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Nicki Pedersen

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Nicki Pedersen
Born (1977-04-02) 2 April 1977 (age 47)
Odense, Denmark
NationalityDanish
Websiteofficial website
Career history
Denmark
1988–1997Fjelsted
1998–1999Holstebro
2000–2002Brovst
2003–2023Holsted Tigers
2024Grindsted
Great Britain
1998Newcastle
1999–2000Wolverhampton
2001–2002King's Lynn
2003Oxford
2003–2007Eastbourne
2011, 2023Peterborough
Poland
1999Gniezno
2000, 2020-2023Grudziądz
2001, 2003, 2012Gdańsk
2002, 2019Zielona Góra
2004-2005Rybnik
2006-2007, 2013, 2024Rzeszów
2008-2009Częstochowa
2010-2011Gorzów
2014-2017Leszno
2018Tarnów
Sweden
1997-1998Filbyterna
1999-2001, 2018-2019Västervik
2002-2005Smederna
2006-2007Hammarby
2008-2010, 2016Lejonen
2011-2013Vargarna
2014-2015Dackarna
2020Masarna
Speedway Grand Prix statistics
Starts178
Podiums49 (17-15-17)
Finalist64 times
Winner17 times
Individual honours
2003, 2007, 2008World Champion
2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011Danish Champion
2005, 2007Elite League Riders Champion
1997, 1998Danish Under-21 Champion
2010Golden Helmet of Pardubice
Team honours
2006, 2008, 2012, 2014World Cup Winner
2015Polish Ekstraliga Champion
2001, 2002, 2003Polish Div Two Champion
1995, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2021Danish League Champion
2008, 2009, 2020Elitserien Champion

Nicki Pedersen (born 2 April 1977)[1] is a Danish motorcycle speedway rider.[2] He is a three time world champion having won the World Championship in 2003, 2007 and 2008. He has also won the World Cup with Denmark in 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014.[3][4]

Career

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Pedersen began speedway racing aged 11 at Danish club Fjelsted. He stayed at the club until a move to in 1998 to Holstebro, the same year that he made his British league debut with Newcastle Diamonds in the 1998 Premier League speedway season. He topped the League averages which began his journey towards the pinnacle of the sport.[5]

He started his Polish speedway career in 1999 with Polish Speedway First League club Start Gniezno and would go on to ride for ten different Polish sides.[6] Elite League side Wolverhampton Wolves bought him for the 1999 season. He was at Wolverhampton for two years.

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.[7]

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.[8]

He joined Eastbourne Eagles in 2003 and would stay for four years until 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).[9][10]

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.[11] He won his first major team gold for Denmark after winning the 2006 Speedway World Cup.

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 for a second time, after accumulating an unassailable lead at the head of the standings.[12]

He successfully defended his title during the 2008 Speedway Grand Prix to become a three time world champion[13] and join a select group of seven other riders at the time. He also helped Denmark win the 2008 Speedway World Cup (his second) and would go on to win four in total after winning again in 2012 and 2014.

He continued to perform at the major championships riding in every Grand Prix series until his last in the 2018 Speedway Grand Prix. He won the silver medal during the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix and bronze medal at both the 2014 Speedway Grand Prix and 2015 Speedway Grand Prix.

After international retirement he continued to ride in domestic speedway in Denmark, Sweden and Poland. In 2022, he suffered a serious crash when riding for Grudziądz in Poland, breaking his hip and pelvis. He missed the remainder of the season.[14] Pedersen returned to British speedway in 2023, when he signed for Peterborough for the SGB Premiership 2023; he had previously ridden in Britain for the club in 2011. However, after crashing and picking up an injury in his first ride he resigned from the club.[15]

In 2023, as the joint Danish team manager he was part of the Danish team that won the bronze medal in the 2023 Speedway World Cup final. He chose to ride just once in the final itself.[16]

Family

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His brother, Ronni Pedersen, has also ridden in the Speedway Grand Prix and World Cup.

Major results

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World individual Championship

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World team Championships

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Grand Prix wins

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Grand Prix results

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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 4th
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
2016 13th 62 4th
2017 20th 8 13th
2018 11th 74 Winner Won Scandinavia GP
2007 Speedway Grand Prix Final Championship standings
(Riding No 3)
Race no. Grand Prix Pos. Pts. Heats Draw No
1 /11 Italy Italian SGP 1 24 (3,3,3,3,3) +3 +6 13
2 /11 Europe European SGP 1 23 (3,2,3,3,3) +3 +6 3
3 /11 Sweden Swedish SGP 4 11 (0,3,3,X,3) +2 +0 9
4 /11 Denmark Danish SGP 2 16 (T,3,3,1,2) +3 +4 6
5 /11 United Kingdom British SGP 6 12 (2,3,2,3,2) +X 9
6 /11 Czech Republic Czech Rep. SGP 1 24 (3,3,3,3,3) +3 +6 7
7 /11 Sweden Scandinavian SGP 5 16 (3,3,3,3,3) +1 12
8 /11 Latvia Latvian SGP 2 19 (3,3,1,3,2) +3 +4 11
9 /11 Poland Polish SGP 3 19 (2,3,3,3,3) +3 +2 16
10 /11 Slovenia Slovenian SGP 1 23 (3,2,3,3,3) +3 +6 14
11 /11 Germany 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 Slovenia Slovenian SGP 2 17 (3,2,3,1,1) +3 +4 11
2 /11 Europe European SGP 3 16 (3,2,1,3,3) +2 +2 3
3 /11 Sweden Swedish SGP 3 16 (2,1,3,3,2) +3 +2 7
4 /11 Denmark Danish SGP 2 20 (3,3,3,2,3) +2 +4 13
5 /11 United Kingdom British SGP 3 11 (2,1,2,0,3) +3 +f 10
6 /11 Czech Republic Czech Rep. SGP 1 22 (3,2,3,3,3) +2 +6 10
7 /11 Sweden Scandinavian SGP 3 14 (2,2,0,3,3) +2 +2 14
8 /11 Latvia Latvian SGP 2 18 (2,3,3,3,0) +2 +4 1
9 /11 Poland Polish SGP 2 21 (3,3,2,3,3) +2 +4 10
10 /11 Italy Italian SGP 11 6 (1,x,3,0,2) 8
11 /11 Germany 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

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  1. ^ Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0
  2. ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport. Little, Brown. p. 527. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
  3. ^ Bamford, R.(2007). Speedway Yearbook 2007. ISBN 978-0-7524-4250-1
  4. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Nicki Pedersen". WWOS backup. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Nicki Pedersen Profile". NickiPedersen.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  7. ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Grand Prix of Norway - Nicki is new world champ". Crash.net. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Eagles confident of survival - but without Pedersen". The Argus. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  10. ^ "Snub's still a pain for Ped". Daily Mirror. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  11. ^ "2006 Grand Prix". Speedway Fan Site. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Nicki Pedersen wins Slovenian GP and secures second world title". WorldSpeedway.com. 23 September 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  13. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Still defying the odds". Speedway Star. 23 July 2022. p. 23.
  15. ^ "NICKI RETURNS FOR PURPLE PANTHERS". British Speedway. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  16. ^ "POLAND WIN SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP AHEAD OF GREAT BRITAIN AS MACIEJ JANOWSKI BEATS ROBERT LAMBERT IN DECISIVE HEAT 20". Eurosport. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
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