Sverre Harrfeldt Exclusive Interview

[TonyMac]

We've just interviewed Sverre Harrfeldt for Issue 8 of Classic mag. He has some very interesting, controversial things to say.

 

Anyone got any good stories they would like to share wth us about the former Norwegian No.1 and crowd-pleasing favourite at Wimbledon, West Ham and Wembley?

[KenB1]

We've just interviewed Sverre Harrfeldt for Issue 8 of Classic mag. He has some very interesting, controversial things to say.

 

Anyone got any good stories they would like to share wth us about the former Norwegian No.1 and crowd-pleasing favourite at Wimbledon, West Ham and Wembley?

 

Thats funny when we have just come accross that old film of him..

 

I remember him as a real hard and tough racer, second was never good enough and you knew whatever race jacket he was putting on he would give 100%.

 

At Custom House he was a real crowd pleaser, the same really at Wembley, bit od a norwegian version of Eric Boocock as far as agression went, dont know how many times I got his autograph as a kid, I guess thats why the fans liked him as he had time for them too.

 

[cityrebel]

i went to my first ever meeting at wimbledon in september 1968 so i never saw sverre ride before his terrible accident earlier that year. my first visit to west ham was in may 1970 against the dons. if my memory serves me right this was christer lofqvist's debut for the hammers and in the same meeting sverre fell and broke his arm. it was a cruel blow as he was just getting some form back. i was lucky enough to see him ride plenty of times for wembley in 1971 and as a kid he was one of my favourite riders at the empire stadium. thanks for the memories sverre.

[petes]

I have only just seen this. Sverre was my idol when I was a kid, he was a class act, cruelly cut down by that serious injury, he would definately have become world champ otherwise. I remember the many fantastic battles between him and Briggo at Custom House, worth the entrance money on it's own (9d for me then!!). I also remember a story about Ove Fundin trying one of his bikes, must have been in 1966 or 67, he did a few laps then stopped, he said that it was too fast for him.

He used to drive around in his souped up Triumph Spitfire I think it was, with the bike hanging off the back. We were going up the M1 on the West Ham Coach oncew we were doing about 70, he pulled up alongside us, gave us all a wave, then changed down a geer and zoomed off into the distance.

What a great rider, I have just ordered my copy of the magazine, can't wait to read it.

 

[infotechproximity8]

he was a real crowd pleaser, the same really at Wembley, bit od a norwegian version of Eric Boocock as far as agression went, dont know how many times I got his autograph as a kid, I guess thats why the fans liked him as he had time for them too

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Pallet Racking | Fitflop Boots

[Cliffeboy]

Sverre was great in his one season with Wembley,he went from reserve that nobody wanted ,to a heat leader.His best action was when he was riding with Bert Harkins, electric out of the traps he would head straight for the dirt outside,and then Bert would sneak up the inside, easy 5-1`s especially around the Empire Bowl.It was such a shame that Wembley folded after that 71 season,I reckon if they had kept that team together,they would have won things in 72, Harkins,Haarfeldt,Nordin (Class),Clarke,Jessup,Collins and Leonard.

[mickthemuppet]

Unfortuneatly Wembley Lions were forced out by the stadium wanting too much rent. I think it was the region of £7500 per meeting. Such a shame as they were getting up to 20,000 a meeting. Another annoying feature there was the drinks in the bar were dearer at a Speedway meeting than they were at a Greyhound meeting It's as Wembley stadium did not want Speedway to continue there.

As for Sverre after his terrible accident he lost all confidence and was never the same rider again

[Sprouts63]

Vaguely remember he carried his super fast engine in a suitcase and fitted it prior to a meeting

 

 

[wealdstone]

On 11/14/2011 at 8:36 PM, mickthemuppet said:

Unfortuneatly Wembley Lions were forced out by the stadium wanting too much rent. I think it was the region of £7500 per meeting. Such a shame as they were getting up to 20,000 a meeting. Another annoying feature there was the drinks in the bar were dearer at a Speedway meeting than they were at a Greyhound meeting It's as Wembley stadium did not want Speedway to continue there.

As for Sverre after his terrible accident he lost all confidence and was never the same rider again

My recollection is that Lions forced out due to football.

[customhouseregular]

On 4/10/2010 at 2:14 PM, petes said:

I have only just seen this. Sverre was my idol when I was a kid, he was a class act, cruelly cut down by that serious injury, he would definately have become world champ otherwise. I remember the many fantastic battles between him and Briggo at Custom House, worth the entrance money on it's own (9d for me then!!). I also remember a story about Ove Fundin trying one of his bikes, must have been in 1966 or 67, he did a few laps then stopped, he said that it was too fast for him.

He used to drive around in his souped up Triumph Spitfire I think it was, with the bike hanging off the back. We were going up the M1 on the West Ham Coach oncew we were doing about 70, he pulled up alongside us, gave us all a wave, then changed down a geer and zoomed off into the distance.

What a great rider, I have just ordered my copy of the magazine, can't wait to read it.

 

When and where was the coach going?. I may well have been on the same trip. Presume it was with Lacey’s.