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Jimmy Nilsen

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Jimmy Nilsen
A portrait of Jimmy Nilsen
Born (1966-11-16) 16 November 1966 (age 57)
Sweden
NationalitySwedish
Career history
Sweden
1982-1995Getingarna/Stockholm United
1996Rospiggarna
Great Britain
1985–1990, 1992, 1996–1998Swindon Robins
1991Berwick Bandits
1993–1994Bradford Dukes
1995, 2000Oxford Cheetahs
1999, 2001Belle Vue Aces
Poland
1991–1992ZKŻ Zielona Góra
1994, 1996Polonia Piła
1995GKM Grudziądz
1997–1999Start Gniezno
2000WTS Wrocław
Individual honours
1998World individual championship runner-up
1996Swedish champion
1996Intercontinental Champion
1996Nordic Champion
1984Swedish U21 champion
1990Jack Young Memorial Cup winner
Team honours
1982, 1983, 1985, 1989Elitserien Champion
1991Polish Team Championship
1991Inter-Nations Championship
1993British 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

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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

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Individual World Championship

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World Pairs Championship

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World Team Cup

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World Cup

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  • 2001 - Poland Wrocław, Olympic Stadium - 3rd - 51pts (7)

Individual Under-21 World Championship

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Speedway Grand Prix results

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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

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  1. ^ International Speedway: Denmark v Sweden, accessed 2010-07-10
  2. ^ "Ultimate Rider Index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Jimmy Nilsen". WWOS backup. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Rain is a welcome relief for Racers". Reading Evening Post. 16 July 1985. Retrieved 9 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Nilsen granted work permit". Western Daily Press. 13 July 1985. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Hans roars to world triumph". Sandwell Evening Mail. 7 September 1987. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Tatum targets Munich". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 7 August 1989. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Nilsen loan move". Western Daily Press. 18 January 1991. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ Speedway.org: 1996, accessed 2010-07-10