PETERBOROUGH skipper Ulrich Ostergaard can’t wait to celebrate his testimonial – with a little help from stars past, present and future.
The T Balfe Construction Panthers captain is rewarded for more than a decade of fine service to British speedway by staging his ’10 Year Spectacular’ at the East of England Showground tomorrow (Sunday, 2pm).
It promises to be a fantastic start to the new season and should provide another memorable date in the career of the reigning Premier League Riders’ Championship king and a former Elite League title-winner.
Ostergaard first arrived on these shores in 2003 when snapped up by Eastbourne. He has since gone on to represent Swindon, Panthers, Belle Vue, Birmingham and King’s Lynn in the top-flight while starring for Isle of Wight, Birmingham, Workington, Reading, Redcar and Panthers in the second tier.
His testimonial marks the start of his 14th consecutive season of racing in Britain and the star-studded line-up is testament to his popularity among his peers as well as with supporters.
“I’ve enjoyed almost every minute of my career in Britain,” said Ostergaard. “I can remember coming over here for the first time all those years ago and I’ve had some great experiences ever since.
“I’ve been lucky to ride for some good clubs in the Elite League and Premier League, but Peterborough is the place that feels like my home.
“I’ll never forget the way we won the title back in 2006 and I jumped at the chance to come back when the club came down into the Premier League a couple of years ago.
“I just love this place. The track, the club, the fans – everything is just brilliant and I’m so happy to be able to stage my testimonial here.
“I’m proud to have such a good line-up. It is an honour that so many top guys, and all my current team-mates, are prepared to give up their time to race for me.
“And the fact my hero, Hans Nielsen, will be here just makes it even more special. I can’t wait to see him on a bike at my home track!”
Tomorrow Ostergaard will be reunited with three other members of the famous title-winning Panthers team of 2006 – captain Hans Andersen, fellow Dane Niels Kristian Iversen and Polish ace Piotr Swiderski.
Former World Championship leader Kenneth Bjerre, Australian international Rory Schlein, locally-based Great Britain star Danny King and swashbuckling Showground star Krzysztof Buczkowski are other star turns who will feature in a mouth-watering individual meeting.
And there’s plenty more besides with other exhibition races involving GP ace Chris Harris and demonstration laps from the likes of former Peterborough favourite Olly Allen and Sky Sports expert Chris Louis.
But Ostergaard hopes his own extravaganza doesn’t prove to be the only big meeting at the East of England Showground this season. He admits he would really love to mark his testimonial season with honours.
Ostergaard added: “It has been a long time since the club won a trophy and hopefully we can change that this year.
“We’ve got a really exciting team with lots of potential, and I don’t see why we can’t be up there challenging.
“We did so well last season to reach the semi-finals of the play-offs despite so many injuries and now we want to do even better this year.
“I always think about what happened in the Grand Final in 2006 when Hans Andersen and Ryan Sullivan sealed the title with a 5-1.
“It would be great if I could do that myself this year.”
’10 Year Spectacular’ line-up: Hans Andersen, Niels Kristian Iversen, Kenneth Bjerre, Mads Korneliussen, Krzysztof Buczkowski, Piotr Swiderski, Danny King, Rory Schlein, Kenneth Hansen, Anders Thomsen, Ulrich Ostergaard, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen, Nicklas Porsing, Michael Palm Toft, Simon Lambert, Emil Grondal. Also featuring: Chris Harris, Olly Allen, Chris Louis, Tom Perry, Danny Phillips, Tobias Thomsen, Peter Karger and star guest Hans Nielsen.
