Nickname Kermit Career status Retired | Nationality Czechoslovakia Name Zdenek Kudrna | |
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Born September 2, 1946
Cisovice, Czechoslovakia ( 1946-09-02 ) Died 1 June 1982(1982-06-01) (aged 35) 1979
1980, 1982 Exeter Falcons
Birmingham Brummies 6 times Czech Ice Racing Champion | ||
Zdeněk Kudrna (born 2 September 1946 in Čisovice, Czechoslovakia - died 1 June 1982) was an international speedway rider who reached he Speedway World Championship final in 1979. He also finished third in the Individual Ice Racing World Championship twice, in 1977 and 1979. Kudrna was Czech Ice Racing champion six times, after the last of which he was awarded title Sportsman of the Year by the Czech Motorcycle Federation.
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Kudrna first rode in the UK for the Exeter Falcons in 1979 with compatriots Aleš Dryml, Sr., Jan Verner and Václav Verner. Also in 1979 he finished seventh Speedway World Championship final and was a member of the Czechoslovak team that finished third in the Speedway World Team Cup.
1980 saw him move to the Birmingham Brummies where he was nicknamed Kermit due to his bright green leathers. The Czechoslovak authorities refused him permission to ride in the UK in 1981 but in 1982 he returned to the Brummies.
Individual World Championship
Death
On 31 May 1982 Kudrna was racing in a grasstrack meeting in Stadskanaal, the Netherlands. He had already qualified to go through to the next round when midway through the final race, his throttle stuck open and he crashed full speed into the barrier. A wooden stake holding the fence impaled him. Despite being rushed to hospital, Kudrna died the next day from his injuries.