Tommy Knudsen

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Tommy Knudsen
Tommy Knudsen.jpg
Born (1961-11-09) 9 November 1961 (age 63)
Roager, Denmark
NationalityDanish
Career history
Denmark
1990 Fredericia
Great Britain
1979-1988, 1990-1992 Coventry Bees
Individual honours
1975, 1976Danish Under-16 Champion
1978 Danish Under-21 Champion
1980 European Under-21 Champion
1981, 1985, 1993 Nordic Final Champion
1982Pride of the East winner
1985, 1987, 1994Danish Gold Bar winner
1986Midland Riders' Champion
1988Lobos Tomicek Memorial winner
1997 Danish Champion
1997Danish Final winner
1982, 1984Brandonapolis
1982Golden Gauntlets
Team honours
1981, 1985, 1986
1987, 1988, 1991
1995, 1997		 World Team Cup
1985, 1991 World Pairs Champion
1979 British League Champion
1979, 1981, 1982 Midland Cup
1980Midland League
1981, 1985British League Cup
Competition record
Representing Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Speedway World Championship
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1981
Speedway World Team Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1981
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1985
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1986
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1987
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1988
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1991
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1995
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1997
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1982
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1993
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1990
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1994
Speedway World Pairs Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1985
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1991
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1993
Intercontinental Cup
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1986

Tommy Knudsen (born 9 November 1961 in Roager, Denmark) [1] is a former Motorcycle speedway rider who won eight Speedway World Team Cups, and two World Pairs. He earned 81 caps for the Denmark national speedway team. [2]

Contents

He is not to be confused with Tom P. Knudsen (born 1968), another rider from the period.

Career

Knudsen first became known when he won the Danish Under-16 Championships of 1975 and 1976 before becoming the Danish Under-21 Champion in 1978. Knudsen started racing in the United Kingdom during second half meetings in 1978. He was signed up by Coventry Bees in 1979 and was touted as a future champion. [3]

Knudsen won the 1980 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship [4] and recorded an 8.10 average for Coventry during the 1980 British League season. Knudsen also raced in Australia during the 1980s, winning the "Mr Melbourne" title at the Melbourne Showgrounds in January 1987, and a week later finished third behind fellow Dane Hans Nielsen and American Rick Miller in the West End Speedway International at the Wayville Showground in Adelaide.

Knudsen was matching Ole Olsen's average at Coventry during 1981 and helped the Bees win the League Cup and Midland Cup. That season he also made his first World Final appearance, finishing third at the 1981 Individual Speedway World Championship at Wembley Stadium in London, after losing a ride-off for 2nd to countryman Ole Olsen. Knudsen had earlier defeated Olsen to win the opening heat of the World Final and a large number of fans and members of the speedway press believed that Knudsen would become Denmark's next world champion. [5]

Unfortunately for Knudsen, two fellow Danish riders Erik Gundersen and Hans Nielsen emerged and became the world's leading riders, which arguably denied Knudsen his chance of becoming a world individual champion. However, because the Danes dominated world speedway, Knudsen was able to win eight World Team Cup's in 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1995 and 1997 and two Speedway World Pairs titles in 1985 and 1991. [6] Although he rode in a further five World Finals (1985, 1986, 1991, 1992 and 1994), Knudsen would never again finish on the podium in a World Final, his best placing being 4th in 1992. At the 1985 Final held in Los Angeles, Knudsen was undefeated on the night, famously holding out US team captain Bobby Schwartz in the penultimate heat to ensure Denmark could not be beaten.

During this golden period of speedway for the Danes, Knudsen remained loyal to the Coventry Bees, riding for them from 1979 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1992, captaining the team and remaining one of the league's best riders. [7]

He announced his retirement at the end of August 1990 after a crash in Australia but returned to racing the following year. [8]

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

World Pairs Championship

World Team Cup

Individual Under-21 World Championship

Speedway Grand Prix results

YearPositionPointsBest FinishNotes
1995 10th67WinnerWon German and Swedish Grand Prix
1996 11th44WinnerWon Polish Grand Prix

References

  1. ↑ Tanner R. Speedway Star magazine (30 August 1986)
  2. ↑ "Ultimate rider index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  3. ↑ "Ole and the New" . Coventry Evening Telegraph. 15 March 1979. Retrieved 29 August 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ↑ "Euro glory for Briggs" . Coventry Evening Telegraph. 21 July 1980. Retrieved 29 August 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Happy Penhall the ambassador" . Birmingham Mai. 7 September 1981. Retrieved 29 August 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Speedway World Pairs" . Sunday Mirror. 21 July 1991. Retrieved 13 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Betting on NASCAR in 2022". www.coventrymotorspeedway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
  8. ↑ "It happened this week". Speedway Star. 27 August 2022. p. 19.
  9. ↑ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN   0-7524-2402-5
  10. ↑ "'For the Record' (1991)". The Times. 22 July 1991. Retrieved 11 July 2021– via Gale Primary Sources.
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