Zdeněk Kudrna

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.

Career
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

 * 1978 - 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London, Wembley Stadium - Reserve - did not ride
 * 1979 - 🇵🇱 Chorzów, Silesian Stadium - 7th - 8pts

World Team Cup

 * 1979 - 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London, White City Stadium (with Jiří Štancl / Aleš Dryml Sr. / Václav Verner) - 3rd - 19pts (4)
 * 1980 - 🇵🇱 Wrocław, Olympic Stadium (with Jiří Štancl / Aleš Dryml Sr. / Václav Verner / Petr Ondrašík) - 4th - 12pt (1)

World Longtrack Championship

 * 1976 – Marianske Lazne 6th 14pts
 * 1977 – Aalborg 12th 8pts
 * 1978 – Mühldorf 15th 7pts
 * 1979 – Marianske Lazne 16th 2pts
 * 1980 – Scheeßel 8th 9pts
 * 1981 – Gornja Radgona 14th 4pts

Individual Ice Speedway World Championship

 * 1974 – 🇸🇪 Nässjö 13th 4pts
 * 1975 – Moscow 9th 12pts
 * 1976 – Assen 7th 18pts
 * 1977 – Inzell 3rd 24pts
 * 1978 – Assen 11th 10pts
 * 1979 – Inzell 3rd 26pts
 * 1980 – Kalinin 4th 22pts
 * 1981 - Assen 4th 25pts
 * 1982 - Inzell 4th

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.