Denmark national speedway team

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Denmark
AssociationDanish Motor Union
Danmarks Motor Union
FIM codeDMU
Nation colourWhite and Red
SWC Wins15
(1978, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014)

The Denmark national speedway team are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway.

History

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It was not until the emergence of rider Ole Olsen that the Danish speedway team came to prominence. Previously the international scene had been largely dominated by Sweden, Poland and Great Britain.[1] When he was joined in the team by Hans Nielsen, Denmark became a major contender for honours and won the 1978 Speedway World Team Cup in West Germany.[2][3]

The team were the dominant force throughout the 1980s, winning seven World Cups, including a record six world titles in a row, between 1983 and 1988. Other key riders during the period were Erik Gundersen, Tommy Knudsen, Jan O. Pedersen and Finn Thomsen.[4][5]

Further World Cup wins came in 1991, 1995, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014, with Nicki Pedersen and Niels Kristian Iversen each claiming four wins. Denmark have won the Speedway World Cup / Speedway World Team Cup a record 15 times, with Nielsen being a rider on 11 of those occasions.[6] The team were managed by Hans Nielsen from 2016 to 2023.

Additionally, they won the defunct Speedway World Pairs Championship a record eight times.

Major tournament wins

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World Team Championships

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Year Venue Standings (Pts) Denmark Riders and Pts
1978 Germany
Landshut 		1. Denmark Denmark (37)
2. England England (27)
3. Poland Poland (16)
4. Czech Republic Czechoslovakia (16) 		Hans Nielsen 11
Ole Olsen 10
Mike Lohmann 9
Finn Thomsen 7
Kristian Praestbro -
1981 Germany
Olching 		1. Denmark Denmark (36)
2. England England (29)
3. West Germany West Germany (28)
4. Soviet Union Soviet Union (3) 		Hans Nielsen 11
Erik Gundersen 9
Tommy Knudsen 9
Ole Olsen 6
Finn Thomsen 1
1983 Denmark
Vojens 		1. Denmark Denmark (37)
2. England England (29)
3. United States USA (27)
4. Czech Republic Czechoslovakia (3) 		Erik Gundersen 12
Hans Nielsen 11
Ole Olsen 7
Peter Ravn 7
Finn Thomsen 0
1984 Poland
Leszno 		1. Denmark Denmark (44)
2. England England (24)
3. United States USA (20)
4. Poland Poland (8) 		Erik Gundersen 12
Bo Petersen 12
Hans Nielsen 11
Preben Eriksen 9
Peter Ravn -
1985 United States
Long Beach 		1. Denmark Denmark (37)
2. United States USA (35)
3. England England (13)
4. Sweden Sweden (10) 		Tommy Knudsen 12
Erik Gundersen 10
Hans Nielsen 10
Preben Eriksen 5
Bo Petersen 0
1986 Sweden
Gothenburg
Denmark
Vojens
England
Odsal 		Best of three events
1. Denmark Denmark (9)
2. United States USA (4)
3. England England (3)
4. Sweden Sweden (2) 		Hans Nielsen 35
Erik Gundersen 33
Tommy Knudsen 33
Jan O. Pedersen 20
John Jørgensen 8
1987 Denmark
Fredericia
England
Coventry
Czech Republic
Prague 		Best of three events
1. Denmark Denmark (130)
2. England England (101)
3. United States USA (93)
4. Czech Republic Czechoslovakia (36) 		Hans Nielsen 38
Erik Gundersen 33
Jan O. Pedersen 32
Tommy Knudsen 27
1988 United States
Long Beach 		1. Denmark Denmark (44)
2. United States USA (32)
3. Sweden Sweden (22)
4. England England (22) 		Hans Nielsen 14
Jan O. Pedersen 12
Erik Gundersen 8
Tommy Knudsen 8
John Jørgensen 2
1991 Denmark
Vojens 		1. Denmark Denmark (51)
2. Sweden Sweden (30)
3. United States USA (28)
4. England England (11) 		Jan O. Pedersen 15
Hans Nielsen 14
Tommy Knudsen 13
Gert Handberg 8
Brian Karger 1
1995 Poland
Bydgoszcz 		1. Denmark Denmark (28)
2. England England (22)
3. United States USA (19)
4. Sweden Sweden (19)
5. Australia Australia (14)
6. Poland Poland (13)
7. Norway Norway (11) 		Tommy Knudsen 15+3
Hans Nielsen 13+2
Brian Karger 0
1997 Poland
Pila 		1. Denmark Denmark (27)
2. Poland Poland (25)
3. Sweden Sweden (21)
4. Germany Germany (17)
5. Czech Republic Czech Republic (16)
6. Russia Russia (10)
7. Hungary Hungary (9) 		Hans Nielsen 14+3
Tommy Knudsen 13+2
Jesper B. Jensen -
2006 England
Reading 		1. Denmark Denmark (45)
2. United Kingdom Great Britain (37)
3. Sweden Sweden (36)
4. Australia Australia (35) 		Nicki Pedersen 13
Hans Andersen 12
Bjarne Pedersen 9
Charlie Gjedde 6
Niels Kristian Iversen 5
2008 Denmark
Vojens 		1. Denmark Denmark (49)
2. Poland Poland (37)
3. Sweden Sweden (39)
4. Australia Australia (21) 		Hans Andersen 11
Nicki Pedersen 11
Bjarne Pedersen 11
Kenneth Bjerre 9
Niels Kristian Iversen 7
2012 Sweden
Målilla 		1. Denmark Denmark (39)
2. Australia Australia (36)
3. Russia Russia(30)
4. Sweden Sweden (24) 		Niels Kristian Iversen 11
Michael Jepsen Jensen 11
Nicki Pedersen 9
Mikkel B Jensen 8
2014 Poland
Bydgoszcz 		1. Denmark Denmark (38)
2. Poland Poland (36)
3. Australia Australia (36)
4. United Kingdom Great Britain (16) 		Nicki Pedersen 17
Niels-Kristian Iversen 11
Peter Kildemand 7
Mads Korneliussen 3

World Pairs Championship

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Year Riders
1979 Ole Olsen & Hans Nielsen
1985 Erik Gundersen & Tommy Knudsen
1986 Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen
1987 Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen
1988 Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen
1989 Hans Nielsen & Erik Gundersen
1990 Hans Nielsen & Jan O. Pedersen
1991 Hans Nielsen, Jan O. Pedersen & Tommy Knudsen

European Pairs Championship

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Year Riders
2022 Rasmus Jensen, Michael Jepsen Jensen & Jonas Seifert-Salk

International caps (as of 2022)

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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, Brian 12
Andersen, Hans 22
Andersen, Jan 1
Andersen, Morten 1
Andreasen, Godtfred 2
Bech, Mikkel 2
Berlin, Leif 4
Berthelsen, Kiehn 13
Bjerre, Kenneth 17
Bøgh, Kurt
Busk, Alf 8
Clausen, Hans 8
Ellegaard, Knud 1
Eriksen, Preben 41
Eskildsen, John 11
Gjedde, Charlie 11
Glanz, Peter 3
Gundersen, Erik 91
Handberg, Gert 20
Hansen, Kurt 1
Henningsen, Jan Rene 2
Hougaard, Patrick 1
Iversen, Niels Kristian 24
Jacobsen, Claus 3
Jensen, Bengt Norregaard 5
Jensen, Finn Rune 9
Jensen, Michael Jepsen 3
Johansen, Allan 5
Jørgensen, John 54
Juul, Richard 1
Karger, Brian 30
Kjaer, Jens Erik Krause 1
Klindt, Nicolai 5
Knudsen, Tommy 81
Korneliussen, Mads 2
Lohmann, Mike 17
Madsen, Leon 2
Madsen, Tom P. 1
Monberg, Jesper B. 7
Munkedal, Lars 4
Nielsen, Hans 118
Nielsen, Jens Henry 3
Nikolajsen, Sam 7
Noer, Kent 4
Olsen, Jacob 4
Olsen, Ole 50
Pander, Arne 16
Pedersen, Bjarne 29
Pedersen, Flemming 3
Pedersen, Jan Henrik 3
Pedersen, Jan O. 42
Pedersen, Nicki 30
Pedersen, Ronni 6
Petersen, Bo 59
Petersen, Kurt W. 5
Præstbro, Kristian 6
Rasmussen, Bent 3
Rasmussen, Jens 17
Ravn, Peter 42
Risager, Morten 1
Rosenkilde, Preben 1
Sørensen, Per 3
Stæchmann, Jan 13
Thomsen, Finn 30
Vinther, Martin 1
Weiss, Neils 2

References

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  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. 98. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  3. ^ "1978 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  4. ^ Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Guinness Superlatives. p. 290. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
  5. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  6. ^ "FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP/ SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS" (PDF). Motor Sport Top 20. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  7. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
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