Thursday 16th February 2012, 12:29

Grand Prix star Kenneth Bjerre is desperate to end his wait for a major trophy in Britain and has tipped Peterborough to reach the Elite League play-off final this year.

The Danish international has won the Speedway World Cup twice with his country and triumphed at the 2010 Swedish SGP in Gothenburg. But he is still waiting for his first big trophy on British shale.

He joined Panthers in 2007 – the year after their unforgettable play-off final win over Reading at the East of England Showground. He lifted the Elite Shield with his new club in his first season, but has failed to land a trophy in their colours since.

Bjerre reached the Elite League semi-finals with King’s Lynn in 2011 and is determined to take Peterborough all the way this term.

He told the Peterborough Telegraph: “I know there was some criticism when the team was first named, but I think we can really surprise those people.

“A lot can go wrong in speedway with crashes and injuries, but if everything goes well for us I definitely think we can go all the way to the grand final.

“I would love to win something in England. I was close in the Premier League for Newcastle many years ago and it would be great to have a trophy.”

The 27-year-old knows there will be lots of pressure on him to notch up the big scores and inspire a young side, which features the likes of Linus Sundstrom, Jesper B Monberg, Michael Jepsen Jensen, Oliver Allen and Bjerre's younger brother Lasse.

The Esbjerg-born man is confident he can cope with this, despite his hectic international schedule, which will see him compete for the World Championship and race for Swedish side Indianerna, Polish outfit Wroclaw and Danish team Grindsted.

He added: “Every speedway rider wants to be world champion and everyone knows I am no different. That is my big goal in the sport and something I feel I can achieve but, as I’ve said, I also want to win things in the leagues.

“I know there will be big expectations of me as Peterborough’s No.1 and the pressure is on me to perform in every meeting. That’s what I will try to do and hopefully the fans will be happy and give the team good support.”

Bjerre looked set to miss out on a place in the Polish Ekstraliga, despite having a valid contract with Wroclaw. Top flight teams in Poland are limited to just one full-time SGP rider each and the Olympic Stadium outfit have also signed Freddie Lindgren.

But Bjerre is hopeful he will still get some rides. He added: “Wroclaw didn’t want to release me to go anywhere else so I’ve signed for them again.

“They say they will give meetings to the man who is riding best and I’m happy with that, but you never really know how it will work until the season is going. It could mean I have lots of meetings, or I could end up with not many.”

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