BJARNE Pedersen believes he has already performed well enough in this year's Grand Prix series to earn the right for automatic re-qualification into the 2005 World Championship.

But he knows he has to finish the job off in the final round, the Norwegian GP in Hamar tonight (October 2 6pm). The Pirates star is currently hanging onto the eighth and final re-qualification place up for grabs.

But Pedersen has three riders close on his tail - Hans Andersen, Jarek Hampel and Lee Richardson - who will all be looking for the Poole RIAS man to falter at the last hurdle.

Even Scott Nicholls and another Pirate Ryan Sullivan can overhaul Pedersen if he slips up, although the Australian would need a sporting miracle to unravel tonight if he was to gain a GP reprieve.

Pedersen has 75 points, one in front of Andersen and Hampel, three ahead of Richardson, while Nicholls has 60 and Sullivan 57.

Riders who miss out on a top eight place will face an anxious wait to see if they are chosen as one of five riders seeded into next year's series instead.

Pedersen, who has been in the top eight for most of this season, said: "It is not up to me to think about whether I will get a seeded place or not, that is down to the people who decide these things. But I feel I have done a good job this year. I have been in the top eight for most of the season. It is my second year in the GP series and I have taken a big step this term. It is hard. Guys have been up there doing well in this competition for years. You can't always go out and beat those guys who have so much experience racing at this level.

"However, I do feel more confident going out to race against these guys than I did at the start of the year.

"That's why I want to stay in the GP next year and have some more good meetings."

Pedersen, who pulled off his maiden GP triumph in Wroclaw, Poland, in May, added: "The semi-final and the final is the target in Hamar.

"I have to be in the meeting as long as I can. I have to make sure those boys behind me don't get ahead of me.

"Hopefully I will get to the latter stages of the meeting and they will all stay behind me."

Twelve months ago, it looked as though Pedersen was going to celebrate his maiden GP triumph when he led the final at Hamar.

He had got swiftly out of the gate and was in front of Nicki Pedersen, Greg Hancock and Andreas Jonsson when the Swede fell and the race had to be stopped and re-run.

The Dane, who eventually finished third in the re-run behind Hancock and Nicki Pedersen and had to wait another seventh months before he topped a GP podium, was 15th in the standings at the end of 2003.

Recalling events at Hamar 12 months ago, he said: "It was the first time I was in a final and it was fantastic.

"When you are leading you are not happy when the red light comes on, but that was last year and this is a another year. I have to look forward, not back."

It is the same philosophical view Bjarne has on events at Bydgoszcz two weeks ago when all four riders were allowed back in a re-run of the final following a fall involving Tomasz Gollob and Rune Holta.

That followed an incident when the Poole rider was excluded by referee Tony Steele after Pedersen went down under pressure from the Pole in heat 14.

Bjarne, who claimed Steele had been "a bit scared" to exclude Gollob in Poland in a post meeting interview, said: "That was my second worst GP of the year and I was not happy with it.

"But it has happened. I am looking forward to Hamar now. A top eight finish is still in my own hands.

"I am still in the number eight position. I can still do it.

"It will be a tough meeting in Norway but, hopefully, we will get a bit of good luck there because we didn't have any in Poland."

CHASE FOR TOP EIGHT PLACE

1 J Crump 147 pts 2 T Rickardsson 130 3 G Hancock 117 4 L Adams 115 5 N Pedersen 100 6 T Gollob 95 7 A Jonsson 84 8 B Pedersen 75 9 H Andersen 74 10 J Hampel 74 11 L Richardson 71 12 S Nicholls 60 13 R Sullivan 57