HOLDER MAKES IT A DOUBLE TO LEAD AUSSIE SOLO CHAMPIONSHIP RACE

Speedway GP star Jack Holder edged into a two-point lead at the Australian Solo Championship after making it back-to-back victories in Albury-Wodonga on Sunday night. January 4.

Holder’s second consecutive round win of the double header came after he held off second-placed Rohan Tungate, third-placed Ben Cook and Jaimon Lidsey in fourth on a tight and tense first lap to take the win.

Lidsey arrived for round two level on 18 championship points with Holder and raced to a 15-point maximum over the five heats for the second straight evening. But he found himself caught in traffic in the final, ending the night with 16 points, allowing the two-time FIM Speedway of Nations world champion to steal a march in the race for the national title.

Holder dropped just one point in the heats – once again at Lidsey’s hands. But he got the verdict when it mattered most in the final, scoring 18 for the second straight round, as he battles for his first Australian Championship since 2023. 

The top two riders in the series are guaranteed places in this year’s Speedway GP qualification rounds, joining the winner of the FIM Oceania Championship at Gillman on Sunday.

Both Holder and Lidsey advanced directly to the final as the top scorers after 20 heats. Tungate and Ben Cook won the two semi-finals to join them.

Tungate scored 15 championship points on the night – 12 in the heats and three more in the final – to leave himself third overall on 29 and still in with a shout of his third national crown. Ben Cook remains fourth on 25 overall after leaving round two with 14, while his brother Zach Cook is fifth on 22 overall after collecting 12 in round two.

The Aussie Championship continues at Victorian venue Mildura on Wednesday, with Adelaide club Gillman staging the final round on Friday.

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 2/4 rounds): 1. Jack Holder 36, 2. Jaimon Lidsey 34, 3. Rohan Tungate 29, 4. Ben Cook 25, 5. Zach Cook 22, 6. Jacob Hook 18, 7= Keynan Rew 13, Mitchell McDiarmid 13, 9. Justin Sedgmen 12, 10= Tate Zischke 11, Alex Adamson 11, 12. Lachlan Russell 10, 13. Reid Battye 9, 14. Jack Morrison 8, 15. Dayle Wood 5, 16. Bradley Page 2, 17. Harrison Ryan 0.

ALBURY-WODONGA R2 HEAT SCORES: Jaimon Lidsey 15, Jack Holder 14, Ben Cook 12, Rohan Tungate 12, Zach Cook 12, Jacob Hook 9, Alex Adamson 7, Jack Morrison 6, Justin Sedgmen 6, Reid Battye 5, Mitchell McDiarmid 5, Tate Zischke 5, Keynan Rew 4, Lachlan Russell 4, Dayle Wood 2, Bradley Page 2, Harry Ryan 0.

SEMI-FINAL 1: B Cook, Z Cook, Adamson, Morrison.

SEMI-FINAL 2: Tungate, Sedgmen, Hook, Battye.

FINAL: Holder, Tungate, B Cook, Lidsey.