Aussie ace Jack Holder admits making his bad nights better will be the key to Speedway GP success in 2025.
Holder launches his world-title bid in the WWK FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut on Saturday, aiming to improve upon his sixth place in the 2024 Speedway GP World Championship.
Going into the season, there is much talk about Polish icon Bartosz Zmarzlik’s quest to win a record-equalling sixth world title as he bids to become the first rider in the sport’s history to win four in a row. Holder knows his Lublin teammate better than most and knows the level of consistency it will take to beat Bartek – along with everyone else in the Speedway GP line-up.
“Bartek is pretty hard to look past,” he said. “But there are 14 other riders you have to look at too. He’s beatable and it’s not all about him.
“He’s just the one who is always consistent. When he has a bad night, it’s not too bad. He is still able to get a fourth place or something like that. It’s a case of not worrying about him and just doing what I do. I know I can beat him. I know I can beat all of them. You just need to make sure those bad nights are not too bad. You need them to be reasonable.”
Holder reached six semi-finals and three finals in the opening seven rounds last year but managed only one semi appearance in the last four events. On reflection, Holder was pleased to have reached the Speedway GP top six for a second straight season – following up his fourth place in 2023.
But he admitted: “It was a bit of a rollercoaster season. When I look back on the year, I can see I qualified on my own again, and the battle to finish in the top six is always pretty cutthroat.
“I had a not-too-bad season last year in the GPs. I had a lot of ups and a few downs too. It wasn’t looking too pretty there halfway through the season. I had a few very poor rounds. I managed to claw back what I needed to get into that top six in the world, which is pretty hard to do. That season is behind us now. I have some more experience and now we know what to do.”