krzyzaniak	4
14	Zoltán Adorján	3
15	Antal Kocso	2
16	Piotr Świst	1
Res	Hans Clausen	1
Res	László Bódi	0

World Final

29 August 1993^[9]
Rottalstadion, Pocking

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	21
	(5) Sam Ermolenko	12		3			3					3					3					0	12	1
	(10) Hans Nielsen	11			3			3						2			0		3				11	2	3
	(13) Chris Louis	11				3	2							1		2					3		11	3	2
4	(4) Henrik Gustafsson	10	3							1				0				3				3	10	4
5	(16) Andy Smith	10				0				2	3						2			3			10	5
6	(14) Gary Havelock	10				2		2					3		1							2	10	6
7	(15) Tomasz Gollob	8				1			3			2						2	0				8	7
8	(7) Peter Karlsson	8		2					0					3	2					1			8	8
9	(8) Per Jonsson	7		0						3			2			1			1				7	9
10	(3) Billy Hamill	7	2						1				1				1				2		7	10
11	(1) Gerd Riss	6	0				0				1				3				2				6	11
12	(2) Armando Castagna	5	1					0				1				3				0			5	12
13	(6) Joe Screen	5		1				1			2							0			1		5	13
14	(11) Tony Rickardsson	4			1				2		0					0						1	4	14
15	(9) Leigh Adams	4			0		1						0					1		2			4	15
16	(12) Greg Hancock	2			2					0		0			0						0		2	16
R1	(R1) Ronnie Correy	0																					0	R1
R2	(R2) Brian Karger	0																					0	R2
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	21

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

^ "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ "Sam's on top of the world". Birmingham Mail. 30 August 1993. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "'Ermolenko takes title'". The Times. 30 August 1993. Retrieved 10 April 2021 – via Gale Primary Sources.
^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ "Speedway". Western Daily Press. 30 August 1993. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "1993 - Speedway Individual World Final - Pocking (Germany) - Sam Ermolenko (USA)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.

[1] "World Championship 1936-1994". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.

[2] "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.

[3] "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.

[4] "Sam's on top of the world". Birmingham Mail. 30 August 1993. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[5] "'Ermolenko takes title'". The Times. 30 August 1993. Retrieved 10 April 2021 – via Gale Primary Sources.

[6] "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.

[7] "WORLD FINALS 1936-1994" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2021.

[8] "Speedway". Western Daily Press. 30 August 1993. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[9] "1993 - Speedway Individual World Final - Pocking (Germany) - Sam Ermolenko (USA)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.

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