ROYAL HONOUR FOR SWEDISH SPEEDWAY KING RICKARDSSON

Six-time FIM Speedway world champion Tony Rickardsson was honoured by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf for merits in Swedish sport on Tuesday.

Rickardsson – an FIM Speedway global ambassador – declared it a “royal good day” as he received the 5th size medal with a high blue ribbon on Princess Sibylla's floor of the Royal Palace in Stockholm in recognition of one of speedway’s greatest careers.

After winning the last-ever FIM Speedway World Final at Danish track Vojens in 1994, Rickardsson went on to claim five more Speedway GP World Championships in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2005.

The last of those championship-winning seasons saw Rickardsson rack up six Speedway GP wins from a possible nine – a record total that still stands to this day. He also registered 196 championship points – a tally matched only by Danish icon Nicki Pedersen from 11 rounds in 2007.

The great man tallied 20 Speedway GP wins from 52 finals. He also won 215 heats, and he scored 1,401 championship points from 84 Speedway GP rounds.

Rickardsson well and truly took speedway into Sweden’s sporting mainstream and was honoured with the Jerring Award in 2005 – the nation’s equivalent of Britain’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

His huge contribution to the sport continues. He has served as FIM Speedway global ambassador since Warner Bros. Discovery Sports became global promoter of the World Championships in 2022.

Rickardsson also played a leading role in launching the brand-new FIM Speedway Youth World Cup SGP4 class for riders aged 11-13, designing the 190cc SGP4 youth bike to train the next generation of young riders.

Everyone involved in FIM Speedway congratulates Tony on a well-deserved honour.