Jan Jakobsen (12 May 1965 – 23 August 2020) was a

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 from Denmark.

Career

Jakobsen came to prominence after winning the

Danish Under 21 Individual Speedway Championship The Danish Under 21 Individual Speedway Championship is a competition for riders who are under the age of 21, holding a Danish passport and a valid DMU licence. The competition was first staged in 1960 and was won by Jorgen Hoffman. Although there w ...

in 1984. He reached the final of the Under-21 World Championship in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. Also in 1986, he won the

Danish Speedway League The Danish Speedway League ( da, Dansk Speedway Liga) or Danish Super League or Metal League as it is called today is the top division of motorcycle speedway in Denmark. Roll of Honour List of teams to have finished in medal-winning positions: ...

with

Fjelsted Speedway Klub Fjelsted Speedway Klub or Team Fjelsted is a speedway club from the village of Fjelsted near Harndrup in Denmark, who compete in the Danish Speedway League. History A mini speedway track was built in the spring of 1971 in an old apple garden, b ...

. He started racing in the British leagues during the

1987 British League season The 1987 British League season was the 53rd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 23rd known as the British League. Summary Coventry Bees comfortably won the league finishing 16 points clear of Cradley Heath. The same f ...

, when riding for the

Cradley Heathens Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National L ...

as a replacement for

Alan Grahame Alan William Grahame (5 February 1954 – 3 October 2021) was a British motorcycle speedway rider. Career Grahame was born at Kingstanding, Birmingham, in February 1954. He finished runner-up to his brother Andy Grahame in the 1982 British Sp ...

. He won another Danish Speedway League title with Fjelsted in 1992. He was also a successful team manager but died in 2020.

Personal life

His son

Frederik Jakobsen Frederik Jakobsen (born 1 May 1998) is a speedway rider from Denmark. Career In 2018, Jakobsen rode in the top tier of British Speedway, riding for the Poole Pirates in the SGB Premiership 2018. He was a finalist in the 2018 and 2019 Individual ...

is a speedway rider.

References

1965 births 2020 deaths Danish speedway riders Cradley Heathens riders Danish expatriate speedway riders in England {{Denmark-speedway-bio-stub