Björn Knutson commonly spelt Knutsson (born 27 April 1938 in Sweden) is a 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 anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

rider who won the

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

in 1965 and was a four-time winner of the

World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...

. He gained the nickname 'The Crown Prince' for his speedway success.

Career

Knutson also won the

Speedway Swedish Individual Championship The Swedish Individual Championship is a competition for Swedish Speedway riders, held each year to determine the Swedish national champion. Previous winners Medals classification References Speedway competitions in Sweden Sweden { ...

in 1961 and 1963. He first rode in Great Britain after signing for

Southampton Saints Southampton Saints were a speedway team which operated from 1928 until its closure in 1963. Its track was located at Banister Court Stadium in Southampton, Hampshire. History Southampton was one of the founder members of the 1929 Speedway Sout ...

, during the

1959 Speedway National League The 1959 National League was the 25th season and the fourteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Summary With Ipswich Witches dropping down to the Southern Area League, only 9 teams competed with Wimbl ...

. He topped the team's averages in 1960 and became one of the league's leading riders during the period. He outscored his teammate

Barry Briggs Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former speedway rider. Career He won the World Individual Championship title four times – in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedwa ...

at Southampton in both 1962 and 1963 at a time, when Briggs was in the middle of winning his four world championships. He finished his British league career with

West Ham Hammers The West Ham Hammers were a speedway team, first promoted by Jimmy Baxter in 1929. History They operated from the West Ham Stadium until the outbreak of World War II under several different promotions, most successfully under the control o ...

, at the end of the

1964 Speedway National League The 1964 National League was the 30th season and the nineteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain, but the final season of the National League being the highest tier. Summary West Ham Hammers returned aft ...

season.

World Final Appearances

Individual World Championship

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

Malmö Stadion Malmö Stadion, often known simply as Stadion before the construction of the new Stadion between 2007 and 2009, is a multi-purpose stadium in Malmö, Sweden. As of 2015, it is the home of association football club IFK Malmö, presently of Div ...

- 2nd - 12pts + 3pts *

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

- 4th - 10pts + 2pts *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

- 2nd - 13pts *

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

- 5th - 10pts *

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

- Winner - 14pts *

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

- 10th - 5pts

World Team Cup

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

(with

Ove Fundin Ove Fundin (born 23 May 1933) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1951 to 1970. Fundin is notable for winning the Speedway World Champ ...

Rune Sörmander Rune Bertil Leopold Sörmander (1929-2020) was an international speedway rider from Sweden. Speedway career Sörmander was one of speedway's leading riders during the 1950s and 1960s, he was a three times champion of Sweden, winning the Swedi ...

Olle Nygren Harald Olof "Olle" Ingemar Nygren (11 November 1929 – 13 February 2021) was a Swedish speedway rider who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship five times. Nygren was Swedish Champion in 1949 and became Nordic Champion in 1960. ...

) - Winner - 44pts (9) *

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

(with

Per Tage Svensson Per Tage Svensson (born 16 October 1931) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. Speedway career Svensson reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1963 Individual Speedway World Championship. He rode ...

Soren Sjosten Soren may refer to: *Søren, a given name of Scandinavian origin, also spelled ''Sören'' *Suren (disambiguation), a Persian name also rendered as Soren * 3864 Søren, main belt asteroid *Sōren, also known as ''Chongryon'' and ''Zai-Nihon Chōsenj ...

) - 2nd - 30pts (7) *

Slaný Slaný (; german: Schlan) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administr ...

(with

Sören Sjösten Sören Willy Ernfrid Sjösten (born 12 December 1938, Krylbo, Sweden, died 1999) was a motorcycle speedway rider. He won the world pairs championship in 1974 with Anders Michanek and became world team champion three times representing Sweden, ...

Göte Nordin Göte Nordin (born 2 July 1935) is a former speedway rider from Sweden. Speedway career Nordin is a two times champion of Sweden, winning the Swedish Championship in 1965 and 1971. He reached the final of the Speedway World Championship on fo ...

) - Winner - 36pts (10) *

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Stadion Wien (with

Per Olof Söderman Per Olof Söderman (born 29 October 1932) is a former international speedway rider from Sweden. Speedway career Söderman reached the final of the Speedway World Championship on four occasions in the 1956 Individual Speedway World Championship ...

) - Winner - 37pts (11) *

Abensberg Abensberg () is a town in the Lower Bavarian district of Kelheim, in Bavaria, Germany, lying around southwest of Regensburg, east of Ingolstadt, northwest of Landshut and north of Munich. It is situated on the river Abens, a tributary of the ...

Abensberg Stadion Abensberg () is a town in the Lower Bavarian district of Kelheim, in Bavaria, Germany, lying around southwest of Regensburg, east of Ingolstadt, northwest of Landshut and north of Munich. It is situated on the river Abens, a tributary of the ...

(with

) - Winner - 34pts (11) *

Kempten Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest Town#Germany, town of Allgäu, in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by th ...

(with

Bengt Jansson Bengt Gustaf Jansson (born 9 January 1943 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former Swedish international speedway rider. "Banger" was runner up in the 1967 World Final to fellow countryman Ove Fundin after losing a race-off and finished third in 197 ...

) - 2nd - 33pts (11) *

(with

Leif Enecrona Leif Enecrona (born 5 March 1940 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship three times.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway C ...

/ Leif Larsson) - 3rd - 22pts (11)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knutson, Bjorn 1938 births Living people Swedish speedway riders Individual Speedway World Champions West Ham Hammers riders Southampton Saints riders