(SPEEDWAY 1)

POOLE star Chris Holder made the perfect start to his Australian Championship defence with victory in the opening round at Kurri Kurri.Holder dropped his only point to Pirates' team-mate Davey Watt who finished second, whilst Jason Doyle made it three members of last year's Poole team on the podium with third place.Somerset's Cory Gathercole picked up fourth place, with World Under-21 Champion Darcy Ward missing out on a place in the Final after losing a win in his first ride due to mechanical problems.

(SPEEDWAY 2)

DUTCHMAN Theo Pijper is relishing his return to British speedway this year as he prepares to join Glasgow.Pijper admits he is impressed by track changes at Ashfield over the winter, and he says racing against former club Edinburgh will be an interesting prospect.Pijper said: "It does look like the racing will be spectacular. There appear to be many different lines now and if you really fancy it then you can do all sorts."I'm not sure what reaction I will get when we race (Edinburgh) for the first time, but it will be an important meeting for me personally."