Nationality Norway | Name Reidar Eide Died 1999 | |
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Born 6 November 1940
Hoyland, Norway ( 1940-11-06 ) 1966-1967
1968-1969
1970
1971
1972
1973-1975
1976-1977
1978
1979-1980
1980
1980 Edinburgh Monarchs
Coatbridge Monarchs
Wembley Lions
Poole Pirates
Sheffield Tigers
Newport
Leicester Lions
Exeter Falcons
Reading Racers
Wolverhampton Wolves
Swindon Robins 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971
1968, 1972
1969 Norwegian Champion
Nordic Champion
Scottish Open Champion | ||
1974, 1975 Spring Gold Cup Winner | ||
Reidar Eide (6 November 1940 – February 1999) was a Norwegian motorcycle speedway rider who was champion of Norway on five occasions.
Contents
Biography
Born in Høyland, Eide took up speedway in 1957. He rode for Stavanger in 1960 and made his British League debut in 1966 for Edinburgh Monarchs, and during his career also rode in several other countries including Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, West Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. In 1967 he averaged 8.99 points per match, scoring seven full maximum scores and averaged just over 9 in 1968. In 1969, for Coatbridge Monarchs, he averaged over 10. Gaining a reputation for being difficult to deal with, over the next three seasons he moved on to Wembley Lions, Poole Pirates, and Sheffield Tigers, before signing for Newport Wasps in 1973. He maintained his high scoring for Newport, averaging over 9 in the 1973, 74 and 75 league seasons. In 1976 he moved on to Leicester Lions, averaging over 7.5 before a broken leg ended his season. The following season, lacking fitness, his level of performance had dropped, taking seven rides to score his first point, and only averaging just over 3 points from six matches. In 1978 he moved on to Exeter Falcons, where he once again showed his true form, before moving on to Reading Racers the following year. In 1980, his last year in British speedway, he rode for Reading, Wolverhampton Wolves, Swindon Robins, and one match for Eastbourne Eagles.
Eide won the Norwegian Championship for five successive years between 1967 and 1971, and won the Nordic Championship in 1972. He finished in thirteenth place in the 1968 World Championship Final, and finished fifth (with Dag Lövaas) in the 1973 World Pairs final. He represented Norway and a combined Norway/Denmark team in international matches between 1969 and 1973.
Eide also skied competitively, representing Sandnes IL.
After speedway, Eide became a pig farmer. He died in February 1999 from brucellosis.