The 1989 Speedway World Team Cup was the 30th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions. [1] [2]
The final was staged at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, England. The English team dominated the meeting, following near tragedy for Denmark. Jeremy Doncaster, Kelvin Tatum, Paul Thorp and Simon Wigg defeated Denmark, Sweden and the USA in a single meeting final. The Danish run of sixth consecutive titles finally came to an end and England once more went top of the all time list, with nine titles. [3] [4]
The World Cup Final 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. [5] 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, Jimmy Nilsen and Lance King, took any further part in the final and Denmark were clearly affected by the accident.
Shumen Motopista, Shumen 
Elgane Speedway, Varhaug | 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 | Netherlands 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 second round
Santa Marina Stadium, Lonigo 
Stadion Wiener Neustadt, Wiener Neustadt | 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 third round.
Nyíregyháza Speedway, Nyíregyháza 
Stal Rzeszów Municipal Stadium, Rzeszów | 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 Zoltán Adorján 19 Antal Kocso 15 Sándor Tihanyi 13 József 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 fourth round.
Rhein-Main Arena, Diedenbergen 
Markéta Stadium, Prague | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden 38+40=78 Per Jonsson 23 Jimmy Nilsen 21 Erik Stenlund 18 Tony Olsson 13 Mikael Blixt 3 | West 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 Jr. 16 Roman Matoušek 12 Zdeněk Tesař 9 Zdeněk Schneiderwind 7 Jan Holub II 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 World final.
Odsal Stadium, Bradford | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|
| England 48 Jeremy Doncaster 13 Kelvin Tatum 12 Paul Thorp 12 Simon Wigg 11 Simon Cross 0 |  Denmark 34Hans Nielsen 11 Gert Handberg 9 John Jørgensen 7 Brian Karger 7 Erik Gundersen 0 |  Sweden 30Mikael Blixt 10 Per Jonsson 8 Tony Olsson 7 Erik Stenlund 5 Jimmy Nilsen 0 |  USA 8Kelly Moran 6 Greg Hancock 2 Ronnie Correy 0 Rick Miller 0 Lance King 0 |
Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is a multi-purpose stadium currently the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team and Yorstox Stock Cars who host regular monthly meetings of BriSCA F1 Stock Cars and BriSCA F2 Stock Cars. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, hosting the 1997 Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain, and as a temporary groundshare, the football team Bradford City temporarily following the Valley Parade fire. Odsal Stadium has also historically hosted baseball, American Football, basketball, kabbadi, show jumping, tennis, live music concerts, and international Rugby League matches over the years.
Erik Gundersen is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time, having won the Speedway World Champion on three occasions, the Long Track World Championship twice and the World Pairs Championship five times. In addition he is a seven time World Team Cup winner with Denmark and earned 91 international caps for the Denmark.
Hans Hollen Nielsen is a Danish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1977 to 1999. Nielsen is notable for winning four Speedway World Championship titles. During his career, he won a total of 22 world championships, making him arguably the most successful speedway rider of all time. In 2012, Nielsen was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements. He later managed the Danish national team.
Guy Allen Ermolenko is a former motorcycle speedway rider. During his career he was known as Sam Ermolenko. In 1993, he won the Speedway World Championship.
Jan Osvald Pedersen is a former Speedway rider who became Speedway World Champion in 1991 after finishing runner-up in 1986 and in third place in 1988 behind fellow Danes Erik Gundersen and Hans Nielsen. He also won the Speedway World Pairs Championship in 1990 and 1991, both times partnered by Hans Nielsen.
Tommy Knudsen is a former Motorcycle speedway rider who won eight Speedway World Team Cups, and two World Pairs. He is not to be confused with Tom P. Knudsen, another rider from the period.
Simon James Cross is a former motorcycle speedway rider who spent most of his career with the Cradley Heathens.
The 1993 Speedway World Team Cup was the 34th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.
The 1988 Speedway World Team Cup was the 29th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.
Gert Handberg is a Danish former international motorcycle speedway rider.
Brian Karger is a former international motorcycle speedway rider.
Armando Castagna is a former Italian international motorcycle speedway rider. He was a member of the Italy national team and has represented them in several World Team Cup competitions. He is a record 12 times Italian Champion.
Todd Wiltshire is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Australia, who competed at the highest level of the sport, finishing a career best third in the 1990 Individual Speedway World Championship at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford, England. He is also a two time Australian Champion, winning in 1999 and 2001.
The 1986 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 41st edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
The 1985 Speedway World Team Cup was the 26th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.
The 1987 Speedway World Team Cup was the 28th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.
The 1986 Speedway World Team Cup was the 27th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.
The 1988 Speedway World Pairs Championship was the nineteenth FIM Speedway World Pairs Championship. The final took place in Bradford, England. The championship was won by Denmark who beat host team England and United States.
The 1990 Speedway World Pairs Championship was the twenty-first FIM Speedway World Pairs Championship.
John Jørgensen is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. He is not to be confused with Johnny Jørgensen, the 1989 Danish Junior speedway champion.
| Speedway World Team Cup |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Speedway World Cup (SWC) | ||
| See also | ||