John Rickard Hellsén also known as Richard Hellsen (during his speedway career) is a former international motor speedway rider from Sweden.

Career

Hellsen began his career with Stjärnorna during the 1972 Swedish speedway season. The following year he made his British leagues debut riding with the

King's Lynn Stars King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when Kin ...

in the 1973 British League season, although he only rode 4 times that season. During the 1973 season he won the silver medal at the Swedish Junior Speedway Championship. He was a three-time gold medalist in the Swedish Pairs Championship (1979, 1981, 1982) and a five-time gold medalist in the Swedish Speedway Team Championship, in 1974, 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1982 (all whilst riding with Getingarna). Meanwhile in Britain, it was with

Oxford Rebels 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 ...

that he was part of the Midland Cup winning team in 1975. The team transferred to White City under

Danny Dunton Dennis Clifford "Danny" Dunton (13 May 1924 – 2 January 2015) was an English international motorcycle speedway rider and promoter who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1950, achieving 12th place with 5 points. As well as ...

and Robert Dugard in 1976 after fears that the stadium at Cowley was to be sold for development. He then became a regular heat leader with King's Lynn, for ten years from 1976 to 1985. He was a finalist of the

1980 Speedway World Pairs Championship The 1980 Speedway World Pairs Championship was the eleventh FIM Speedway World Pairs Championship. The final took place at the Matija Gubec Stadium in Krsko, Yugoslavia. The championship was won by England (29 points) who beat Poland (22 point ...

, in Krško and finished just outside the medals in fourth place. He was also a multiple representative of Sweden in the qualifying rounds of the World Cup team.

Personal life

He retired in 1996 and since retiring has been restoring Volkswagen Beetles, building hot rods and Volkrods. Lives in Beccles, Suffolk, and has two grandsons: Jack aged 4 and Ezra who is just 1 year old.(2016) ource:Interview with Karl Fiala of Speedway Friends

World Final Appearances

World Pairs Championship

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

- Krsko,

Matija Gubec Stadium Matija Gubec Stadium ( sl, Stadion Matije Gubca) is a multi-purpose stadium in Krško, Slovenia. The stadium was built in 1946 and has a capacity of 1,470 seats. It is currently used mostly for football matches and also hosts motorcycle speed ...

(with Jan Andersson) - 4th - 18pts (9)

References

External links

* http://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/1347/richard-hellsen {{DEFAULTSORT:Hellsen, Richard 1951 births Living people Swedish speedway riders Hackney Hawks riders King's Lynn Stars riders Swedish expatriate speedway riders in England Long Eaton Invaders riders Milton Keynes Knights riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Peterborough Panthers riders Swindon Robins riders White City Rebels riders Sportspeople from Stockholm