Newcastle was hit by Chris Holder fever on Wednesday night, as the 20 year old all but sealed the fate of the 2008 Australian Speedway Solo Championship.

Holder put in a near flawless performance in front of a raucous Newcastle crowd – taking 14 of a possible 15 heat points, before leading the A-Final from start to finish.

The win was Holder’s fourth from four rounds, and as long as he can keep his composure at the final round in Sydney on Friday evening, Australia will have a new Speedway king.

The fourth round event was an extremely successful one which saw four riders finish tied behind Holder on 12 points.

Among those riders were Aussies Troy Batchelor and Jason Doyle, Brit Joe Screen and Swede Freddie Lindgren, with the latter being relegated to the B-Final on a count-back.

In the A-Final, the riders jumped from their starting positions and filed into their eventual finishing order – Holder ended the Final metres in the clear from Batchelor, Screen and Doyle.

After the race, as the young star was riding on a high adrenalin rush, Holder found it tough to hold back his emotions:

“Oh man, I don’t know what to say! The bike was working well, the track was pretty deadly at the start and it’s pretty physical as it’s taken a bit out of me,” Holder said. 

“I was a bit nervous in the Final and knew they were all coming behind me.  I think I caught a hole and that threw me a little bit, but it worked out in the end and I am so happy it’s not funny.

“I would love to go on and win the Australian Championship – I am so happy right now! If I could just get a few points and make it to the final, I will be absolutely stoked.”

Lindgren comfortably won the B-Final ahead of Victorians Cameron Woodward and Tom Hedley, with Czech Filip Sitera making up the numbers in the race.

The 2008 Australian Speedway Solo Championship heads to the Sydney Showground for the final round on Friday, and Motorcycling Australia will be on the spot with full coverage – keeping you posted via www.ma.org.au.