Lejonen

Lejonen (the Lions) is a motorcycle speedway club from Gislaved in Sweden, who compete in the Elitserien.[1] Their home track is at the OnePartnerGroup Arena which is Sweden's oldest track still in use.[2] The club are two times champions of Sweden.[3]

Lejonen
Club information
Track addressOnePartnerGroup Arena
Gislaved
Jönköping County
Sweden
CountrySweden
Founded1936
Team managerAnders Fröjd and Mikael Holmstrand
LeagueElitserien
WebsiteOfficial Website
Club facts
ColoursBlack, gold and red
NicknameLions
Track size380 metres
Track record time65.5 seconds
Track record date2008
Track record holderNicki Pedersen
Major team honours
Team champions2008, 2009

History

In December 1929 Gislaved Motorclub was formed and by 1931 the track was built. The track was originally 6 metres (20 ft) wide and 400 metres (440 yd) long but in 1936 it was widened to 10 metres (33 ft) and during the 1980s the inside edge of the track was moved and the length was reduced to 380 metres (1,250 ft). In 1963, Smålands Lejon began racing in Division Three, becoming Lejonen the following season in 1964.[4] They became the champions in 1965.[2] Lejonen finished at the top of Division Two (the Allsvenskan) in 2007 and defeated Valsarna in the play-off final to gain promotion to the Elitserien for 2008.[5]

During the winter of 2007-08 the track underwent major changes to accommodate Elitserien racing and the club announced the signing of Nicki Pedersen, the 2007 World Champion.[2][6]

The club became champions of Sweden for two successive years in 2008 and 2009 after they won the Swedish Speedway Team Championship.[3]

Smålänningarna and Team Dalej

Smålänningarna compete in the Allsvenskan and Team Dalej compete in the third tier (division 1), they are a collaboration between Dackarna and Lejonen allowing less senior riders the opportunity to race. The collaboration started in 2020 and the Smålänningarna name came from and old team that had riders from Småland.[7]

Season summary
Main article: History of motorcycle speedway in Sweden

Teams

2023 team

[8]

Previous teams

References
  1. "Speedway Around The Globe - Sweden". Speedway Star page 38-39. 23 July 2022.
  2. "Lejonen Speedway site" (in Swedish). Lejonen speedway. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  3. "HISTORICAL RESULTS 1948-2015". Speedway History. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  4. "1964". Speedway.org. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  5. "Swedish Leagues". Benfield Sports International. 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  6. "Nicki makes the switch". Benfield Sports International. 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  7. "Smålands team in Allsvenskt Speedway collaboration". Dackarna Speedway. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. "ZMARZLIK EXTENDS LEJONEN STAY AS GISLAVED CLUB BIDS FOR 2023 FIM GP CHALLENGE". FIM. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
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