This article is about Swedish speedway rider. For Swedish singer, songwriter, guitar player and author Per Jonsson, see Plura Jonsson. For Swedish athlete Per Jonsson, see Per Jonsson (athletics).
Swedish speedway rider
Per Jonsson
Per Jonsson in February 2013
Born
(1966-03-21) 21 March 1966 (age 58) Stockholm, Sweden
He became the Swedish Champion for the first time in 1986 and the following season won it again before making his first appearance in a World Final, in the 1987 Individual Speedway World Championship, held at Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium. The final was held over two days and the 22-year-old finished 5th on both days and was classed as 5th overall. He was now considered one of the leading riders in the world.[8]
In 1988, he had a remarkable season, moving to Bysarna from Getingarna during the 1988 Swedish speedway season, where he won a third consecutive individual Swedish title and won the league with the club. Additiony, in Europe he won the Golden Helmet of Pardubice, the Golden Bar and Golden Gala events. He qualified for the 1988 World Final at Vojens, Denmark and equalled his 1987 result by finishing in 5th place and won a bronze medal at the 1988 Speedway World Team Cup.
He achieved the ultimate aim of all riders by winning the 1990 World Championship at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford, England,[9] becoming Sweden's first Speedway World Champion since Anders Michanek. He made his third World Final by qualifying finishing 2nd in both the Scandinavian and Intercontinental Finals. He also returned to Reading Racers, winning both the 1990 British League Championship and the British League Knockout Cup. Following this, Jonsson captained the Swedish team on a short tour of Australia in January 1991, the first time since 1971/72 that a Swedish speedway team had toured down under. Sweden, whose lineup was Jonsson, Henrik Gustafsson, Jimmy Nilsen, Tony Rickardsson, Conny Ivarsson, Erik Stenlund and Peter Nahlin defeated the Phil Crump captained Australia (who fielded 14 riders over the series) 3–2 in the five match series with Jonsson topping the averages for both teams with 16.4 per test. The Swede's proved a popular draw card in Australia.[10]
The elusive World Cup victory continued in 1992, when he won silver again at the 1992 Speedway World Team Cup. His 1992 Individual Speedway World Championship got off to a bad start in Wrocław, Poland, when he failed to score in his first ride. He then came back to win three of his last four rides to finish in a clear 2nd place behind England's Gary Havelock. In the world pairs, he finished third with Gustafsson and Rickardsson in Lonigo, Italy.
His career was cut short when a crash during a league meeting in Poland in 1994 left him using a wheelchair for the rest of his life. In recognition of his contribution to the city of Toruń, in April 2010 one of the streets was named after him.
1986 – Göteborg, Ullevi, Vojens, Speedway Center and Bradford, Odsal Stadium (with Jan Andersson / Jimmy Nilsen / Tommy Nilsson / Erik Stenlund / Tony Olsson) – 4th – 73pts (21)
