Holder bursts back into form

Australian Chris Holder got his 2015 world speedway season back on track in the most  fashion at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday, July 4.

The 2012 world champion top-scored for the night with 18pts, and just came up short of wining the final in front of 40,000 spectators — many of whom were there to see local hero Tai Woffinden go all the way. Woffinden made the final, but then fluffed the start as Holder and then Dane Niels-Kristian Iversen took over the front running, with Peter Kildemand finishing in third.

With his resurgent performance, Holder surged from 13th to sixth in the rider standings. He's now on 31pts, behind Woffinden (55), Nicki Pedersen (43), world champion Greg Hancock (39), Iversen (35) and Matej Zagar (34). Eight rounds still remain, including the finale at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium on Saturday, October 24.

BUY TICKETS FOR MELBOURNE ROUND

Having endured a confidence battle of his own following a spate of injuries over the last two years, Holder was elated to be back to his best. He said: “I was sitting right down near the bottom. So getting a lot of points tonight was the plan, and to have a chance of winning is the ultimate.

“It just didn’t happen in the end. I managed a start in the final. But I was in two minds down the back straight as to what to do — go up to the fence or stay inside. I took the wrong option.

“Cardiff has been good to me. I’ve had two podiums and two wins, so it would have been awesome to get the win. I’m sure I’ll feel better about getting second tomorrow, but right now I’m not best pleased.

“After three rounds, I was nowhere near the top eight. One good round has put me straight back up there. It was tight, but being up in sixth place is better than sitting down in 13th.”

Holder's countrymen Jason Crump (1996, 1998, 2006, 2008-09) and Ryan Sullivan (2002) have also won British speedway GPs.

The 2015 Speedway Grand Prix action resumes in Latvia on Saturday, July 18.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Tai Woffinden 55, 2 Nicki Pedersen 43, 3 Greg Hancock 39, 4 Niels-Kristian Iversen 35, 5 Matej Zagar 34, 6 Chris Holder 31, 7 Jaroslaw Hampel 31, 8 Jason Doyle 29, 9 Michael Jepsen Jensen 27, 10 Andreas Jonsson 26, 11 Maciej Janowski 26, 12 Chris Harris 23, 13 Krzysztof Kasprzak 21, 14 Troy Batchelor 17, 15 Tomas H Jonasson 16, 16 Peter Kildemand 12, 17 Craig Cook 7, 18 Tomasz Gollob 4, 19 Bartosz Zmarzlik 3, 20 Timo Lahti 3, 21 Vaclav Milik 2, 22 Piotr Pawlicki 1, 23 Robert Lambert 1.

BRITISH SGP SCORES: 1 Niels-Kristian Iversen 14, 2 Chris Holder 18, 3 Peter Kildemand 12, 4 Tai Woffinden 15, 5 Greg Hancock 12, 6 Matej Zagar 10, 7 Nicki Pedersen 9, 8 Michael Jepsen Jensen 8, 9 Craig Cook 7, 10 Jason Doyle 7, 11 Tomas H Jonasson 7, 12 Chris Harris 5, 13 Krzysztof Kasprzak 4, 14 Troy Batchelor 4, 15 Maciej Janowski 3, 16 Andreas Jonsson 2, 17 Robert Lambert 1, 18 Jason Garrity 0.