{{Short description|Swedish speedway rider}} {{Infobox speedway rider | name = Henka Gustafsson | image = | nationality = Swedish | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|8|14|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Sköllersta]], Sweden
| career1 = Sweden | career2 = [[Indianerna]] | years2 = 1986-2005, 2011 | career3 = [[Rospiggarna]] | years3 = 2009 | career4 = [[Valsarna]] | years4 = 2010 | career7 = Great Britain | career8 = [[King's Lynn Stars]] | years8 = 1990-1993 | career9 = [[Belle Vue Aces]] | years9 = 1994, 2001 | career10 = [[Poole Pirates]] | years10 = 2002 | career11 = [[Oxford Cheetahs]] | years11 = 2005 | career12 = Poland | career13 = [[KS Toruń]] | years13 = 1992 | career14 = [[WTS Wrocław]] | years14 = 1993 | career15 = [[ZKŻ Zielona Góra]] | years15 = 1994 | career16 = [[Polonia Bydgoszcz]] | years16 = 1995-2001 | career17 = [[Wybrzeże Gdańsk]] | years17 = 2002 | career18 = [[Warsaw Speedway|Warsaw]] | years18 = 2003 | career19 = Denmark | years20 = 2005 | career20 = [[Fredericia Speedway Klub|Fredericia]] | years21 = 2008 | career21 = [[Grindsted Speedway Klub|Grindsted]]
| indivhonour1 = [[Speedway Swedish Individual Championship|Swedish Champion]] | indivyear1 = 1995, 2000 | indivhonour2 = [[Swedish Junior Speedway Championship|Swedish U21 champion]] | indivyear2 = 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 | indivhonour3 = Nordic Longtrack Champion | indivyear3 = 1988 | indivhonour4 = Swedish Longtrack Champion | indivyear4 = 1989
| teamhonour1 = [[Speedway World Pairs Championship|World Pairs Champion]] | teamyear1 = [[1993 Speedway World Pairs Championship|1993]] | teamhonour2 = [[Speedway World Team Cup|World Team Cup Winner]] | teamyear2 = [[1994 Speedway World Team Cup|1994]], [[2000 Speedway World Team Cup|2000]] | teamhonour3 = [[Elitserien (speedway)|Swedish Elite League Winner]] | teamyear3 = 1990, 1991 | teamhonour4 = [[Speedway Ekstraliga|Polish League Championship winner]] | teamyear4 = 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000 | teamhonour5 = [[Craven Shield|Craven Shield Winner]] | teamyear5 = 2005 | teamhonour6 = [[Danish Speedway League|Danish League Champion]] | teamyear6 = 2005 | teamhonour7 = Swedish Pairs Champion | teamyear7 = 1994 }}
'''Henrik Anders (Henka) Gustafsson''' (born 14 August 1970)<ref>Oakes, P.(2006). ''Speedway Star Almanac''. {{ISBN|0-9552376-1-0}}</ref> is a Swedish former [[Motorcycle speedway]] rider. He won the [[1993 Speedway World Pairs Championship|1993 World Pairs Championship]] with [[Tony Rickardsson]] and the [[Speedway World Team Cup]] in [[1994 Speedway World Team Cup|1994]] and [[2000 Speedway World Team Cup|2000]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Montague|first=Trevor|title=The A-Z of Sport|year=2004|page=520|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=0-316-72645-1}}</ref> He earned 50 caps for the [[Sweden national speedway team]].<ref name=URI>{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Ultimate_Index_1929-2022.pdf |title=Ultimate rider index, 1929-2022 |website=British Speedway |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref>
== Career == Gustafsson, rode for [[Indianerna]] in the [[Elitserien (speedway)|Swedish Elite League]] starting in 1986. Gustafsson rode in the first of his four [[Speedway World Championship|Speedway World Finals]] in 1990, despite failing to qualify for the [[1990 Individual Speedway World Championship|1990 World Final]] in [[Bradford]], England, he got a lucky break when he replaced the injured Dane [[Jan O. Pedersen]]. Supposed to be one who was "there for the experience" in his first World Final, Henka impressed many by finishing a surprise 6th in the final, winning two of his five rides. After his first 3 rides he was in equal first place with eventual winner and fellow Swede [[Per Jonsson]] and Australia's [[Todd Wiltshire]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004974/19900903/023/0023 |title=Speedway |website=Western Daily Press |date=3 September 1990 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref>
He first rode in Britain during a few matches for the 1990 season for the [[King's Lynn Stars]] before signing for the [[1991 British League season]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003808/19901026/934/0088 |title=Stars name key riders for 1991 |website=Lynn Advertiser |date=26 October 1990 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref> He topped the King's Lynn averages in 1991 and 1992, establishing himself as one of the league's leading riders. In January 1991, Gustafsson toured Australia with the Swedish team alongside Per Jonsson, [[Jimmy Nilsen]], [[Peter Nahlin]], [[Erik Stenlund]], [[Conny Ivarsson]] and Tony Rickardsson. The Swedes defeated the [[Australia national speedway team|Aussies]] 3–2 in a five match series.
Gustafsson's first season riding in the [[Speedway Ekstraliga|Polish top division]] was 1992 with [[KS Toruń]] and then rode for [[WTS Wrocław]] in 1993, helping them to become [[Team Speedway Polish Championship|Polish League champions]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://speedway.com.pl/teams/wroclaw/1993/ |title=Zespoły 1993 Wroclaw team statistics |website=Polish Speedway Database |access-date=27 February 2023}}</ref> Gustafsson qualified for the [[1992 Individual Speedway World Championship|1992 World Final]] in [[Wrocław]], Poland where he improved to finish 5th, again winning two of his five rides and improved again in the [[1993 Individual Speedway World Championship|1993 World Final]] in Denmark, finishing 4th and winning 3 of his rides.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004974/19930830/030/0030 |title=Speedway |website=Western Daily Press |date=30 August 1993 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref>
In the [[1994 Individual Speedway World Championship|1994 World Final]], the last before the [[Speedway Grand Prix]] series started in [[1995 Speedway Grand Prix|1995]], Gustafsson finished in 7th place winning only one of his rides. Also in 1994 Gustafsson signed for [[ZKŻ Zielona Góra]] in Poland and won the Swedish Pairs Championship. In Britain, after four years with King's Lynn he asked to be put on the transfer list and eventually joined [[Belle Vue Aces]] mid-way through the 1994 season.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004985/19940822/046/0046 |title=Henka's final agony |website=Manchester Evening News |date=22 August 1994 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref> After the 1994 season, he then took a seven-year break from riding in the British leagues.
Gustafsson won his first [[Speedway Swedish Individual Championship]] in 1995<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyspeedway.nstrefa.pl/indmszwecji.php|title=Individual Swedish Championship|website=Historia Sportu Zuzlowego|access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref> and signed for [[Polonia Bydgoszcz]] in Poland, staying with them until 2001, again winning the Polish League in 1997, 1998 and 2000. He became champion of Sweden for the second time in 2000.
Gustafsson would then ride in the speedway Grand Prix series as a regular rider from 1995 until [[2000 Speedway Grand Prix|2000]], finishing a best 5th overall in both [[1996 Speedway Grand Prix|1996]] and [[1997 Speedway Grand Prix|1997]]. His best placings in one of the Grand Prix events was a 2nd in [[1996 Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden|Sweden]] in 1996 and a second as a Wild Card rider in the [[2001 Speedway Grand Prix of Germany|2001 German GP]].
The 2002 season saw Gustafsson on the move again, returning to the British leagues with [[Poole Pirates]] for one season<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001928/20020821/247/0026 |title=Pirates' quick return |website=Eastbourne Gazette |date=21 August 2002 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref> and leaving Bydgoszcz for [[Wybrzeże Gdańsk]]. the following season in 2003 was his last season in Poland with [[Warsaw Speedway|Warsaw]].
He then returned for one last season in Britain with the [[Oxford Cheetahs]] in 2005, winning the [[Craven Shield]] while with Oxford.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/6557237.speedway-gustafsson-ready-baptism-fire/ |title=Gustafsson ready for baptism of fire |website=Oxford Mail |access-date=7 September 2024 }}</ref>
== Family == His son, [[Simon Gustafsson|Simon]] (born 25 May 1990) has followed in his father's footsteps and has also become a speedway rider, riding for the [[Eastbourne Eagles]] in Britain and [[Start Gniezno]] in Poland.<ref name=URI/>
== World final appearances == === Individual World Championship === * [[1990 Individual Speedway World Championship|1990]] - {{flagicon|ENG}} [[Bradford]], [[Odsal Stadium]] - 6th - 9pts * [[1992 Individual Speedway World Championship|1992]] - {{flagicon|POL}} [[Wrocław]], [[Olympic Stadium (Wrocław)|Olympic Stadium]] - 5th - 9pts * [[1993 Individual Speedway World Championship|1993]] - {{flagicon|GER}} [[Pocking]], [[Rottalstadion]] - 4th - 10pts * [[1994 Individual Speedway World Championship|1994]] - {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Vojens]], [[Vojens Speedway Center|Speedway Center]] - 7th - 9pts<ref>Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7524-2402-5}}</ref>
=== World Pairs Championship === * [[1991 Speedway World Pairs Championship|1991]] - {{flagicon|POL}} [[Poznań]], [[Olimpia Poznań Stadium]] (with [[Per Jonsson]] / [[Jimmy Nilsen]]) - '''2nd''' - 24pts (9) * [[1992 Speedway World Pairs Championship|1992]] - {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Lonigo]], [[Pista Speedway]] (with Per Jonsson / [[Tony Rickardsson]]) - '''3rd''' - 22pts (8) * [[1993 Speedway World Pairs Championship|1993]] - {{flagicon|DEN}} Vojens, Speedway Center (with Tony Rickardsson / Per Jonsson) - '''Winner''' - 26pts (6)
=== World Team Cup === * [[1988 Speedway World Team Cup|1988]] - {{flag|USA}} [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]], [[Veterans Memorial Stadium (Long Beach)|Veterans Memorial Stadium]] (with [[Conny Ivarsson]] / [[Tony Olsson]] / [[Jimmy Nilsen]] / [[Per Jonsson]]) - '''3rd''' - 22pts (4) * [[1991 Speedway World Team Cup|1991]] - {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Vojens]], [[Vojens Speedway Center|Speedway Center]] (with Tony Rickardsson /Per Jonsson / Jimmy Nilsen / [[Peter Nahlin]]) - '''2nd''' - 30pts (7) * [[1992 Speedway World Team Cup|1992]] - {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Kumla]], [[Kumla Speedway]] (with Tony Rickardsson / Per Jonsson / Jimmy Nilsen / Peter Nahlin) - '''2nd''' - 33pts (12) * [[1993 Speedway World Team Cup|1993]] - {{flagicon|ENG}} [[Coventry]], [[Brandon Stadium]] (with [[Peter Karlsson (speedway rider)|Peter Karlsson]] / Per Jonsson / Tony Rickardsson / Peter Nahlin) - '''3rd''' - 28pts (6) * [[1994 Speedway World Team Cup|1994]] - {{flagicon|GER}} [[Brokstedt]], [[Holsteinring Brokstedt]] (with Tony Rickardsson / [[Mikael Max|Mikael Karlsson]]) - '''Winner''' - 23pts (11) * [[1995 Speedway World Team Cup|1995]] - {{Flagicon|POL}} [[Bydgoszcz]], [[Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium]] (with Tony Rickardsson / Peter Karlsson) - 4th - 19+2 pts (4) * [[2000 Speedway World Team Cup|2000]] - {{Flagicon|ENG}} Coventry, Brandon Stadium (with Tony Rickardsson / Mikael Karlsson / Peter Karlsson / [[Niklas Klingberg]]) - '''Winner''' - 40+3 pts (10)
=== Individual Under-21 World Championship === * [[1988 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship|1988]] - {{flagicon|CSK}} [[Slaný]], [[Slaný Speedway Stadium]] - '''2nd''' - 11+3 pts * [[1989 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship|1989]] - {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Lonigo]], [[Santa Marina Stadium]] - 4th - 11 pts
== Speedway Grand Prix results == {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- ! Year !! Position !! Points !! Best finish !! Notes |- | [[1995 Speedway Grand Prix|1995]] || 8th || 73+3 || 4th || 4th in [[1995 Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain|British GP]] |- | [[1996 Speedway Grand Prix|1996]] || 5th || 80 || 3rd || 4th in [[1996 Speedway Grand Prix of Germany|Germany]] |- | [[1996 Speedway Grand Prix|1996]] || 5th || 80 || 2nd || 2nd in [[1996 Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden|Sweden]] |- | [[1997 Speedway Grand Prix|1997]] || 15th || 20 || 5th || 5th in [[1997 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Republic|Czech Republic]] |- | [[1998 Speedway Grand Prix|1998]] || 15th || 43 || 5th || 5th in [[1998 Speedway Grand Prix of Germany|Germany]] |- | [[1999 Speedway Grand Prix|1999]] || 17th || 35 || 8th || |- | [[2000 Speedway Grand Prix|2000]] || 14th || 39 || 8th || |- | [[2001 Speedway Grand Prix|2001]] || 17th || 33 || 2nd || 2nd in [[2001 Speedway Grand Prix of Germany|Germany]] |}
== World Longtrack Championship == * [[1989 Individual Long Track World Championship|1985]] - Semi-final * [[1992 Individual Long Track World Championship|1985]] - {{Flagicon|GER}} [[Pfarrkirchen]] 11pts (7th) * [[1993 Individual Long Track World Championship|1985]] - {{Flagicon|GER}} [[Mühldorf]] 9pts (9th) * [[1994 Individual Long Track World Championship|1985]] - {{Flagicon|CZE}} [[Mariánské Lázně]] 9pts (9th) * [[1995 Individual Long Track World Championship|1985]] - Semi-final
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustafsson, Henrik Anders}} [[Category:1970 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Swedish speedway riders]] [[Category:Speedway World Pairs Champions]] [[Category:Polonia Bydgoszcz riders]] [[Category:Belle Vue Aces riders]] [[Category:Oxford Cheetahs riders]] [[Category:Poole Pirates riders]] [[Category:King's Lynn Stars riders]] [[Category:Swedish expatriate speedway riders in England]] [[Category:Expatriate speedway riders in Poland]] [[Category:Swedish expatriates in Poland]] [[Category:Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship riders]] [[Category:Indianerna riders]] [[Category:Rospiggarna riders]] [[Category:People from Hallsberg Municipality]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Örebro County]]