Sunday 5th February 2012, 11:59

Danish racer Bjarne Pedersen admits he “didn’t expect” to depart Eastbourne after just one season in Eagles colours.

The Birmingham recruit is notoriously loyal to his clubs. He has spent well over two decades on and off with Holstebro in the Danish Super League.

He also achieved legendary status at Poole, where he raced from 2002 to 2010 and lifted every trophy available to an Elite League rider.

So when Pedersen led Eastbourne into last year’s play-off final, he could have been forgiven for thinking he had secured a return to Arlington for 2012.

But with Eagles racing their home meetings on Saturday nights, Pedersen’s qualification for the 12-round SGP series would have left the club with a major fixture headache.

After failing to receive an offer from the Sussex side, the two-time Speedway World Cup winner penned a two-year deal with Birmingham. And Pedersen admits the prospect of a secure future convinced him to complete a switch to Perry Barr.

He said: “To be fair, I didn’t expect that I’d need to move again. I felt I had done an okay job for Eastbourne, but I think the Grand Prix thing counted against me in the end.

“When I last spoke to Eastbourne, they could not say anything and were 50/50 about next year.

“Graham (Drury) called me a couple of days later and he was ready to talk about the future. So I ended up moving on again.”

Despite being the only 2011 Eastbourne rider not to get a recall for this season, Pedersen can understand Eagles’ reasons.

He said: “Of course they are looking to keep running on Saturdays and I’m involved in the Grand Prix and all the qualification meetings. I can understand that their Saturdays are really important for them.

“But when I look back, I have to say I really enjoyed my season at Eastbourne. It was a fantastic club to race for.”

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