Olle Nygren
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox Speedway rider Harald Olof Ingemar Nygren (11 November 1929 – 13 February 2021)[1][2] was a Swedish motorcycle speedway rider, who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship five times.[3] He earned 90 caps for the Sweden national speedway team.[4]
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.[4]
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.[6] 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.[6] He would ride for Swindon Robins, Norwich Stars, West Ham Hammers,[7] Ipswich Witches, Coventry Bees and King's Lynn Stars.
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
- 1953 – Template:Flagicon London, Wembley Stadium – 4th - 12+2pts
- 1954 – Template:Flagicon London, Wembley Stadium – 3rd - 13+2pts
- 1955 – Template:Flagicon London, Wembley Stadium – 8th - 9pts
- 1958 – Template:Flagicon London, Wembley Stadium – 7th - 9pts
- 1959 – Template:Flagicon London, Wembley Stadium – 4th - 11+2pts[9]
World Team Cup
- 1960 - Template:Flagicon Gothenburg, Ullevi (with Ove Fundin / Rune Sörmander / Björn Knutson) - Winner - 44pts (12)
- 1968 - Template:Flagicon London, Wembley Stadium (with Bengt Jansson / Anders Michanek / Ove Fundin / Torbjörn Harrysson) - 2nd - 30pts (3)
World Longtrack Championship
- 1957 - Semi-final
- 1958 - Template:Flagicon Muhldorf (14th)
- 1959 - Template:Flagicon Helsinki (Third)
- 1960 - Template:Flagicon Plattling (9th)
- 1961 - Template:Flagicon 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
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- ↑ Belton, Brian (2003). Hammerin' Round. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Template:ISBN
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Template:ISBN
- ↑ Thompson, John (1974). The Formula One Record Book. London: Leslie Frewin Publishing. Template:ISBN. pp.106-107
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External links
- Pages with script errors
- 1929 births
- 2021 deaths
- Motorcycle racers from Stockholm
- Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England
- Swedish speedway riders
- Harringay Racers riders
- Norwich Stars riders
- Swindon Robins riders
- Wimbledon Dons riders
- West Ham Hammers riders
- Ipswich Witches riders
- Coventry Bees riders
- King's Lynn Stars riders
- Swedish expatriate speedway riders in England
- Bristol Bulldogs riders
- Southampton Saints riders
- New Cross Rangers riders
- 125cc World Championship riders
- Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship riders
- Swedish emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Vargarna riders