The 1985 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 40th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...

, the new home of international speedway in England after the demise of the

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

and

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

tracks, was chosen by the FIM to host the 1985 Final on 31 August 1985; 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 Erik Gundersen (born 8 October 1959 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time, having won the Speedway World Champi ...

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 Kelvin Martin Tatum Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 8 February 1964) is a former British international motorcycle speedway and grasstrack rider. He earned 65 international caps for the England national speedway team. Career Tatum atte ...

, 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.

First round

British preliminary round

*Riders progress to British semi-finals

Swedish qualification

*Top 6 in each heat to Swedish final

Australian qualification

Second round

Continental preliminary round

*Riders progress to Continental quarter-finals

British semi-finals

Third round

Continental quarter-finals

*Top 32 to Continental semi-finals

American Final

*8 June 1985 * Veterans Memorial Stadium,

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

*First 5 to Overseas final

New Zealand Final

* - No final, David Bargh seeded direct to Overseas final

Australian Final

*5 January 1985 * Pioneer Park, Ayr *First 2 to Overseas final

British Final

*6 June 1985 * Brandon Stadium,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

*First 7 to Overseas final plus 1 reserve

Norwegian Final

*1 May 1985 * Elgane Speedway,

Varhaug Varhaug is the administrative centre of Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the district of Jæren and it is the second largest village in Hå municipality after Nærbø. It was also the administrative centre ...

*Top 1 to Nordic final

Finland Final

* Eteläpuisto,

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

*12 August 1984, top 2 (+1 seeded rider) to 1985 Nordic final

Swedish Finals

* Top 5 to Nordic final *R1 (20 May, Örebro Motorstadion,

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

) *R2 (21 May, Gislaved Motorbana, Gislaved) *R3 (22 May, Linköping Motorstadion,

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

)

Danish Final

*5 May 1985 * Brovst Speedway Center,

Brovst Brovst is a town in North Jutlandic Island, North Jutland, Denmark. It is located in Jammerbugt Municipality, 16 km east of Fjerritslev, 14 km southwest of Aabybro and 2 km east and northeast of the villages of Ny Skovsgård and Skov ...

*First 7 to Nordic final

Fourth round

Continental semi-finals

Overseas Final

* 14 July 1985 *

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

* First 10 to the Intercontinental Final plus 1 reserve * David Bargh seeded direct to Overseas Final by the New Zealand Auto Cycle Union

Nordic Final

* 9 June 1985 * Fjelsted Speedway Stadium, Harndrup *First 6 to Intercontinental final plus 1 reserve

Fifth round

Continental Final

* 21 July 1985 * Rottalstadion,

Pocking Pocking (; ) is a town in the Passau (district), district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austria, Austrian border. History A Roman settlement was founded in the area of Poc ...

* First 5 plus one reserve to the World Final

Intercontinental Final

* 3 August 1985 * Vetlanda Motorstadion, Vetlanda * First 11 plus one reserve to the World Final

World Final

*31 August 1985 *

Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. * Referee: () Torrie Kittlesen

References

{{Speedway Grand Prix seasons

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

Individual Speedway Individual Speedway Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom