Chris Holder a close second in Denmark

Maciej Janowski has held off a ferocious challenge from Aussie star Chris Holder to top the rostrum at the Danish Speedway Grand Prix round on June 12, with world champion Tai Woffinden bagging third place.

Woffinden and Holder are now level on 39pts apiece in the 2016 championship, with the final round to be held at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on Saturday, October 22.

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And if all goes to plan, Holder will be fighting for a second world title in front of his home crowd.

Holder was delighted to reach a third final in as many rounds in Denmark. Despite managing just a point from his opening two outings, he ended the night in style and level with Woffy at the SGP summit.

He said: “I wasn’t looking really good in the first two heats, but we made a change with the bike and it worked well. I can’t complain about getting a few points and getting on the podium after a really bad start.

“I managed to get past Magic in the final and he passed me back. We had a good little battle, but he got the better of me there at the end.

“It’s only the third round, but I’m still up there and amongst it, which is good.”

Danish star Nicki Pedersen was excluded from the final after crashing with Woffinden in the first staging of the race. He is set for medical checks on his hand after suffering suspected ligament damage.

The re-run saw Janowski chased all the way by Holder in a thrilling battle. He said: “You could see how close the races that we had were. There were a lot of lines. You needed to be focused on yourself and on your friends behind you. It was really tough.”

Australia's second rider, Jason Doyle, was ninth in Denmark and is eighth in the championship on 25pts. As well as Woffinden and Holder, others ahead of Doyle are Greg Hancock (38pts), Janowski (36), Antonio Lindback (30), Peter Kildemand (28) and Matej Zagar (26).

Next up for the Speedway Grand Prix stars is the Czech Republic SGP at Prague’s Marketa Stadium on June 25 — a round Woffinden has won over the last three years.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Tai Woffinden 39, 2 Chris Holder 39, 3 Greg Hancock 38, 4 Maciej Janowski 36, 5 Antonio Lindback 30, 6 Peter Kildemand 28, 7 Matej Zagar 26, 8 Jason Doyle 25, 9 Bartosz Zmarzlik 25, 10 Nicki Pedersen 24, 11 Andreas Jonsson 22, 12 Fredrik Lindgren 21, 13 Niels-Kristian Iversen 19, 14 Piotr Pawlicki 17, 15 Chris Harris 10, 16 Patryk Dudek 8, 17 Anders Thomsen 5, 18 Denis Stojs 1, 19 Nick Skorja 1.

KJÆRGAARD DANISH SGP SCORERS: 1 Maciej Janowski 16, 2 Chris Holder 13, 3 Tai Woffinden 15, 4 Nicki Pedersen 10, 5 Greg Hancock 14, 6 Antonio Lindback 10, 7 Matej Zagar 8, 8 Andreas Jonsson 8, 9 Jason Doyle 7, 10 Niels-Kristian Iversen 7, 11 Peter Kildemand 7, 12 Bartosz Zmarzlik 7, 13 Piotr Pawlicki 5, 14 Anders Thomsen 5, 15 Chris Harris 4, 16 Fredrik Lindgren 2, 17 Mikkel Bech Jensen DNR, 18 Mikkel Michelsen DNR.