Speedway is a major motor sport in Europe where competitors race motorcycles on a metered circuit. A speedway match is run between two teams where each team consists of 7 people. The riders with numbers 6 and 7 are reserves and are brought in if needed. The away team drives with white and yellow hood and the home team with blue and red.
Speedway
The first World Speedway Championships were held in 1936 at Wembley in London. The World Championship ran for many years with many successful riders but was replaced in 1995 by the FIM Speedway Grand Prix.
The three main leagues today are run in Poland, Sweden and England, with the biggest riders competing in all three leagues at the same time. Sweden has over the last 60 years produced many stars in Speedway and our latest star is Tony Rickardsson who has become World Champion in Speedway 6 times. In the Swedish elite team today there are some Swedes but many who drive come from other countries.
Speedway has over the last 10 years become a crowd pleaser in Sweden and today many people watch the matches, both live and online. Most race tracks today are located in smaller towns such as Målilla, Gislaved, Hallstavik and Eskilstuna. This is largely due to the fact that it is difficult to build speedway venues in the larger cities due to the high noise level.
Some famous Swedish speedway riders are:
- Dennis Andersson
- Hans Danielsson
- Ove Fundin
- Henrik Gustafsson
- Hans Holmqvist
- Andreas Jonsson
- Peter Karlsson
- Björn Knutsson
- Antonio Lindbäck
- Fredrik Lindgren
- Mikael Max
- Gunnar Malmkvist
- Tony Rickardsson
- Conny Samulesson
Motorcycles
Speedway riders have a specially adapted motorcycle developed by the FIM’s Track Racing Technical Rules. In the past, motorcycles with upright engines were used, but nowadays, motorcycles with horizontal engines are mainly used, according to some because they are easier to handle. The motorcycles have no brakes, run on pure methanol, have only one gear and must weigh a maximum of 77 kg.
Matches / Heat
A match consists of 14 heats plus a final, with 4 riders competing in each heat, two from each team. The points are distributed as follows: 3 points for the winner, 2 points for the runner-up, 1 point for the runner-up and no points for the runner-up. A “fifth” means that either team’s two drivers place first and second, the winning team thus taking 5 points and the opposing team only 1 point. A fifth means that a team increases its lead by 4 points.
Heat 2 and 11 are “reserve heats” where the reserves get to drive. The last heats to be run are “nomination heats” and in this heat the regular drivers who have accumulated the most points drive. If you have lost points to a teammate, you get bonus points, the reason for this is that you should not compete against each other within the team. For example, if 2 riders from the same team finish first and second, the one who finishes second gets 1 bonus point.
When a team wins a match they get 2 points, if there is a draw both teams get 1 point and if you lose you get 0 points. The team that ends up winning the most games gets 1 bonus point.