DATE OF BIRTH: 24 May 1984, Esbjerg, Denmark.

BRITISH CAREER: (2002) Newcastle; (2003) Newcastle, Peterborough; (2004-06) Belle Vue; (2007-10) Peterborough; (2011) King’s Lynn: (2012) Peterborough.

MAJOR HONOURS: European Under-19 Champion: 2003; Danish Under-21 Champion: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005; Danish Champion: 2010.

CLUB HONOUR: Elite Shield winner: 2007 [Peterborough].

GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHT: Swedish GP Champion: 2010.

RIDER LINKS: Brother of Lasse Bjerre Jensen (born: 31 October 1993, Esbjerg, Denmark).

2012 STARTING AVERAGE: 9.06 (EL).

The Dane has always ridden as Kenneth Bjerre. Regrettably, he broke his left femur whilst representing Slangerup in the first leg of the Danish League Play-Offs at Fjelsted on 31 August 2005. The injury was sustained after Holsted’s Nicki Pedersen had slightly locked-up in front of him, with both riders going into the safety fence at speed.

Unluckily, Bjerre broke the same leg in a Danish Super League meeting while riding for Esbjerg in a home match versus Fjelsted on 21 May 2008. The break occurred in heat eleven, when his team-mate, Brian Lyngsø, picked up drive exiting the second bend and lifted just prior to inadvertently running into Bjerre’s left thigh. Incredibly, having had an operation, the diminutive Dane was back riding again just 10 days after the accident!

The Dane was a fully-fledged Grand Prix rider in 2009 and was tipped by many in the sport to excel on the world stage over the coming years. Renowned for his lightning quick gating, Bjerre enjoyed his third successive full term with Peterborough and again proved a real fans’ favourite at the Panthers’ East of England Showground.

In what was a highlight of the season, his neat style and impressive race pace saw the Esbjerg-born rider storm to a 21-point maximum for his country in Event One of the Speedway World Cup at Vojens in his homeland on 11 July.

In December, he was again named in Peterborough’s starting line-up for 2010, as he continued his lengthy association with the Alwalton outfit. And, following a blistering start to the domestic campaign with the Panthers, the pint-sized Dane sealed a maiden Grand Prix success when he won the Swedish round at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, on 8 May.

However, Bjerre escaped relatively unscathed from a horror crash just days before the British GP. Paramedics feared that the Peterborough No. 1 had broken his wrist during the Panthers’ Elite League fixture at Eastbourne on 5 July.

The rider suffered a hand and knee injury that required several stitches, although he was fit enough to take his place at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium five days later. He initially went to Eastbourne General Hospital, but after being told there was a four-hour waiting time for treatment was driven to a hospital close to his Huntingdon home.

He went on to compile big scores with regularity for Peterborough, whilst also launching a frequent attack on the East of England Showground track record, although his best time was eventually bettered by Coventry’s Krzysztof Kasprzak. And, on 6 August, he made sure of his first Danish title courtesy of victory in the second leg of the Championship at Holsted. Meanwhile, on the world stage, he was to conclude the Grand Prix series in seventh place overall.

The end-of-season domestic statistics gave Bjerre an average of 9.62, the rider having compiled 398 points from thirty-five official appearances. That gave him third place in the overall Elite League figures, behind Wolverhampton’s Fredrik Lindgren and Leigh Adams of Swindon. The Dane’s record for the year took him to eleventh place in Peterborough’s all-time scoring list, having acquired over 1,500 points in the club’s colours since first representing them in a ‘doubling-up’ capacity in 2003.

Shortly after the conclusion of the campaign, Peterborough confirmed that he would represent them for a fifth straight term in 2011, as co-owner Rick Frost challenged him to be the Panthers’ version of Leigh Adams! The brilliant Aussie had called time on his European career at the end of October at the age of 39, having broken all of the Robins’ point-scoring records.

That came after Bjerre had been voted Rider of the Year by the Peterborough management team and presented with the trophy at a successful Panthers’ 2010 Party on 6 November. However, later that month, much debate was created when both Peterborough and Coventry shocked the speedway world by failing to declare their intent to run in 2011 at the BSPA AGM.

That left the Dane feeling disappointed as he had wished to spend the remainder of his career with the Panthers, although he fully understood the stance of the management and hoped to return to the club in the future. And, on 7 December, it was announced that King’s Lynn had sensationally captured the signing of the World No. 7 to form a powerful spearhead alongside fellow ex-Peterborough rider Niels-Kristian Iversen.

He enjoyed a successful season with the Stars in 2011 helping the club to reach the Elite League play-offs, but when the Panthers came calling a couple of months later he happily agreed a deal to return to his parent club for the 2012 season.