PETERBOROUGH co-promoter Carl Johnson says Ulrich Ostergaard deserves a brilliant day and a big turn-out for his Farewell Meeting at the East of England Arena on Sunday (4pm).
The long-serving Dane, who was twice involved in title-winning Panthers teams, announced his retirement just before the end of the 2022 season having battled back from serious injury on numerous occasions.
He gave committed service to several clubs in British Speedway, but Peterborough was always the club with which he was most associated, and Johnson was his team manager for several of those years.
The meeting will see the Panthers’ line-up from one of the best days in their history, the 2017 Premier League Fours triumph, re-united with Chris Harris, Simon Lambert and Paul Starke all joining Ostergaard for his big day.
Johnson said: “Legend is used as a term too easily these days, but Ulrich Ostergaard is a legend at this club.
“He was a superb captain for me, and a superb club man – not just the way he rode his bike but also what he did off the track with the supporters, he was brilliant, easily one of the best riders I’ve had to deal with.
“As a person he’s a fantastic bloke, and I’ve met nobody better with the fans and with the kids, and with the sponsors.
“He’ll be a big miss. I class him as a good friend, we’ve had some really good times including when he won his Riders’ Championship, and it was so good to be part of that on the day.
“Our Fours win at Peterborough in ’17 was fantastic. We wanted to win it in front of our home crowd, and he went through the card that day – he just got on with it with no fuss, and we got to the end of the day and didn’t realise he’d got a full house until just before his last race!
“He’s been a true professional in the sport, and a lot of younger riders can look up to him and really learn a lot from him.
“I know Ulle and his team have been working hard to secure the riders to make up a fantastic looking line-up, and I hope to see as many people here as possible to give him the fond farewell he deserves after all his years’ service for the Panthers.”
Ostergaard’s meeting features a Four Team Tournament, an individual Final and plenty of support races and fun and games.
Gates open at 2pm for a 4pm start (car park opens 1pm), and supporters should note that entry will be via Gates 2 and 3.
LINE-UPS: PETERBOROUGH PANTHERS: Benjamin Basso, Simon Lambert, Troy Batchelor, Hans Andersen. TM: Trevor Swales. GLASGOW TIGERS: Chris Harris, Adam Roynon, Paul Starke, Drew Kemp. TM: Cami Brown. REDCAR BEARS: Charles Wright, Danyon Hume, Leon Flint, Ben Barker. TM: Ben Duffill. ULRICH’S STARS: Danny King, Jonas Knudsen, Patrick Baek, Erik Riss. TM: Carl Johnson.
BRITISH YOUTH: 125cc: Emerson Betty, Harry Fletcher, Casper Kluczniak, Ollie Binns. 500cc: Ben Trigger, Max Perry, Ashton Boughen, Max James.
VINTAGE SPEEDWAY: Mark Andersen, Graham Wilson, Keith Cornell, Martin Connor.