Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Norway national speedway team

Norway
SWC Wins0
World Pairs bronze (1968, 1991)

The Norway national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.

History

The Norwegian speedway team competed in the inaugural Speedway World Team Cup in 1960, finishing third in the Scandinavian round at Odense, Denmark. The team consisted of Aage Hansen, Rolf Mellerud, Nils Paulsen, Rolf Westerberg and Sverre Harrfeldt.[1][2][3][4]

From 1960 to 1985, the team failed to qualify from their qualifying group during the World Cup, due to the fact that they were drawn together in qualifying with two of the world's strongest speedway nations, Denmark and Sweden. They did however win a bronze medal at the 1968 Speedway World Pairs Championship.

The World Team Cup system changed in 1986 but it was not until the 1991 Speedway World Team Cup that the team progressed from qualifying to round two.[5] During the same year of 1991, the team equalled their greatest feat, when winning a bronze medal at the 1991 Speedway World Pairs Championship.

The nation reached their first and only World Cup final to date in 1995.[6] In recent years, the nation has failed to qualify for the World Cup but did compete in the semi finals of the 2022 Speedway of Nations and reached the 2022 European Pairs Speedway Championship final.

Major tournament finals

World Team Championships

Year Venue Standings (Pts) Riders Pts
1995 Poland
Göteborg
Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium
1. Denmark Denmark (28)
2. England Great Britain (22)
3. United States United States (19)
4.Sweden Sweden (19)
5. Australia Australia (14)
6. Poland Poland (13)
7. Norway Norway (11)
Lars Gunnestad 8
Rune Holta 3
Arnt Førland 0

World Pairs Championship

Year Venue Standings (Pts) Riders Pts
1968 West Germany
Kempten
Kempten Speedway
1. Sweden Sweden (24)
2. United Kingdom Great Britain (12)
3. Norway Norway (16)
4. West Germany West Germany B (12)
5.West Germany West Germany A (10)
6. Denmark Denmark (6)
Odd Fossengen 11
Øyvind S. Berg 5
1973 Sweden
Borås
Ryavallen
1. Sweden Sweden (24)
2. Denmark Denmark (21)
3. Poland Poland (21)
4. Soviet Union Soviet Union (20)
5. Norway Norway (17)
6.Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia (11)
7. New Zealand New Zealand (10)
Reidar Eide 9
Dag Lövaas 8
1991 Poland
Poznań
Olimpia Poznań Stadium
1. Denmark Denmark (28)
2. Sweden Sweden (24)
3. Norway Norway (19)
4.Germany Germany (18)
5. Czech Republic Czech Republic (18)
6. Italy Italy (10)
7.Poland Poland (9)
Lars Gunnestad 11
Einar Kyllingstad 8
Tor Einar Hielm -

European Pairs Championships

Year Venue Standings (Pts) Riders Pts
2022 Denmark
Slangerup
Slangerup Speedway Center
1. Denmark Denmark (26)
2. Czech Republic Czech Republic (23)
3. Poland Poland (21)
4.Sweden Sweden (18)
5. Latvia Latvia (17)
6. United Kingdom Great Britain (15)
7. Norway Norway (6)
Truls Kamhaug 3
Lasse Fredriksen 3
Glenn Moi 1

International caps (as of 2022)

Since the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.[7]

Rider Caps
Andersen, Henry[8]
Berg, Øyvind S. 14
Egedius, Einar 2
Eide, Reidar 17
Faafeng, Jonny 2
Arnt Førland, Arnt[9]
Fossengen, Odd 8
Gimre, Kjell 1
Godal, Tom 2
Gramstad, Rolf 5
Gravningen, Jan Terje 5
Gunnestad, Lars 22
Hansen, Aage 22
Hansen, Bjorn 4
Hansen, Per Arne 1
Haarfeldt, Henry 1
Haarfeldt, Sverre 7
Haugvalstad, Jorn 2
Holta, Rune
Hveem, Basse 11
Kaasa, Svein 5
Kamhaug, Truls
Kyllingstad, Einar 16
Langli, Helge 4
Langli, Tormod 7
Lövaas, Dag 9
Lövaas, Ulf 6
Ødegaard, Jon 3
Olsen, Audun Ove 6
Paulsen, Nils 12
Pedersen, Sigvart 3
Pedersen, Stein Roar 1
Skretting, Trond Helge 3
Stangeland, Edgar 10

References

  1. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  2. ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  3. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  4. ^ Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Guinness Superlatives. p. 290. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
  5. ^ "FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP/ SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS" (PDF). Motor Sport Top 20. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  6. ^ "1995 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  7. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Speedway". Liverpool Echo. 21 May 1951. Retrieved 26 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "World Team Championship". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 25 September 1995. Retrieved 26 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

See also