June 30, 2024

JACK HOLDER CHASES GORZOW GOLD

Europe, Latest News, Speedway Solos FIM Speedway

Aussie racer Jack Holder insisted “the fat lady isn’t singing yet” in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix title race as he bids to close the gap to leader Bartosz Zmarzlik at the ISS FIM Speedway GP of Poland in Gorzow.

Holder heads back to the PGE Ekstraliga club where he raced for Stal Gorzow in 2020 – a season that saw him make huge strides in the sport and emerge as a future Speedway GP rider, before getting his chance in the series for 2022.

He is currently third in the Speedway GP World Championship on 68 points – 18 behind Polish hero and four-time SGP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik, who leads the standings on 86 as the series reaches its halfway stage.

Great Britain racer Robert Lambert is second on 69, with Denmark’s European champion Mikkel Michelsen chasing the top three down in fourth spot on 59 and Stal Gorzow rider Martin Vaculik of Slovakia fifth on 53 as he heads to his Polish home track, where he topped the SGP podium in 2012 and 2018.

Vaculik is joined in representing the host club by Polish star Szymon Wozniak, who previously raced three FIM Gorzow Speedway GPs as a wild card, before qualifying for the series full-time for 2024. Home wild card Oskar Fajfer joins them on track for his first Speedway GP appearance since October 2014.

Also flying the Polish flag are Dominik Kubera and Maciej Janowski, the SGP second substitute star, who steps into the line-up in place of injured Latvian racer Andzejs Lebedevs.

But no-one knows the Edward Jancarz Stadium circuit better than Zmarzlik, who raced for Stal Gorzow from 2011 until 2022, transforming from a raw rookie into one of speedway’s all-time greats. He is seeking his fourth Speedway GP victory in Gorzow, but Boll FIM Croatian Speedway GP winner Holder is determined to deny him and close the gap to top spot with six rounds remaining at one of the track racing’s finest venues, set in a city that lives and breathes speedway.

“I go well around Gorzow,” Holder said. “Hopefully we can start clawing back some points. We are at the halfway stage now, so I need to put my head down and get what I want.”

Holder wheel to wheel with Mikkel Michelsen. PHOTO: Jarek Pabijan

With nine points guaranteed for reaching a Speedway GP semi-final, 14 for final qualification and 20 championship points on offer for a Speedway GP winner, Holder knows that the title picture could change in an instant if one of his rivals slips up.

He said: “If one rider misses out in the semi-final and someone goes through to the final, that’s most of the points back right there. We have six rounds to go, and the fat lady isn’t singing yet.”

Holder raced to fourth place at the 3P Logistics FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla on June 15, starting the night with a last place, before winning his next four races on the bounce. Second place behind Max Fricke in semi-final one sent him through to the final, with Lambert getting the better of Holder for third as the Brit leapfrogged him for second spot in the overall standings.

“It could have gone either way,” he said. “After the rain we had just before the meeting, it was quite tricky. I started off with a last place and was covered in mud. But I regrouped and was popping out of the starts.

“It came down to the semi-final. I thought I took the right gate, but Max popped out and that gave me third pick for the final. I made a change for the final, but I didn’t go the right way. I am just really happy to have made another final and bounced back from a bad one at round four in Prague.”