Olle Nygren

Harald Olof Ingemar Nygren (11 November 1929 – 13 February 2021)[2][3] was a Swedish motorcycle speedway rider, who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship five times.[4]

Olle Nygren
Olle Nygren in the 1970s
Born(1929-11-11)11 November 1929
Stockholm, Sweden
Died13 February 2021(2021-02-13) (aged 91)
Ipswich, England
NicknameVarg-Olle
NationalitySwedish
Career history
Sweden
1948-1953, 1960,
1962-1963, 1967-1979		Vargarna
1954-1959Monarkerna
Great Britain
1951Harringay Racers
1953New Cross Rangers
1953Bristol Bulldogs
1954, 1965-1968Wimbledon Dons
1960Southampton Saints
1962Swindon Robins
1962-1964Norwich Stars
1969-1971West Ham Hammers
1972-1974Ipswich Witches
1974Coventry Bees
1975King's Lynn Stars
Individual honours
1954, 1960Nordic Champion
1949Swedish Champion[1]
Team honours
1960World Team Cup
1968British League KO Cup winner
1968London Cup Winner
1949, 1951, 1953,
1955, 1956, 1960		Allsvenskan Champion
1963National Trophy

Career

Nygren was the inaugural Swedish Champion during the 1949 Swedish speedway season. He also helped his Swedish team Vargarna win the Swedish Speedway Team Championship.[5] He started riding in Great Britain during the 1951 Speedway National League, when he joined the Harringay Racers.[6]

He soon established himself as a leading rider, recording exceptional averages for New Cross Rangers and then Bristol Bulldogs during the 1953 Speedway National League season.[7] After a season with Wimbledon Dons in 1954 he would not ride in Britain again until 1960. In the meantime, he reached several world finals and was considered a world class rider, winning his second Nordic Championship and the World Team Cup in 1960.

He returned to British speedway in 1960 and would ride until the end of the 1975 season, regularly topping the team averages.[7]

After retirement, Nygren set up a successful speedway training school. Nygren lived in England from the 1960s. He died in Ipswich at the age of 91, after contracting COVID-19; he had previously been treated for laryngeal cancer.[8]

World Final appearances

Individual World Championship

World Team Cup

World Longtrack Championship
  • 1957 - Semi-final
  • 1958 - Germany Muhldorf (14th)
  • 1959 - Finland Helsinki (Third)
  • 1960 - Germany Plattling (9th)
  • 1961 - Norway Oslo (Second)
  • 1978 - Qualifying Round
  • 1979 - Qualifying Round

Formula One

In 1962, Nygren took part in a minor Formula One race, the Kanonloppet, at the Karlskoga Circuit at Karlskoga in his home country of Sweden. He drove a Lotus 18 loaned to him by American driver Jay Chamberlain. Nygren qualified tenth of the ten starters, and had to retire after just six laps with a gearbox failure.[10]

Non-Championship Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
1962 Ecurie Excelsior Lotus 18 Climax Straight-4 CAP BRX LOM LAV GLV PAU AIN INT NAP MAL CLP RMS SOL KAN
Ret		 MED DAN OUL MEX RAN NAT

References
  1. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 85. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  2. Oakes, Peter; Mauger, Ivan OBE, MBE (1976). Who's Who of World Speedway. Ipswich: Studio Publications Ltd. ISBN 0-904584-04-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "Motorsport-legendaren "Varg-Olle" är död". 13 February 2021.
  4. Belton, Brian (2003). Hammerin' Round. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-2438-6
  5. "Swedish speedway season by season". Speedway.org. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  6. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  7. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  8. Persson, Rickard (13 February 2021). "Varg-Olle Nygren död – "Han var en levnadskonstnär"". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  9. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  10. Thompson, John (1974). The Formula One Record Book. London: Leslie Frewin Publishing. ISBN 0-85632-097-8. pp.106-107
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