Rune Bertil Leopold Sörmander (29 November 1929 – 20 December 2020) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden.[1] He earned 66 caps for the Sweden national speedway team.[2]

Rune Sörmander
Born(1929-11-29)29 November 1929
Växjö, Sweden
Died20 December 2020(2020-12-20) (aged 91)
NationalitySwedish
Career history
Sweden
1949Smålänningarna
1950-1964Dackarna
Great Britain
1953Wembley Lions
1954Belle Vue Aces
1957Leicester Hunters
Individual honours
1955, 1958, 1959Swedish Championship
1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962Speedway World Championship finalist
1952Continental Champion
1957European Champion
1958, 1959Nordic Champion
Team honours
1960, 1962, 1963,
1964
World Team Cup Winner
1957, 1958, 1959,
1962
Allsvenskan Champion

Speedway career

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Sörmander was one of speedway's leading riders during the 1950s and 1960s, he was a three times champion of Sweden, winning the Swedish Championship in 1955, 1958 and 1959.[3][4] On 22 June 1952 he won the Continental Speedway Final, which formed part of the 1952 Individual Speedway World Championship.[5]

He reached the final of the Speedway World Championship on seven occasions (1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962) and the final of the Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship three times (1959, 1961, 1962).[6][1]

He also helped Sweden win the World Team Cup in 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1964

He rode in the top tier of British Speedway, riding for various clubs.[7] His last season in Britain was with the Leicester Hunters in 1957.[8]

World Final appearances

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Individual World Championship

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World Team Cup

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Rune Sörmander profile". GrasstrackGB. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Ultimate rider index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  3. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 85. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  4. ^ "Sweden National Championship". Edinburgh Speedway Archive. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Individual Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  6. ^ "World Speedway finals" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  7. ^ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Hunters beaten". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 July 1957. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.