Wednesday 25th July 2012, 11:03

Australian champion Chris Holder admits “I’ve turned a bit of a corner” since becoming a father in March.

The Sydneysider is third in the World Championship standings going into the FIM Fogo Croatian SGP on Saturday. He is just nine points behind series leader Greg Hancock, who has 87 points, and is level on 78 with second-placed Jason Crump.

Holder has been widely regarded as a future world champion ever since he touched down in Europe in 2006 and could realise that dream this year.

The 24-year-old has sometimes struggled to maintain his strong early-season form throughout a hectic campaign in the SGP series, as well as the top leagues in Poland, Sweden and Britain. But the Poole-based man feels in great shape going into the second half of 2012.

His partner Sealy gave birth to their son Max while Holder was in Auckland for the New Zealand SGP on March 31. This could have proved a distraction for some riders.

But the Poole skipper, who leads his team into action against Wolves at Wimborne Road this evening, says his extra responsibilities off the track have helped him on it.

He said: “I feel good. I’m not run-down, tired or anything. I feel really fit and I just want to keep piling in the points.

“Things have changed for me at home. I’ve got a little boy and everything is going well there. Maybe I’ve turned a bit of a corner.

“I’ve got a good girlfriend at home. Sealy does well with Max and to be honest, I don’t have to do too much. I just try and be home as much as I can to help her out, but she’s awesome with him and it’s not really affecting me at all.”

Holder would love to pick up his first world title at his Ekstraliga home track Torun on October 6. But he knows there is plenty of racing to be done before what could be a tense World Championship run-in.

He added: “I’m not looking past Croatia. I’m just looking to stay consistent and get as many points as I can. There are still six to go and it’s not over yet. I want to stay where I am and improve. But there are a lot of other good guys behind me.

“I’ll approach the next six rounds the same as the first one – you’ve just got to take one meeting at a time. You just need points in every race. You can’t run lasts and if you can be consistent, you’ll be there at the end and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Gorican’s sandy surface has puzzled some of the sport’s brightest stars over the past two years.

“It’s not an easy track,” Holder said. “It’s quite a special one and you’ve got to have a good setup. You can look really fast in one race and then really slow in another. I’m just going there to do practice and pick the best bikes.”

Tweet

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix