FORMER Swindon Robins number one Peter Kildemand believes his decision not to dedicate himself to riding in England full-time this year has been a factor in his Grand Prix success.

The Dane snared his second podium finish and third final appearance as he made his debut as a permanent rider in the Grand Prix series at the British GP at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Chosen to replace Jarosław Hampel after the Pole’s crash during the World Cup, Kildemand more than merited his inclusion amongst the world’s elite.

Battling his way to the last four, the Dane saw off competition from home favourite Tai Woffinden in the final to take third place, notching 12 points along the way.

Kildemand opted out of remaining with the Robins at the end of last season but has been back at the Abbey Stadium on a temporary basis as a replacement for the injured Adrian Miedzinski.

That has left the 25-year-old has more time to dedicate himself to becoming a success on the sport’s biggest stage.

Fresh off the podium at the Millennium Stadium, it was clearly a decision Kildemand is happy with.

“It’s absolutely paid off to take less rides this year to get performances like that,” he said.

“Especially when you get injuries, it was hard for me to keep doing England as well. I’m pleased and now I’ve got GPs to focus on it’s good.

“I can just focus on trying to make that top eight, we’ll see how it goes.

“Three GPs, three finals is going to be pretty hard to keep up with. I still have to be first on the podium, but I’m really pleased with (how I’m doing in GPs).

“Top eight is going to be hard to make, but I’ll do all I can.

“(Riding in GPs) is what I really want to do and big events, like this one, are where you want to be and I’m pretty sure I can be in it doing things.”

Kildemand had to battle all night for his bottle of champagne. He was sent into the air fence twice during the heats and had to come in from the largely fruitless outside gates in the semi and the final to earn his podium spot.

After the heat 13 crash that saw compatriot Nikki Pedersen excluded, Kildemand had to switch bikes and was full of praise for his mechanics for getting his back-up in such good shape.

“I struggled a bit when I had that crash with Nikki,” explained the Dane. “I had to change the bike and go to the second bike, take the engine out and swap it around. The boys did amazing.

“I made a small change to the bike for the semi-final and the final because I knew it was everything or nothing, so I’m glad it worked.”

Woffinden extended his lead at the top of the World Championship standings by finishing fourth. He is 12 points clear of Pedersen as King’s Lynn star Niels-Kristian Iversen claimed the Cardiff victory ahead of Australian Chris Holder.