The Golden Hammer - 1989
By Tracy Holmes and Steve Baker

July 19. 1989.

Tom Johnson is on the type-writer for Speedway Star. "Jan O Pedersen chose Cradley's big night to issue a timely warning to his World Championship rivals. Not only did he prove he has the skill and the uncanny control, he showed he is the most exciting entertainer in Speedway. Pedersen's weakness has always been his gating but he has been able to overcome that failing with his ability to come from behind. In his opening ride, when he made a poor getaway, he squeezed past his Cradley colleague Simon Cross on the back straight to record his first win. He made another poor start second time out but by the time he had found his way past Lance King, he was too late to catch Gert Handberg and World Champion Erik Gundersen. It proved to be Pedersen's only failure. He trailed Alan Grahame in his third outing but came through on the last lap and then produced his best gate of the night when he needed it most, against Hans Nielsen. His final outing was little more than a formality to the cheers of the Cradley fans."

And so, Jan O made up for last year's disappointment and added the Golden Hammer to his golden hit list. It was also Danish Delight as the Main Danes all stood on the podium.

Yes, the 'Danish Domination' continued BUT, not for too much longer. This would be the last 'Hammer time' for Erik Gundersen whose career came to a frightening and shocking end on September 17. He would treasure his two Golden Hammers almost as much as his two CZ Golden Helmets! That is how big this meeting was.

Heat 1. Gundersen, Dugard, Morton, Thorp.
Heat 2. Handberg, Alan Grahame, Nielsen, Hancock.
Heat 3. Pedersen, Cross, Andy Grahame, Tatum.
Heat 4. Pfetzing, Ravn. King fall. S Moran ef
Heat 5. Gundersen, Handberg, Pedersen, King.
Heat 6. Nielsen, Ravn, Andy Grahame, Dugard.
Heat 7. Pfetzing, Thorp, Cross, Hancock.
Heat 8. Tatum, Alan Grahame, S Moran, Morton.
Heat 9. Nielsen, Cross, Gundersen, S Moran.
Heat 10. Tatum, Dugard, Pfetzing, Handberg.
Heat 11. Pedersen, Alan Grahame, Ravn, Thorp.
Heat 12. King, Hancock, Andy Grahame. Morton fall
Heat 13. Tatum, Gundersen, Ravn, Hancock.
Heat 14. Alan Grahame, Cross, Dugard, King.
Heat 15. Thorp, Handberg, Andy Grahame, Bostin. S Moran ns
Heat 16. Pedersen, Nielsen, Morton, Pfetzing.
Heat 17. Gundersen, Alan Grahame, Andy Grahame. Pfetzing fall
Heat 18. Pedersen, Dugard, Hackett, Hancock. S Moran ns
Heat 19. Nielsen, Tatum, King, Thorp.
Heat 20. Handberg, Cross, Ravn, Morton.
2nd place run-off. Gundersen, Nielsen.

Jan O Pedersen 13. Erik Gundersen 12. Hans Nielsen 12. Kelvin Tatum 11. Alan Grahame 11. Gert Handberg 10. Simon Cross 9. Robert Pfetzing 7. Peter Ravn 7. Martin Dugard 7. Paul Thorp 5. Andy Grahame 5. Lance King 4. Greg Hancock 2. Chris Morton 2. Shawn Moran 1. Res Andy Hackett 1. Res John Bostin 0.

This article was first published on 18th April 2022