12:01am Saturday 27th September 2008
By Phil Chard
BJARNE Pedersen has decided to hang up his Grand Prix Kevlars after failing to make an impression on the World Championship this year.
Pirates' captain, languishing in 13th place in this season's series 14 points adrift of an automatic re-qualification, made the decision privately about a month ago.
But he has now gone public ahead of tonight's Italian GP at Lonigo (6pm) where he will line up for the 57th time since his GP debut in 2002.
The 30-year-old Poole Castle Cover rider will then try to go out in a blaze of glory by winning the German GP on October 11.
It means, even if Pedersen won the last two rounds of this year's series or the record $200,000 prize money at stake at Gelsenkirchen, he would still turn down the chance to extend his GP career.
Then Dane said: "I've already decided not to be in the GP next season. Whatever happens, I'll finish.
"I'm 14 points down and the chance to finish in the top eight is very small.
"Even if I finish ninth or 10th and was in a good position for a wild card, I'd still turn it down.
"Right now I just need some fresh air for next season."
Pedersen, who won the European GP in 2004 and secured five other podium places, added: "I feel I've put a lot of effort in this year and not got anything back, so a season outside the GP will do me good.
"I feel very pleased I've made the decision. The decision was made a month ago, it was just me, my mechanic and some of my sponsors who knew.
"I just need a bit of fresh air to get hungry again because if I'm in the GP I need to be near the top.
"It is too much work to put into it and be down in 10 to 13th place.
"I enjoyed my first three or four years in the GP especially when I felt I was moving up, and the year I finished sixth (2005) was great for me.
"So if I'm in the GP, I want to be up there."
Pedersen continued: "It's a clear decision. I'm very pleased I've made it, and I'll focus on my remaining Elite League matches this year.
"Next year, my goals are the Danish Championship, the World Team Cup, the Elite League Riders' Championship and riding for my clubs.
"I'll put a lot of effort into meetings like that.
"I'm sure I can do better in the league. I'll have more energy, and I can also have my best engines for the Elite League not the GPs.
"The GP is hard work, and looking in from the outside you just see the good things.
"When you are in it, it's harder on the inside of the fence.
"All the riders in the GP put a lot of effort in, and it's very expensive to run a GP team.
"I'm not sad. On the contrary, I'm really looking forward to next year, although I still feel there's something inside me that says I'm not finished with the GP.
"I'm not too worried about if I want to do the qualifying rounds.
"I have qualified three times via that route before and I'm sure I can do it again.
"I'll look into how they organise the qualifiers for next season and see how it changes before deciding what I'll do in 2009.
"Of course I'll go to Lonigo and try to do my best and hopefully I'll finish up with two good GPs."
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