The Norway national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
| Norway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| SWC Wins | 0 World Pairs bronze (1968, 1991) |
History edit
The Norwegian speedway team competed in the inaugural Speedway World Team Cup in 1960, finishing third in the Scandinavian round at Odense, Denmark. The team consisted of Aage Hansen, Rolf Mellerud, Nils Paulsen, Rolf Westerberg and Sverre Harrfeldt.[1][2][3][4]
From 1960 to 1985, the team failed to qualify from their qualifying group during 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. They did however win a bronze medal at the 1968 Speedway World Pairs Championship.
The World Team Cup system changed in 1986 but it was not until the 1991 Speedway World Team Cup that the team progressed from qualifying to round two.[5] During the same year of 1991, the team equalled their greatest feat, when winning a bronze medal at the 1991 Speedway World Pairs Championship.
The nation reached their first and only World Cup final to date in 1995.[6] In recent years, the nation has failed to qualify for the World Cup but did compete in the semi finals of the 2022 Speedway of Nations and reached the 2022 European Pairs Speedway Championship final.
Major tournament finals edit
World Team Championships edit
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Riders | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 |  Göteborg Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium |
1.  Denmark (28)2.  Great Britain (22)3.  United States (19)4.  Sweden (19)5.  Australia (14)6. Poland (13)7.  Norway (11)
|
Lars Gunnestad | 8 |
| Rune Holta | 3 | |||
| Arnt Førland | 0 |
World Pairs Championship edit
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Riders | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 |  Kempten Kempten Speedway |
1. Sweden (24) 2.  Great Britain (12)3. Norway (16)4. West Germany B (12)5. West Germany A (10)6. Denmark (6)
|
Odd Fossengen | 11 |
| Øyvind S. Berg | 5 | |||
| 1973 | Borås Ryavallen |
1. Sweden (24) 2. Denmark (21)3. Poland (21)4.  Soviet Union (20) 5. Norway (17)6.  Czechoslovakia (11)7.  New Zealand (10)
|
Reidar Eide | 9 |
| Dag Lövaas | 8 | |||
| 1991 | Poznań Olimpia Poznań Stadium |
1. Denmark (28) 2. Sweden (24)3. Norway (19)4. Germany (18)5. Czech Republic (18)6.  Italy (10)7. Poland (9)
|
Lars Gunnestad | 11 |
| Einar Kyllingstad | 8 | |||
| Tor Einar Hielm | - |
European Pairs Championships edit
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Riders | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Slangerup Slangerup Speedway Center |
1. Denmark (26) 2. Czech Republic (23)3. Poland (21)4. Sweden (18)5.  Latvia (17)6. Great Britain (15)7. Norway (6)
|
Truls Kamhaug | 3 |
| Lasse Fredriksen | 3 | |||
| Glenn Moi | 1 |
International caps (as of 2022) edit
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]
References edit
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Guinness Superlatives. p. 290. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
- ^ "FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP/ SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS" (PDF). Motor Sport Top 20. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "1995 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.