Australia through to 2012 SWC final
The Speedway World Cup qualifier in Great Britain saw the Aussies do the business after some nervous moments, and they now progress to the July 16 deciderAustralia will take on the 2012 FIM Speedway World Cup final in Sweden on July 14 after delivering a commanding performance in its qualifying round at King's Lynn in Great Britain on July 9.
The Norfolk Arena exploded with a revised Australian line-up, with last-minute call up Troy Batchelor joining forces with Chris Holder, David Watt and team captain Jason Crump.
Batchelor was called up to replace original starter Darcy Ward, after he failed to recover from the broken hand he sustained in a Polish Speedway Club meet accident last month.
The freshly amended Australian side collected a sizzling 45pts to take victory, and edge ever closer to grabbing the coveted Ove Fundin Trophy from the hands of defending champion Poland. Crump added 14pts to the team tally, with Holder taking 12, Watt 11 and Batchelor seven.
The combined efforts of the dynamic foursome overpowered Great Britain (41) and the Czech Republic (30), and Team Germany, which was eliminated from contention on 15pts.
Great Britain and the Czech Republic will now progress to the Race Off in Malilla, Sweden on July 12 to tussle against Denmark and Poland for the remaining berth in the final. Australia, Sweden and Russia have already qualified for the final.
“It was a pretty tough meeting all the way through,” Holder said. “The Brits started off really well and we were up against it the whole time. It's difficult to race people in their backyard when everything is on their side. It's not easy, but we battled away and got closer.
“Crumpy did the job on the joker (Ed: where double points are on offer) and got us back in the match. A bit of rain made it pretty slippery, but it passed over and the rest of the meeting was great.
“We managed to make them use their joker. We were trying to make them use it early, but they used it right near the end. They nearly got us and it was quite tight. We weren't really comfortable, but we have a good few last races and sealed it.”
Australian fans can enjoy all the action from the 2012 FIM Speedway World Cup Race Off and Final live on SPEED TV. The Race Off will be be broadcast from 3.00am on 13 July, and the Final from 3.00am on 15 July.
FIM SWC EVENT 2 SCORES:
1 Australia 45: Jason Crump 15, Chris Holder 12, Davey Watt 11, Troy Batchelor 7.
2 Great Britain 41: Chris Harris 17, Scott Nicholls 11, Tai Woffinden 8, Danny King 5.
3 Czech Republic 30: Ales Dryml 15, Lukas Dryml 6, Matej Kus 6, Josef Franc 3.
4 Germany 15: Kevin Wolbert 7, Martin Smolinski 6, Max Dilger 1, Tobias Kroner 1.
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