1989 Speedway World Team Cup

The final of the 1989 Speedway World Team Cup was staged at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, United Kingdom.

1989 Speedway World Team Cup
Previous: 1988 Next: 1990

England dominated the meeting with Jeremy Doncaster, Kelvin Tatum, Paul Thorp and Simon Wigg defeating Denmark, Sweden and the USA in a single meeting Final. The World Cup Final also saw the end of the career of three time World Champion Erik Gundersen of Denmark. In the first race of the meeting, Gundersen won the start from gate 4 and headed the field into the first turn. His engine suddenly seized causing his bike to lock up he was knocked off by the rider behind. As he lay on the race track he was hit in the head by another rider's rear wheel. After the accident he was not expected to live and he remained in coma for a period of time but he eventually regained consciousness.[1] Gundersen had to learn to walk again and raised a large amount of money for the Bradford Royal Infirmary which saved his life and he later became manager of the Danish Speedway Team.

None of the riders involved in the accident - Gundersen, Simon Cross (Eng), Jimmy Nilsen (SWE) and Lance King (USA), took any further part in the Final.

Qualification

Group D - Venue : Shumen, Bulgaria and Sandes, Holland
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Norway 45+47=92
Ingvar Skogland 24
Lars Gunnestad 23
Arne Svendsen 18
Tor Einar Hielm 15
Einar Kyllingstad 12		 Bulgaria 37+37=74
Nikolaj Manev 25
Georgi Petranov 19
Zacharia Jordanov 17
Vesselin Markov 7
Orlin Janakiev 6		 Holland 22+16=38
Ron Koppe 13
Henk Bangma 9
Rene Elzinga 8
Bob Dolman 4
Ron van Dam 4		 New Zealand
Qualified - not started

Norway to Group C.

Group C - Venue : Lonigo, Italy and Wiener Neustadt, Austria
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Italy 47+30=77
Armando Dal Chiele 22
Valentino Furlanetto 21
Giorgio Zaramella 13
Armando Castagna 10
Andrea Maida 9
Fabrizio Vesprini 2		 Norway 31+40=71
Lars Gunnestad 25
Einar Kyllingstad 22
Arnt Förland 10
Arne Svendsen 8
Ingvar Skogland 4
Per Erga 2		 Finland 18+29=47
Olli Tyrväinen 20
Janne Moksunen 9
Kai Niemi 7
Aki Ala-Riihimäki 6
Roy Malminheimo 4
Ari Koponen 1		 Austria 24+21=45
Walter Nebel
12 Heinrich Schatzer 11
Andreas Bössner 10
Robert Funk 6
Thomas Stadler 6
Toni Pilotto 0

Italy to Group B.

Group B - Venue : Nyiregyhaza, Hungary and Rzeszów, Poland
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Australia 48+49=97
Troy Butler 26
Stephen Davies 24
Mick Poole 21
Craig Boyce 20
Leigh Adams 6		 Hungary 44+17=61
Zoltan Adorjan 19
Antal Kocso 15
Sandor Tihanyi 13
Jozsef Petrikovics 12
Zoltan Hajdu 2		 Poland 9+38=47
Ryszard Franczyszyn 14
Roman Jankowski 13
Piotr Świst 9
Janusz Stachyra 8
Sławomir Drabik 2
Ryszard Dołomisiewicz 1		 Italy 19+15=34
Armando Castagna 12
Valentino Furlanetto 10
Armando Dal Chiele 6
Giorgio Zaramella 4
Andrea Maida 1
Mariano Castagna 1

Australia to Group A.

Group A - Venue : Diedenbergen, Germany and Prague, Czechoslovakia
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Sweden 38+40=78
Per Jonsson 23
Jimmy Nilsen 21
Erik Stenlund 18
Tony Olsson 13
Mikael Blixt 3		 Germany 39+24=63
Gerd Riss 19
Klaus Lausch 18
Karl Maier 16
Klaus Freundorfer 4
Alois Bachhuber 4
Tommy Dunker 2		 Czechoslovakia 27+34=61
Bohumil Brhel 17
Antonín Kasper 16
Roman Matousek 12
Zdenek Tesar 9
Zdenek Schneiderwind 7
Jan Holub 0		 Australia 16+22=38
Craig Boyce 12
Stephen Davies 10
Mick Poole 8
Troy Butler 6
Leigh Adams 2
Craig Hodgson 0
Todd Wiltshire 0

Sweden to Final.

World final

Venue : Bradford, England
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
England 48
Jeremy Doncaster 13
Kelvin Tatum 12
Paul Thorp 12
Simon Wigg 11
Simon Cross 0		 Denmark 34
Hans Nielsen 11
Gert Handberg 9
John Jørgensen 7
Brian Karger 7
Erik Gundersen 0		 Sweden 30
Mikael Blixt 10
Per Jonsson 8
Tony Olsson 7
Erik Stenlund 5
Jimmy Nilsen 0		 USA 8
Kelly Moran 6
Greg Hancock 2
Ronnie Correy 0
Rick Miller 0
Lance King 0

References
  1. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
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