Jimmy Nilsen
Swedish speedway rider
 A portrait of Jimmy Nilsen | |
| Born | (1966-11-16) 16 November 1966 (age 57) Sweden |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Career history | |
| Sweden | |
| 1982-1995 | Getingarna/Stockholm United |
| 1996 | Rospiggarna |
| Great Britain | |
| 1985–1990, 1992, 1996–1998 | Swindon Robins |
| 1991 | Berwick Bandits |
| 1993–1994 | Bradford Dukes |
| 1995, 2000 | Oxford Cheetahs |
| 1999, 2001 | Belle Vue Aces |
| Poland | |
| 1991–1992 | ZKŻ Zielona Góra |
| 1994, 1996 | Polonia Piła |
| 1995 | GKM Grudziądz |
| 1997–1999 | Start Gniezno |
| 2000 | WTS Wrocław |
| Individual honours | |
| 1998 | World individual championship runner-up |
| 1996 | Swedish champion |
| 1996 | Intercontinental Champion |
| 1996 | Nordic Champion |
| 1984 | Swedish U21 champion |
| 1990 | Jack Young Memorial Cup winner |
| Team honours | |
| 1982, 1983, 1985, 1989 | Elitserien Champion |
| 1991 | Polish Team Championship |
| 1991 | Inter-Nations Championship |
| 1993 | British League Knockout Cup |
Jimmy Oyvind Nilsen (born 16 November 1966) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden.[1] He earned 53 international caps for the Sweden national speedway team.[2][3]
Career
Nilsen came to prominence in 1984, when he won the Swedish U21 championship and finished second to Per Jonsson at the 1985 European (World) Under-21 Championship final in Abensberg, West Germany.[4] It was in 1985 that he started racing in the British leagues after signing for Swindon Robins for the 1985 British League season.[5]
Nilsen impressed when as a 19-year he finished 4th in the 1986 World Final (his first World Final appearance) at the Silesian Stadium in Katowice, Poland. Nilsen topped the Swindon league averages in 1987 and finished fourth again at the 1987 World Final at the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium in the Netherlands.[6]
In 1988, he won a bronze medal in the 1988 Speedway World Team Cup and reached the final of the 1988 Speedway World Pairs Championship final and the following season won a silver medal in the World Pairs with Per Jonsson in the 1989 Speedway World Pairs Championship[7] and a bronze medal at the 1989 Speedway World Team Cup.
Nilsen finised 5th in the 1990 Individual Speedway World Championship in Bradford, England (won by Jonsson). Also In 1990 after appearing in a "Rest of the World" team in a test against Australia at the North Arm Speedway in Adelaide, Nilsen won the inaugural running of the Jack Young Memorial Cup, named in honour of Jack Young. At the end of the 1990 season and despite being named rider of the year, Nilsen left Swindon on loan to ride in the Berwick Bandits team for the 1991 season.[8]
Nilsen finished 5th at the 1991 Individual Speedway World Championship final at Ullevi in Göteborg and won silver medals in the 1991 Speedway World Pairs Championship, with Henrik Gustafsson and the 1991 Speedway World Team Cup. The following season in 1992, Nilsen won another silver medal at the 1992 Speedway World Team Cup and finished 7th in the 1992 Individual Speedway World Championship at the Olympic Stadium in Wrocław, Poland.
Nilsen was Swedish Champion in 1996.[9] Nilsen later qualified for the Speedway Grand Prix in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, finishing a career best 2nd in 1998 behind countryman Tony Rickardsson.
World Final Appearances
Individual World Championship
- 1986 -
Chorzów, Silesian Stadium - 4th - 11pts - 1987 -
Amsterdam, Olympic Stadium - 4th - 22pts - 1990 -
Bradford, Odsal Stadium - 5th - 10pts - 1991 -
Göteborg, Ullevi - 5th - 10pts - 1992 - Wrocław, Olympic Stadium - 7th - 7pts
World Pairs Championship
- 1988 - Bradford, Odsal Stadium (with Per Jonsson) - 5th - 29pts (17)
- 1989 - Leszno, Alfred Smoczyk Stadium (with Per Jonsson) - 2nd - 44pts (23)
- 1990 -
Landshut, Ellermühle Stadium (with Per Jonsson) - 4th - 33pts (17) - 1991 - Poznań, Olimpia Poznań Stadium (with Henrik Gustafsson / Per Jonsson) - 2nd - 24pts (8)
World Team Cup
- 1985 –
Long Beach, Veterans Memorial Stadium (with Jan Andersson / Per Jonsson / Tommy Nilsson / Pierre Brannefors) – 4th – 10pts (2) - 1986 - Göteborg, Ullevi,
Vojens, Speedway Center and Bradford, Odsal Stadium (with Jan Andersson / Per Jonsson / Tommy Nilsson / Erik Stenlund / Tony Olsson) - 4th - 73pts (16) - 1988 - Long Beach, Veterans Memorial Stadium (with Conny Ivarsson / Henrik Gustafsson / Tony Olsson / Per Jonsson) - 3rd - 22pts (5)
- 1989 - Bradford, Odsal Stadium (with Mikael Blixt / Per Jonsson / Tony Olsson / Erik Stenlund) - 3rd - 30pts (0)
- 1991 - Vojens, Speedway Center - 2nd - 30pts (7)
- 1992 - Kumla, Kumla Speedway - 2nd - 33pts (1)
- 1997 - Piła, Stadion Żużlowy Centrum - 3rd - 21pts (3)
- 1998 - Vojens, Speedway Center - 2nd - 24pts (13)
World Cup
- 2001 - Wrocław, Olympic Stadium - 3rd - 51pts (7)
Individual Under-21 World Championship
Speedway Grand Prix results
| Year | Position | Points | Best Finish | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 8th | 71 | 3rd | Third in British Grand Prix |
| 1998 | 2nd | 99 | 2nd | Second in German and British Grand Prix |
| 1999 | 4th | 73 | 2nd | Second in Swedish and Polish Grand Prix |
| 2000 | 11th | 42 | 5th | |
| 2001 | 21st | 20 | 7th |
References
- ^ International Speedway: Denmark v Sweden, accessed 2010-07-10
- ^ "Ultimate Rider Index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ "Jimmy Nilsen". WWOS backup. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ "Rain is a welcome relief for Racers". Reading Evening Post. 16 July 1985. Retrieved 9 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Nilsen granted work permit". Western Daily Press. 13 July 1985. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Hans roars to world triumph". Sandwell Evening Mail. 7 September 1987. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Tatum targets Munich". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 7 August 1989. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Nilsen loan move". Western Daily Press. 18 January 1991. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Speedway.org: 1996, accessed 2010-07-10
