Monday 18th June 2012, 12:28

Danish teenager Mikkel B Jensen says he won’t be ready for the British Elite League until 2013, despite his show-stopping win over two world champs.

The 17-year-old was only listed as a reserve for the FIM Dansk Metal Danish SGP on June 9, but was called up for three races when Jaroslaw Hampel had to withdraw after suffering a broken leg.

Jensen finished last in his opener, but blew the roof off his national stadium in heat 12, when he passed Danish champion Nicki Pedersen on turn two, before leading world champion Greg Hancock and Peter Ljung over the line.

That one race win alone meant Jensen left PARKEN with more points than the two he achieved from five rides as a wild card in 2011, and he collected a third in heat 20 as well.

The Esbjerg-born rider is through to the semi-finals of the SGP qualifiers after finishing third in Gustrow on Saturday and is emerging as one of speedway’s fastest rising stars.

As Mikkel B prepares to finish school imminently, he has drawn plenty of interest from British promoters. But the Danish international says he will only make the leap across the North Sea at the start of next year.

He said: “Everybody has called me from the Elite League. But I’ve said to them that it will not be this year because I’m still not 100 percent ready. I need to do it from the start of the season and feel confident.

“My team is not 100 percent professional yet and I still need a full-time mechanic. I have two mechanics now – one in Sweden and one in Denmark. They’re helping with the races.

“Me and my Dad are still preparing the bikes at home and I’m really looking for a mechanic to do all the bikes for me. Then I can just get on the bike and ride. But you have to earn a lot of money to have a full-time mechanic.”

Jensen’s confidence will certainly have been boosted by his victory over Hancock and Pedersen – two men with five World Championships between them.

“I said to my team that I hope I get a race and from the start,” he said. “I had a good feeling in my stomach. I got three and I’m very happy with the four points.

“I had a victory in heat 12 and beat Hancock and Pedersen. That was a big goal for me. I’m very pleased about that.

“A few weeks ago, I said to everybody I’d beat Nicki in the Danish league and I almost did. But this time I beat him in PARKEN, Copenhagen in a Grand Prix – it was insane. I can’t believe it.

“I’m on top of the world right now. I feel I’m performing very well at the moment and I’m very happy.”

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