WORLD LONGTRACK FINALS 1971 – 1996 Tracy Holmes
WORLD LONGTRACK FINALS 1971 – 1996 Tracy Holmes Pre 1971 Before we look at the first World Longtrack Final in 1971, we must take a peek at its prototype, the European Final. The first of these was held in 1957 and won by the Norwegian legend Leif "Basse" Hveem. The term 'legend' is often thrown about like confetti but in this case, it is well earned ! The next 3 Finals were all won by West Germany's Josef Hofmeister. No-one was ever able to achieve the 'Triple Crown' in the World Finals, but 2 riders did it in its forerunner. Hofmeister was joined by another West German, Manfred Poschenrieder winning in '66, '67 and '68. The closest anyone got in the World Final was England's Simon Wigg who won the Finals of '93 and '94, only to be beaten in the Gold Medal run-off in '95 by his England team-mate, Kelvin Tatum! Swedish riders excelled in the Euro Finals, 1954 World Speedway Final bronze medalist, Olle Nygren took the bronze in the '59 Final. Ove Fundin, reigning World Speedway Champion at the time, was 2nd in the '61 Final behind Timo Laine of Finland. Just over a week later, Fundin won his 3rd World Speedway Final. Bertil Strid was Sweden's first Euro Champion, winning the Finals of '62 and '63. The Swedes were interupted in '64 by Denmark's Kurt W. Petersen. On the 12th of September 1965, Swedish star Bjorn Knutson won the Euro Final. A week later, he won the World Speedway Final as well.
[Show full text]