Bjarne Pedersen

For the Danish Olympic rower, see Bjarne Pedersen (rower).

Bjarne Pedersen

Born	(1978-07-12) 12 July 1978 (age 47) Holstebro, Denmark
Nationality	Danish
Career history
Denmark
1996–2001, 2007–2015, 2018	Holstebro
2002	Vojens
2003–2006, 2014–2017	Holsted
2004	Slangerup
2019–2021	Esbjerg
Great Britain
2000–2001, 2003	Newcastle
2002–2010, 2016	Poole
2011, 2013–14	Eastbourne
2012	Birmingham
2015	Leicester
2021	Peterborough
2021	Plymouth
Poland
1997, 2019–2020	Opole
1999, 2006	Toruń
2001–2002	Rawicz
2003	Łódź
2004	Zielona Góra
2005, 2007–2008	Gdańsk
2009–2011	Tarnów
2012–2015	Gniezno
2016	Piła
2017	Lublin
2018	Ostrów
Sweden
1998, 2012	Vargarna
1999, 2016	Elit Vetlanda
2000–2002	Kaparna
2003, 2005–2009	Västervik
2004	Masarna
2010, 2017–2018	Indianerna
2014–2015	Piraterna
Germany
2015	Diedenbergen
Speedway Grand Prix statistics
Starts	71
Podiums	7 (1-2-4)
Finalist	7 times
Winner	1 times
Individual honours
2004	Danish Champion
2004	Elite League Riders Champion
1999	Danish Junior Champion
2004	European Grand Prix Winner
Team honours
2003, 2004, 2008	Elite League Champion
2003, 2004	Elite League KO Cup Winner
2002, 2006	Craven Shield Winner
2003	British League Cup Winner
2001	Premier League Champion
2005	Swedish Elitserien Champion
1997, 2003, 2006	Danish League Champion
2007	Elite League Pairs Champion
2006, 2008	World Cup Winner

Bjarne Aagaard Pedersen (born 12 July 1978) ^[1] is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who represented Denmark in the Speedway World Cup, winning it on two occasions: in 2006 and 2008. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Career summary

Pedersen began his speedway career in 1990. He won his first title in 1994 winning a Danish junior pairs championship with Charlie Gjedde. ^[5] However, he did not ride as a full-time professional until 2000.

Pedersen began his United Kingdom racing career in with the Newcastle Diamonds in the Premier League. He took part in his first two Speedway Grand Prix events in 2002, both as a wild card. ^[6] His first full Speedway Grand Prix season came in 2003, but it was not until 2004 when Pedersen won his only Grand Prix to date at the European GP in Wrocław. ^[7] Also in 2004, he won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at Wimborne Road on 17 October. ^[8]

Pedersen admitted at the end of the 2007 season that he had lost enthusiasm for riding in Speedway Grand Prix series until he qualified for the 2008 series in the race off in Vojens. ^[9]

Pedersen was retained by Poole for the 2008 season over former world champion Jason Crump when it was announced the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA) that the points limit for team building purposes was to be reduced drastically. Poole promoter Matt Ford stated that Pedersen was chosen due to his loyalty to Poole over the previous six seasons. ^[10] He continued to ride for Poole until the end of the 2010 season when he joined Eastbourne Eagles for the 2011 Elite League speedway season.

On 20 August 2011, he qualified for the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix as a permanent rider, after finishing runner-up in the GP Challenge. After one season with Birmingham Brummies he returned to Eastbourne for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. ^[11]

Following a few rides for Leicester Lions in 2015 he rejoined Poole for the 2016 Elite League campaign. ^[12]

In 2021, he signed for Peterborough Panthers and Plymouth Gladiators and after winning the league and cup double with Peterborough during the SGB Premiership 2021 season, he announced his retirement. ^{[13] [14]}

Speedway Grand Prix results

Year	Position	Points	Best Finish	Notes
2002	26th	10	12th	2 Wild card rides
2003	14th	51	3rd	Finished 3rd in the Norwegian GP
2004	10th	78	Winner	Won the European GP
2005	6th	90	2nd	Finished 3rd in the Swedish GP, 3rd in the British GP and 2nd in the Czech GP
2006	12th	82	3rd	Finished 3rd in the Danish GP
2007	12th	77	5th
2008	11th	69	2nd	Missed European and Swedish GPs through injury. Finished 2nd in the Italian GP.
2011	22nd	3	14th	1 Wild card ride
2012	13th	59	6th

2007 Speedway Grand Prix Final Championship standings
(Riding No 12)

Race no.	Grand Prix	Pos.	Pts.	Heats	Draw No
1 /11	Italian SGP	12	5	(1,E,3,1,1)	5
2 /11	European SGP	7	8	(3,1,0,2,1) +1	12
3 /11	Swedish SGP	16	3	(0,0,2,1,0)	4
4 /11	Danish SGP	13	5	(X,3,1,0,1)	11
5 /11	British SGP	10	7	(2,3,1,1,0)	15
6 /11	Czech Rep. SGP	11	6	(3,1,0,0,2)	1
7 /11	Scandinavian SGP	9	7	(0,1,2,2,2)	7
8 /11	Latvian SGP	9	8	(2,2,2,1,1)	15
9 /11	Polish SGP	8	8	(3,1,3,1,0) +0	12
10 /11	Slovenian SGP	7	9	(0,0,2,3,3) +1	9
11 /11	German SGP	5	11	(0,3,2,2,3) +1	12

2008 Speedway Grand Prix Final Championship standings
(Riding No 11)

Race no.	Grand Prix	Pos.	Pts.	Heats	Draw No
1 /11	Slovenian SGP	16	4	(0,0,2,0,2)	5
2 /11	European SGP	-	-	Injured*	-
3 /11	Swedish SGP	-	-	Injured*	-
4 /11	Danish SGP	9	7	(1,2,3,0,1)	1
5 /11	British SGP	5	14	(2,3,3,3,3) +0(X))	16
6 /11	Czech Rep. SGP	9	7	(F/x,2,2,0,3)	7
7 /11	Scandinavian SGP	10	6	(0,2,0,1,3)	12
8 /11	Latvian SGP	8	7	(0,0,2,2,3) +0	9
9 /11	Polish SGP	14	4	(1,1,0,2,1)	15
10 /11	Italian SGP	2	17	(3,0,2,3,3) +2 +4	5
11 /11	German SGP	14	3	(1,1,1,0,0)	15

	permanent speedway rider
	wild card, track reserve or qualified reserve
	rider not classified (track reserve who did not start)

*Pedersen sustained a broken wrist during a Craven Shield meeting for Poole on 2 May 2008. His place at the European Grand Prix and the Swedish Grand Prix were taken by first reserve Lubos Tomicek.

References

1. Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. ISBN   0-9552376-1-0
2. "Bjarne Pedersen". Eurosport. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
3. "Bjarne Pedersen Dania". Polish Speedway Database. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
4. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
5. "Bjarne's Career Wins". PedersenRacing.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 22 September 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
6. Bamford, Robert (1 March 2007). Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2007. NPI Media Group. ISBN   0-7524-4250-3.
7. "Bjarne wins GP". SpeedwayWorld.TV. 4 September 2004. Archived from the original on 12 October 2004. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
8. "Elite League Riders' Championship". Speedway History. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
9. "Bjarne regains GP enthusiasm". Daily Echo. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
10. "It's over". Daily Echo. 3 December 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
11. "Bjarne Pedersen". WWOS backup. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
12. "Poole's 70th anniversary: Pirates icon Bjarne Pedersen proud of epic points haul". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
13. "Pedersen Signs". Plymouth Speedway. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
14. "PIRATES PREPARE TO SAY FAREWELL TO BJARNE". Poole Speedway. Retrieved 14 January 2023.