Henrik Anders (Henka) Gustafsson (born 14 August 1970) is a Swedish former

Motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

rider. He won the 1993 World Pairs Championship with

Tony Rickardsson Jan Tony Sören Rickardsson (born on 17 August 1970) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1989 to 2006 and won six Speedway World Championship titles in 15 attempts. ...

and the

Speedway World Team Cup The Speedway World Team Cup was an annual motorcycle speedway, speedway event held each year in different countries. The competition started in 1960 and was replaced with the Speedway World Cup in 2001. Format From 1960 until 1985, each team c ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. He earned 50 caps for the

Sweden national speedway team The Sweden national speedway team are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway. History The Sweden speedway team has won the Speedway World Team Cup and Speedway World Cup on ten occasions and were a major force in the open ...

Career

Gustafsson, rode for

Indianerna Indianerna (the Indians) are a Swedish motorcycle speedway team based in Kumla, Sweden. The club's official name is Kumla MSK and it was founded in 1936 which makes the club one of the oldest motorsport clubs in Sweden. They are two times Swedi ...

in the Swedish Elite League starting in 1986. Gustafsson rode in the first of his four Speedway World Finals in 1990, despite failing to qualify for the 1990 World Final in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, England, he got a lucky break when he replaced the injured Dane Jan O. Pedersen. Supposed to be one who was "there for the experience" in his first World Final, Henka impressed many by finishing a surprise 6th in the final, winning two of his five rides. After his first 3 rides he was in equal first place with eventual winner and fellow Swede

Per Jonsson Per Christer Jonsson (born 21 March 1966 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship in 1990, and finished runner-up in 1992. He earned 65 international caps for the Sweden national speedway team a ...

and Australia's

Todd Wiltshire Todd Wiltshire (born 26 September 1968 in Bankstown, New South Wales) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider, who competed at the highest level of the sport, finishing a career best third in the 1990 Individual Speedway World Champi ...

. He first rode in Britain during a few matches for the 1990 season for the

King's Lynn Stars King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" was adopted from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 199 ...

before signing for the

1991 British League season The 1991 British League season was the 57th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 27th known as the British League. Summary Wolverhampton Wolves won the league for the first time in their history. The club which w ...

. He topped the King's Lynn averages in 1991 and 1992, establishing himself as one of the league's leading riders. In January 1991, Gustafsson toured Australia with the Swedish team alongside Per Jonsson,

Jimmy Nilsen Jimmy Oyvind Nilsen (born 16 November 1966) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. He earned 53 international caps for the Sweden national speedway team. Career Nilsen came to prominence in 1984, when he won the Swe ...

, Peter Nahlin, Erik Stenlund, Conny Ivarsson and Tony Rickardsson. The Swedes defeated the

Aussies Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, these connection ...

3-2 in a five match series. Gustafsson's first season riding in the Polish top division was 1992 with

KS Toruń KS Toruń, currently competing as PRES Grupa Deweloperska Toruń, is a Polish motorcycle speedway team from Toruń. The team currently competes in the Ekstraliga (the highest division) and have won the Team Speedway Polish Championship four tim ...

and then rode for

WTS Wrocław WTS is an acronym for: Arts and media * ''World Tour Soccer'' a console video game * WT Social, a social media platform founded 2019 * , a transport social network Military * War Training Service, 1942–1944, United States * William Tecums ...

in 1993, helping them to become Polish League champions. Gustafsson qualified for the 1992 World Final in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Poland where he improved to finish 5th, again winning two of his five rides and improved again in the 1993 World Final in Denmark, finishing 4th and winning 3 of his rides. In the 1994 World Final, the last before the

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first ...

series started in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, Gustafsson finished in 7th place winning only one of his rides. Also in 1994 Gustafsson signed for ZKŻ Zielona Góra in Poland and won the Swedish Pairs Championship. In Britain, after four years with King's Lynn he asked to be put on the transfer list and eventually joined

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 14 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wit ...

mid-way through the 1994 season. After the 1994 season, he then took a seven-year break from riding in the British leagues. Gustafsson won his first Speedway Swedish Individual Championship in 1995 and signed for

Polonia Bydgoszcz Polonia Bydgoszcz is a Polish sports club based in Bydgoszcz most known for its Motorcycle speedway, speedway team ŻKS Polonia Bydgoszcz which currently races in the Polish Speedway First League, 1. Liga. The club has won the Team Speedway Pol ...

in Poland, staying with them until 2001, again winning the Polish League in 1997, 1998 and 2000. He became champion of Sweden for the second time in 2000. Gustafsson would then ride in the speedway Grand Prix series as a regular rider from 1995 until

, finishing a best 5th overall in both

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. His best placings in one of the Grand Prix events was a 2nd in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1996 and a second as a Wild Card rider in the 2001 German GP. The 2002 season saw Gustafsson on the move again, returning to the British leagues with

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by l ...

for one season and leaving Bydgoszcz for

Wybrzeże Gdańsk Wybrzeże Gdańsk was a Polish multi-sports club based in Gdańsk, established in 1945, most known for its motorcycle speedway and handball teams. Club has closed in 2005, due to financial problems. Before 2006 speedway season was established ...

. the following season in 2003 was his last season in Poland with

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. He then returned for one last season in Britain with the

Oxford Cheetahs The Oxford Cheetahs are a British Motorcycle speedway, speedway teamLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964 Speed ...

in 2005, winning the

Craven Shield The Craven Shield and Young Shield were short-lived Motorcycle speedway, speedway end of season cup competitions in the United Kingdom governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association ...

while with Oxford.

Family

His son, Simon (born 25 May 1990) has followed in his father's footsteps and has also become a speedway rider, riding for the

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British motorcycle speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England. They were founded in 1929 and are two times champions of Britain in 1995 and 2000. The team last raced on 31 July 2021. Hist ...

in Britain and

Start Gniezno Start Gniezno is a Polish motorcycle speedway team based in Gniezno who currently race in 1. Liga. History 1958 to 1999 Speedway in Gniezno appeared during the inaugural 1948 Polish speedway season, a team called Unia Gniezno competed in the ...

in Poland.

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...

- 6th - 9pts *

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

- 5th - 9pts *

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Pocking Pocking (; ) is a town in the Passau (district), district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austria, Austrian border. History A Roman settlement was founded in the area of Poc ...

, Rottalstadion - 4th - 10pts *

Vojens Vojens () is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,424 (1 January 2025).Speedway Center - 7th - 9ptsBamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

World Pairs Championship

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, Olimpia Poznań Stadium (with

) - 2nd - 24pts (9) *

Lonigo Lonigo is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy, its population counts around 16,400 inhabitants. In its ''frazione'' of Bagnolo is the Villa Pisani (Bagnolo), Villa Pisani, a Renaissance patrician villa designed ...

, Pista Speedway (with Per Jonsson /

) - 3rd - 22pts (8) *

- Vojens, Speedway Center (with Tony Rickardsson / Per Jonsson) - Winner - 26pts (6)

World Team Cup

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, Veterans Memorial Stadium (with Conny Ivarsson /

Tony Olsson John Tony Olsson (born 13 March 1965 in Visby) is a Swedish former international motorcycle speedway rider. He was a member of the Swedish team that finished third in the 1988 and 1989 World Team Cup finals. He earned 26 caps for the Sweden ...

) - 3rd - 22pts (4) *

Vojens Vojens () is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,424 (1 January 2025).Speedway Center (with Tony Rickardsson /Per Jonsson / Jimmy Nilsen / Peter Nahlin) - 2nd - 30pts (7) *

Kumla Kumla is a locality and the seat of Kumla Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with a population of 21,640 as of 2018. Geography Kumla is situated roughly 15 kilometres south of neighbouring city Örebro, and is connected to its much larger nei ...

, Kumla Speedway (with Tony Rickardsson / Per Jonsson / Jimmy Nilsen / Peter Nahlin) - 2nd - 33pts (12) *

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

Brandon Stadium Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Saturd ...

(with Peter Karlsson / Per Jonsson / Tony Rickardsson / Peter Nahlin) - 3rd - 28pts (6) *

Brokstedt Brokstedt is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most ...

, Holsteinring Brokstedt (with Tony Rickardsson / Mikael Karlsson) - Winner - 23pts (11) *

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium Polonia may refer to: * Poland, in Latin Places * Polonia Maior or Greater Poland, a historical region of Poland * Polonia Minor or Lesser Poland, a historical region of Poland * Polonia, Manitoba, Canada * Polonia, Texas, United States * P ...

(with Tony Rickardsson / Peter Karlsson) - 4th - 19+2 pts (4) *

- Coventry, Brandon Stadium (with Tony Rickardsson / Mikael Karlsson / Peter Karlsson /

Niklas Klingberg Niklas Johan Borje Klingberg (born 6 February 1973) is a Swedish former motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 11 caps for the Sweden national speedway team. Career Klingberg was a member of Sweden team at Speedway World Cups. He was Swedish C ...

) - Winner - 40+3 pts (10)

Individual Under-21 World Championship

Slaný Slaný (; ) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 17,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...

Slaný Speedway Stadium Slaný Speedway Stadium () is a speedway track in Slaný, Czech Republic. The track is located on the Netovická road in the southeastern area of the town. The stadium hosts the speedway team AK Slaný. History The stadium was constructed ...

- 2nd - 11+3 pts *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Santa Marina Stadium The Santa Marina Stadium is a 5,000-capacity motorcycle stadium in the Lonigo, Italy. The stadium is situated in the southern part of Lonigo, which itself is 25km south of Vicenza. The stadium is affiliated to the Federazione Motociclistica Ita ...

- 4th - 11 pts

Speedway Grand Prix results

World Longtrack Championship

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

- Semi-final *

Pfarrkirchen Pfarrkirchen () is a municipality in southern Lower Bavaria Germany, the capital of the district Rottal-Inn. It has about 12,500 inhabitants and is an important school centre with about 10,000 pupils from all over Lower Bavaria. The town spre ...

11pts (7th) *

Mühldorf Mühldorf am Inn (, ; Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Mühldorf (district), district Mühldorf on the river Inn (river), Inn. It is located at , and had a population of ab ...

9pts (9th) *

Mariánské Lázně Mariánské Lázně (; ) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. Most of the town's buildings come from its Golden Era in the second half of the 19th century, when many c ...

9pts (9th) *

- Semi-final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustafsson, Henrik Anders 1970 births Living people Swedish speedway riders Speedway World Pairs Champions Polonia Bydgoszcz riders Belle Vue Aces riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Poole Pirates riders King's Lynn Stars riders Swedish expatriate speedway riders in England Expatriate speedway riders in Poland Swedish expatriates in Poland Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship riders Rospiggarna riders People from Hallsberg Municipality Sportspeople from Örebro County