Antonín Kasper Sr.

Antonín Kasper Sr.

Born	(1932-10-31)31 October 1932 Prague, Czechoslovakia
Died	12 November 2017(2017-11-12) (aged 85)
Nationality	Czech
Career history
Czechoslovakia
1963–1964	Rudá Hvězda Praha
Great Britain
1968–1969	Coventry Bees
1970	West Ham Hammers
Individual honours
1963	Golden Helmet of Pardubice
Team honours
1963	Speedway World Team Cup silver medal
1960	Speedway World Team Cup bronze medal
1968	British League Champion
1969	Midland Cup

Antonín Kasper Sr. (31 October 1932 – 12 November 2017) was an international Motorcycle speedway rider from Czechoslovakia.[1] He earned 13 international caps for the Czechoslovakia national speedway team.[2]

Speedway career

Kasper Sr. won two medals at the Speedway World Team Cup in 1960[3] and 1963.[4][5] He also won the prestigious Golden Helmet of Pardubice in 1963.

In 1967, he was part of the Prague team that toured the United Kingdom.[6][7]

He rode in the top tier of British Speedway, joining the Coventry Bees for the 1968 British League season.[8] He stayed with the Midlands club in 1969 before switching to West Ham Hammers for the 1970 British League season.[9][1][10]

World final appearances

World Team Cup

• 1960 - Göteborg, Ullevi (with Jaroslav Machač / František Richter / Luboš Tomíček Sr. / Bohumír Bartoněk) - 3rd - 15pts (5)
• 1961 - Wrocław, Olympic Stadium (with Luboš Tomíček Sr. / Stanislav Svoboda / Bohumír Bartoněk) - 4th - 12pts (4)
• 1963 - Vienna, Stadion Wien (with Stanislav Kubíček / Miroslav Šmíd / Luboš Tomíček Sr. - 2nd - 27pts (10)
• 1968 - London, Wembley Stadium (with Luboš Tomíček Sr. / Jaroslav Volf / Jan Holub I) - 4th' - 7pts (3)

Individual Ice Speedway World Championship

• 1966 - 2 rounds, 7th - 30pts
• 1968 - 2 rounds, 7th - 33pts
• 1969 - Inzell, 6th - 9pts
• 1970 - Nässjö, 14th - 3pts

Family

His son Antonín Kasper Jr. (1962-2006) was also an international speedway rider.[11]

References

1. "Antonin Kasper snr". GrasstrackGB. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
2. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
3. "Speedway". Daily Mirror. 3 September 1960. Retrieved 17 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
5. "World Team Cup 1960-1990". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
6. "Speedway Czechs meet King's Lynn". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 4 August 1967. Retrieved 17 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Czechs are coming". Lynn Advertiser. 23 March 1967. Retrieved 27 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Kaiser out - Kasper in". Sunday Mirror. 19 May 1968. Retrieved 26 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
10. "A TO Z OF BEES RIDERS 1929-2016". Coventry Speedway. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
11. "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 12 July 2021.