SPEEDWAY | Tested and Proven

With the field thinned but expectations sky-high, Jack Holder still had to earn every point on the road to a second Aussie title

Jack Holder is now a believer in the often-expressed view that it’s more difficult to win something for a second time than it is the first.

In 2023, Holder won the Australian Speedway Championship, a feat he repeated this month in claiming the 2026 title – but he knows that his second title win only came after a very tough battle.

Make no mistake, this was a title Jack should have won. In the absence of his SGP compatriots Brady Kurtz, Max Fricke and Jason Doyle plus Ryan Douglas, Sam Masters and Josh Pickering, it left Holder as a hot favourite.

But it was no pushover. His two most serious rivals, Jaimon Lidsey and Rohan Tungate, ultimately joined Holder on the series rostrum after making him work very hard in all four rounds – during which that trio featured in all finals.

The top two scorers after the 20 heats at each round progressed direct to the final for the night, while the next eight riders contested two semis, from which only the winners progressed – in all but one case the third and fourth top scorers from the heats won their semis.

Holder went direct to the final at each round, scoring 14 points in the heats at every round, beaten only by Lidsey twice, Keynan Rew and Tungate once each.

Lidsey went direct to the final three times, including twice with a maximum score and Tungate once with a maximum in the final round.

As well as the degree of predictability about the top three, so too were the next three in overall standings. Zach Cook’s consistency (three seconds and a third in the semis) earned him fourth overall, ahead of Keynan Rew who was hampered by mechanical problems in one round, while Ben Cook (winning all three semis he contested) would surely have finished higher had he not missed the final Mildura round with food poisoning.

Only one of the 15 riders who contested all rounds failed to make the semis at least once – further evidence of the fluctuating performances of the bottom half of the field – as Jacob Hook was steady while Justin Sedgmen at least made the semis each round.

Chris Holder, Beau Bailey and Fraser Bowes all withdrew from the championship with injuries after being selected, which further weakened the final line-up – but a number of younger riders grasped their opportunity to show their wares and hopefully attract the attention of promoters in Europe.

Those younger and in some cases lesser-known riders did not, however, detract from the excitement of the racing, with battles between those lesser lights often providing plenty of close action and drama, even if some polish was missing.

Mitchell McDiarmid was probably the standout among them, with quite a few wow moments; there were never any easy points, even for the top-ranked riders.

Oceania, State Titles and Speedway Firsts

Keynan Rew claimed his biggest win in domestic racing when he won the 2026 Oceania Championship at SA’s Gillman Speedway on 11 January.

Rew and Luke Becker qualified direct to the final where they were joined by semi winners Rohan Tungate and Jaimon Lidsey. Becker fell at the first corner in the decider, leaving Rew to beat Tungate and Lidsey in the re-run.

The Darcy Ward Invitational was the first ever bike meeting at the Western Sydney Speedway on Boxing Night, with Jack Holder triumphant in the final ahead of Zaine Kennedy, Ryan Douglas and Tate Zischke. The four sidecars drew the biggest cheers from the crowd on the night.

The two- and three-wheelers are back at the Western Sydney Speedway on 7 February for the Sydney Sendoff meeting.

Lidsey became a two-time winner of the Phil Crump Classic at Mildura (27 Dec), taking the final ahead of Luke Becker, Tungate, Zischke, Leon Flint and Justin Sedgmen.

Becker became the first American rider to win the SA Championship at Gillman (28 Dec), even though he had to win a semi-final to get into the final where he was victorious ahead of Flint, Zischke and Scott Nicholls.

On the same program, the State Under 16 250cc title was won by Cooper Antone ahead of Nate Smith, after both Ky Mitchell and Kobi Canning fell.

Lidsey wrapped up the double of Mildura features, taking the Jason Lyons Trophy (17 Jan) ahead of Becker, Sedgmen and Nicholls.

The Daniel Winchester Testimonial meeting at Pinjar Park (17 Jan) attracted a better line-up than the WA title meeting, but the same winner as McDiarmid conquered Luke Killeen, Cameron Heeps and Matt Marson in the decider.

ANOTHER TRACK BITES THE DUST

Motorcycle racing has lost another venue after the last ever race meeting was staged at the Mick Doohan Raceway at North Brisbane before Christmas.

For four decades the North Brisbane Junior Motor Cycle Club has operated the venue on a series of short-term lease arrangements with the Brisbane City Council, but now the council has decided that the land would be better utilised for other purposes and the club has to vacate.

Renowned as one of the major venues in the country for dirt track, track racing and speedway, its closure leaves one of the country’s major cities without a track to race on.

Numerous businesses have supported the club’s activities and their contribution was remembered in a nostalgic final meeting when the last staging of the prestigious North Brisbane Cup turned into a celebration for riders, club officials and fans alike.

That final meeting produced a fitting farewell to the venue that has hosted many of the biggest names in the sport, including young riders who have progressed to be leading performers on the world stage, some in other disciplines, such as Jack Miller and Max Whale – who were both on hand for the finale at the track.

So who will be remembered as the winners at the last ever race meeting? Miller made it back to-back wins in the North Brisbane Cup, leading home Whale and Billy Van Eerde in the 20-lap final.

At this point the club has nowhere to relocate, but members are keenly investigating any suggestions that have been made.

Australian Speedway Championship

Round 1 – Albury-Wodonga (3 Jan)
• Semi winners: Tungate, B Cook
• Final: Holder, Lidsey, Tungate, B Cook

Round 2 – Albury-Wodonga (4 Jan)
• Semi winners: B Cook, Tungate
• Final: Holder, Tungate, B Cook, Lidsey

Round 3 – Mildura (7 Jan)
• Semi winners: Rew, Tungate
• Final: Holder, Tungate, Lidsey, Rew

Round 4 – Gillman (9 Jan)
• Semi winners: B Cook, Lidsey
• Final: Holder, Tungate, Lidsey, B Cook

Australian 500cc Solo Championship – Final Standings

1. Jack Holder – 72 pts

2. Jaimon Lidsey – 64 pts

3. Rohan Tungate – 61 pts

4. Zach Cook – 41 pts

5. Keynan Rew – 39 pts

6. Ben Cook – 37 pts

7. Jacob Hook – 31 pts

8. Mitchell McDiarmid – 30 pts

9. Tate Zischke – 29 pts

10. Justin Sedgmen – 26 pts