Munkebo Speedway Club is 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 ...

club from

Munkebo Munkebo is a town in central Denmark, located in Kerteminde Municipality in the Region of Southern Denmark on the island of Funen. It was also the site of the municipal council of the abolished Munkebo Municipality. The town had a population of 5 ...

in Denmark. They were champions of Denmark, having won the title in

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Track

The track called the Munkebo Speedway Center is located on the western outskirts of Munkebo, on Garbækstoften 20.

History

1975 to 1984

Munkebo Motor Sport was founded on 1 December 1975 and a few months later they opened a 196-metre mini speedway track (50cc and 80cc), near the Lindø Shipyard. The first meeting held there was the 50cc Danish Moped Speedway Championship on 14 August 1976. A 500cc team was created despite the fact that Munkebo did not have a 500cc track. The team called the Svanerne (the Swans) raced in the Danish tournament, which was the league system in Denmark at the time. However, with no home venue they leased the tracks at

Fjelsted Fjelsted is a town located on the island of Funen in south Denmark, in Middelfart Municipality. Fjelsted is located next to the Funen Motorway three kilometers south of Harndrup, 20 kilometers east of Middelfart and 28 kilometers west of Odense. ...

and

Holsted Holsted is a railway town located in the Vejen Municipality, in the Region of Southern Denmark. It was previously the seat of the Holsted Municipality. Transport Holsted is served by Holsted station, located on the Lunderskov-Esbjerg railway ...

. Plans to build a 500cc track had first been explored as early as 1978 but countless issues (from funding to noise objections) had been encountered. Finally in 1984, work started on construction adjacent to the existing mini speedway set up.

1985 to 2012

The track opened on 11 May 1985, one year before the creation of the professional

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: ...

or Superliga. In 1988, Munkebo Motor Sport became Munkebo Speedway Club (MSC) and the team continued to compete in the divisions below the Super League. The club gradually grew, built a new clubhouse and hosted the

Danish Individual Speedway Championship Individual Speedway Danish Championship is the National competition for Danish speedway riders to determine the champion of Denmark. The event was first held in 1947. From 1947 to 1951 there was no definitive difference between the short track and ...

. They continued to race in the lower leagues for over two decades, by which time the track required major renovation. In 2011, funds were secured and in 2012, the track length was extended to 300 metres to meet international regulations. The 2012 season ended with the team winning division 1 and gaining a place in the Super League for the first time in their history.

2013 to present

The team lined up for 2013 season and finished in 7th place. The following season in

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they reached the super final, scoring 34 points and finishing the season as runners up behind Holsted. The super final team consisted of

Maksims Bogdanovs Maksims Bogdanovs (born January 2, 1989''Świat Żużla'', No 1 (73) / 2008, pages 44-45, ) is a Latvian motorcycle speedway rider, since 2007 participating in Speedway Grand Prix of Latvia competitions. Speedway Grand Prix results Ho ...

, Hans Andersen, Mathias Thörnblom,

Kasper Lykke Nielsen Kasper may refer to: * Kasper (surname), a list of people with the surname * Kasper (given name), a list of people with the given name * Käsper (surname), an Estonian surname * Kasper (singer), Korean rapper * Kasperle or Kasper, a traditional pup ...

and Jesper Scharff. The club's greatest achievement came in

when the team won the league title. Andersen and Scharff were joined by Anders Thomsen,

Timo Lahti Timo Lahti (born 16 July 1992) is a speedway rider from Finland. Career Lahti started his British career riding for the Eastbourne Eagles in 2011. He became the national champion of Finland after winning the Finnish Individual Speedway Champion ...

and Witalij Biełousow in the Super Final. After the 2017 season they dropped out of the Super League partly due to the Kerteminde Municipality issuing a noise abatement order. However, they continue to race in the lower divisions.

Notable riders

* * *

References

{{Danish speedway teams Speedway teams in Denmark Speedway in Denmark