Nicki Pedersen

Nicki Pedersen (born 2 April 1977 in Odense, Denmark)[1] is a Danish motorcycle speedway rider. He has won the World Championship in 2003, 2007 and 2008 and was a World Cup winner with Denmark in 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014.[2] His brother, Ronni Pedersen, has also ridden in the Speedway Grand Prix and World Cup.

Nicki Pedersen
Born (1977-04-02) 2 April 1977
Odense, Denmark
Nationality Denmark
Websitewww.nickipedersen.com
Current club information
British leagueSheffield Tigers
Danish leagueHolsted
Polish leagueGKM Grudziądz
Swedish leagueRospiggarna
Career history
Great Britain
1998Newcastle Diamonds
1999–2000Wolverhampton Wolves
2001–2002King's Lynn Stars
2003Oxford Cheetahs
2003–2007Eastbourne Eagles
2011Peterborough Panthers
2020–Sheffield Tigers
Denmark
?-1997Fjelsted
1998-1999Holstebro
2000-2002Brovst
2003-Holsted
Poland
1999Start Gniezno
2000GKM Grudziądz
2001Wybrzeże Gdańsk
2002Falubaz Zielona Góra
2003Wybrzeże Gdańsk
2004-2005ROW Rybnik
2006-2007Stal Rzeszów
2008-2009Włókniarz Częstochowa
2010-2013Stal Gorzów
2014-2017Unia Leszno
2018Unia Tarnów
2019Falubaz Zielona Góra
2020-GKM Grudziądz
Russia
2007-2010Mega Lada
Sweden
1997-1998Filbyterna
1999-2001 Västervik
2002-2005Smederna
2006-2007 Hammarby
2008-2010Lejonen
2011-2013Vargarna
2014-2015Dackarna
2016Lejonen
2018-2019Västervik
2020Masarna
Speedway Grand Prix statistics
Starts178
Podiums49 (17-15-17)
Finalist64 time
Winner16 times
Individual honours
2003, 2007, 2008World Champion
2002, 2003, 2005, 2006,Danish Champion
2004, 2007Elite League Riders Champion
1997, 1998Danish Under-21 Champion
2002, 2007, 2011European Grand Prix Champion
2003British Grand Prix Champion
2006, 2007Slovenian Grand Prix Champion
2006Polish Grand Prix Champion
2007Italian Grand Prix Champion
2007, 2008, 2012Czech Grand Prix Champion
2009Polish Grand Prix Champion
2012Croatian Grand Prix Champion
2015Finnish Grand Prix Champion
2015Swedish Grand Prix Champion
2015Torun Grand Prix Champion
2018Scandinavian Grand Prix Champion
2008, 2010Golden Helmet of Pardubice (CZE)
Team honours
2006, 2008, 2012, 2014World Cup Winner
2001, 2002, 2003Polish Div Two Champion
1995, 1998, 2000, 2003,Danish League Champion
2008, 2020Elitserien Champion
Competition record
Representing  Denmark
Speedway World Championship
2003
2007
2008
2012
2006
2014
2015
Speedway World Cup
2006
2008
2012
2014
2002
2007
2013
2015
2003
2004
2005
Intercontinental Cup
2000
Golden Helmet
2008
2010
2005
2006

Career

Domestic teams

Pedersen began speedway racing aged 11 at Danish club Fjelsted. He started his Polish speedway career in 1999 with Polish second division club Start Gniezno and has since ridden for GTŻ Grudziądz, Wybrzeże Gdańsk, ZKŻ Zielona Góra and ŻKS ROW Rybnik. Between 2006 and 2007 he rode for Stal Rzeszów and since 2008 he has ridden for Włókniarz Częstochowa. Pedersen rides for Dackarna in the Swedish Elitserien, and Holsted in the Danish Super League.[3]

Pedersen's speedway career in the United Kingdom began with the Premier League team Newcastle Diamonds, before Elite League side Wolverhampton Wolves bought him for the 1999 season. He was at Wolverhampton for two years before the club loaned him out to King's Lynn, Oxford and Eastbourne. Pedersen spent four years at Eastbourne but left at the end of the 2007 season due to a change in ownership of the club and a reduction of the points limit for team building purposes by the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).[4] Although Nicki is still an asset of Wolverhampton, he has ruled out a return to the Elite League.[5]

Grand Prix

Pedersen took part in his first Grand Prix in 2000, as a wildcard in Denmark and impressed by finishing in fourth place. That year he qualified for the 2001 Grand Prix where he managed a third in the opening round in Germany and then earned a spot in the Grand Prix in 2002. He showed potential in the opening round in 2002, finishing third in Germany. Consistent scoring left him in 11th place in the World Championship after his first full year.

Pedersen had a bad start to 2002, but secured his GP place in 2003 after recording the first win of his career in the European Grand Prix. He finished the year in 12th place despite an inconsistent season. In 2003, he improved massively on his 2002 performance. He finished second in the opening Grand Prix of the season, and after a 10th place in the Swedish Grand Prix, Pedersen won again in Cardiff to give him a chance of becoming World Champion. Consistent high placings and four more podium finishes, including three in a row, secured the 2003 World Championship for Pedersen.

The 2004 season was less successful for Pedersen; he failed to record a win or a podium place. He finished in fifth place in the World Championship, well behind the two leaders Tony Rickardsson and Jason Crump. A second place in Slovenia was his best result during the 2005 Grand Prix season and he finished in fourth in the World Championship. Pedersen won the opening GP meeting of the 2006 season in Slovenia, but after that he fell behind championship leaders Rickardsson and Crump. He improved to finish third in the World Championship however, after a podium place in Latvia and a win in Poland.

Pedersen was dominant in 2007, winning four of the eleven Grand Prix, and finishing runner-up in two. He dropped only one point in the opening two rounds and had a run of six consecutive finals, which ended after an exclusion in the semi final in Great Britain. Pedersen won the penultimate Grand Prix in Slovenia and in doing so became the 2007 World Champion after accumulating an unassailable lead at the head of the standings.[6]

Speedway Grand Prix results
Year Position Points Best Finish Notes
2000 20th 17 4th Fourth placed as a wild card in Danish Grand Prix
2001 11th 52 3rd Third in German Grand Prix
2002 12th 73 Winner Won European Grand Prix
2003 1st 152 Winner Won British Grand Prix
2004 5th 113 4th
2005 4th 102 2nd Second in Slovenian Grand Prix
2006 3rd 134 Winner Won Slovenian and Polish Grand Prix
2007 1st 196 Winner Won in Italian, European, Czech Republic and Slovenian Grand Prix
2008 1st 174 Winner Won in Czech Republic Grand Prix
2009 6th 110 Winner Won in Polish Grand Prix
2010 10th 91 5th
2011 10th 89 Winner Won European Grand Prix
2012 2nd 152 Winner Won Czech Republic and Croatian Grand Prix
2013 5th 121 3rd Third in New Zealand, Swedish and Czech Republic Grand Prix
2014 3rd 134 2nd Second in New Zealand and Latvian Grand Prix
2015 3rd 131 Winner Won Finnish, Swedish and Third Polish Grand Prix
2007 Speedway Grand Prix Final Championship standings
(Riding No 3)
Race no. Grand Prix Pos. Pts. Heats Draw No
1 /11 Italian SGP 1 24 (3,3,3,3,3) +3 +6 13
2 /11 European SGP 1 23 (3,2,3,3,3) +3 +6 3
3 /11 Swedish SGP 4 11 (0,3,3,X,3) +2 +0 9
4 /11 Danish SGP 2 16 (T,3,3,1,2) +3 +4 6
5 /11 British SGP 6 12 (2,3,2,3,2) +X 9
6 /11 Czech Rep. SGP 1 24 (3,3,3,3,3) +3 +6 7
7 /11 Scandinavian SGP 5 16 (3,3,3,3,3) +1 12
8 /11 Latvian SGP 2 19 (3,3,1,3,2) +3 +4 11
9 /11 Polish SGP 3 19 (2,3,3,3,3) +3 +2 16
10 /11 Slovenian SGP 1 23 (3,2,3,3,3) +3 +6 14
11 /11 German SGP 8 9 (1,1,1,3,3) +E 7
2008 Speedway Grand Prix Final Championship standings
(Riding No 1)
Race no. Grand Prix Pos. Pts. Heats Draw No
1 /11 Slovenian SGP 2 17 (3,2,3,1,1) +3 +4 11
2 /11 European SGP 3 16 (3,2,1,3,3) +2 +2 3
3 /11 Swedish SGP 3 16 (2,1,3,3,2) +3 +2 7
4 /11 Danish SGP 2 20 (3,3,3,2,3) +2 +4 13
5 /11 British SGP 3 11 (2,1,2,0,3) +3 +f 10
6 /11 Czech Rep. SGP 1 22 (3,2,3,3,3) +2 +6 10
7 /11 Scandinavian SGP 3 14 (2,2,0,3,3) +2 +2 14
8 /11 Latvian SGP 2 18 (2,3,3,3,0) +2 +4 1
9 /11 Polish SGP 2 21 (3,3,2,3,3) +2 +4 10
10 /11 Italian SGP 11 6 (1,x,3,0,2) 8
11 /11 German SGP 5 13 (3,3,1,2,3) +1 7
  permanent speedway rider
  wild card, track reserve or qualified reserve
  rider not classified (track reserve who did not start)

References
  1. Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0
  2. Bamford, R.(2007). Speedway Yearbook 2007. ISBN 978-0-7524-4250-1
  3. "Nicki Pedersen Profile". NickiPedersen.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  4. "Eagles confident of survival - but without Pedersen". The Argus. 2008-11-15. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  5. "Snub's still a pain for Ped". Daily Mirror. 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  6. "Nicki Pedersen wins Slovenian GP and secures second world title". WorldSpeedway.com. 2007-09-23. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
2011 Speedway Grand Prix riders
1 Gollob 2 Hampel 3 Crump 4 Holta 5 Hancock
6 Harris 7 Bjerre 8 Holder 9 Jonsson 10 Pedersen
11 Lindgren 12 Sayfutdinov 13 Laguta 14 Lindbäck 15 Kołodziej
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.