Erik Gundersen

Erik Gundersen (born 8 October 1959 in Esbjerg, Denmark)[1] 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.[2][3]

Erik Gundersen
Born (1959-10-08) 8 October 1959
Esbjerg, Denmark
NationalityDanish
Career history
Denmark
1979–1989Esbjerg
Great Britain
1979–1989Cradley Heathens
Sweden
1987–1989Vargarna
Individual honours
1984, 1985, 1988World Speedway Champion
1984, 1986Long Track World Champion
1983, 1985British League Riders Speedway Champion
1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989Danish Speedway Champion
1983, 1985, 1986Danish Under-21 Speedway Champion
1985, 1986Denmark Longtrack Champion
1985, 1986Golden Helmet of Pardubice (CZE)
1986, 1987Intercontinental Speedway Champion
1987Nordic Speedway Champion
1981, 1982, 1986Danish Gold Bar
1981, 1982, 1983Midland Riders Champion
1982, 1986Golden Gala Italy
1986, 1987Golden Hammer
1983Blue Riband
1983Second City Trophy
Team honours
1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986,
1987, 1988		World Team Cup winner
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989World Pairs Champion
1981, 1983British League Champion
1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986,
1987, 1988, 1989		British League KO Cup Winner
1982British League Cup
1980, 1983Midland Cup
Competition record
Representing  Denmark
Speedway World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1984
Gold medal – first place 1985
Gold medal – first place 1988
Silver medal – second place 1987
Speedway World Team Cup
Gold medal – first place 1981
Gold medal – first place 1983
Gold medal – first place 1984
Gold medal – first place 1985
Gold medal – first place 1986
Gold medal – first place 1987
Gold medal – first place 1988
Silver medal – second place 1979
Silver medal – second place 1982
Silver medal – second place 1989
Speedway World Pairs Championship
Gold medal – first place 1985
Gold medal – first place 1986
Gold medal – first place 1987
Gold medal – first place 1988
Gold medal – first place 1989
Silver medal – second place 1984
Bronze medal – third place 1982
Bronze medal – third place 1983
Intercontinental Championship
Gold medal – first place 1986
Gold medal – first place 1987
Silver medal – second place 1981
Silver medal – second place 1989
Bronze medal – third place 1988
Golden Helmet
Gold medal – first place 1985
Gold medal – first place 1986
Bronze medal – third place 1995
Long Track World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1984
Gold medal – first place 1986

Gundersen won the World Pairs Championship a record five years in succession from 1985 to 1989, and won the World Team Cup a record six years in succession from 1983 to 1988. His 17 World Championship wins see him sit second for the most World Championships won behind fellow Dane and Gundersen's long time Danish teammate and rival Hans Nielsen.[4]

Career

1979

Gundersen rode for his home town club Esbjerg and joined the British leagues with Cradley Heath Heathens during the 1979 British League season.[5] He also rode in the qualifying rounds of the 1979 Speedway World Team Cup and gained a silver medal despite not actually riding in the final.[6]

1980

Gundersen enjoyed a solid season for Cradley Heath and helped them win the Knockout Cup.[7] In addition he rode for Denmark in his second World Cup.

1981

Gundersen first appeared in the Speedway World Championship Final in 1981 at Wembley Stadium where in front of 92,500 fans he finished 4th with 11 points. On the night he set a new 4 lap record for the 345 metres (377 yards) track of 66.8 seconds, a record that will stand forever as this was the last time that speedway was raced at the famous venue. He also won the World Cup with Denmark for the first time[8] and was a league champion with Cradley.[4]

1982

His 1982 title chase ended on a sour note when he failed to qualify for the final held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after finishing a surprising 16th and last in the 1982 Intercontinental Final in Sweden.[9] However, the year resulted in two medals, a silver in the World Cup and a bronze in the Speedway World Pairs Championship, (appearing in the semi final). Additionally he won two cup competitions with Cradley.[4]

1983

He made amends for his 1982 failure, easily qualifying for the 1983 World Final in West Germany where he would again finish in a strong 4th place. He won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 15 October 1983.[10] He won a second World Cup gold medal with Denmark and a bronze in the World pairs, partnering Hans Nielsen. In Britain, he won the league and cup double with Cradley and topped the Midlands' team averages.[4]

1984

1984 was a hugely successful year for Gundersen; he went on to win the 1984 Individual Speedway World Championship at Ullevi in Gothenburg and became the World champion for the first time. He also won another World Cup with Denmark, the Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship and a silver medal in the World Pairs.

1985

Gundersen successfully defended his World title, winning the 1985 Individual Speedway World Championship at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford. He achieved the treble of World titles by winning the World Cup and World Pairs again, in arguably greatest ever season. He also won the British League Riders' Championship for the second time.[11]

1986

Despite a 10th place finish (engine failure during the heats ended his chances of winning) at the 1986 World Final, he won a fifth World Cup gold medal in a Denmark team that dominated world speedway at the time. He also won the World pairs with Hans Nielsen and a second Long Track World Championship.[12]

1987

Gundersen was pipped by great rival Nielsen in the 2-day 1987 World Final at the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium.[13] He once again made amends by winning the World Pairs (with Nielsen) and a sixth World Cup. Domestically, he won another Knockout Cup with Cradley and was already regarded as one of their greatest ever riders.[4]

1988

At a packed to capacity Vojens Speedway Center in what was the first ever World Individual Final held in his home country of Denmark, Gundersen claimed his third World Championship in the 1988. He won his fourth consecutive World pairs and a seventh World Cup gold medal.

1989

1989 started much as usual, he would win the World Pairs again and suffered an engine failure during the final of the 1989 at the Munich Olympic Stadium in West Germany, which ended any chances of a fourth World crown.

Gundersen's career was ended just a few weeks after the 1989 World Final when he was involved in an accident whilst riding for Denmark at the Odsal Stadium on the 17 September 1989, in the World Team Cup final. Starting from the outside in Gate 4, he won the start but his motorcycle locked up on the first bend and 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 a coma for three days, but he eventually regained consciousness. He was then confined to a bed in hospital for the next month with grim prospects for resuming a normal life as doctors reported he had no neurological function below his neck.[14]

After racing

Gundersen defied the experts though and was determined to walk again. He had to learn to walk again and raised a large amount of money for the hospital which saved his life. He later went on to manage the Danish national speedway team.[15]

During his career, Gundersen never finished off of the podium in the final of either the Speedway World Team Cup or the Speedway World Pairs Championship, though he was unable to take the podium of the 1989 World Team Cup in which Denmark finished in second place.

World final appearances
World Championship Final results timeline
Year 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Finishing position - - 4 - 4 1 1 10 2 1 4

Individual World Championship

World Pairs Championship

World Team Cup

* The 1989 Speedway World Team Cup final was where Gundersen suffered his career ending crash in turn 1 of Heat 1.

Individual Under-21 World Championship

World Longtrack Championship

One Day Finals

References
  1. Oakes, P & Rising, P (1986). 1986 Speedway Yearbook. ISBN 0-948882-00-X
  2. Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport. Little, Brown. p. 520. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
  3. "FIM SPEEDWAY STARS OF THE CENTURY INTERVIEW, ERIK GUNDERSEN". FIM. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  5. Foster, P. (2003) Heathens: Cradley Heath Speedway 1977-1996, The History Press Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-2738-5
  6. "1979 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  8. Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Guinness Superlatives. p. 290. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
  9. Speedway World Championship History - 1982
  10. "Dane wins". Sunday Mirror. 16 October 1983. Retrieved 4 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "Ace Erik is King of the track". Daily Mirror. 21 October 1985. Retrieved 4 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Guinness Superlatives. p. 290. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
  13. Speedway World Championship History - 1987
  14. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  15. Erik Gundersen crash and rehabilitation
  16. "Danes defeat spirited challenge". Sandwell Evening Mail. 29 June 1987. Retrieved 11 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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