HOLDER SNATCHES FIRST AUSSIE TITLE IN NORTH BRISBANE EPIC

Speedway GP star Jack Holder stormed to his first Australian Championship in dramatic style as he topped the podium at North Brisbane to deny Jason Doyle on Wednesday.

Doyle won all three of the previous rounds at Gillman, Albury and Kurri Kurri, but Holder’s consistency throughout the heat races in a championship where race points convert to championship points kept him just three behind the 2017 Speedway GP world champion heading into Queensland’s first Australian Championship round since 2012.

Holder cut Doyle’s advantage to two points over five rides, with the Sheffield rider scoring 12 to the Ipswich star’s 11.

But disaster struck for Doyle in semi-final one when Max Fricke triumphed, with wild card Ryan Douglas making the most of his home-track knowledge to relegate Doyle into third place and bring his night to an early end. Holder took the chequered flag ahead of Rohan Tungate in semi-final two as they joined the final line-up.

With Doyle looking on from the pits on 61 points overall, victory or second place was enough to hand Holder his first Aussie senior crown. He delivered, winning an epic showdown with Fricke and Douglas to snatch the title with 63.

Outgoing champion Fricke, who was unable to make it four national titles on the bounce, ended his series on a high by finishing second on the night, with his 17-point haul at North Brisbane enough to bag the bronze medal on 53.

Former champion Tungate snatched third spot in North Brisbane from Douglas on the run to the line. But it was not enough to see him reach the rostrum as he finished fourth overall on 51.

All of the top four riders Holder, Doyle, Fricke and Tungate have earned the right to represent Australia in this season’s Speedway GP qualifying rounds, with Motorcycling Australia bosses set to offer one further spot to a wild card of their choice.

Brady Kurtz just missed out on the Speedway GP places, finishing fifth overall on 45, but has possibly put himself among the contenders for MA’s wild card.

Josh Pickering completed a solid series in sixth place on 39, with Justin Sedgmen on 38 in seventh and 2012 world champion Chris Holder ranked eighth on 37.

FINAL AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Jack Holder 63, 2 Jason Doyle 61, 3 Max Fricke 53, 4 Rohan Tungate 51, 5 Brady Kurtz 45, 6 Josh Pickering 39, 7 Justin Sedgmen 38, 8 Chris Holder 37, 9 Zach Cook 28, 10 Zane Keleher 22, 11 James Pearson 16, 12 Zaine Kennedy 14, 13 Ryan Douglas 12, 14= Sam Masters 8, Ben Cook 8, 15 Patrick Hamilton 7, 16 Jye Etheridge 5, 17 Cooper Riordan 4, 18 Fraser Bowes 3, 19= Brayden McGuinness 2, Michael West 2.

NORTH BRISBANE HEAT SCORES: Max Fricke 14, Jack Holder 12, Jason Doyle 11, Rohan Tungate 11, Ryan Douglas 11, Brady Kurtz 11, Zach Cook 8, Zane Keleher 8, Josh Pickering 8, Chris Holder 7, Justin Sedgmen 7, Zaine Kennedy 5, James Pearson 3, Michael West 2, Patrick Hamilton 2, Cooper Riordan 0, Jacob Hook 0.

SEMI-FINAL 1: Fricke, Douglas, Doyle, Cook.

SEMI-FINAL 2: J Holder, Tungate, Kurtz, Keleher.

FINAL: J Holder, Fricke, Tungate, Douglas.