Milan Špinka

Milan Špinka
Born(1951-05-05)5 May 1951
Pardubice, Czechoslovakia
Died14 August 2024(2024-08-14) (aged 73)
Czech Republic
NationalityCzech
Career history
Czechoslovakia
1970–1983Rudá Hvězda Praha
Great Britain
1979Ipswich Witches
1979–1980, 1983Swindon Robins
Individual honours
1974Ice Speedway World Champion
1973Golden Helmet of Pardubice

Milan Špinka (5 May 1951 – 14 August 2024) was a Czech speedway rider. He earned ten international caps for the Czechoslovakia national speedway team.

Speedway career

Špinka won the gold medal at the Individual Ice Speedway World Championship in the 1974 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship. He also won a silver and bronze medal at the Championships.

In 1970, Špinka was selected for the Czechoslovakia junior team for their tour of Britain. In 1974, he represented his country in a test series against England.

Špinka rode in two world longtrack finals in 1973 and 1974.

Špinka rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1979 to 1983, riding for Ipswich Witches and Swindon Robins.

World final appearances

Individual Ice Speedway World Championship

World Longtrack Championship

Personal life and death

Špinka's father, Miloslav, was also an international speedway rider.

Špinka died on 14 August 2024, at the age of 73.

References

  1. ↑ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Milan Spinka". GrasstrackGB. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Ice Speedway". Speedway.org. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport. Little, Brown. p. 530. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
  6. ↑ "Czechs open speedway tour at Romford tonight". Reading Evening Post. 6 August 1970. Retrieved 19 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Browning for England". Walsall Observer. 19 April 1974. Retrieved 17 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "Track talk". Sports Argus. 22 June 1974. Retrieved 27 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Milan Spinka is 70: An expert on sand and ice". Speedweek. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "V 73 letech zemřel Milan Špinka, legenda ploché dráhy". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Mafra. Czech News Agency. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.