Gislaved Motorbana

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Gislaved Motorbana
LocationReftelevägen 61, 332 36 Gislaved, Sweden
Coordinates57°16′49″N 13°32′54″E / 57.28028°N 13.54833°E / 57.28028; 13.54833
Capacity10,000
OperatorLejonen motorcycle speedway
Opened10 July 1932
Length(368 metres) 0.368 km

Gislaved Motorbana or the OnePartnerGroup Arena (for sponsorship purposes) is a motorcycle speedway track in the southern outskirts of Gislaved. The track is located on the Reftelevägen 61 and surrounded by the Skogsmusen Solpark (a forest and hiking area).[1][2][3]

The stadium hosts the Lejonen speedway team that compete in the Swedish Speedway Team Championship[4] and have been champions of Sweden on two occasions.[5]

History[edit]

The track was constructed in 1931 and opened on 10 July 1932, it is the oldest speedway tack in Sweden. Four years later in 1936, the track width was increased from 6 metres to 10 metres.[6] The record attendance of 12,247 was set on 10 August 1947.

The speedway track hosted the Nordic Speedway Final in 1961.[7][8] During the 1980s, the track increased in size to 380 metres.[6] and hosted the Scandinavian round of the 1983 Speedway World Team Cup.

In 2007, the track decreased in size to 374 metres and one year later in 2008, the stadium became known as the Axelent Arena (for sponsorship purposes)[6] It later became the OnePartnerGroup Arena (also for sponsorship purposes).

In 2017, the track was changed to 368 metres and on 8 July 2021, Robert Lambert set a new track record of 62.5 seconds for the 368m distance.[6]

Most recently in 2023, the stadium hosted the 2024 World Championship qualifying final, known as the 2024 Grand Prix Challenge.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Speed, excitement and drama". Visit Isabergs Regionen. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  2. ^ "OnePartnerGroup Arena Gislaved". Zuzelend. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  3. ^ "GISLAVED / LEJONEN - Sweden". Speedway Plus. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Speedway Around The Globe - Sweden". Speedway Star page 38-39. 23 July 2022.
  5. ^ "About the Club - Club History". Lejonen Speedway. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "Arena". Lejonen Speedway. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  7. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  8. ^ "1961 Swedish speedway season". Speedway.org. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Żużel. Znamy organizatora GP Challenge 2024! Zawody odbędą się w szwedzkim Gislaved". Pro Bandzie. Retrieved 27 November 2023.