Class of 25: A Killer capture

Assuming it registered at all, our new number one will find Shielfield Park a very different place to the one he remembers when our mighty Dane rolls into the pits for press and practice in April.

Shorter, significantly wider, surrounded by a polyfoam barrier and somewhat easier to ride than on than his previous two visits in 2010 on surfaces both somewhat euphemistically reported at the time as being “grippy” and “with plenty of material”.

While far from the Bear Grylls survivalist track preparation favoured by Peter Waite in the noughties which saw meetings push the 9.30pm curfew until it squealed in agony there was still plenty of in-meeting trackwork required to keep those 2010 meetings moving forward.

Peter had arrived on the “wrong coast” as a 20-year-old recommended to the Comets by Danish team manager Jan Staechman and soon adapted to British conditions, an individualistic riding style earning him the nickname of Spider from the Derwent Park faithful.

He lived up to the signing hype by reaching the semi-final of the 40^th Anniversary meeting on his first view of the Cumbrian venue and followed up with 10+1 on team debut, a 45-44 Good Friday home defeat at the hands of the Bandits, falling in heat 14 before dusting himself off to win 15.

Points were much tougher to come by the following night at Shielfield Park – just 3+1 as the Comets were crunched 52-39 but Peter played his part in the races of the night against first Paul Clews and then Craig Branney, working hard for little in return.

Despite suffering foot and hand injuries the debutant Dane continued to make a big impact ending the season with a healthy 7.27 average and a gold medal after helping his country lift the World under-21 title at Rye House alongside Michael Jepsen Jensen, Rene Bach, Patrick Hougaard and Lasse Bjerre.

Injury played a part the following season too as Peter upped his average to 8.56 but managed only 17 meetings in blue and white. Shoulder ligament damage suffered racing in the GP Qualifier in Italy proved controversial as he returned to Danish league racing but continued to sit out Britain as he didn’t feel fit enough to cope with the “heavy” British circuits.

Two Elite League outings for Coventry yielded 18 points and, crucially, caught the eye of Bees team manager Alun Rossiter who was about to be tasked with rejuvenating Swindon’s team for the following season.

After two years struggling at the foot of the table, the Robins were rebuilt from the ground up with Peter joining Hans Andersen, Jason Doyle, Simon Stead and Nick Morris as the engine room off the side which would take the league title back to Wiltshire, scoring double figures in both legs of the Grand Final against Poole.

Having joined as reserve Killer ended the campaign with a 7.97 average which just shaded Doyle for the third heat leader spot.

There was also a taste of the big time as Danish GP reserve at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, beating Tomas Gollob and Antonio Lindback in his second ride of the night.

Two more seasons at the Abbey Stadium saw a play-off semi-final defeat in 2013 but on a personal note two 8-point plus returns. A senior World Cup success came when he joined Nikki Pedersen, Mads Korneliuson and Nils Kristian Iversen in Denmark’s stunning victory in Bydgoszcz and there continued to be regular GP Wildcard calls.

Indeed such was the draw of Swedish, Polish and Danish leagues alongside bidding for a full-time GP slot that Peter took the decision to step away from the fixture-laden British scene in 2015.

Peter even went as far as to suggest in a newspaper interview that many others could follow suit and proposed a solution – alternate week home fixtures – views which can still induce apoplexy within British supporters today.

As first reserve for the 2015 GP series Peter got the nod when Pole Jaroslaw Hempel was injured in the World Cup final and took full advantage by standing atop the podium on home shale at Horsens, beating Tai Woffinden, Matej Zager and Jepsen Jensen in a tumultuous final and earning a permanent wildcard for the following season in the process.

Having initially decided to sit out the 2015 Elite League season, Peter was lined up as a short-term replacement for Adrian Miedzinski at Swindon only for knee injury and bad weather to thwart the plan.

Peter did eventually return to the Robins’ nest for a handful of meetings as Darcy Ward’s replacement after the Australian’s life-changing injuries suffered in Poland.

A second GP title followed in Krsko the following season, sneaking into the semi-finals with just eight points but winning both that and the final – Woffinden again in his wake along with Doyle and Chris Holder.

As his star continued to shine Peter seemed lost to British racing although Poole brought him in for a six-meeting stint when Holder was briefly unavailable in 2018.

Belle Vue had his name on a contract for the 2020 season only for Covid to wipe out the season but a lack of track time in Poland last year meant that Peter was available when Oxford were building a side for their second season in the top flight.

And when Rory Schlein returned to retirement he was open to a Championship return after 13 years.

And this time he’ll be on the right side of the Shielfield pits.

PICTURES COURTESY JOHN SOMERVILLE COLLECTION