Holder makes it two from two

A gutsy Chris Holder has blasted his way to consecutive victories in the 2011 Australian Solo Speedway Championship at Gillman (SA), but he had to survive a major scare en route to claiming the spoils.

The reigning champion looked set to finish top of the points’ charts in the preliminaries, cruising through his first three heats before potential disaster struck in heat 15.

Trailing Victorian Cameron Woodward and NSW rider Sam Masters, Holder was poised to make a move on the leading duo only to be collected from behind by Kozza Smith, sending both riders cannoning into the arena wall.

The stunned Gillman crowd fell silent as medical teams assessed the riders, with a gutsy Holder returning to his feet nursing what looked to be an injured shoulder.

Despite the obvious ailment, Holder returned to the starting line for the rerun of the heat and had the crowd on the edge of their seats, taking out the heat in stunning fashion.
And then in the final the Appin (NSW) native delivered, taking out his second consecutive round win ahead of Darcy Ward, Davey Watt and Cameron Woodward.

Holder now holds a 5pt lead after two rounds ahead of Watt (35) and world under 21 champion Ward (33).

The penultimate round of the championship will see riders head north to Broken Hill (NSW) on January 26.

2011 Australian Solo Speedway Championship round gtwo results
Heat points: #10 Chris Holder 15 (3,3,3,3,3), #9 Dave Watt 13 (2,2,3,3,3), #3 Cameron Woodward 13 (3,3,2,2,3), #8 Darcy Ward 10 (3,3,1,3,R), #7 Cory Gathercole 9 (2,1,2,3,1), #2 Rory Schlein 9 (2,1,2,2,2), #1 Tyron Proctor 8 (1,3,2,1,1), #6 Jason Doyle 6 (1,2,3,FX,FX), #16 Sam Masters 6 (2,2,1,1,FX), #11 Justin Sedgmen 5 (1,2,0,0,2), #12 Richard Sweetman 5 (0,0,1,2,2), #5 Kozza Smith 4 (0,1,0,FX,3 ), #13 Kyle Newman 4 (1,0,1,1,1), #15 Taylor Poole 3 (3,FX,N,N,N), #4 Arlo Bugeja 3 (0,1,0,2,0), #14 Mitchell Davey 1 (0,0,0,0,1), #17 Aaron Summers (res) 5 (3,2), #18 Robert Medson (res) 1 (1)

Semi Final: Ward (R), Schlein (W), Proctor (Y), Gathercole (B), 57.78

Final: Holder (R), Ward (Y), Watt (B), Woodward (W), 57.59

Round points: Chris Holder 20, Darcy Ward 18, Dave Watt 17, Cameron Woodward 16, Rory Schlein 15, Tyron Proctor 14, Cory Gathercole 13, Jason Doyle 12, Sam Masters 11, Justin Sedgmen 10, Richard Sweetman 9, Kozza Smith 7, Kyle Newman 6, Taylor Poole 4, Arlo Bugeja 3, Mitchell Davey 2.

Series points (after 2 of 4 rounds): Chris Holder 40, Dave Watt 35, Darcy Ward 33, Jason Doyle 29, Cory Gathercole 29, Rory Schlein 29, Tyron Proctor 25, Cameron Woodward 22, Justin Sedgmen 22, Kozza Smith 20, Sam Masters 20, Richard Sweetman 19, Taylor Poole 11, Arlo Bugeja 7, Kyle Newman 6, Mitchell Davey 5, Brenton Barnfield 2.