OLIVER, John Francis
DATE OF BIRTH: 22 July 1987, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
BRITISH CAREER: (2003) Carmarthen, Buxton; (2004) King’s Lynn II, Boston; (2006) King’s Lynn, Boston; (2007-08) King’s Lynn; (2011) Leicester, Scunthorpe II/Sheffield II.
CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 2006 [King’s Lynn]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2006 [King’s Lynn]; Premier Trophy winner: 2006 [King’s Lynn].
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 5.43 (PL), 7.62 (NL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Oliver took his first tentative rides as a teenager at his nearest track in Brisbane and was mentored by local rider Dave Booth. After making considerable progress he soon realised that to further his career in the sport he would have to leave Australia and ride in the UK. As such, it was thanks to his father selling his business that he was able to pursue his career in Britain.

He first appeared on the UK tracks in 2003 and raced at Conference League level for Buxton and Carmarthen. The following season, he moved to Boston and also represented King’s Lynn Starlets in the Conference Trophy, but then took a year out to complete his apprenticeship back home.

In 2006, Premier League racing beckoned and Oliver returned to ride for King’s Lynn where he made the transition to a much higher standard of competition with ease. It was a defining season for the rider, who also came third in the Queensland State Championship final.

Oliver sustained a broken leg whilst representing King’s Lynn in a Premier Trophy match at home to Stoke on 11 April 2007. Whilst battling for position with visiting rider Barrie Evans in heat two, the Aussie careered at high speed into the fence on the second bend, sustaining a compound fracture to the his left thigh, which was to rule him out of action for the remainder of the season.

The Victorian returned to ride for the Norfolk outfit in 2008, when he remained ever-present throughout their 42-match schedule to record 252 points and a 6.35 average. And, in what was the club’s final league match of the campaign, he netted a superb six-ride, paid maximum tally of 14+4 points from the No. 6 berth at Mildenhall on 14 September.    

He again agreed to link with the Stars in 2009 but, in February that year, he enlightened the club that he would be staying at home Down Under because his partner was expecting their first child. King’s Lynn moved quickly to replace the Aussie with Emiliano Sanchez.

On 14 December 2010, Leicester revealed that they had paved the way for the Aussie’s return to UK racing with them in 2011, having initially agreed a loan facility with King’s Lynn. However, the following month, Lions’ promoter David Hemsley confirmed that he had agreed a fee with the Norfolk outfit to make Oliver a full club asset.

The returning rider was to score at a little under 5 points a match for the Beaumont Park outfit, but was injured in a home league fixture versus high-flying Glasgow on 18 June. This occurred when he fell on the final lap of heat two whilst chasing down the Tigers’ duo of Nick Morris and Michał Rajkowski. Although he determinedly rode on and saw the meeting through, the upshot was a broken left scaphoid for Oliver. A new team declaration on 2 July saw him replaced in the Lions’ line-up by Ashley Morris.

He returned to the side upon regaining fitness, though, but both he and fellow reserve Charles Wright were released following a home defeat against table-topping Glasgow on 20 August, which saw Oliver net just 3+1 points from four rides. He was subsequently replaced by Jason Garrity. Shortly after his release, the Scunthorpe/Sheffield combination signed Oliver to replace Paul Cooper in their National League title-chasing squad.

However, Oliver was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering leg and back injuries in a crash during his home debut at Scunthorpe on 29 August. The Victorian was collected by a stray bike on the fourth turn after a collision between Lewis Blackbird and Jason Garrity in a National League clash between the Saints and Mildenhall. He was subsequently replaced in the Saints’ line-up by the returning Benji Compton.

ØSTERGAARD, Ulrich Reinhold
DATE OF BIRTH: 19 April 1981, Odense, Denmark.
BRITISH CAREER: (2003) Eastbourne; (2004) Eastbourne, Isle of Wight; (2005) Isle of Wight, Eastbourne, Swindon; (2006) Peterborough; (2007) Birmingham, Peterborough, Workington; (2008) Reading; (2009) Belle Vue; (2010) Peterborough, Belle Vue; (2011) Birmingham.
CLUB HONOUR: League Championship winner: 2006 [Peterborough].
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 4.81 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Østergaard first began riding on 50cc machines in 1992, before progressing on to 80cc engines in 1996 and the full-blown 500cc steeds in 1999. He initially appeared on these shores with Eastbourne in 2003, when he was limited to just nine appearances in the British League Cup competition.

In 2004, he began the season with the Eagles, before dropping into the Premier League with the Isle of Wight in mid-June. Despite the switch, the hard-charging Dane did continue his association with Eastbourne in a ‘doubling-up’ capacity.

The 2005 campaign saw Østergaard remain with the Islanders and he significantly increased his Premier League average to well over 8 points per match. He was also again part of Eastbourne’s back-up squad, but rode in only two official matches for the Eagles, before a September move took him to Swindon for several late-season appearances.

In 2006, the Odense-born speedster joined Peterborough and was part of the side that clinched the Elite League Championship after winning the Play-Off final in such dramatic fashion against Reading. The Panthers held on to Østergaard in a No. 8 capacity in 2007, allowing the Dane to join Birmingham in the Premier League, as the West Midlands side embarked on their first season of racing since 1986. He did well for the Brummies, too, posting a real-time average of 8.80 from twenty-seven matches.

However, the Dane was sensationally axed from the side in early August after a conflict of interests had seen him reluctant to commit himself to the club due to being nominated for a reserve position in a European Championship round in his homeland. He subsequently joined Workington as a replacement for the injured Carl Stonehewer and did well in a late-season stint to record 121 points from a dozen meetings for an average of 8.83.

Østergaard enjoyed a fabulous season with Reading in 2008, ending the campaign with a 10.29 average from forty official meetings in what proved to be the Racers’ final term of racing at Smallmead Stadium. The Dane returned to the Elite League with Belle Vue in 2009 and was hitting his best form when he sustained a broken right kneecap and severe ligament damage during the Aces’ Knock-Out Cup tie at Coventry on 21 August.

That occurred in heat ten of the meeting when, in mid-race, he hit the safety fence on the home straight. In October, he came through a meeting in Denmark without any ill-effects and declared himself 100 per cent fit for Belle Vue’s crucial Relegation Play-Offs, which ultimately saw them defeat Edinburgh to maintain their top-flight status.

With no takers during the close season, the popular rider appeared lost to the British scene, but he was re-signed by Peterborough after appearing in the club’s 40th Anniversary meeting at the East of England Showground on 15 March. This came after Pole Karol Ząbik had been ruled out of the Panthers’ squad on medical advice just days before tapes-up on the campaign.

Østergaard’s resumption at the club was to be short-lived, however, as he was released in May, when Aleš Dryml was revealed as his replacement. He had made just nine appearances in Peterborough’s colours, scoring 33 points for a 4.46 average. The Dane made a return to the Elite League late the following month, though, when he re-joined Belle Vue for a second spell as a replacement for Tobias Kroner.

He showed great form on his return to the Aces’ pack, notching some eye-catching hauls such as 10+2 points versus Poole in a Knock-Out Cup tie at Kirkmanshulme Lane on 5 July, and 15 points from a league encounter at Lakeside eleven days later.

However, his season ended abruptly during a league fixture at Coventry on 30 August, when an horrific heat four, first bend smash left the popular Dane with a double leg fracture. The accident also saw team-mate Peter Karlsson sustain a shoulder injury, whilst Bees’ captain Chris Harris – who was also involved – was able to continue in the meeting.

At the time of his unfortunate crash, he had registered 68 points from eleven meetings for Belle Vue to yield a 6.08 average. That added up to a combined tally of twenty official appearances on the books of Peterborough and the Aces, which had produced 101 points and a 5.41 average.

Just after the season’s conclusion there came news that Østergaard had suffered a setback in his bid to be fit for the 2011 season; the rider having been told that he required further surgery to repair damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, which would take place after the pins had been removed from the fractures.

However, he was to make a belated resumption to the British racing scene when, on 7 June, Birmingham announced the return of Dane for a second spell with the club. Østergaard had, of course, been part of the historic 2007 side, which re-launched the sport in the city after an absence of over twenty years. But he left in controversial circumstances after a disagreement with boss Graham Drury over his availability.

His return to Perry Barr was on an initial 28-day contract on loan from Peterborough as the Perry Barr club awaited further medical reports on Aleš Dryml, who had sustained shoulder and rib damage in the Brummies league visit to Peterborough on 26 May.

On 19 July, Birmingham confirmed that Dryml was ready to return to the side and that Østergaard would also be retained for the remainder of the season, having made a positive impression with the club by posting an average in excess of 6.5 points a match. To accommodate this, the Brummies elected to release their ‘doubling-up’ duo of James Wright and Kevin Wölbert.

OWEN, Marc
DATE OF BIRTH: 20 August 1994, Haywards Heath, Sussex.
BRITISH CAREER: (2009) Newport II; (2010) Rye House II; (2011) Hackney.
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 6.92 (NL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The teenage whizz-kid attracted considerable attention from a whole host of clubs but, having turned fifteen years-of-age, he chose to join Newport’s National League side, the Hornets, in August 2009.

Owen had made a guest appearance for the Isle of Wight in the No. 8 position in a home National Trophy match against Mildenhall on his fifteenth birthday, scoring 2 points from a solitary outing; this being his comeback meeting after breaking a wrist. Afterwards, he reported that the wrist was fine and accepted Newport’s offer, joining the club as a replacement for Todd Kurtz.

In December, Rye House named Owen – a former Hoddesdon second-halfer – in the starting line-up of their National League side for 2010. A key factor in the youngster’s decision to sign for the Cobras was the availability of several experienced tutors at the Hertfordshire raceway, not least Alan Mogridge and former World Champion Michael Lee.

The Haywards Heath-born rider had a short spell out of action after crashing in heat twelve of Rye House’s Knock-Out Cup quarter-final tie at home to Buxton on 29 May. The race had seen him handed the responsibility of a double-points outing but, having missed the gate, he attempted to get back on terms with a big outside blast on the fourth bend. Unfortunately, he only succeeded in coming a cropper with a dramatic somersault that damaged his shoulder.

Owen was subsequently able to return to action wearing a special shoulder support and any concerns about how this might affect his form were swiftly answered, as he dropped just 1-point in six starts en route to a monster paid 17-point tally in a league fixture at Weymouth on 11 June. The performance was marred slightly, though, as he re-aggravated his shoulder injury late on in the meeting.

Following another short spell of recuperation, he again demonstrated sensational form in a league match at Plymouth on 25 June when – still nearly two months shy of his 16th birthday – he made the transition from reserve to the main body of the team a seamless one with three wins and a top-scoring 13 points.

The rider from Haywards Heath was unfortunately in the wars again whilst representing the Cobras in a National League encounter at Scunthorpe on 4 July. A serious crash in heat seven saw him collected by home rider Benji Compton after the Saint had inadvertently clipped the kerb. That meant a trip to hospital where X-rays revealed a clean break to Owen’s collarbone, which necessitated a period of recovery on the sidelines.

Just eight days after the accident, it was reported that the youngster was progressing much better than expected. Remarkably, he was said to be able to conduct normal affairs without having his arm in a sling and, although it was said that his resumption in the Rye House team would be sooner rather than later, this was subsequently revised and put on hold.

While he recuperated, Owen celebrated his sixteenth birthday in style by signing a full contract for Lakeside prior to the Hammers’ home league encounter with Wolverhampton. He had been a regular at the Arena-Essex Raceway practising before meetings and it was regarded a real coup for Lakeside to have gained the signature of one of the most promising British youngsters around at the time. And, he returned to the saddle with the Cobras shortly after, on 28 August, in a National League fixture versus Scunthorpe at Hoddesdon.

His return to the track proved short-lived as, on 11 September, the legacy of a frightening heat fourteen spill in a home league match against Newport was a broken ankle. This occurred when he tangled with Hornets’ James White-Williams and the pair headed through Hoddesdon’s first bend safety fence at high speed. With his season at a premature end, Owen had scored 98 points from a dozen appearances for an average of 7.58.

On 14 February 2011, the resurgent Hackney Hawks who would race in the National League, with home meetings jointly staged at both Lakeside and Rye House, confirmed that Owen would represent them in the season ahead.