British Clubs: Edinburgh (1995, 1997, 2000, 2001), Scottish Monarchs (1996), Belle Vue (1998), Newcastle (1999)
Honours: Swedish Junior Champion (1995)
In the all-in Premier League of 1995, Monarchs were struggling and in need of a third heat leader. Robert Eriksson was believed to be one of the best young Swedes available. He had been through the ranks in 50cc, 80cc and (from 1991) 500cc, and was a Swedish Under-21 international regular.
So the tall, blonde 21 year old travelled to Scotland for his debut on 30th June, the night before the team undertook a southern tour.
Robert joined the ranks of riders who have won their first heat for the team, then scored paid 9 at Swindon the next day and paid 11 in a memorable win at Exeter on the Monday. It was obvious that Monarchs had made a good choice of replacement for Robert Larsen.
One of the good things about Robert's first season was that he quickly displayed an ability master away tracks on his first visit, and he recorded double figure scores at Arena Essex, Ipswich and Cradley on his way to a 6.69 average.
It was interesting to watch Robert's personality develop. At first he was reserved and kept to himself, possibly seeing his UK speedway primarily as development for his own riding rather than being part of a team. That was to change dramatically.
In 1996 Monarchs were forced out of Powderhall and rode the season at Shawfield, starting with two Swedes, Eriksson and Robban Johansson. Unfortunately Johansson had to be dropped in mid-season due to escalating losses.
For some reason Robert didn't develop as well as expected, and he struggled for much of the '96 season. Up and down performances included paid 14 against Sheffield and paid 16 in a big home defeat to Cradley, but zero returns at Ipswich, Peterborough and Bradford.
Towards the end of the season though he really found his feet with a series of exciting displays, six double figure returns at home in September and October including a paid 18 and a paid 19.
It was all change for 1997 as some clubs looked for reduced costs in the new second division, still called Premier League. Monarchs retained Kenny McKinna and Robert Eriksson to lead their side, and in May added Peter Carr to make up a 'dream' heat leader trio.
On practice day Robert said "This will be a great home track!" after his first outing on the new Armadale shale.
There was no greater team man now than Robert Eriksson, still fairly quiet but a thoughtful fellow. He was enjoying his speedway, and riding at no. 1 lowered the Armadale track record a number of times during the season.
He missed most of August with a broken arm sustained in a Swedish match but he healed quickly, making his return for the first leg of the KO Cup final at Oxford. He set our successful effort on the way by winning his opening heat.
He showed exceptional consistency and finished the season with a 9.46 average, having recorded an amazing 45 double figure scores! In September on a famous night for the club, Peter Carr won the Premier League Riders' Championship and Robert Eriksson came a very worthy third.
He had been saying for some time that he needed to stay at home for 1998, so Monarchs planned their team without him. Unfortinately he changed his mind too late and rode only in a brief spell at Belle Vue in the Elite League. For 1999 he was loaned to Newcastle, and had an excellent season for the Diamonds, enjoying some success at Armadale. But even when asked during an interview at Brough Park if he wanted to stay with Newcastle, he said that Edinburgh was his UK home.
The departure of James Grieves during the 1999-2000 winter gave Monarchs the chance to recall the rider who was so effective riding at no. 1. He always said he liked riding there because he felt confident enough to deal with whatever the first corner threw at him, while other riders may have held back just a little.
He was right back into the groove with a 9.31 average, superbly consistent, and he established a thrilling heat 13 pairing with Peter Carr. Previously McKinna and Grieves had played this role alongside the Motor, but neither of these particularly liked trying to keep pace alongside Peter. Robert loved it!
An intelligent man, Robert was already planning his future business in Sweden, and 2001 proved to be his farewell to the club. His form was slightly less good, finishing with a 7.83 average, and he was not quite as lean as in earlier years!
He has been very successful in business and has visited Armadale, most recently when he brought a couple of young Swedes to Frede Schott's Testimonial. He is still turning out for Bysarna in the Swedish Allsvenskan League. He is one of the club organizers and has also assisted in Rory Schlein's introduction to Swedish Speedway at Kumla.
One of the best no. 1's and one of the best club men we have ever had, he still has plenty of friends in Scotland.
| Year | Team | Meet | Race | Pts | Bon | Ave | M | Paid |
| 1995 | Edinburgh | 24 | 119 | 162 | 37 | 6.69 | ||
| 1996 | Edinburgh | 37 | 180 | 251 | 45 | 6.58 | ||
| 1997 | Edinburgh | 42 | 217 | 492 | 21 | 9.46 | 2 | 3 |
| 1998 | Belle Vue | 6 | 23 | 19 | 4 | 4.00 | ||
| 1999 | Newcastle | 32 | 146 | 316 | 10 | 8.93 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 | Edinburgh | 46 | 238 | 533 | 21 | 9.31 | 1 | 3 |
| 2001 | Edinburgh | 43 | 212 | 399 | 16 | 7.83 | 1 | 2 |
