Ove Fundin 5 Times World Speedway Champion
Now that Jim Blanchard has started renewing and even renaming this website, I guess its time for me to write a new news letter.
The old one has been here for too long! By the way, you will now find the website under the new name 'www.ovefundin.com'
As it is a site directed mainly speedway lovers, I better start about speedway.
Most of the interest in speedway, these days is on the Grand Prix's and it's also the meetings I follow, sad to say, most on tv.
It now looks like the dominance of Jason Crump and Nicki Pedersen is over, but even so the new and young riders are finding it hard....
The current GP leader, Tomasz Gollob has been in the series longer than anyone and he is no youngster.
Whatever happens I, for one, would love to see Tomasz as World Champion, he is the most exciting rider to watch, but I don't like to see him 'give up' as
he often does.
Talking about the young riders, and some of the older, I find that they very often say 'I couldn't get the right set up for my bike' or 'the track was too
slick', or some other excuse. I think it has more to do with the attitude of the rider himself.
Anyway, the GP's are getting better and better and I much enjoy to watch the racing.
Regarding the league racing, in The UK, Poland and Sweden, I still think that too many of the riders are too greedy, asking for money that just isn't
there. In the long run it will hurt our sport. Also. I don't like the way lots of riders try to dictate speedway by refusing to do meetings they don't like,
or even talk about boycotting some meetings. The latest, over the new silencer the F I M wants to introduce..... some riders and engine turners have
no problem with this new silencer and if lower noise could bring back tracks located in cities it would be good news.
My own riding, these days, is on the roads: I've just bought myself a new BMW 800GS, still got my BMW 1200GS, but it feels a bit to heavier than the
smaller bike, so I prefer the 800. I have, so far this year, not done any long trip, mind
you, I've been up to my hometown Tranas in Sweden, it's 1500 miles each way and I guess most people would call that a long journey.
I am dreaming about a ride to Dakar, Senegal, not to race in the rally, just doing the trip as a tourist: We will see....
Next week Ioana and I are off to Romania, Moldova and Ukrain by car. We, as many of you know, have a house in Bucharest and travel there a few times every
year, but not often by road. It's the same distance as to Tranas. In Moldova we will see our good friends Igor and Nataly Kalashnik, Igor is probably the
No 1 speedway supporter from eastern Europe.
I close now with hope that all of you, dear readers, will enjoy a wonderful summer with lots of exciting speedway.
Sincerely
Ove and Ioana
Newsletter October 2010
Dear Readers
First of all congratulations to Tomasz Gollob on a splendid speedway season and of course for winning the title he have been fighting for such a
long time. I have been keeping my fingers crossed, for him, not only this year, but also before. Tomasz has had to wait a long time to be World
Champion. I know he is 39, but you never know what he will do next year. I think everybody, inclusive fellow riders, agrees that he is a worthy Champ.
Sadly Gollob's World Champion coronation in his hometown Bydgoszcz was a bit of an anticlimax as Tomasz was injured and could not compete.
And what happened to Jason Crump and Jaroslaw Hampel ? they were both great disappointment, it looked like none of them wanted to fight for the silver
medal, or did they think that if they couldn't have the gold , then it didn't matter, silver or bronze.......
But at the same time, I would also like to congratulate Jason Crump for equalling my record of 10 straight years of a top three placing in the World
Speedway Championship, and I am sure he will go on to break that record and make it 11 next year, and then ?
Nice to see Britain's Chris Harris riding so well end of this season that he qualified for next years GP series, I would not have liked to see him get
another "free ticket" again. As far as I know, he has had that the last five years. It is now with excitement I wait to learn the names of the lucky
riders to be seeded for next years GP's. As you might have understood of my earlier writings, I do not agree with the system of seeded riders,
in my days not even the defending Champ was seeded, everyone had to qualify. As it is today I would love to know how it's decided, is it only done for
the GP's business side.?...
Please let the riders that deserve to be in the competition be there!
Looking at Swedish riders today I think Freddie Lindgren stands a good chance of doing well next coming years and I am sure he will do a lot better than
this year. Jonas Davidson and Tomas H Jonasson are two young Swedish riders to look out for the coming years, they are not in the GP's yet, but be sure
, will be in the near future.
It is with great sadness I will be missing two speedway riders that have meant a lot to me.
Torbjorn Harrysson passed away, only 67 years old in August. Tobbe was a fine little rider, he raced in several World finals, he was the best Swedish
rider in the 1966 years final in Gothenburg finishing in 5th place. In the first ever World Championship Best Pair, Tobbe together with me, won the gold.
I will always remember you and your charming smile my dear friend.
Phil Clarke, the man that took care of me when I first came to Norwich left us this month of October. I lived with Philip and his wife Margret in their
home like a family member. At that time, when I did not speak much English, was at times homesick and had the problems of any young man, Philip was always
there for me. As my father died before my speedway career, Phil became something of a father figure for me. Phil was not only one of the best English
riders of his time, he was also one of the best frame maker, one of his frames was used by Peter Craven among many other riders.
Thank you dear Philip, I will never forget you.
Sorry, Norwich speedway friends, that I can not be with you for this years Speedway dinner. I know Pam and Trevor Hedge will, as always, offer you all a real treat and I will miss not being there. The reason is that it collides with the Swedish Annual Speedway Dinner that I have not attended for a few years, so it is time I show up. While in Stockholm Ioana and I will take a trip to Tallinn, Estonia, staying a couple of days to look around that beautiful city. When we get back to France it will only be to repack our bags for a journey to Kenya, my son Niclas together with two friends have a safari lodge not far from Nairobi and we are invited for a couple of weeks. Christmas and New Year will see us in Romania as so many times before.
Talking about the coming holidays I would like to wish you all the best for Christmas and a very Happy New Year
As always, yours,
Ove and Ioana
Newsletter Match 2011
Hello dear friends,
As I have noticed that the interest in this web site is no longer what it used to be, I have, more or less, decided to stop writing my "newsletter". Still I will try once more.
Over the years I have received a lot of contacts thanks for the website, and made quite a lot of friends. Recently I had a mail from a distant relative in the U S, a family I had never heard of. It turned out that they had lots of photos from my grand parents and of my father and his brothers, even I and my brother and sister was among the pictures. It was just fantastic…
.
Ioana and I went to the WSRA dinner in Leicester March 5, we had a most enjoyable week end. The day before the dinner we played golf at John Harrhy´s West Midland Golf Club, I did not do as good as I have been doing in earlier years, but it was fun.
At the dinner we shared table with no less then four writers of speedway books, John Chaplin, Mike Kemp, Philip Dalling and Franci Tomazic. Guess what most of the conversation was about...As always it was nice to see so many old friends and extra good to see a couple of our younger World Champs, Sam Ermolenko and Mark Loram.
A few weeks ago I received a letter from Prof. Franz Renisch, "the speedway papst" from Vienna. Prof. Renisch used to run all speedway in Austria, from early 50´s until he retiered mid 70´s. Lots of riders of the days will remember racing at the Prater stadium in the middle of Vienna, and many other nice stadiums all around Austria. Seven years ago, the Prof. celebrated his 90th birthday, Ioana and I promised to attend his 100th, now he wanted to remind us of his invitation. He also wanted to pass on his greetings to his many speedway friends around the globe.
Here in Europe, the gates are going up for a new season of, let us hope good speedway.. Today speedway is in a very specific situation, much for the financial chaos. Worst is the mess British speedway finds itself in, the country that always was the capital of speedway, the country where every rider wanted to race. I remember how happy I was when I first got the chance. Now look at the trouble between BSPA and Coventry and Peterborough... and not least for all the changes and new rulings...
Regarding the Grand Prix, I still think that the traditional World Championship with qualifying rounds was more exciting and much more fair, I can not agree with the fact that a rider with the most points can be beaten by the fourth best rider in the final race....
We have heard a lot about the new silencers, some riders even wants to go on strike...there is talk about it being dangerous...it takes a lot of power...on a drippy track it will be a problem to control the bike...I think it is a lot of nonsense.
If the G.p´s are to keep running, as I am sure they are, and be successful, I think the best thing would be to back away from league speedway and race just like Formula one car racing....
In any case I hope I can see a few meetings this year, for sure the World Team Cup. It would be nice to see some of you there.
It was very sad to learn about the passing off my good friend Bill Smith, Obe " the voice of Norwich speedway", and Ian Thomas. Ian was "the showman promotor of British speedway", he and the late Johnny Hoskins gave speedway, not only good racing, they put glamour and extra attractions to the sport. Speedway will miss these two great men.
Enjoy your speedway wherever ever you are and take care.
Ove and Ioana