http://www.worldspeedway.com/artman/publish/article_13278.shtml
The Speedway Grand Prix at Cardiff always brings that extra something. 2007 saw Chris Harris take his maiden win, an incredible achievement.
Then there was the year Tony Rickardsson famously rode “the wall of death” as he remarkably kept control his bike as he rode the fence! 2009 saw the bust up between Emil Sayfutdinov and Scott Nicholls which really sent the crowd into a frenzy.
What would 2010 bring? Luckily, a bit more of the same, this time we were nearly treated to two boxing matches! Ding Ding! Round 1 saw the match up between two Aussies, current World Champion, Jason Crump and newly emerging star, Chris Holder.
The relationship between the two had always been extremely positive with Crump being very supportive to the 22 year old and seemingly giving him his words of wisdom. After a “slight” clash between the two, Holder’s adrenalin was pumping and the anger towards his fellow compatriot was clear to see. A war of words erupted between the two whilst on their way back to the pits. No punches were thrown but clearly the Poole star was antagonised with the actions of the elder statesmen.
The two met again in the final of the illustrious GP at the Millenium stadium, this time Holder having the last laugh with taking his first victory. Crump was the first rider there to celebrate with the Torun rider and it was a nice moment to see. Holder was quick to apologise in the press conference for his actions, whilst Crump simply said “Chris had his skirt on and I had my handbag” laughing off the argument they had shared. The triple world champion’s body language perhaps showed signs of regret after the GP with being involved in this type of behaviour. Perhaps, the actions were more expected of Holder with being a newcomer to the series and more hot-headed, but it was surprising to see Crump caught up in the heat of the moment.
Round 2 saw a titanic fight between the two Danes, Nicki Pedersen and Hans Andersen. There is history between these two. Neither rider is perhaps achieving what they expect of themselves and are both being outshined by Kenneth Bjerre this season. After a close tussle in their heat, the Belle Vue star, got the better of the 2008 World Champion and on the final lap, Andersen gave the finger to his fellow Dane down the back straight. He then appeared to enjoy goading Pedersen across the line. This was something not picked up by the Sky cameras. As ever, the Gorzow star is normally at the centre of controversy and is portrayed at the pantomime villain, but on this occasion, I felt he was treated a tad harshly by Mr Andersen and by the spectators. Infact, I thought it was a fairly mature reaction by the 30 year old not to get involved in anything too physical after the encounter on track. He chose to have words face to face, helmets off. The old Nicki Pedersen may have found himself in more trouble but I was pleasantly surprised not to see it all kick off so to speak.
The Millenium stadium seems to stir up more emotions each year with the riders performing on the biggest stage in the sport. It certainly gives the fans a special treat and it was good to see no harm was caused in either incident with the Odense born rider later saying “Me and Nicki were just discussing sending each other Christmas cards”. Let’s see what 2011 brings!
Showing posts with label Chris Holder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Holder. Show all posts
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Holder: I am speechless!
After the biggest moment of his career, realisation has yet to sink in for Chris Holder. After standing victorious at the Millenium Stadium, Cardiff, in front of 40,000 passionate fans, the moment he had dreamt of since childhood, had finally become reality.
The talk before the series had featured on what could this young Australian do? Exciting and fearless, it seemed he was likely to step up and be considered a contender for the top 8. After the accident in Torun where at first, it appeared he had a broken arm, it looked like he may lose serious points in the championship. However, a typical tough Aussie, he battled on and achieved more than many people expected at only his fifth GP!
A special moment for the 22 year old, watched on by his family. Unfortunately the celebrations that night were not going to be legendary, with a Polish fixture the following day!
He appeared lost for words in the post meeting conference and it was left to the elder statesmen, Jason Crump to do all the talking! It was nice however, to see a rider so ecstatic with taking his maiden victory as he said “I never wanted to leave the track, I could have stayed doing wheelies all night.”
The happiness amongst the whole SGP paddock was clear to see with so many riders joining in the celebrations and congratulations after the meeting. Clearly, a very popular winner and great for the sport too.
A week after the event at a vital fixture for his club Poole, in Elite League action at Peterborough, he said, I’m not back to earth yet. It was such a big night for me. I still shake my head when I’m reminded now. I just want to make sure I stay in the top 8, be consistent and move on from Cardiff. It can be so easy to drop back down the table so I mustn’t let that happen.”
He admits he was bowled over by the fanatical support in the GP. There may have been no Brits’ to cheer on in the rostrum but the noise when Holder crossed the line, was electrifying. “The crowd went crazy. It was awesome. I was so lucky to have my first win there.”
Holder thinks Gollob has the edge on this year’s title chase. “The points are still close, though Hampel and Gollob have edged away at the top. Both the Poles are so good but Gollob has ridden unbelievable in the GP’s as well as the Polish league. Hopefully, for him and his army of fans in Poland, he will win the championship, he deserves it.”
Now there is the summer break in speedway from the GP’s and attention moves to the annual world cup event. The Aussies will be racing at the Norfolk Arena, Kings Lynn against home favourites Team GB! They will be without their leader Jason Crump and also ex GP star Leigh Adams.
“I’ve not rode at Kings Lynn for two years. We will miss our two big guns. Just us young ones will have to go out and do the job. I don’t feel there will be so much pressure on us. We will just enjoy it. Without the World Champion riding in our team, we are the underdogs, so we will have a go.”
Holder will be racing alongside best friends and Poole stars, Darcy Ward and Dave Watt along with Peterborough stars Troy Batchelor and Rory Schlein. This surely will be an entertaining event with plenty at stake to reach the final in Vojens, Denmark.
http://www.worldspeedway.com/artman/publish/article_13277.shtml
The talk before the series had featured on what could this young Australian do? Exciting and fearless, it seemed he was likely to step up and be considered a contender for the top 8. After the accident in Torun where at first, it appeared he had a broken arm, it looked like he may lose serious points in the championship. However, a typical tough Aussie, he battled on and achieved more than many people expected at only his fifth GP!
A special moment for the 22 year old, watched on by his family. Unfortunately the celebrations that night were not going to be legendary, with a Polish fixture the following day!
He appeared lost for words in the post meeting conference and it was left to the elder statesmen, Jason Crump to do all the talking! It was nice however, to see a rider so ecstatic with taking his maiden victory as he said “I never wanted to leave the track, I could have stayed doing wheelies all night.”
The happiness amongst the whole SGP paddock was clear to see with so many riders joining in the celebrations and congratulations after the meeting. Clearly, a very popular winner and great for the sport too.
A week after the event at a vital fixture for his club Poole, in Elite League action at Peterborough, he said, I’m not back to earth yet. It was such a big night for me. I still shake my head when I’m reminded now. I just want to make sure I stay in the top 8, be consistent and move on from Cardiff. It can be so easy to drop back down the table so I mustn’t let that happen.”
He admits he was bowled over by the fanatical support in the GP. There may have been no Brits’ to cheer on in the rostrum but the noise when Holder crossed the line, was electrifying. “The crowd went crazy. It was awesome. I was so lucky to have my first win there.”
Holder thinks Gollob has the edge on this year’s title chase. “The points are still close, though Hampel and Gollob have edged away at the top. Both the Poles are so good but Gollob has ridden unbelievable in the GP’s as well as the Polish league. Hopefully, for him and his army of fans in Poland, he will win the championship, he deserves it.”
Now there is the summer break in speedway from the GP’s and attention moves to the annual world cup event. The Aussies will be racing at the Norfolk Arena, Kings Lynn against home favourites Team GB! They will be without their leader Jason Crump and also ex GP star Leigh Adams.
“I’ve not rode at Kings Lynn for two years. We will miss our two big guns. Just us young ones will have to go out and do the job. I don’t feel there will be so much pressure on us. We will just enjoy it. Without the World Champion riding in our team, we are the underdogs, so we will have a go.”
Holder will be racing alongside best friends and Poole stars, Darcy Ward and Dave Watt along with Peterborough stars Troy Batchelor and Rory Schlein. This surely will be an entertaining event with plenty at stake to reach the final in Vojens, Denmark.
http://www.worldspeedway.com/artman/publish/article_13277.shtml
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