Vojens Facts:
Track name: Vojens Speedway Center
Track owner: Haderslev Municipality.(Vojens *)
Address: Tinglykke 9, 6500 DK Vojens
Length: 300 m.
Surface: Bricks granulate – shales.
Width straights: 11 m.
Width bends: 16 m.
Track record: 57,1 sek.
Record holder: Michael Jepsen Jensen, 17.08.2011.
Opened: 21.09.1975.
*) The stadium got handed over to Vojens municipality, and Speedsport Ltd was granted a promoter’s license from the Danish Motor Union to organize the more important meetings.
In 2007 a nation wide reform led to merging of smaller municipalities into larger municipalities. Thus Vojens got included into Haderslev Municipality.
Vojens speedway on a fine day with fans, flags and colours.
(Picture from a programme cover)
Of course speedway was known in Denmark through nearly 50 years, but it was the 1971 World Speedway Championship Ole Olsen brought to Denmark that opened the broader Danish population’s eyes to the sport. It was also Ole Olsen who on September 21. 1975 proudly opened his own speedway stadium at Vojens in the southern Jutland not far from his native town Haderslev.
Ole recognized a need for an alternative to Selskov Speedway at Hilleroed and Fredericia Stadium, which at that time broadly seen were the only stadiums in Denmark where international speedway meetings could be properly staged .
He found a location in the industrial zone at Vojens, where building of a new stadium was possible. Then the company Speedsport Ltd. got founded by Ole Olsen and his companion Aage Sondergaard, and in the early spring of 1975 the construction work began.
Ole had commitments in Great Britain and spent most of his time racing there in the league meetings, while Aage Sondergaard, a garment dealer himself, supervised the project and kept account at home.
As often as possible Ole flew back to Denmark to assist with technical advices. T
he track surface material got shipped from Great Britain to Esbjerg harbour and hauled to Vojens by Trucks.
The number of fans attending the opening has never been exactly confirmed but is said to exceed 30.000, and some 10.000 returned in vain. The traffic created an enormous jam, still remembered in the southern Jutland. The Lineup at the opening included a number of the greatest international speedway stars, among them Ole’s good friend and toughest rival Ivan Mauger.
The year after the adjacent mini speedway got opened by the newly founded Vojens Speedway Club.
80 cc riders lining up at the gates on the mini speedway.
(picture: Doug McFarlane)
Through many years Speedsport Ltd. was the leader in organizing great international championships and meetings at Vojens Speedway like the See & Hear and TOM’s Goldbar meetings, plus a number of Grand Prix events before these in 2003 transferred to PARKEN in Copenhagen.
In 2009 Speedway GPs returned to Vojens in addition to that in Copenhagen, but unfortunately in 2012 this appears to be the last time.
One summer night in 1990 at Vojens will always be remembered. One of the speedway fans greatest favorites Erik Gundersen suffered on September 17. 1989 severe spine injuries in a crash on the Bradford track in Manchester. He survived, but disabled he would never be able to return to his speedway career.
Nevertheless Erik insisted that he would say farewell to his fans riding on his own speedway bike. And what a farewell it was!
In an altitude of 4000 meters Erik got flown in to the track, where he in a tandem jump parachuted down to the center green. Meanwhile his bike was warmed up in the pit and Erik rode a few laps of honor with his wife Helle sitting on the rear mudguard.
None who were present will ever forget the warm sympathies that radiated from the public towards the tiny – ever smiling – great champion with the 17 titles.
The meeting itself was won by Henrik Gustafsson from Sweden. A demo class for 1000 cc sidecars racing clockwise was won by Warren Stanton and his passenger Beth Litterick.
The international motorcycle union FIM inaugurated in 2001 a World Championship, called Youth Gold Trophy – abbreviated YGT – for 80 cc speedway riders between 12 and 16 years old.
The very first meeting got staged from 18th to 21st July on the Vojens 80 cc. track, which at that occasion got a major make over.
Riders came in from Poland, Sweden, Finland and Norway. From GB came only one rider, Edward Kennett. The majority were Danish riders also including some to fill places Sweden had left vacant. After quarter- and semifinals the final lineup contained 16 Danes and 2 Swedes plus a Dane as 1. and a Fin as 2. substitute. Denmark got full benefit from many years work with the youngster’s 80 cc riding. The first non Danish rider – Ricky Kling from Sweden – was found tied 7.
12 years old Leon Daniel Madsen won with 13 points ahead of Mike Bjorn 12 p. and Casper Wortmann 11p.
Vojens is located i an area of the southern Jutland where apparently it rains quite a lot, and in public it has become a firm saying that ”it is always raining in Vojens”.
The truth however is that very few meetings have been cancelled due to rain. The main reasons are excellent draining of the track and a track surface able to cope with a great amount of water. The majority of meetings at Vojens have been carried through with professional skill and precision and often finished with beautifully fireworks.
The See & Hear meeting in 1997 was intended to be a great night for Tommy Knudsen, who after 23 years speedway had chosen to say farewell to the sport and his fans.
Unfortunately this was one of the few times when the eternal Vojens rain simply drowned the track, so the race was abandoned after heat 9.
A satellite view of Vojens Speedway Center before 2008
shows the location of the tracks and the great grandstand.
Many years of intensive utilization had gradually worn the plant down. In particular the conditions around the sales stands and the toilets were inadequate.
In 2008 – 09 a substantial sum of money has been spent on improving these and other facilities for the public, and in 2009 the Nordic Grand Prix Final got staged at Vojens Speedway. At the same time Vojens Speedway Klub after several years absence returned to the Danish Speedway League. This might well be the beginning of a new great era for the old track.
Sadly Vojens Speedway Klub in 2011 suffered economical trouble and resigned from the 2012 Danish Speedway League. As above mentioned also the SGP series abandons Vojens.
The great grandstand with the referees box on top,
from which there is an excellent view all over the track.
Some important results:
Out of an enormous amount of results, a select after best judgement is listed below. Others could have chosen otherwise, but listing all would simply be too much.
July 24. 1977 European final:
1. Alf Busk DK 9p.
2. Joe Owen GB 8p.
3. Les Collins GB 7p
May 18. 1979, Nations match Denmark – England
Danmark 40 p. England 37 p.
Ole Olsen 12 p. Ian Cartwright 10 p.
Hans Nielsen 12 p. Malcolm Simmons 9 p.
Mikael Lohmann 5 p. Chris Morton 7 p.
Bo Petersen 5 p. Peter Collins 6 p.
Bent Rasmussen 4 p. Gordon Kennett 5 p.
Alf Busk 2 p. Dave Jessup 0 p.
June 23. 1979, World Pair Speedway Championship Final:
1. Denmark 25 p. 2. England 24p. 3. Poland 20 p.
Ole Olsen 15 p. Michael Lee 15 p. Edward Jancarz 13 p.
Hans Nielsen 10 p. Malcolm Simmons 9 p. Zenon Plech 7 p.
July 5. 1980, Teams Intercontinental final.
1. England 33 p. 2. USA 32 p. 3. Danmark 25 p.
Dave Jessup 12 p. Bruce Penhall 11 p. Ole Olsen 9 p.
Peter Collins 9 p. Dennis Sigalos 9 p. Hans Nielsen 6 p.
Chris Morton 6 p. Scott Autrey 8 p. Erik Gundersen 5 p.
Michael Lee 6 p. Bobby Schwartz 3 p. Bo Petersen 4 p.
Kelly Moran 1 p. Tommy Knudsen 1 p.
2June 6. 1981, Nations match Denmark – England
Danmark 60 p. England 48 p.
Tommy Knudsen 13 p. Michael Lee 12 p.
Finn Thomsen 11 p. Chris Morton 12 p.
Erik Gundersen 11 p. Kenny Carter 8 p.
Ole Olsen 11 p. Les Collins 8 p.
Hans Nielsen 11 p. Gordon Kennett 7 p.
Bo Petersen 3 p. Dave Jessup 1 p.
August 21. 1981 Danish Speedway Championship final:
1. Ole Olsen
2. Hans Nielsen.
3. Tommy Knudsen.
July 25. 1981, Intercontinental finale:
1. Bruce Penhall USA 15p.
2. Erik Gundersen DK 12p.
3. Hans Nielsen DK 11+3 p.
June 5. 1982, World Pair Speedway Championship Semi final.
1. Denmark 28 p. 2. New Zealand 24 p. 3. Finland 23 p.
Ole Olsen 16 p. Ivan Mauger 16 p. Kai Niemi 15 p.
Erik Gundersen 12 p. Larry Ross 8 p. Ari Koponen 8 p.
June 26. juni.1982,Teams Intercontinental final:
1.USA 34 p. 2.Denmark 28 p.
Bruce Penhall 10 p. Erik Gundersen 10 p.
Kelly Moran 10 p. Hans Nielsen 8 p.
Shawn Moran 9 p. Preben Eriksen 7 p.
Dennis Sigalos 5 p. Ole Olsen 3 p.
3.Great Britain 25 p. 4. Sweden 9 p.
Kenny Carter 12 p. Jan Andersson 3 p.
Chris Morton 6 p. Richard Hellsén 3 p.
Dave Jessup 4 p. Tommy Nilsson 1 p.
Peter Collins 3 p. Björn Andersson 1 p.
Michael Lee 0 p. Lillebror Johansson 1 p.
August 20. 1982, Nations match Denmark – England
Danmark 73 p. England 35 p.
Tommy Knudsen 14 p. Alan Grahame 12 p.
Hans Nielsen 14 p. Andy Grahame 7 p.
Erik Gundersen 14 p. Chris Morton 6 p.
Preben Eriksen 12 p. Les Collins 5 p.
Ole Olsen 11 p. Phil Collins 4 p.
Bo Petersen 8 p. Peter Collins 1 p.
August 12. 1983, World Team Championship Final:
1. Denmark 37 p. 2. Great Britain 29 p.
Erik Gundersen 12 p. Michael Lee 1 p.
Hans Nielsen 11 p. Kenny Carter 8 p.
Ole Olsen 7 p. Chris Morton 7 p.
Peter Ravn 7 p. Dave Jessup 2 p.
Finn Thomsen 0 p. Peter Collins 1 p.
3. USA 27 p. 4.Czechoslovakia 3 p.
Dennis Sigalos 9 p. Jiri Stancl 2 p.
Bobby Schwartz 6 p. Vaclav Verner 1 p.
Lance King 6 p. Antonin Kasper 0 p.
Kelly Moran 8 p. Ales Dryml 0 p.
Petr Ondrasik 0 p.
April 27. 1984, 4-Nations match DK – GB – USA – D, and Goldbar final
Nr. 1 Denmark 44 p. Nr. 2 USA 30 p.
Erik Gundersen 12 p. Lance King 10 p.
Hans Nielsen 12 p. Dennis Sigalos 8 p.
Bo Petersen 11 p. Shawn Moran 7 p.
Preben Eriksen 9 p. Bobby Schwarz 5 p.
Nr. 3. England 17 p. Nr. 4 W. Germany 5 p.
Chris Morton 5 p. Egon Müller 3 p.
Les Collins 4 p. Klaus Lausch 1 p.
Phil Collins 4 p. Hans Otto Pingel 1 p.
Alan Grahame 3 p.
Peters Collins 1 p.
After the nations match 2 semi finals and a final in a hastily organized Goldbar final got ridden with the following results:
Semi 1. Erik Gundersen.
Semi 2. Hans Nielsen
Final: Hans Nielsen, Erik Gundersen. Preben Eriksen.
July 20. 1984, Intercontinental Final.
1. Shawn Moran USA 13 p.
2. Simon Wigg GB 12 p.
3. Lance King USA 11 p.
22. june. 1985 ,Teams Intercontinental final:
1.Denmark 37 p. 2. Great Britain 28 p.
Erik Gundersen 12 p. Jeremy Doncaster 9 p.
Tommy Knudsen 11 p. Kelvin Tatum 9 p.
Preben Eriksen 7 p. Chris Morton 8 p.
Bo Petersen 7 p. Kenny Carter 1 p.
Phil Collins 0 p.
3. Sweden 19 p. 4. Australia 13 p.
Jan Andersson 8 p. Steve Regeling 5 p.
Tommy Nilsson 6 p. Stan Bear 3 p.
Jimmy Nilsen 2 p. Rod Hunter 3 p.
Pierre Brannefors 2 p. Phil Crump 2 p.
Per Jonsson 1 p. Steve Baker 0 p.
July 25. 1987 Intercontinental Finale.
1. Erik Gundersen DK 13 p.
2. Jimmy Nilsen S 12 p.
3. Hans Nielsen DK 11 p.
September 3. 1988, World Championship Final:
1. Erik Gundersen DK 14+3 p.
2. Hans Nielsen DK 14+2p.
3. Jan O. Pedersen DK 13 p.
May 19. 1989 Danish Speedway Championship final:
1. Erik Gundersen 14+3p.
2. Jan O Pedersen 14+2p.
3. Brian Karger 14+1p.
September 14. 1991, World Team Championship Final:
1.Denmark 51 p. 2. Sweden 30 p.
Jan O. Pedersen 15 p. Per Jonsson 9 p.
Hans Nielsen 14 p. Henrik Gustafsson 7 p.
Tommy Knudsen 13 p. Jimmy Nilsen 7 p.
Gert Handberg 8 p. Tony Rickardsson 7 p.
Brian Karger 1 p.
3. USA 28 p. 4. Great Britain 11 p.
Sam Ermolenko 9 p. Martin Dugard 4 p.
Billy Hamill 9 p. Marvyn Cox 3 p.
Greg Hancock 6 p. Gary Havelock 3 p.
Rick Miller 4 p. Chris Louis 1 p.
Ronnie Correy 0 p. Paul Thorp 0 p.
August 20. 1994, World Championship Final.
1. Tony Rickardsson S 12+3 p.
2. Hans Nielsen DK 12+2 p.
3. Craig Boyce AUS 12+1p.
September 9. 1995, SGP Grand Prix.
1. Hans Nielsen DK 20 p.
2. Sam Ermolenko USA 18 p.
3. Tony Rickardsson S 17 p.
September 21. 1996, SGP Grand Prix.
1. Billy Hamill USA 25 p.
2. Mark Loram GB 20 p.
3. Greg Hancock USA 18 p.
September 20. 1997, SGP Grand Prix.
1. Mark Loram GB 25 p.
2. Tony Rickardsson S 20 p.
3. Greg Hancock USA 18 p.
June 19. 1998, SGP Grand Prix.
1. Hans Nielsen DK 25 p..
2. Chris Louis GB 20 p.
3. Tony Rickardsson S 18 p.
August 21. 1998, Intercontinental final.
1. Brian Karger DK 14+3 p.
2. Peter Karlsson S 14+2 p.
3. Sam Ermolenko USA 11 p.
September 25. 1999, SGP Grand Prix.
1. Tony Rickardsson S 25 p.
2. Mark Loram GB 20 p.
3. Hans Nielsen DK 18 p.
September 2. 2000, SGP Grand Prix.
1. Greg Hancock USA 25 p.
2. Jason Crump AUS 20 p.
3. Stefan Dannö S 18 p.
July 28. 2001, SGP Grand Prix.
1. Tony Rickardsson S 25 p.
2. Jason Crump AUS 20 p.
3. Leigh Adams AUS 18 p.
June 28. 2002. Special sidecar race.
This meeting was a new initiative with Australian, British and a single German sidecar with 12oo cc engines, preferably of Japanese makes like YAMAHA and HONDA. With methanol as fuel, the engines churned out about 150 HP. The race direction was clockwise as opposed to normal speedway, and the mantra was No brakes, no fear, no mercy which the riders fully lived up to. They took and gave, pushed and pressed, no one better than the others, and no one complained.
Results. Initial 20 heats:
1. Scott Christopher / Trent Koppe AUS 15 point.
2. Ivor Matthews / Tony Miles UK 13 point.
3. Darren Treloar / Justin Plaisted AUS 12 point.
4. Gary Jackson / Carl Pugh UK 10 point.
Final B place 5,6,7,8:
1. Rob Wilson / Tony Miles UK 3 point.
2. Paul Whitelam / Mark Whitelam UK 2 point.
3. John Hiscock / Nick Walthers UK 1 point.
4. Duncan Tolhurst / Simon Beaney UK 0 point.
Final A place 1,2,3,4:
1. Darren Treloar / Justin Plaisted AUS 3 point.
2. Scott Christopher / Trent Koppe AUS 2 point.
3. Gary Jackson / Carl Pugh UK 1 point.
4. Ivor Matthews / Tony Miles UK ex
September 28. 2002, SGP Grand Prix.
1. Tony Rickardsson S 25 p.
2. Tomasz Gollop PL 20 p.
3. Billy Hamill USA 18 p.
August 9. 2003, World Team Championship Final.
1.Sweden 62 p. 2. Australia 57 p.
Mikael Max 25 p. Jason Crump 17 p.
Andreas Jonsson 12 p. Todd Wiltshire 15 p.
Peter Ljung 10 p. Leigh Adams 15 p.
Peter Karlsson 10 p. Ryan Sullivan 10 p.
David Ruud 5 p.
3. Denmark 53 p. 4. Poland 11 p.
Nicki Pedersen 21 p. Tomasz Gollop 20 p.
Charlie Gjedde 12 p. Jaroslaw Hampel 13 p.
Bjarne Pedersen 9 p. Sebastian Ulamek 6 p.
Hans N.Andersen 7 p. Tomasz Bajerski 6 p.
Ronni Pedersen 4 p. Piotr Protasiewicz 4 p.
August 14. 2004 Grand Final – Qualification for SGP 2005:
1: Antonio Lindbäck, Sweden.
2: Thomas Chrizanowski, Poland.
3: Kenneth Bjerre, Denmark.
4: Hans Andersen, Denmark.
September 8. 2006 Tjaereborg Super Cup U21
1: Jesper Kristiansen 14 p.
2: Nicki Barrett 12 p.
3: Dannie Soderholm 11 p.
DFDS Super final over 6 laps:
1: Jesper Kristiansen.
2: Dannie Soderholm.
3: Krister Jacobsen.
4: Lars Hansen.
June 16. 2007, U21 World Championship Semi final.
1: Chris Holder AUS 14 p.
2: Edward Kennett GB 13 p.
3: Morten Risager DK 12 p.
July 14. 2007, SWC event 1.
1.Denmark 60 p. 2. Poland 44 p.
Nicki Pedersen 13 p. Grzegorz Walasek 15 p.
Bjarne Pedersen 13 p. Krzysztof Kasprzak 9 p.
Hans Andersen 12 p. Rune Holta 8 p.
Niels Kr. Iversen 11 p. Tomasz Gollop 6 p.
Kenneth Bjerre 11 p. Jaroslaw Hampel 6 p.
3.Australia 39 p. 4. Finland 11 p.
Leigh Adams 13 p. Jonas Kylmakorpi 6 p.
Jason Crump 10 p. Kaj Laukkanen 3 p.
Ryan Sullivan 7 p. Kaj Nieminen 1 p.
Chris Holder 5 p. J. Hautamäki 1 p.
Rory Schlein 4 p. Tero Aarnio 0 p.
September 15. 2007 SGP Challenge final.
1: Niels Kr. Iversen DK 14 p.
2: Lukas Dryml CZ 12 p.
3: Bjarne Pedersen DK 11+3 p.
1July 7. 2008, SWC Race off.
1.Sweden 53 p. 2. Poland 50 p.
Fredrik Lindgren 14 p. Grzegorz Walasek 12 p.
Andreas Jonsson 13 p. Wieslav Jagus 11 p.
Jonas Davidsson 10 p. Tomasz Gollop 10 p.
Peter Ljung 10 p. Rune Holta 9 p.
Daniel Nermark 6 p. Jaroslaw Hampel 8 p.
3.Great Britain 36 p. 4. Russia 17 p.
Chris Harris 11 p. Grigory Laguta 12 p.
Scott Nicholls 9 p. Denis Gizatulin 3 p.
Tai Woffinden 9 p. Renat Gafurov 1 p.
Lee Richardson 4 p. Danil Ivanov 1 p.
Edward Kennett 3 p. Sergey Darkin 0 p.
July 9. 2008, SWC Final
1. Denmark 49 p. 2. Poland 46 p.
Nicki Pedersen 11 p. Tomasz Gollop 14 p.
Bjarne Pedersen 11 p. Wieslav Jagus 12 p.
Hans Andersen 11 p. Jaroslaw Hampel 11 p.
Niels Kr. Iversen 7 p. Rune Holta 5 p.
Kenneth Bjerre 9 p. Grzegorz Walasek 4 p.
3. Sweden 39 p. 4. Australia 21 p.
Fredrik Lindgren 16 p. Leigh Adams 6 p.
Jonas Davidsson 10 p. Ryan Sullivan 5 p.
Andreas Jonsson 9 p. Chris Holder 4 p.
Peter Ljung 4 p. Jason Crump 3 p.
Daniel Nermark 0 p. Davey Watt 3 p.
May 22. 2009, Danish Speedway Championship final, 1. leg:
1. Kenneth Bjerre 14+3 p.
2. Nicki Pedersen 14+2 p.
3. Morten Risager 14+1 p.
Toms Goldbar.
Date Year Initial heats Nat: Point Final winner Nat:
27/5 1981 Erik Gundersen DK Erik Gundersen DK
30/4 1982 Erik Gundersen DK 15 Erik Gundersen DK
13/5 1983 Erik Gundersen DK 13 Hans Nielsen DK
13/5 1984 2 semifinals Hans Nielsen DK
26/4 1985 Hans Nielsen DK 15 Tommy Knudsen DK
2/5 1986 Jan O. Pedersen DK Erik Gundersen DK
29/5 1987 Erik Gundersen DK 14
3/6 1988 Hans Nielsen DK
8/9 1989 Hans Nielsen DK 15 Erik Gundersen DK
4/5 1990 Jimmy Nilsen S 14 Jan O. Pedersen DK
3/5 1991 Jan O. Pedersen DK 14
1/5 1992 Hans Nielsen DK 14 Jan O. Pedersen DK
14/5 1993 Tommy Knudsen DK 13 Per Jonsson S
27/5 1994 Tommy Knudsen DK 13
12/5 1995 Sam Ermolenko USA 15 Billy Hamill USA
3/5 1996 Hans Nielsen DK 13 Tony Rickardsson S
2/5 1997 Jimmy Nilsen S 13 Tony Rickardsson S
8/5 1998 Tomasz Gollop PL 13 Tomasz Gollop PL
14/5 1999 Tomasz Gollop PL 13 Tomasz Gollop PL
12/5 2000 Leigh Adams AUS 13 Rune Holta N
See & Hear:
Date Year Winner Nat: Point Final winner Nat:
11/9 1981 Ole Olsen DK 12+3 Tommy Knudsen DK
10/9 1982 Hans Nielsen DK 15 Erik Gundersen DK
9/9 1983 Hans Nielsen DK 15 Kenny Carter GB
7/9 1984 Simon Wigg GB 13 Hans Nielsen DK
6/9 1985 Hans Nielsen DK 15 Hans Nielsen DK
5/9 1986 Hans Nielsen DK 15 Hans Nielsen DK
11/9 1987 Hans Nielsen DK 15 Hans Nielsen DK
30/9 1988 Kelvin Tatum GB 14 Hans Nielsen DK
8/9 1989 Hans Nielsen DK 15 Erik Gundersen DK
7/9 1990 Hans Nielsen DK 15 Kelvin Tatum GB
11/10 1991 Hans Nielsen DK 15 No final
4/9 1992 Knock out heats Tommy Knudsen DK
3/9 1993 Sam Ermolenko USA 13 No final
16/9 1994 Sam Ermolenko USA 11+3 No final
6/10 1995 Hans Nielsen DK 15 No final
11/10 1996 Billy Hamill USA 12+3 No final
10/10 1997 Greg Hancock USA (6) Abandoned after heat 9.
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