Kildemand wins in Denmark

 

Denmark’s Peter Kildemand has won the FIM Danish Grand Prix on an eventful evening in Horsens.

The first reserve, who was only in as a replacement to the injured Jaroslaw Hampel, sent the home fans into raptures, winning ahead of Matej Zagar and Michael Jepsen in the final.

Current Championship leader Tai Woffinden extended his lead ahead of Nicki Pedersen to 13 points despite being excluded from the final heat after he collided with Kildemand.

Kildemand suffered three crashes on the evening, including an exclusion in heat 12 after falling under pressure from Chris Harris before he was involved in a three man pile up with Pedersen and Zagar in heat 18, but the 26 year old picked himself up to record an impressive SGP victory.

Speaking after his win, Kildemand said; “This is absolutely perfect. It was a tough night. I had to pick myself up off the deck a few times and fair play to the boys in the pits. They got the bikes going again and it was tough work for them.

“The bikes were pretty damaged every time I went down. So it was an absolutely great job by them.

“When I crossed the finish line and I’d won it, it was like time stood still for a few seconds. I’m just so glad.

“Every time I go to a GP, I go to win it. Right now, it’s a feeling I want to have more often.

“It’s amazing. It was a tough night and it didn’t always go the way I hoped, but I’m so glad to win it. It was my first time in Horsens. It was an amazing stadium and the track guys did some good work.”

The winner also paid tribute to Woffinden after his sporting reaction to his exclusion in the final.

He said: “It’s always tough and, to be fair, Tai was really cool. He came up and gave me some advice. He just told me to ride the track and it worked.”

Despite crashing out in heat 18 with Kildemand and Pedersen, Zagar continued despite the injuries he sustained to his leg and hand to claim second on the night. But the Slovenian earned 12 points on the evening, taking him level with third-placed Greg Hancock in the riders standings.

So after an eventful Danish Grand Prix, Woffinden extends his lead over Pedersen who scored seven points in his home country, whilst Zagar and Hancock are level on 65 points, 13 behind the Dane.

The next SGP is in Poland on 29 August, where Pedersen will be hoping to close the gap on Woffinden.