AUSSIE HEROES HEAD HOME FOR 2023 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN JANUARY

All three of Australia’s FIM Speedway of Nations world champions line up in the 2023 Australian Championship series as 2017 SGP world champion Jason Doyle, Max Fricke and Jack Holder go wheel-to-wheel this January.

The trio ended the Roos’ 20-year wait for a world team title when they saw off reigning champions Great Britain to win the FIM SON Grand Final at Vojens in July.

Doyle makes a welcome return to his national championship, which he last won in 2015 – the year he debuted in Speedway GP.

He takes on two-time Aussie champion Max Fricke, who won the competition the last time it was staged in January 2020, with Holder placed second. He bids for his first national senior crown in the new year.

Former world champion Chris Holder has also entered the 2023 series, with 2020 World Under-21 champion Jaimon Lidsey a confirmed starter.

The 2021 Australian Championship was cancelled due to the pandemic, with this year’s series also switched to a one-off final as restrictions continued Down Under last summer.

The re-arranged 2022 Australian Championship takes place at Adelaide track Gillman on December 10 and Fricke is red-hot favourite to lift the title in a meeting, which doesn’t feature Doyle or Holder.

Doyle famously sealed the Speedway GP World Championship in front of his home fans as he won the 2017 FIM Australian Speedway GP, and he’s excited to make a racing return to his homeland.

He told the Aussie Championship’s official website: “I can wait to be back in Australia for not only an Aussie Christmas, but I am also really looking forward to racing back in Australia.

“I am also excited about being back here after the Nations win and taking time to celebrate at home with the fans. The win meant a lot and so too will sharing this time with the many speedway supporters.

“The Aussie fans have been terrific and to be able to race in front of them again is great. I can’t wait!”

The 2023 opener takes place at Gillman on January 3, before racing moves to storied Victorian venue Mildura on January 5 and Albury on January 7.

New South Wales track Kurri Kurri – on the edge of the Hunter Valley – hosts round four on January 9, with the decider at North Brisbane in Queensland on January 11, where former Speedway GP rider Darcy Ward promotes events.

Looking forward to the action, Motorcycling Australia’s event manager Samantha Redfern said: “It is great to hear that Jason will be back in Australia.

“With many top riders returning home for the summer, it is certainly going to be a national championship not to miss.

“To have three current world champions race in Jason Doyle, Max Fricke and Jack Holder as well as two former world champions in Chris Holder and Jaimon Lidsey… it’s just really something special! In 2023, we celebrate 100 years of speedway, and it is going to be a year to remember.”