Australia through to SWC final

Australian skipper Chris Holder insists his side has the class to land its first Speedway World Cup (SWC) since 2002 after it triumphed in the second qualifying event at King’s Lynn on June 8.

The Roos were victorious on 47pts to see off a brave Team Great Britain challenge and book its place alongside host Denmark and Event 1 winners Sweden in Saturday’s final at Vojens.

The Lions finished second on 43 to earn the consolation prize of a berth in Thursday’s Race Off, which also takes place at Vojens. It will be joined by America, which was third on 22pts. Event 1 runners-up Poland and Russia complete the Race Off line-up.
Australia earned its spot with a rock-solid team performance as Jason Doyle led the charge on 13pts, while debutant Nick Morris tallied a terrific 12. Troy Batchelor joined Holder on 11pts.

Despite the men from Down Under facing a stiff Scandinavian test in the Final, Holder is certain his Roos have what it takes to end their 13-year wait for team speedway’s biggest prize. He said: “We haven’t won for a little while, so we are due one hopefully. If we go there and do something on Saturday, we’ll be pretty happy.

“We have the team to do it – it comes down to what happens on the day. We have to make it happen. Vojens is a tricky track. It can be slick, but there can also be a lot of dirt on it. We have nothing to lose. We’re there, so let’s go for it and see what we can do.

"I think the Danes have done a fair few laps there over the years. But I’ve been there a lot of times and Troy has raced a couple of meetings there. I don’t think Nick has, but we have Friday to practice and it depends who turns up on the Saturday. If we can do something great on Saturday, it will be special for all of us.”

Holder was elated to avoid the cutthroat Race Off, where only the winners earn a place in Saturday’s title decider. He added: “It’s always a battle between us and GB here. We’re pretty happy to get the win overall and go straight through to the Final. The Race Off is going to be a difficult one for everyone that’s in there. The pressure is off us now a little bit, so we can get ready for Saturday.”

Team GB boss Alun Rossiter admitted “I couldn’t have asked for anymore” from his Lions as they took the battle for a SWC Final spot all the way to heat 19.

Doyle charged around triple British champion Chris Harris to snatch victory in that race and put victory beyond the hosts’ reach.

Rosco was proud of his stars as Harris and 2013 world champion Tai Woffinden both racked up 13pts apiece. Danny King tallied 10pts and King’s Lynn teenager Robert Lambert put in a solid display on his Monster Energy SWC debut, scoring seven.

World champion Greg Hancock led the USA charge, scoring 12 of its 22pts.

MONSTER ENERGY SWC EVENT 2 SCORES:
AUSTRALIA 47: 1 Chris Holder 11, 2 Nick Morris 12, 3 Troy Batchelor 11, 4 Jason Doyle 13.
TEAM GREAT BRITAIN 43: 1 Chris Harris 13, 2 Danny King 10, 3 Tai Woffinden 13, 4 Robert Lambert 7.
USA 22: 1 Greg Hancock 12, 2 Gino Manzares 4, 3 Ryan Fisher 5, 4 Max Ruml 1.
LATVIA 9: 1 Maksims Bogdanovs 3, 2 Andzejs Lebedevs 5, 3 Kasts Puodzuks 1, 4 Jevgenijs Kostigovs 0.