Jens Rasmussen (born 26 May 1959 in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, Denmark) is a former

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

rider from Denmark. He earned 17 caps for the

Denmark national speedway team The Denmark national speedway team are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway. History It was not until the emergence of rider Ole Olsen (speedway rider), Ole Olsen that the Danish speedway team came to prominence. Previo ...

Career summary

He started his United Kingdom career in the

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a British League Division Two, second division starting i ...

with the

Hackney Hawks Hackney Speedway opened in 1935 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London, and operated until 1996. The team raced under various names, known as Hackney Wick Wolves, Hackney Hawks, Hackney Kestrels and London Lions. History Origins & 1 ...

in 1981 and rode with them until the end of the 1983 season when the Hawks closed. He started practice runs around

Oxford Stadium Oxford Stadium is a Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing and Motorcycle speedway, speedway venue in Oxford, located in Sandy Lane, Cowley, Oxford, Cowley. As of 2024, Greyhound races are held on Monday, Friday and Saturday ...

before he was officially signed by 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 ...

for the

1984 British League season The 1984 British League season was the 50th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 20th known as the British League. Team changes Three teams dropped out and four teams replaced them. Midland's clubs Birmin ...

. The Oxford team had returned to the

and the other signings to start as the top five riders for the season were Hans Nielsen for a record £30,000,

Simon Wigg Simon Antony Wigg (15 October 1960 – 15 November 2000) was an English speedway, grasstrack and longtrack rider. He won five World Long Track Championships and finished runner-up in the Speedway World Championship in 1989.Rogers, G.(2005 ...

for £25,000,

Marvyn Cox Marvyn Cox (born 11 July 1964 in Whitstable, Kent) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Cox was twice a winner of the German Individual Championship in 1993 and 1995, when he raced under a German licence. At retirement, he had earned 25 inter ...

for £15,000 and Melvyn Taylor for £12,000, with Ian Clark and Nigel Sparshott at 6 & 7. After a mid table finish in 1984 he was part of the Oxford team that won the league and cup double during a 1985 British League season. He moved to and rode for

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30 ...

in 1986, breakng his collarbone early in the season. He continued to ride for Ipswich in 1987. Then in 1988 the

Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a motorcycle speedway, speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Origins & 1930s Rye House began life in 1934, host ...

announced they wished to use him in the National League. After much debate he was allowed to race due to the fact he had already been living in the United Kingdom for the previous five years and that he had an English wife and child. The move made history when he signed for the Rye House Rockets in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

because he was the first non-

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

rider to be allowed to ride at that level. After Rye House he rode for

Middlesbrough Bears The Middlesbrough Bears were a British speedway team which operated under various names from 1929 until their closure in 1996. History Origins and 1920s Speedway arrived in Middlesbrough during 1928 when an attendance of 15,000 turned up f ...

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 ...

and

Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Peterborough, England from 1970 to 2023. They were three times List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest lev ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Jens 1959 births Living people Danish speedway riders Hackney Hawks riders Rye House Rockets riders Peterborough Panthers riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Ipswich Witches riders Danish expatriate speedway riders in England Sportspeople from Odense Motorcycle races from the Region of Southern Denmark