 Golden Helmet of Pardubice in 1938 | |
| Sport | Motorcycle speedway |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1929 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Timo Lahti |
| Most titles | Ole Olsen (7 times) |
The Golden Helmet of Pardubice (Czech: Zlatá přilba) is a motorcycle speedway competition hosted annually in Pardubice, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest motorcycle speedway race in Europe and is considered prestigious.
History
The race was established by three motorsport enthusiasts František Hladěna, Adolf Trnka and Ladislav Polák in 1929. The first 15 events of the Golden Helmet race were held on the 2.4 km (1.5 mi) long turf racetrack of Velká pardubická Steeplechase in Pardubice, from 1929 to 1963. On several occasions the event attracted more than 100,000 fans, but also five riders suffered mortal injuries competing on this dangerous grass track.
Since 1964, the race has been held on the standard flat oval cinder track of the Svítkov Stadium in Pardubice.
Race format
In the first round, 24 riders are divided into four groups of six. Three riders advance from each group to the quarterfinal stage, where they join 12 seeded riders. In the quarterfinal, the same format sees three riders from each group progressing to the semi final. In the semi final two groups of six riders race three times with the top three riders from each group progressing to the final. The wide track of Pardubice enables up to six riders to compete in the event instead of the conventional four.
Past winners
Statistics
Speedway World Champions winning Golden Helmet
Below is a list of Speedway World Champions who have won also Golden Helmet of Pardubice.
| Rider | Nation | Golden Helmets | World Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ole Olsen | 
|
7 | 3 |
| Tony Rickardsson | 
|
3 | 6 |
| Jason Doyle | 
|
3 | 1 |
| Hans Nielsen |
|
2 | 4 |
| Erik Gundersen |
|
2 | 3 |
| Jason Crump |
|
2 | 3 |
| Ove Fundin |
|
1 | 5 |
| Nicki Pedersen |
|
1 | 3 |
| Per Jonsson |
|
1 | 1 |
| Chris Holder |
|
1 | 1 |
Speedway World Champions starting at Golden Helmet but never winning the race
Below is a list of Speedway World Champions that have started at Golden Helmet of Pardubice race but never won the trophy.
| Rider | Nation | Golden Helmets | World Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan Mauger | 
|
0 | 6 |
| Barry Briggs |
|
0 | 4 |
| Greg Hancock | 
|
0 | 4 |
| Tai Woffinden | 
|
0 | 3 |
| Jerzy Szczakiel | 
|
0 | 1 |
| Michael Lee |
|
0 | 1 |
| Sam Ermolenko |
|
0 | 1 |
| Mark Loram |
|
0 | 1 |
| Tomasz Gollob |
|
0 | 1 |
Multiple Golden Helmet winners
Below is a list of multiple Golden Helmet winners.
| Rider | Nation | Golden Helmets |
|---|---|---|
| Ole Olsen |
|
7 |
| Jiří Štancl | 
|
5 |
| Leigh Adams |
|
4 |
| Tony Rickardsson |
|
3 |
| Jason Doyle |
|
3 |
| Herman Gunzenhauser | 
|
2 |
| Igor Plechanov | 
|
2 |
| Erik Gundersen |
|
2 |
| Hans Nielsen |
|
2 |
| Jeremy Doncaster |
|
2 |
| Ryan Sullivan |
|
2 |
| Jason Crump |
|
2 |
| Rune Holta |
|
2 |
Golden Helmet by Countries
| Country | Riders | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark |
6 | 14 |
| 2 | Czechoslovakia |
8 | 13 |
| Australia |
6 | 13 | |
| 4 | Sweden |
5 | 7 |
| 5 | United Kingdom |
5 | 6 |
| 6 | Soviet Union |
3 | 4 |
| Poland |
3 | 4 | |
| 8 | Nazi Germany |
2 | 3 |
| 9 |  Austria |
2 | 2 |
 Germany |
2 | 2 | |
| Czech Republic |
2 | 2 | |
| 12 |  Yugoslavia |
1 | 1 |
 Netherlands |
1 | 1 | |
 United States |
1 | 1 | |
 Croatia |
1 | 1 | |
 Russia |
1 | 1 | |
 Finland |
1 | 1 |
References
- "Golden Helmet". Tahouni. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
- "Golden Helmet race system". Zlata Prilba. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
- SPEEDWAY Pardubice Zlata Prilba 1978. Scuuby. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- SPEEDWAY RACING / Golden Helmet - Zlatá Přilba PARDUBICE 1985. Tom Rambo. 10 September 2022. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 1987 CZ Golden Helmet from Pardubice. Martyn Hepworth. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- SPEEDWAY RACING / Golden Helmet - Zlatá Přilba PARDUBICE 1989. Tom Rambo. 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- SPEEDWAY RACING / Golden Helmet - Zlatá Přilba PARDUBICE 1990. Tom Rambo. 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- SPEEDWAY RACING / Golden Helmet - Zlatá Přilba PARDUBICE 1991. Tom Rambo. 28 November 2021. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- SPEEDWAY RACING / Golden Helmet - Zlatá Přilba PARDUBICE 1992. Tom Rambo. 28 November 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 1996 Golden Helmet Final. upwellboy. 18 February 2007. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 2004 Zlata Prilba Final - Pardubice. Speedway Action. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- Speedway 60 Golden Helmet 2008 Pardubice. Aleksandr Kuzin. 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 63 Zlata Prilba Pardubice 02.10.2011. DimastiyUgrymiy. 3 October 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 65 Zlata Prilba 2013. Dimastiy SZ. 12 October 2013. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- "Další Zlatá přilba bez českého úspěchu. Vyhrál Chorvat Pavlic, Holub byl jedenáctý — Moto — ČT sport — Česká televize". Ceskatelevize.cz. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- 18.09.2016 Czech Republic. 68 Zlatá přilba města Pardubic. Speedway Portal. 21 September 2016. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 2017 10 01 Zlatá přilba Pardubice. Plochá Dráha CZECH SPEEDWAY. 11 November 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 2018 09 30 Zlatá přilba Pardubice. Plochá Dráha CZECH SPEEDWAY. 13 November 2018. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 2019 10 06 Zlatá přilba Pardubice. Plochá Dráha CZECH SPEEDWAY. 7 October 2019. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 2020 10 04 Zlatá přilba Pardubice. Plochá Dráha CZECH SPEEDWAY. 5 October 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 2021 10 03 Zlatá přilba Pardubice. Plochá Dráha CZECH SPEEDWAY. 6 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- 2022 09 25 Zlatá přilba Pardubice. Plochá Dráha CZECH SPEEDWAY. 26 September 2022. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via YouTube.
External links
- Official website
- Golden helmet championships at www.speedwaychampions.com