Harald Olof Ingemar Nygren (11 November 1929 – 13 February 2021)[2][3] was a Swedish motorcycle speedway rider, who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship five times.[4] He earned 90 caps for the Sweden national speedway team.[5]
 Olle Nygren in the 1970s | |
| Born | 11 November 1929 Stockholm, Sweden |
|---|---|
| Died | 13 February 2021 (aged 91) Ipswich, England |
| Nickname | Varg-Olle |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Career history | |
| Sweden | |
| 1948-1953, 1960, 1962-1963, 1967-1979 | Vargarna |
| 1954-1959 | Monarkerna |
| Great Britain | |
| 1951 | Harringay Racers |
| 1953 | New Cross Rangers |
| 1953 | Bristol Bulldogs |
| 1954, 1965-1968 | Wimbledon Dons |
| 1960 | Southampton Saints |
| 1962 | Swindon Robins |
| 1962-1964 | Norwich Stars |
| 1969-1971 | West Ham Hammers |
| 1972-1974 | Ipswich Witches |
| 1974 | Coventry Bees |
| 1975 | King's Lynn Stars |
| Individual honours | |
| 1954, 1960 | Nordic Champion |
| 1949 | Swedish Champion[1] |
| Team honours | |
| 1960 | World Team Cup |
| 1968 | British League KO Cup winner |
| 1968 | London Cup Winner |
| 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1960 | Allsvenskan Champion |
| 1963 | National Trophy |
Career
editNygren was the inaugural Swedish Champion during the 1949 Swedish speedway season. He also helped his Swedish team Vargarna win the Swedish Speedway Team Championship.[6] He started riding in Great Britain during the 1951 Speedway National League, when he joined the Harringay Racers.[5]
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.[7] 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.[7] He would ride for Swindon Robins, Norwich Stars, West Ham Hammers,[8] 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.[9]
World Final appearances
editIndividual World Championship
edit- 1953 –
London, Wembley Stadium – 4th - 12+2pts - 1954 – London, Wembley Stadium – 3rd - 13+2pts
- 1955 – London, Wembley Stadium – 8th - 9pts
- 1958 – London, Wembley Stadium – 7th - 9pts
- 1959 – London, Wembley Stadium – 4th - 11+2pts[10]
World Team Cup
edit- 1960 -
Göteborg, Ullevi (with Ove Fundin / Rune Sörmander / Björn Knutson) - Winner - 44pts (12) - 1968 - London, Wembley Stadium (with Bengt Jansson / Anders Michanek / Ove Fundin / Torbjörn Harrysson) - 2nd - 30pts (3)
World Longtrack Championship
edit- 1957 - Semi-final
- 1958 -
Muhldorf (14th) - 1959 -
Helsinki (Third) - 1960 - Plattling (9th)
- 1961 -
Oslo (Second) - 1978 - Qualifying Round
- 1979 - Qualifying Round
Formula One
editIn 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.[11]
Non-Championship Formula One results
edit(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
edit- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 85. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ Oakes, Peter; Mauger, Ivan OBE, MBE (1976). Who's Who of World Speedway. Ipswich: Studio Publications Ltd. ISBN 0-904584-04-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Motorsport-legendaren "Varg-Olle" är död". 13 February 2021.
- ^ Belton, Brian (2003). Hammerin' Round. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-2438-6
- ^ a b "Ultimate rider index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "Swedish speedway season by season". Speedway.org. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ "Nordin ignored". Sunday Mirror. 12 April 1970. Retrieved 26 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Persson, Rickard (13 February 2021). "Varg-Olle Nygren död – "Han var en levnadskonstnär"". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
- ^ Thompson, John (1974). The Formula One Record Book. London: Leslie Frewin Publishing. ISBN 0-85632-097-8. pp.106-107
External links
edit