Monday 28th November 2011, 13:20

Grand Prix wild card Hans Andersen believes the battle for Danish pride will spur his nation’s four SGP stars to produce their best form in 2012.

Andersen will be joined in the World Championship field by fellow countrymen Kenneth Bjerre, Nicki Pedersen and Bjarne Pedersen.

The Danes never like to be beaten by their compatriots. Andersen’s rivalry with three-time world champion Nicki Pedersen, in particular, is famous and they nearly came to blows on the track after a titanic scrap at the 2010 FIM British SGP in Cardiff.

Bjerre has been the highest finishing Dane in the SGP series for the past two years – achieving seventh spot in 2010 and 2011.

But he looks set to face some stiff competition next season and Andersen feels the fight for national bragging rights could bring the best out of his country’s World Championship challengers.

He said: “A few years ago, there were four Danes in the series and individual competition makes us all better. Everyone works a little bit harder to make sure they’re not the worst on the night.

“But at the end of the day, it’s not about beating the other three Danes; it’s about beating all 15 riders on the night.”

One thing all four riders have in common is that none of them have team places in the Polish Ekstraliga as things stand.

Bjerre has been linked with Wroclaw and Gdansk, while Nicki Pedersen is said to be pondering a drop into the First Division.

With Ekstraliga clubs limited to just one SGP rider each for 2012, Andersen was forced to reject a lucrative offer from champions Zielona Gora to join the SGP series.

But he doesn’t rule out accepting a place in Poland’s second tier, even if his pay packet will be somewhat smaller.

The 31-year-old said: “I’ve had a few offers from the First Division and it is a route I would go down if possible. Income-wise, it’s not the same. But a little income is better than none.”

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