Year: | 1997 |
Dates: | May 17 - September 20 |
Events: | 6 |
Cities: | 6 |
Country: | 6 |
Per: | 17 |
Wc: | 1 |
Heats: | 144 |
P1f: | USA |
P2f: | USA |
P3f: | POL |
P3: | Tomasz Gollob |
The 1997 Speedway Grand Prix was the 52nd edition of the official World Championship.[1] [2] It was the third season in the Speedway Grand Prix era used to determine the Speedway World Champion.[3]
Greg Hancock from the United States became the World Champion with 118 points beating fellow American Billy Hamill into second place. The bronze medal went to Pole Tomasz Gollob.[4]
During 1997 the initial SGP scoring system was used for the final time. Each rider raced every other in the meeting with the top 4 qualifying for a final - the points for all other riders determined their finishing position in the meeting and therefore their championship Grand Prix points. The 4 finalists scored 25, 20, 18 and 16 points, with the reminder scoring 14, 13, 12, 11, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1.
See main article: 1997 Speedway Grand Prix Qualification. The 1997 season had 17 permanent riders and one wild card at each event. The permanent riders are highlighted in the results table below.