Denmark Their Greatest Five Ever?

[Midland Red 2,383]

Nielsen

Gundersen

Olsen

JO Pedersen

N Pedersen

 

I would prefer to include Knudsen instead of Olsen, but this is a Top 5, not a Favourite 5

[iris123 20,969]

 

Baltzar Hansen

 

I actually think his nme is spelt Baltzer,rather than your version?

[Guest]

I actually think his nme is spelt Baltzer,rather than your version?

 

Here's the rider's name as list in LONDON SPEEDWAYS for the 1936 Hackney team:

HACKNEY: Dicky Case, Fred Tate, Dusty Haigh, George Wilks, Cordy Milne, Morian Hansen, Baltzar Hansen, Bill Clbbett, Frank Hodgson, Phil Hart, Ken Brett, Stan Dell, Jack Dixon, Tiger Hart.

 

And in the MILKY SPEEDWAY website his name is spelt differently - so with your version we have a choice of three spellings.

 

1936 World Championship (part 3)

Championship Round scorers Harringay - July 11. Jack Parker 15, Charles 13, Newton 11, Van Praag 11, Cordy Milne 10, Ormston 9, Lees 8, Pitcher 8, Wilkinson 7, Chitty 6, Baltazar Hansen 5, Norman Parker 5, Clibbett 5, Dixon 2, Stobbart 1, Johnson 0.

::: My initial Post spelling was Baltzar Hansen.

Edited June 22, 2017 by Guest

[iris123 20,969]

 

Here's the rider's name as list in LONDON SPEEDWAYS for the 1936 Hackney team:

HACKNEY: Dicky Case, Fred Tate, Dusty Haigh, George Wilks, Cordy Milne, Morian Hansen, Baltzar Hansen, Bill Clbbett, Frank Hodgson, Phil Hart, Ken Brett, Stan Dell, Jack Dixon, Tiger Hart.

Here is a bit of track history from Aalborg,which is in Denmark and this is a danish site.Baltzer beating a Dick Wise in an international race and later losing a couple of races to ex Wimbledon rider Alfred Rumrich in a Denmark v Germany test

 

http://speedwaylife.com/danske-baner/aalborg-stadion/

 

Another piece in english about the early days

 

 

The other riders.

Among the first Danish riders contracted to the dirt track were some already known from other kinds of motor cycle racing. Soon a group of local heroes grew up with names like Baltzer Hansen, Henning Hansen nicknamed “Morian”, Kaj Hansen “little K” and the renowned Svend Aage Engstrøm. The meetings gained extra color by participation from foreign riders like the Germans Hans Wunder and Alfred Rumrich, the American Lloyd “Sprouts” Elder, the Irish rider Ginger Lee and the female rider Eva Askquith only to mention a few.

Here is an article in the modern Danish Motor Union magazine,MotorBladet from 2010 which on page 36 has a historical article which mentions Baltzer Hansen

 

https://issuu.com/motorbladet/docs/mb_web_06_10_2

 

Not sure where you are getting your info,but obviously a spelling mistake has cropped up and maybe even then copied further.....

And a very interesting article by well known Danish speedway historian Sören Kjaer,which gives a few mentions to Baltzer, for the speedwayplus website i guess?

 

 

http://www.speedwayplus.com/pdf/SvendEngstrom.pdf

[The White Knight 9,039]

1. Hans Nielsen

2. Erik Gundersen

3. Ole Olsen

4. Nikki Pedersen

5. Jan O. Pedersen

[iris123 20,969]

Danish docu on Ole Olsen.Some great film and photos even if we can't understand what they are saying

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv_oSG1TYyU

[fatface 2,552]

Funny how four great speedway nations - Denmark, Sweden, USA and Australia - are all tied on five World Champions each.

 

I do think this one writes itself. I agree with a lot of the above...

 

1 Nielsen

2 Olsen

3 Gundersen

4 N Pedersen
5 J O Pedersen

 

and yet...if I had to put my life on a one-off race between Nielsen and Gundersen, I'd go for Gundersen. Though Hans undoubtedly achieved the most and I'd probably rank him as the most skilled speedway rider of all time. Technically, he was excellent.

[norbold 7,106]

Morian Hansen I have heard of, but he never won the Danish championship (2nd once, third once) never mind doing anything in the world championship.

Never heard of Baltzar hansen, and he doesnt even appear in the top three in any Danish championship.

 

That's a bit unfair on Morian and Baltzar Hansen as there were no Danish Championships when they were at their peak in the mid to late 1930s. It's like saying Tom Farndon couldn't be included in the greatest ever riders because he never made a World final.

[Wessex Wanderer 148]

Nielsen, Olsen, Gundersen, Nicki, Jan O.

 

Despite a whole host of other quality riders I agree with most posts that this list almost picks itself.

 

One other who would surely have broken into the list but for injuries and officialdom rules preventing him taking part in the World Campioship in some years was Arne Pander. When he was neither injured nor recovering from injury he was capable of matching anyone - even the big five.

 

Another great thread although more clear cut than some others.

 

[Guest]

Probably the same reasons that saw him rank Mike bast in the top 20 riders of all time...

 

 

I remember that debate re Mike Bast on the BSF - must be at least five years ago. Certainly he does not seem to have much credential in regard to his speedway career. I wish I could find some publicity in regard to the rider?

 

https://www.speedwaybikes.com/rw/umike_ba.htm

 

http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=125

 

http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/mike-bast

 

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-06-19/sports/sp-4760_1_mike-bast/2

 

http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=68824

 

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qnENl-yhiN4C&pg=RA1-PA95&lpg=RA1-PA95&dq=Mike+Bast+USA+Speedway+rider&source=bl&ots=ybNw2zbCFe&sig=MpMG4AtIvmoT79JtUJkKnIfPo_w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3x7Kyn9LUAhVHElAKHRVDA_U4ChDoAQgxMAQ#v=onepage&q=Mike%20Bast%20USA%20Speedway%20rider&f=false

 

http://www.speedwaychampions.com/americas.php

 

http://trailblazersmc.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/mike-bast-2016-trailblazers-hall-of.html

Edited June 23, 2017 by Guest

[waiheke1 4,295]

Yes, I agree, thats why he didnt actually make it to my top five.

 

But he was one of the top riders in the era of the Big Five and averaged 10.15 in 1960, which placed him above Briggo in the averages. In 1961 he had an average of 10.12 until he fractured his skull which put him out for the rest of the season and 1962. It then took him a long time to return to form. It wasnt until 1965 that he returned to form, recording an average of 10.03.

 

Between 1959 and 1961, he was ranked in the Top 10 in the end of season Speedway Star Rankings, his highest being in 1960, when he was ranked at number four, above Barry Briggs and Bjorn Knutson. If he hadnt fractured his skull he would probably have made at least two or three World Finals and done well in them. But, of course, we will never know.

Realistically behind the top 5 and also Knudsen and puk? Rounding out the top 10 along with maybe hans Andersen and Bo peep?

[Guest]

By 'popular' (!!!!) request here is my revised version of Denmark's top five riders:

(1) Hans Nielsen

(2) Erik Gundersen
(3) Ole Olsen

(4) Jan O. Pedersen

(5) Nikki Pedersen

[greyhoundp 990]

The Top Three pick themselves Gundersen, Nielsen, Olsen, Im biased i saw Eric ride for Cradley from when he was a raw 17 year old reserve to when his career was cruelly cut short with his life changing injuries received on that ill fated day in Bradford, Jan O we will never know how good he would have been again through career ending injuries, and Nikki P a different era so difficult to compare, Tommy Knudsen would be in some peoples Top 5 and justifiably so, I think all of them would more than hold there own against todays top riders, just take a line through Greg Hancock, this would prove my point.

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

The Top Three pick themselves Gundersen, Nielsen, Olsen, Im biased i saw Eric ride for Cradley from when he was a raw 17 year old reserve to when his career was cruelly cut short with his life changing injuries received on that ill fated day in Bradford, Jan O we will never know how good he would have been again through career ending injuries, and Nikki P a different era so difficult to compare, Tommy Knudsen would be in some peoples Top 5 and justifiably so, I think all of them would more than hold there own against todays top riders, just take a line through Greg Hancock, this would prove my point.

Knudsen was top class and he was very unlucky in 1986 at his best he could compete with Hans/Erik so unlucky with injury.

[iris123 20,969]

Knudsen was top class and he was very unlucky in 1986 at his best he could compete with Hans/Erik so unlucky with injury.

Saying that,apart from the top 5 who pick themselves i'd say only Puk and Hans have had a season where they are arguably the best rider of the year.Puk had a great league season about 3 seasons back and the year Hans was dropped for the GPs and came back in because of injury about half way through.

Not sure any other Dane could be named as the best rider of any given seasn.Certainly not Pander or M.Hansen or B.Hansen and probably not Knudsen.