PIRATES star Ryan Sullivan has stressed that he "knows I can reach my best form again" after being handed a Grand Prix recall next year.

The 29-year-old Australian failed to qualify for the 2005 World Championship GP series after finishing 13th in this season's competition.

But the former World number three, who pushed Tony Rickardsson all the way for the title in 2002, has been thrown a GP lifeline along with fellow Poole RIAS heat leader Bjarne Pedersen.

Sullivan, Pedersen, Hans Andersen and British duo Lee Richardson and Scott Nicholls are the five riders who were seeded into next year's competition by the FIM Speedway GP Commission yesterday, as exclusively revealed on the Daily Echo website.

Pedersen had finished 10th, two places out of an automatic top eight re-qualifying place, after being in the top eight for most of the season.

Sullivan, broken his good news by the Daily Echo, said: "I am very pleased to be back in the GP because basically the decision was kind of out of my hands. There was nothing I could have done if I had been left out, I would have had to accept it.

"I broke my collar bone in 2002 when I was having a great season in the GP, in a good position and then had a rough time after that."

Sullivan, who had never finished out of the top 10 before this year since making his GP debut in 1998, added: "I know I can reach my best form again in the GP. I can get my best form back.

"I will start planning for next year as soon as the season finishes next week and make sure I am ready to go out and give it my best shot.

"I'll have a good winter now and concentrate on getting my equipment and body up to shape.

"I will make sure I have a better year next year than the one I have just had."

Sullivan, who struggled badly this year, mainly because of mechanical problems, felt his record of four GP round wins and an overall finish on the podium stood him in good stead with the organisers.

He added: "I just had a bad year last year and I think they know and understand that.

"Looking at the five riders picked, they have chosen the next five guys who never qualified, so there are not going to be any arguments over the selections."

Pedersen said: "I have felt pretty good about being selected since the last GP because I felt I had some good results this year despite finishing outside the top eight.

"But you can never be sure about anything in speedway so I am really happy they have named me for next year."

Next year's full GP line up, in riding order, is: 1 J Crump (Aus), 2 T Rickardsson (Swe), 3 G Hancock (USA), 4 L Adams (Aus), 5 N Pedersen (Den), 6 T Gollob (Pol), 7 A Jonsson (Swe), 8 J Hampel (Pol), 9 H Andersen (Den), 10 B Pedersen (Den), 11 L Richardson (GB), 12 S Nicholls (GB), 13 R Sullivan (Aus), 14 A Lindback (Swe), 15 T Chzanowski (Pol), 16 Wild card.

17 Track reserve. 18 Track reserve. Qualified reserves: 19 K Bjerre (Den), 20 P Karlsson (Swe), 21 S Andersson (Swe), 22 D Balinski (Pol), 23 R Povazhny (Rus), 24 B Brhel (Czech Rep).

Provisional calendar (with confirmed venues if known): April 30, Polish GP. May 14, Swedish GP. May 28, Slovenian GP, Krsko. Jun 11, British GP, Cardiff. Jun 25, Danish GP, Copenhagen. Jul 9*, tbc. Aug 13, tbc. Aug 27, tbc. Sep 10, tbc. Sep 24*, tbc.

* Reserve dates are interchangeable. A GP will be held on one of these dates.

The 2005 World Cup will be held in three different countries.

Provisional dates and venues are: July 31, Round one, Great Britain. August 2, Round two, Sweden. August 4, Race-off, Poland. August 6, Final, Poland.