Einar Kyllingstad (born 17 July 1965) is a Norwegian former speedway rider.[1]

Einar Kyllingstad
Born (1965-07-17) 17 July 1965 (age 59)
Bryne, Norway
NationalityNorwegian
Career history
Great Britain
1985Reading Racers
1986, 1987King's Lynn Stars
1988Oxford Cheetahs
1988Sheffield Tigers
Sweden
1990Rospiggarna
Individual honours
1984, 1985Norwegian Championship
Team honours
1991World Pairs Championship (bronze medal)

Speedway career

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Kyllingstad hailed from Salte [no]. Growing up on a farm, he began riding a moped as a child, and competitive speedway at the age of 17.[2] He attended a vocational course in mechanics, and while still living in Norway, he was a farmhand for his brother-in-law.[3]

Kyllingstad is a two times champion of Norway, winning the Norwegian Championship in 1984 and 1985.[4] He earned 16 caps for the Norway national speedway team.[5]

In 1985, he signed for Reading Racers.[6] He had visited several clubs in late 1984 to gauge various contract offers. In British speedway, Kyllingstad would earn "an annual salary far exceeding that of a regular industrial labourer in Norway".[7] Kyllingstad then rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1985 until 1988,[8] riding for the King's Lynn Stars,[9] Oxford Cheetahs and Sheffield Tigers.

In 1989 he settled in Hallstavik, Sweden. He was disillusioned with the speedway milieu in England, which he described as "too harsh", claiming that his manager tried to pressure him to continue racing after Kyllingstad crashed and sustained a concussion. As a "coincidence" he came in contact with the speedway club Rospiggarna and racaed for them for several years. By 1997, he still earned a normal fulltime salary from speedway, combined with working in a paper factory during offseason.[2]

Riding for Norway in the World Championships, Kyllingstad (together with Lars Gunnestad) became the first Norwegian rider to reach the final series of the World Pairs Championship, in 1991.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP". Speedway. org. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b Friestad, Sølve (17 September 1997). "Jærsk suksess i Sverige". Jærbladet (in Norwegian).
  3. ^ Mæland, Lars (5 January 1985). "Det starta på trehjulsykkelen". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian Nynorsk).
  4. ^ "Einar Kyllingstad". wwosbackup. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Ultimate rider index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Speeding In". Daily Mirror. 8 January 1985. Retrieved 26 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ Mæland, Lars (5 January 1985). "Målet er å bli best i verda". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian Nynorsk).
  8. ^ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Read the riot act". Lynn Advertiser. 13 May 1986. Retrieved 26 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ Jonsbråten, Oddbjørn (20 July 1991). "– VM-medalje en døråpner". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian).