Zdeněk Kudrna Explained

Zdeněk Kudrna
Nickname:Kermit
Nationality:Czech
Birth Date:2 September 1946
Birth Place:Čisovice, Czechoslovakia
Career1:Czechoslovakia
Career2:Rudá Hvězda Praha
Years2:1975–1982
Career3:Great Britain
Years4:1979
Career4:Exeter Falcons
Years5:1980, 1982
Career5:Birmingham Brummies
Indivyear1:1977, 1979
Indivhonour1:Ice World Championship bronze medal
Indivyear2:6 times
Indivhonour2:Czechoslovakian Ice Racing Champion
Indivyear3:1979
Indivhonour3:Westernapolis

Zdeněk Kudrna (born 2 September 1946 in Čisovice, Czechoslovakia - died 1 June 1982)[1] was an international speedway rider who reached he Speedway World Championship final in 1979. He also finished third in the Individual Ice Racing World Championship twice, in 1977 and 1979.[2] Kudrna was Czech Ice Racing champion six times, after the last of which he was awarded title Sportsman of the Year by the Czech Motorcycle Federation.

Career

In 1974, he represented his country in a test series against England.[3]

Kudrna first rode in the UK for the Exeter Falcons in 1979 with compatriots Aleš Dryml Sr., Jan Verner and Václav Verner. Also in 1979 he finished seventh Speedway World Championship final and was a member of the Czechoslovak team that finished third in the Speedway World Team Cup.

1980 saw him move to the Birmingham Brummies where he was nicknamed Kermit due to his bright green leathers. The Czechoslovak authorities refused him permission to ride in the UK in 1981 but in 1982 he returned to the Brummies.

World Final Appearances

Individual World Championship

World Team Cup

World Longtrack Championship

Individual Ice Speedway World Championship

Death

On 31 May 1982 Kudrna was racing in a grasstrack meeting in Stadskanaal, the Netherlands. He had already qualified to go through to the next round when midway through the final race, his throttle stuck open and he crashed full speed into the barrier. A wooden stake holding the fence impaled him. Despite being rushed to hospital, Kudrna died the next day from his injuries.[4]

See also

See also

Notes and References

  1. Buck, B (2007) Brummies Legends, Pendragon Books.
  2. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.
  3. News: Browning for England . Walsall Observer . 19 April 1974 . 17 August 2024. British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  4. "From the Archives: Speedway star killed by wooden stake", Birmingham Mail, 16 February 2011, retrieved 2011-11-27