Career
In 1982 Pedersen signed for the Cradley Heathens [5] but did not ride until the following season when his first British meeting heralded a five-point return in Birmingham's Second City individual Trophy on 18 March. His future had been plotted for Dudley Wood almost a year earlier when he was recommended to Heathens team manager Peter Adams by his countryman, Bent Rasmussen. The ensuing months brought three more clubs knocking on his door but in August, Pedersen publicly pledged his future to Cradley. [6]
Pedersen finished his debut season with a 7.20 league average and Cradley's team total soared over 60-plus points as they won the British League and cup double again and the Midland Cup. [7] The decision was then made by new manager Colin Pratt to loan the Dane out and he spent 1984 with Sheffield. Despite that season being marred by a broken arm, he did enough to convince Tigers' promoter Maurice Ducker that he was worth buying. However, Pratt refused to sell and Pedersen's return to Dudley Wood for 1985 saw the start of an uninterrupted 8-year stint with the club. Pedersen achieved success for club, country and individually.
In 1985 he was a heat leader for the Heathens and became part of the dominant Danish national team of the era. In the Cradley team he was second only to Erik Gundersen and won three consecutive Speedway World Team Cups in 1986, 1987 and 1988, riding alongside the Danish greats of Hans Nielsen, Gundersen and Tommy Knudsen. He won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Belle Vue Stadium on 9 October 1988. [8]
He topped the Cradley team averages in 1989 and then led the team during the 1990 British League season, following Cradley's loss of Gundersen. That season he also won his first Speedway World Pairs Championship riding with Nielsen but it was the 1991 season that became the pinnacle of Pedersen's career. He won the ultimate prize of winning the Speedway World Championship [9] in addition to the winning a second World pairs title with Nielsen and Knudsen [10] and a fourth World Cup win.
Still aged only 29 his speedway career was brought to a premature end in his testimonial year. Less than a fortnight after Pedersen's 10-year testimonial at Cradley, he crashed in Denmark and suffered a serious back injury and never raced competitively again. Since 1993 he has been doing some saloon car racing in Denmark and won a championship in his first season. He has also had one year spells as team manager with Oxford and promoter with Cradley when the Cradley team spent the 1996 season riding at Stoke.
In 1999, he raced in the 25th Anniversary meeting at Denmark's Vojens track. A series of competitive races were held involving old and current international stars, including Gary Havelock, Henrik Gustafsson and Jesper B. Monberg. Pedersen managed to win every one of his races in his first track return since his career-ending accident in 1992. [11]
In 2012, he joined the Dudley Heathens Speedway team as their team coach. Dudley Heathens has roots with Cradley Heathens who currently ride at Perry Barr Stadium with the Birmingham Brummies. [12]
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