Jan Holub

Jan Holub I (12 August 1942 – 18 February 2018) was a Czech motorcycle speedway rider. He was capped 12 times by the Czechoslovak national speedway team.

Speedway career Holub was a two times champion of the Czechoslovakia, winning the 1968 and 1969 Czechoslovak Individual Speedway Championship.

In 1967, he was part of the Prague team that toured the United Kingdom and 1968, where he starred alongside Antonín Kasper Sr. and Antonín Šváb Sr.

He rode in the top tier of British Speedway riding for Exeter Falcons from 1969 until 1970.

Holub reached three Speedway World Pairs Championship finals, the third was in 1974 when partnered Jan Hádek to the final at the 1974 Speedway World Pairs Championship, which was won by Sweden.

In 1977, the Bristol Bulldogs team manager Pat Tapson unsuccessfully asked the Czech authorities to allow Holub and Jan Hádek to compete in the British leagues.

World Final appearances World Pairs Championship 1969 - Stockholm (with Zdeněk Majstr) - 5th - 12pts (8) 1972 - Borås (with Jiří Štancl) - 6th - 12pts (5) 1974 – Manchester, Hyde Road (with Jan Hádek) – 7th – 6pts (3)

World Team Cup 1968 - London, Wembley Stadium (with Antonín Kasper Sr. / Luboš Tomíček Sr. / Jaroslav Volf) - 4th - 7pts 1970 - London, Wembley Stadium (with Zdeněk Majstr / Jiří Štancl / Miloslav Verner / Václav Verner) - 4th - 3pts