| Finland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Association | Finnish Motorcycling Federation Suomen Moottoriliitto r.y. |
| FIM code | SML |
| Nation colour | White and Blue |
| SWC Wins | 0 |
The Finnish national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
| Finland | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Association | Finnish Motorcycling Federation Suomen Moottoriliitto r.y. |
| FIM code | SML |
| Nation colour | White and Blue |
| SWC Wins | 0 |
The Finnish national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The Finnish speedway team comepeted in the inaugural Speedway World Team Cup in 1960, finishing fourth in the Scandinavian round at Odense, Denmark. The team consisted of Kalevi Lahtinen, Antti Pajari, Timo Laine, Valle Seliverstov and Aulis Lethonen. [1] [2] [3]
From 1960 to 1985, the team failed to progress from their qualifying group for 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. The system changed in 1986 but it was not until the 1990 Speedway World Team Cup that the team progressed from qualifying to round two. [4] The team reached the final of the Speedway World Pairs Championship six times, in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1987 and 1989. [5]
The team reached the World Cup race-off (the round before the final) in 2002 and 2003 but experienced a inert period for nearly two decades. However, an improvement ensued when Finland reached the final of the 2022 Speedway of Nations [6] and they won their first medal when they won the bronze at the 2023 European Pairs Speedway Championship. [7]
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Riders | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |  Vojens Vojens Speedway Center | 1.  Australia (30+6+7)2.  Great Britain (32+2)3.  Sweden (30+3)4. Denmark (28)5.  Czech Republic (27)6.  Poland (26)7.  Finland (16) | Timo Lahti | 14 |
| Jesse Mustonen | 2 | |||
| Timi Salonen | 0 |
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Riders | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |  Manchester Hyde Road | 1. England (28) 2. Sweden (18)3.  West Germany (18)4. Czechoslovakia (17)5.  New Zealand (17)6. Finland (14)7. Australia (12) | Ila Teromaa | 7 |
| Kai Niemi | 7 | |||
| 1979 | Vojens Vojens Speedway Center | 1. Denmark (25) 2. England (24)3. Poland (20)4. Australia (19)5.  United States (14)6. New Zealand (12)7. Finland (7) | Kai Niemi | 7 |
| Ila Teromaa | 0 | |||
| 1980 |  Krsko Matija Gubec Stadium | 1. England (29) 2. Poland (22)3. Denmark (21)4. Sweden (18)5. New Zealand (16)6. Finland (14)7. Yugoslavia (6) | Ila Teromaa | 8 |
| Kai Niemi | 6 | |||
| 1982 | Sydney Liverpool Speedway | 1. United States (30) 2. England (22)3. Denmark (21)4. Australia (16)5. Finland (16) 6. New Zealand (13)7. Czechoslovakia (8) | Kai Niemi | 12 |
| Ari Koponen | 4 | |||
| 1987 | Pardubice Svítkov Stadion | 1. Denmark (52) 2. England (44)3. United States (36)4. New Zealand (36)5. Czechoslovakia (30)6. Finland (19)7. Australia (21)8.  Italy (19)9. Poland (14) | Olli Tyrväinen | 11 |
| Kai Niemi | 8 | |||
| 1989 | Leszno Alfred Smoczyk Stadium | 1. Denmark (48) 2. Sweden (44)3. England (37)4. West Germany (36)5. Finland (31)6.  Hungary (22)7. Czechoslovakia (25)8. Italy (15)9. Poland (11) | Kai Niemi | 18 |
| Olli Tyrväinen | 13 |
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. [8]
| Rider | Caps |
|---|---|
| Aarnio, Tero | 7 |
| Hautamäki, Pekka | 7 |
| Helminen, Markku | 3 |
| Katajisto, Kalle | 3 |
| Kokko, Petri | 3 |
| Koponen, Ari | 17 |
| Lahti, Timo | 3 |
| Laukkanen, Kai | 15 |
| Mäkinen, Jari | 1 |
| Makinen, Rauli | 2 |
| Niemi, Kai | 22 |
| Nieminen, Kauko | 18 |
| Olin, Matti | 7 |
| Pajari, Antti | 14 |
| Pellinen, Mika | 4 |
| Reima, Tomi | 13 |
| Teromaa, Ila | 8 |
| Teromaa, Pepe | 3 |
| Tuoriniemi, Veijo | 3 |
| Tyrväinen, Olli | 19 |
| Ylinen, Vesa | 14 |
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.
The Sweden national speedway team are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway.
The Russia national speedway team are one of the major international motorcycle speedway nations.
The Denmark national speedway team are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway.
The Poland national speedway team is the national motorcycle speedway team of Poland and is controlled by the Polish Motor Union (PZM). They are one of the most successful speedway nations of all time.
The Czech Republic national speedway team is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway.
The Hungary national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The Italy national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The Germany national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The Latvia national speedway team is one of the nations that compete in international motorcycle speedway.
The Slovenia national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The Ukraine national speedway team are one of the nations who compete in international motorcycle speedway.
The Austria national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The Norway national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The Slovakia national speedway team are one of the nations that compete in international motorcycle speedway.
The 1980 Speedway World Team Cup was the 21st edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.
The 1976 Speedway World Team Cup was the 17th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions.
The Croatia national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The West Germany national speedway team were one of the teams that competed in international team motorcycle speedway.
The East Germany national speedway team were one of the teams that competed in international team motorcycle speedway.
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