FIM Speedway Grand Prix: Jack Holder opens season with thrilling maiden victory in Croatia
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Updated 27/04/2024 at 21:17 GMT
It was a day to remember for Australia's Jack Holder as he opened the FIM 2024 Speedway Grand Prix season with victory in Donji Kraljevec, Croatia - his maiden GP win. His compatriot Jason Doyle was second with Fredrik Lindgren completing the podium. Defending world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik had to settle for fourth. Watch FIM Speedway Grand Prix action live on discovery+
‘A special moment!’ – Holder secures maiden GP victory in Croatia
Jack Holder became the first winner of the 2024 Speedway Grand Prix season with an excellent display in Donji Kraljevec.
The Aussie dominated the event, coming through the heats as number one, and continued that form in the semi-final and final. Jason Doyle was second with Fredrik Lindgren completing the podium.
Defending world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik got out of shape on the opening lap of the final and had to settle for fourth.
"I just made history for the Holder family, we're the first brothers to win," Holder said post-race. "Massive monkey off my back, I've been wanting this one for so long.
"My partner, she's back home in England, she's got our son in her belly, so she can't travel anymore, so that one was for her and I can't wait to get home. And the whole Holder crew - we did it, baby!
"It was a pretty technical track out there, there were a few big, big holes, but you know, I was just trapping. Trapping for fun, just logging my laps and got to that chequered flag first."
Holder started the night with three wins and a second place in the heats to top the standings and have the first gate choice for the semi-finals. He looked untouchable from there, taking the lead at tapes up in both the semi-final and final and storming to the win.
It was a very different story for Doyle who just snuck through into the semi-finals after a slow start to the Grand Prix. Forced to start from the dreaded Gate 4, which had produced no winners and the least amount of points through the evening, he had a decent getaway and battled wildcard Kai Huckenbeck for second, gradually edging away to secure a spot in the showdown.
Fighting Zmarzlik for second at the start of the final, Doyle stood firm while the defending champion got out of sorts and brought the podium spot home.
"What a couple of days we've had - a terrible one in Poland last night and then coming here, going into qualifying and getting 18th in the timing, and then standing on the rostrum is ... yeah, what a night!," the Aussie said.
"I can't thank my mechanics enough, they've worked so hard in the last week and I really appreciate all the fans here, what an amazing atmosphere. I'm cheering!
"[Lindgren] and I know how vital it is to get into the semi-finals and points come when you get into the final, so we're going to dig deep, show these boys that we're not over - the old boys are still in it for the long run."
Indeed, Lindgren too had to hope he had done enough to reach the semi-finals until the very end, having failed to win a single heat. The Swedish veteran prevailed from Gate 4 in the second semi-final, finishing second behind Zmarzlik to progress to the final.
"It was hard work again for me today and I kept working hard," Lindgren admitted. "I threw away a couple of points early on in the heats when I've had good starts and made things hard for me.
"My mechanic said before the semi 'you know what to do' and I said 'I got to pull the rabbit out of the hat. I managed to do that and I'm very happy to finish on the podium."
Defending world champion Zmarzlik had looked in decent form all evening, but eventually had to settle for fourth after a small error in the final that he could not recover from.
Robert Lambert was the top Brit in Croatia after a strong performance in the heats, going through to the semi-finals in third. However, he just missed out against a resurging Lindgren and it was sixth overall.
The other Brits in the mix, Dan Bewley and Tai Woffinden, meanwhile struggled throughout the heats and could not exceed five and three points respectively.
World number three Martin Vaculik too missed the cut to the semi-finals, having failed to score points in the first two sets of heats.
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The 2024 Speedway season will be available live and ad-free on discovery+.
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