Speedway practice track
Shortly after WW2 a major re-development project began in downtown Copenhagen at the Adelgade – Borgergade slum district. A substantial amount of demolition rubbish from the old houses got deposed as land reclamation material in the South Port of Copenhagen between the power plant H. C. Oerstedsvaerket and the quay of Enghave Brygge. The street name “Landvindingsvej” (Land Reclamation Street) gives a hint this regarding. The area mainly got used for storing the coal supply to the power plant.
Despite many historic descriptions of the development of the South Port area have been written, a speedway is hardly mentioned in any of these. However, such track has been shown on and old city map from KRAK and likewise on a map from the newspaper POLITIKEN.
In the 1950-es a speedway built by the Motor Club for Copenhagen and Vicinity, generally referred to as MKO, was operative at the South Port.
The speedway riders in Copenhagen lacked practice facilities. Gentofte and Gladsaxe Stadiums both ceased as speedways in 1954. The Amager Speedway with its location on the infield of Amager trotting track was not available for regular weekly practice, and the same applied for Selskov Speedway near Hilleroed due to rigid limitations in number of race days.
The chairman of MKO Mr. Karlo Hansen saw the possibility to build a practice speedway at Enghave Brygge, financed by the Cooperative Motor club’s Track Foundation.
The track never got permitted for meetings with public attendance, but it is told that many speedway aces from Copenhagen used the track regularly, among them Morian Hansen and Irving Irvinger.
A source told us that boys from the allotments on the western side of Vasbygade (O2) rushed to the track every time they heard the engine noise. It is also told that they – illegally – climbed over the power plant’s fence to get to the track.
Precisely when the track opened and closed we do not know. Morian stopped his career in august 1953, so the opening must have been before then. No traces are left from the track, but in 1960 development of the area began. Hence the time frame must be an estimate between 1952 and 1961.
Speedwaylife has been talking with some of those days’ riders who remember their practicing on the track. Some remember that the safety fence along one straight stood directly at the water edge. From the informations gathered we have tried to locate the track on the map section below with the caution, that it could have been a little more north but still at the water edge.
A map section of the South Port at Enghave Brygge. The Needle
A points at the power plant. B points at Tommergravsgade.
C points at Elværksvej whose connection to Landvindingsvej
is a fix point, we got to locate the track.
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