Sport/Golden Helmet (Zlatá přilba)

Golden Helmet still attractive

Hladěna and Trnka were riders who started motorcycle speedway races in Pardubice on the grassy oval of the racecourse in the late 1920s. Soon after that, on 29th September 1929, the East Bohemian Automobile Club organised the first year of the Golden Helmet of the Czechoslovak Republic here (the name as well as the non-traditional trophy were also thought up by both aforementioned pioneers). Zdeněk Pohl won the first Golden Helmet with exclusively Czechoslovak participation, other years could register riders from other countries and winners were also often from abroad.

The Golden Helmet was organised each year until World War Two, and soon returned to the grassy oval after the war was over. František Hladěna, who lost his life due to his participation in resistance during the war, did not live to see it, however. The first post-war Golden Helmet in 1947 was seen by a record number of 130 thousand spectators enthusiastically applauding to Hugo Rosák, the Czechoslovak winner. In 1949 and 1951 two more meetings took place but after the communists took over control of the country the famous race slowly declined and later was not organised at all.

Fortunately in the early 1960s, ten years later, a group of local enthusiasts renewed the Golden Helmet and so three more meetings were ridden on grass with great interest shown by the general public in the period from 1961 to 1963. Unfortunately, three fatal accidents occurred during those races, which contributed to the decision to move the race to a typical speedway stadium in nearby Svítkov in the end.

Since 1964 the further history of the Golden Helmet has therefore been recorded on the oval in Svítkov every year; the race is ridden with the use of the unique eliminative system which is considered to be the most just in the world.

In 2008, the Golden Helmet enjoyed its 60th year and is therefore the oldest speedway race on the planet.

A unique exhibition mapping the history of the famous race with a great number of exhibits, first of all the most precious trophies – golden helmets, was opened in Kaňka’s hall in the East Bohemian Museum having its seat in Pardubice castle on the occasion of this jubilee year.

Ole Olsen from Denmark is the most successful Golden Helmet winner with seven victories; but riders from Australia and the USA also enjoyed the prestigious Pardubice trophy in addition to Europeans.

Gene Tella, who represented former Abyssinia, i.e. Ethiopia, in Pardubice during pre-war years, was probably the most exotic participant in the Golden Helmet.

Ivan Mauger and Barry Briggs, multiple world champions from New Zealand who used to come to Pardubice for more than 10 years, were the most unlucky Golden Helmet riders; neither ever managed to get hold of the longed-for trophy.

The most tragic Golden Helmet race was in 1961, when German rider Erich Stiegelmaier and local Libor Dušánek did not survive a collision during training. Ari Bastian Poldevaart from the Netherlands (1934), Jaroslav Němeček (1947), Antonín Vilde (1963) and – in the oval at Svítkov – Luboš Tomíček (1968) became other Golden Helmet victims. One Bohemian garnet in the shape of a blood drop is on the trophy – Golden Helmet – to commemorate each victim of the race.

Antonín Kasper is the only name under which two different Golden Helmet winners are hidden – the father won the last race on grass in 1963, the son was successful twenty-eight years later.

Tomáš Topinka became the last Czech winner of the Golden Helmet in 1996.

The list of winners

1. 29.09.1929 ZDENĚK POHL CZECHOSLOVAKIA
2. 31.08.1930 JOSEF ŠTRBAN YUGOSLAVIA
3. 06.09.1931 RUDI KLEIN GERMANY
4. 25.09.1932 HANS MAYER AUSTRIA
5. 01.10.1933 HANS BUTTLER GERMANY
6. 02.09.1934 GERIT VAN DIJK NETHERLANDS
7. 15.09.1935 HER. GUNZENHAUSER GERMANY
8. 27.09.1936 HER. GUNZENHAUSER GERMANY
9. 04.09.1938 FRANTIŠEK JUHAN CZECHOSLOVAKIA
10. 07.09.1947 HUGO ROSÁK CZECHOSLOVAKIA
11. 04.09.1949 FRITZ DIRTL AUSTRIA
12. 09.09.1951 JAN LUCÁK CZECHOSLOVAKIA
13. 20.08.1961 OLD. KLAUDINGER CZECHOSLOVAKIA
14. 16.09.1962 JOSEF SEIDL FRG
15. 15.09.1963 ANTONÍN KASPER CZECHOSLOVAKIA
16. 06.09.1964 IGOR PLECHANOV SOVIET UNION
17. 12.09.1965 FARIT ŠAJNUROV SOVIET UNION
18. 18.09.1966 IGOR PLECHANOV SOVIET UNION
19. 10.09.1967 OVE FUNDIN SWEDEN
20. 20.10.1968 LEIF ENECRONA SWEDEN
21. 05.10.1969 GENADIJ KURILENKO SOVIET UNION
22. 27.09.1970 OLE OLSEN DENMARK
23. 19.09.1971 OLE OLSEN DENMARK
24. 01.10.1972 OLE OLSEN DENMARK
25. 22.09.1973 MILAN ŠPINKA CZECHOSLOVAKIA
26. 22.09.1974 JIŘÍ ŠTANCL CZECHOSLOVAKIA
27. 05.10.1975 OLE OLSEN DENMARK
28. 03.10.1976 JIŘÍ ŠTANCL CZECHOSLOVAKIA
29. 02.10.1977 OLE OLSEN DENMARK
30. 01.10.1978 JIŘÍ ŠTANCL CZECHOSLOVAKIA
31. 30.09.1979 OLE OLSEN DENMARK
32. 28.09.1980 OLE OLSEN DENMARK
33. 27.09.1981 JIŘÍ ŠTANCL CZECHOSLOVAKIA
34. 26.09.1982 JIŘÍ ŠTANCL CZECHOSLOVAKIA
35. 25.09.1983 DENNIS SIGALOS USA
36. 23.09.1984 JOHN DAVIS GREAT BRITAIN
37. 22.09.1985 ERIK GUNDERSEN DENMARK
38. 21.09.1986 ERIK GUNDERSEN DENMARK
39. 27.09.1987 HANS NIELSEN DENMARK
40. 02.10.1988 PER JONSSON SWEDEN
41. 24.09.1989 JEREMY DONCASTER GREAT BRITAIN
42. 30.09.1990 JEREMY DONCASTER GREAT BRITAIN
43. 29.09.1991 ANTONÍN KASPER ml. CZECH FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC
44. 27.09.1992 TONY RICKARDSSON SWEDEN
45. 03.10.1993 TONY RICKARDSSON SWEDEN
46. 11.09.1994 SIMON WIGG GREAT BRITAIN
47. 04.09.1995 TONY RICKARDSSON SWEDEN
48. 29.09.1996 TOMÁŠ TOPINKA CZECH REPUBLIC
49. 05.10.1997 RYAN SULLIVAN AUSTRALIA
50. 04.10.1998 HANS NIELSEN DENMARK
51. 03.10.1999 LEIGH ADAMS AUSTRALIA
52. 15.10.2000 LEIGH ADAMS AUSTRALIA
53. 07.10.2001 LEIGH ADAMS AUSTRALIA
54. 06.10.2002 JASON CRUMP AUSTRALIA
55. 27.09.2004 RYAN SULLIVAN AUSTRALIA
56. 26.09.2004 LEIGH ADAMS AUSTRALIA
57. 02.10.2005 SCOTT NICHOLLS GREAT BRITAIN
58. 15.10.2006 JASON CRUMP AUSTRALIA
59. 07.10.2007 ANDREAS JONSSON SWEDEN
60. 5.10.2008 HANS ANDERSEN DENMARK