Bjarne Aagaard Pedersen (born 12 July 1978 in

Holstebro Holstebro is the main town in Holstebro Municipality, Denmark. The town, bisected by Storå, Denmark, ''Storåen'' ("The Large Creek") and has a population of 37,487 (1 January 2025).motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

rider who represented

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the

Speedway World Cup The Speedway World Cup is a motorcycle speedway event for national teams held in different countries. The first edition of the competition in the current format was held in 2001 and replaced the old Speedway World Team Cup, World Team Cup which ...

, winning it on two occasions: in 2006 and 2008.

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. 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 The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. He took part in his first two

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first ...

events in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, both as a wild card. His first full

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 Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

. Also in 2004, he won the Elite League Riders' Championship, held at

Wimborne Road Poole Stadium is a motorcycle speedway, speedway and former Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing venue located in the town centre of Poole, Dorset in England. The stadium is owned by the Borough of Poole. It was built in the ...

on 17 October. Pedersen admitted at the end of the 2007 season that he had lost enthusiasm for riding in

series until he qualified for the 2008 series in the race off in Vojens. 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. 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. Following a few rides for Leicester Lions in 2015 he rejoined Poole for the 2016 Elite League campaign. In 2021, he signed for Peterborough Panthers and

Plymouth Gladiators The Plymouth Gladiators are a Motorcycle speedway, speedway team in the British SGB Championship. The team competed during various seasons from 1932 to 1969, before reforming after a gap of thirty-six years in 2006. In 2021, the club successful ...

and after winning the league and cup double with Peterborough during the SGB Premiership 2021 season, he announced his retirement.

Speedway Grand Prix results

''*'' Pedersen sustained a broken wrist during a

Craven Shield The Craven Shield and Young Shield were short-lived Motorcycle speedway, speedway end of season cup competitions in the United Kingdom governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association ...

meeting for

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

on 2 May 2008. His place at the European Grand Prix and the Swedish Grand Prix were taken by first reserve Lubos Tomicek.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersen, Bjarne 1978 births Living people Danish speedway riders Speedway World Cup champions Birmingham Brummies riders Eastbourne Eagles riders Danish expatriate speedway riders in England Leicester Lions riders Newcastle Diamonds riders Peterborough Panthers riders Plymouth Gladiators riders Poole Pirates riders Sportspeople from Holstebro Vargarna riders Vetlanda Speedway riders Kaparna riders Västervik Speedway riders Masarna riders Indianerna riders Piraterna riders