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1976 Intercontinental final

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The 1976 Intercontinental Final was the second running of the Intercontinental Final as part of the qualification for the 1976 Speedway World Championship. From 1976 it replaced the European Final as the last qualifying stage for riders from Scandinavia, the USA and from the Commonwealth nations[1]

The Final took place at the famous Wembley Stadium in London. England's "Golden Boy" Peter Collins defeated then four-time World Champion Ivan Mauger in a runoff to claim the Final and go into the World Final at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland as the clear favourite. Collins' form would continue in Chorzów as he would go on to win his only individual World Championship. After both riders finished the Intercontinental Final on 11 points, Australia's Phil Crump defeated England's Malcolm Simmons in a runoff for third place.

The biggest surprise of the meeting was reigning World Champion Ole Olsen who sensationally failed to qualify for the World Final. Nearly always a strong performer at Wembley, on this occasion Olsen could only score 6 points from his five rides to finish in 12th place. The other surprise was 1974 World Champion Anders Michanek who had finished runner-up to Olsen in the World Final at Wembley in 1975. Michanek was defeated in a runoff by England's John Louis for 8th place and the last spot in the World Final. As a result, the Swede would only be a reserve in Poland.

1976 Intercontinental Final

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Pos. Rider Total
1 England Peter Collins 12+3
2 New Zealand Ivan Mauger 12+2
3 Australia Phil Crump 11+3
4 England Malcolm Simmons 11+2
5 England Chris Morton 10
6 England Doug Wyer 10
7 United States Scott Autrey 9
8 England John Louis 8+3
9 Sweden Anders Michanek 8+2
10 Australia John Boulger 7
11 Australia Billy Sanders 7
12 Denmark Ole Olsen 6
13 Sweden Bengt Jansson 4
14 Sweden Bernt Persson 3
15 Norway Dag Lovaas 1
16 Sweden Soren Sjosten
17 England Trevor Geer (Res) 0
18 England Barry Thomas (Res) 0

Classification

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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
1 England (11) Peter Collins 12+3 0 3 3 3 3 12 1
2 New Zealand (9) Ivan Mauger 12+2 1 3 2 3 3 12 2
3 Australia (1) Phil Crump 11+3 3 1 2 2 3 11 3
4 England (7) Malcolm Simmons 11+2 3 0 3 3 2 11 4
5 England (8) Chris Morton 10 2 2 3 1 2 10 5
6 England (5) Doug Wyer 10 1 2 3 2 2 10 6
7 United States (10) Scott Autrey 9 2 2 1 3 1 9 7
8 England (6) John Louis 8+3 0 3 0 2 3 8 8
9 Sweden (16) Anders Michanek 8+2 3 3 1 0 1 8 9
10 Australia (12) John Boulger 7 3 1 2 1 T 7 10
11 Australia (3) Billy Sanders 7 2 2 1 1 1 7 11
12 Denmark (13) Ole Olsen 6 X E 2 2 2 6 12
13 Sweden (15) Bengt Jansson 4 2 1 1 X 0 4 13
14 Sweden (4) Bernt Persson 3 1 0 0 1 1 3 14
15 Norway (2) Dag Lovaas 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 15
16 Sweden (14) Soren Sjosten 1 1 0 E - - 1 16
England (17) Trevor Geer 0 0 0 0
England (18) Barry Thomas 0 0 0
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

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

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See also

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