Ulrich Reinhold Østergaard (born 19 April 1981 in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, Denmark) is a Danish former

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

rider.

Career

Østergaard initially came to the United Kingdom for a trial with the Trelawny Tigers in 2002 and impressed the management as they offered a contract immediately. However the

British Speedway Promoters' Association The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Wimbledon controller Ronn ...

did not ratify the deal due to the complex points limit in operation that season. Østergaard was eventually signed by the

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British motorcycle speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England. They were founded in 1929 and are two times champions of Britain in 1995 and 2000. The team last raced on 31 July 2021. Hist ...

to ride in the ill-fated British League Cup during 2003. The 2004 season saw Østergaard gain his first full-time UK ride with the

Isle of Wight Islanders The Isle of Wight Warriors (formerly Isle of Wight Islanders) are a motorcycle speedway team from England. They last competed in the 2019 National Development League and ride their home meetings at the Smallbrook Stadium. Since leaving the Br ...

, where he stayed for two seasons, doubling up with the

in the Elite League. In 2006 he was signed by the

Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Peterborough, England from 1970 to 2023. They were three times List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest lev ...

, winning the Elite League title. 2007 saw Østergaard step down a division to ride for the

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British Motorcycle speedway, speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League (1929–31), Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of Britis ...

, but after falling out with the management he signed for the

Workington Comets The Workington Comets are a British motorcycle speedway club, based in Workington, Cumbria based at the Northside Speedway track (known as the GT Tyres Arena for sponsorship purposes). The team previously operated from 1970 to 2018 and were ba ...

. Østergaard signed for the

Reading Racers Reading Racers were a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished. His ...

in 2008 for the start of their new season back in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

after a two-year stint in the Elite League. He started the season with an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 8.27, filling the number three spot on the Racers line up. By the end of the season, he had topped Reading's averages with a 10.33 figure. He was also named 2008 Premier League Rider of the Year by the Speedway Riders Association. In 2014, he returned to Peterborough and would remain with them for nine seasons. He was part of the Peterborough team that won the SGB Championship Fours, which was held on 6 August 2017, at the

East of England Arena The East of England Showground is a large showground area (667,731sqm) located on East of England Way near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The Showground is owned by Bellway as of around 2019 and the site currently includes the East of E ...

. He repeated the success the following season, helping Peterborough win the fours again, this time it was held on 1 July 2018, at the Media Prime Arena. Having started the 2019 season as

number 1 rider he was dropped by the Midlands team and quickly re-signed for former team

Redcar Bears The Redcar Bears are a British motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Championship (second tier of the British speedway leagues). The club was founded in 2006 and their major team honour to date is the SGB Championship Knockout Cup wi ...

. As of 2021, he rode in the top tier of British Speedway, riding for the Peterborough Panthers in the

SGB Premiership 2021 The 2021 British Speedway Premiership League was the 86th season of the top division of British Speedway, called the Premiership in 2021. The 2020 season had been lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. Six teams participated. Team changes Changes fro ...

, in addition to the Glasgow Tigers in the

SGB Championship 2021 The SGB Championship 2021 was the second tier division, called the SGB Championship, of the British speedway championship in 2021. Changes from the last edition of the Championship (held in 2019) were the addition of three teams and the loss o ...

. He was involved in a serious crash in July 2021 breaking bones in his back and wrist. In 2022, he rode for the Peterborough in the SGB Premiership 2022 and for the Glasgow in the

SGB Championship 2022 The 2022 SGB Championship season is the 75th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Championship. Summary Eleven clubs competed in the Championship in 2022, with Oxford returning to the sport after a 15-yea ...

. In November 2022, he announced his retirement from competitive racing and an intention to manage a team in Denmark.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostergaard, Ulrich 1981 births Living people Danish speedway riders Birmingham Brummies riders Danish expatriate speedway riders in England Glasgow Tigers riders Danish expatriate speedway riders in Scotland Isle of Wight Islanders riders Peterborough Panthers riders Reading Racers riders Workington Comets riders Sportspeople from Odense Motorcycle races from the Region of Southern Denmark