moomin man 76 171 Posted December 7, 2017 Think his record talks for itself.4 times Norwegian champ,Nordic champ I think twice and even Polish champ twice,plus as I said a couple of GP wins.Ok you might say he changed nationality,but how do you judge Kylmäkorpi?He was Swedish U21 champ and world longtrack champ a number of time,but never Finnish champ as far as I know.Which shows up the trouble of saying rider x was the best Norwegian because he won the most national titles etc..Kylmäkorpi was far better than Timo Lahti of Kauko Nieminen,but they have senior national titles to their name Joonas Kylmakorpi rarely rode in the Finnish Championship. I think his best placing may have been third - no doubt FSP could correct me on that. Perhaps it is worthy of a separate thread on best Finnish rider seen? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
salty 2,200 Posted December 7, 2017 Rune Holta is the top man in my supporting time (from 1968 onwards). His move to represent Poland internationally enables him to add a couple of World Team Cup medals to his CV not to mention a fourth in the world spot. As far as I recall his Polish citizenship was encouraged by his Polish club, but he also felt it allowed him to ride in the WTC and keep his profile high. Still riding at a high level as well. Had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times whilst in Prague for a GP and he was an absolute gentleman. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,082 Posted December 7, 2017 I know Cook isn't as good as PC, but that's a little disrespectful isn't it? Ruddy auto-correct! So sorry... Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,242 Posted December 8, 2017 Joonas Kylmakorpi rarely rode in the Finnish Championship. I think his best placing may have been third - no doubt FSP could correct me on that. Perhaps it is worthy of a separate thread on best Finnish rider seen? ...Kai Niemi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,933 Posted December 8, 2017 Rune Holta is the top man in my supporting time (from 1968 onwards). His move to represent Poland internationally enables him to add a couple of World Team Cup medals to his CV not to mention a fourth in the world spot. As far as I recall his Polish citizenship was encouraged by his Polish club, but he also felt it allowed him to ride in the WTC and keep his profile high. Still riding at a high level as well. Had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times whilst in Prague for a GP and he was an absolute gentleman. Talked to him once in Vojens and came to the same conclusion.Very nice guy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BOBBATH 466 Posted December 8, 2017 Gotta be Sverre Harrfeldt for me!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OveFundinFan 4,137 Posted December 8, 2017 Bobbath, there is nothing on Wikipedia re Sverre Harrfeldt,, that doesn’t seem right. Why don’t you start something off, you must know more then a bit about him. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BOBBATH 466 Posted December 8, 2017 Sorry mate, I am a technopeasant and don't know how to start something on Wikipedia, you can see dstuff about Sverre on John Skinner's excellent website A to Z of Defunct Speedway Sites and also any of the websites dealing with West Ham speedway. THink his best years were mid sixties-finished second in World Final on 14 points behind Briggo-had a terrible accident in 1969 I think and was never the same after that. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted December 8, 2017 (edited) Talked to him once in Vojens and came to the same conclusion.Very nice guy Holta is a good guy. No sign of arrogance and has the time for you, unless you self are a dick. Edited December 8, 2017 by f-s-p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,082 Posted December 8, 2017 (edited) Bobbath, there is nothing on Wikipedia re Sverre Harrfeldt,, that doesn’t seem right. Why don’t you start something off, you must know more then a bit about him. Actually, there is, but only on the Polish Wikipedia site! It's not much, I know, and of course, it is in Polish, but Google translate will at least make it understandable. It is sad that there isn't much info available online about him. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverre_Harrfeldt My dad became good friends with Sverre when he came to Plough Lane, and used to help him out quite a bit. When he had to return to Norway for a few days, my dad would ferry him back and forth to the airport, and would use Sverre's car in the meantime! As has been said, he was never the same after his crash (in the 1968 European Final) at Wroclaw. He struggled on his return to England in 1970, although he was just starting to find his feet when he broke his arm against Wimbledon (I was at Custom House that night). However, while not the Sverre of old, he managed to get his average back up to nearly 8 when riding for Wembley the following year. Steve Edited December 8, 2017 by chunky 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,242 Posted December 8, 2017 Actually, there is, but only on the Polish Wikipedia site! It's not much, I know, and of course, it is in Polish, but Google translate will at least make it understandable. It is sad that there isn't much info available online about him. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverre_Harrfeldt My dad became good friends with Sverre when he came to Plough Lane, and used to help him out quite a bit. When he had to return to Norway for a few days, my dad would ferry him back and forth to the airport, and would use Sverre's car in the meantime! As has been said, he was never the same after his crash (in the 1968 European Final) at Wroclaw. He struggled on his return to England in 1970, although he was just starting to find his feet when he broke his arm against Wimbledon (I was at Custom House that night). However, while not the Sverre of old, he managed to get his average back up to nearly 8 when riding for Wembley the following year. Steve There was talk that he considered joining 'The Rebels' in 1972 but personally I felt it was a Dave Lanning inspired story! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted December 8, 2017 Sverre Harrfeldt was a very good rider, had he won a world championship I am sure he would have stepped up a gear to become a great.I never saw harrfeldt ride prior to his big crash in 1968. He struggled at West ham in 1970, but was decent for Wembley in 71. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,242 Posted December 9, 2017 A rider with a great style was Einar Kyllingstad. Never really excelled in Britain but I was at Swindon the afternoon he rode to an immaculate 15 point maximum! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,333 Posted December 10, 2017 Reider Eide Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted December 10, 2017 (edited) Aage Hansen won five Norwegian speedway championships between 1958 and 1961. Offhand, I seem to recall he was also a consistent performer in the UK for Oxford and Ipswich. Edited December 10, 2017 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
