Lars Gunnestad
Norwegian speedway rider (born 1971)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lars Gunnestad (born 18 February 1971)[1] is a former Norwegian international motorcycle speedway rider.[2] He won the Individual Speedway Norwegian Championship a record ten times and earned 22 caps for the Norway national speedway team.[3]
Drammen, Norway
| |
| Born | 18 February 1971 Drammen, Norway |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Career history | |
| Great Britain | |
| 1991 | Sheffield Tigers |
| 1993–1998, 2000–2002 | Poole Pirates |
| Poland | |
| 1991–1992 | Zielona Góra |
| 1993 | Bydgoszcz |
| 2000–2001 | Rybnik |
| 2003 | Ostrów |
| Norway | |
| 1991, 1999 | NMK Drammen |
| Sweden | |
| 1987 | Piraterna |
| 1988–2004 | Indianerna |
| 2005 | Valsarna |
| Individual honours | |
| 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 | Norwegian Champion |
| Team honours | |
| 1990, 1991 | Elitserien Champion |
| 1994 | British League Champion |
| 2002 | Craven Shield Winner |
Career
Gunnestad was born on 18 February 1971 in Drammen, Norway. He first came to prominence in 1988, when he won his first Norwegian title at the age of 17. His first British club was Sheffield in 1991,[4] who competed in the British League Division Two. Gunnestad missed the British speedway season in 1992 despite signing for Poole Pirates, but returned in 1993 to compete in the British League for Poole Pirates,[5] with whom he would spend this rest of his British career.
Gunnestad became a popular rider at Poole and eventually received a testimonial meeting there in 2001.[6] He appeared in five Speedway Grand Prix meetings as a wild card.
Speedway Grand Prix results
| permanent speedway rider | |
| wild card, track reserve or qualified reserve | |
| rider not classified (track reserve who did not start) |
World Longtrack Championship
- 1994 Semi-final
- 1995 Semi-final
- 1996 -
Herxheim (18th) 3pts
Personal life
His sons, Lars Daniel Gunnestad and Thomas Gunnestad, were both speedway riders.[7] Lars Daniel won the 2011 Norwegian Championship and Thomas won the 2012 Norwegian Championship.[8]