BRITISH CAREER
(2005-06) Swindon.

Sebastian Carl Alden was born in Vasteras, Sweden on 7 November 1985.

The youngster first rode at 80cc level with Masarna at the age of eleven, before moving on to the full size steeds in 2002. Two years later, as a teenager, he represented Masarna in the Swedish Elite League, when his team-mates including the likes of Leigh Adams, Tony Rickardsson, Bjarne Pedersen, Magnus Karlsson and Fredrik Lindgren.

Alden appeared in seventeen league matches during the campaign, recording a total of 78 points for a healthy 5.63 average. His efforts helped Masarna to finish first in the table, thereby gaining a place in the end-of-term Play-Offs. This was when he really came into his own to finish the season with a flourish. On 22 September, in front of 3,055 expectant home supporters at Avesta, he rode brilliantly to knock-up a 12-point tally as his side raced to a 61-35 success over Kaparna in the first leg of the semi-final. Then, in the return match two days later, he recorded 9 points as Masarna eased to a 56-40 victory to progress through by 117-points to 75 on aggregate.

So, to the Play-Off Final, which brought Masarna face-to-face with VMS Elit; a side that included David Ruud, Lee Richardson, Tomasz Jedrzejak and Ales Dryml. The first leg took place at the Vetlanda home of VMS Elit on 28 September, when the crowd totalled an amazing 7,256. The meeting proved to be a tad controversial, with a couple of refereeing decisions upsetting the Masarna side as they went down to a 52-44 defeat. Alden’s contribution was 10 points, although reports suggested he would have scored more, but for being awarded second place in one race, which he was said to have clearly won by half-a-metre!

The second leg was played out in front of 5,709 fans one evening later and although Masarna collected a hard-fought 50-46 win, it was VMS Elit who were crowned League Champions by 98 points to 94 on aggregate. Nevertheless, Seb notched 4 points in the match and took his tally in the Play-Offs to an impressive 35 points, and it was this kind of form that led to Swindon initially signing him on 19 November 2004.

So it was that Alden made his debut for the Robins on 17 March 2005, when he greatly impressed with a 7+1 points tally in the Air-Tek Trophy versus Poole at the Abbey Stadium. Understandably, he found the going a little tough following that, as he was visiting all of the British circuits for the first time. However, as the season wore on, he became more consistent and produced several excellent performances. The highlight of these undoubtedly occurred on 12 June, when he notched 11+2 points in a Knock-Out Cup encounter against Coventry at Blunsdon.

Regrettably, his season ended prematurely on 30 August, when he crashed in his Swedish homeland. The meeting was a home league fixture versus Indianerna and the accident happened in heat eleven, when he suffered a broken arm and damage to both wrists. With Seb sidelined, his record for Swindon had seen him attain 117 points from thirty-one league appearances for a 3.71 average.

Back with the Robins for a second campaign in 2006, the young Swede was expected to make the most of the experience gained the previous season. He certainly started in the right vein, scoring consistently from March through to the end of May. Unfortunately, though, his form was to tail-off and, following a 1-point return from a home match against Poole on 6 July, he quit the British racing scene. He had ridden in twenty-three league matches for the club, scoring 99 points for a 4.47 average. 

At the time, team manager Alun Rossiter commented: ‘I am very disappointed that things have turned out this way as the club has worked hard to help Seb up the speedway ladder. There is no doubting his ability, but he should have done a lot better this term following a very promising debut campaign for us in 2005.’

Alden continued to hone his racing skills in Sweden throughout the remainder of 2006 and again the following year. And, on 13 December 2007, it was announced that he would be returning to ride for the Robins in 2008. Confirming the news, Rosco said: ‘I contacted Seb at the end of the season to see if he would be interested in coming back to ride for us. He was immediately keen and what swung it was the fact that he has been ringing me two or three times a week to see if his contract has been sorted out.

‘Without meaning to name-drop, when I went to Gelsenkirchen for the German Grand Prix in October, I had a chat with Tony Rickardsson and Peter Nahlin about Seb and both spoke very highly of him. His attitude is good and he has definitely turned the corner. He has immense potential and I would be surprised if he didn’t significantly improve on his starting green sheet average, which, at 3.84 (excluding bonus points), is a steal.’

PROFILE BY ROBERT BAMFORD