Speedway Grand Prix

TROY: AUSSIES UPBEAT

Australian international Troy Batchelor says being pipped to a Speedway World Cup Final berth by Team Great Britain did not knock his young side’s morale.

The men from Down Under lost out on an automatic place in Saturday’s showpiece at Vojens by three points at King’s Lynn on Monday.

The Aussies were neck-and-neck with the Lions for much of the night, but must now earn their place in the SWC Final by finishing in the top two at Thursday’s Race-Off.

Despite coming so close to winning the meeting, Craig Boyce’s side remained positive in the pits afterwards and Batchelor is certain they will bounce back for the showdown with Denmark, Russia and Sweden tomorrow night.

He said: “I think that’s the Aussie in us. We don’t give up so easily and it showed in the last races when it got a bit tight.

“We give our best and we don’t give up. It’s a long way to go and that wasn’t the Final, it was the semi. Congratulations to Britain, but we’ll see them in the Final – that’s all I can say.”

With big guns Jason Crump and Leigh Adams both missing the tournament, Batchelor was pleased an Aussie team with four riders aged 25 or under pushed the Brits so close.

But he admits the home team’s extra experience may have helped them edge the contest.

He added: “We put forward a young team, something to try, and the Brits put forward their best team. We gave them a good run and imagine if we had our top guys.

“Everyone is learning – this year is a learning year. Next year is going to be big. Chris (Holder) is coming on, I’m coming on, Darcy (Ward) is as well and everyone is going well.

“It’s just all learning. Darcy lost a couple of points when maybe he shouldn’t have, but we don’t care. It’s fine. We’re the only team here having a laugh and learning from it.

“Everyone was tipping us to win a bit there, but the Brits have got a couple of good guys who have been around for a long time. We’re all quite young. They’ve got a few older guys there and a bit of experience, which probably got them those extra points.”

Batchelor spent his 2005 and 2006 seasons racing for King’s Lynn in the British Premier League. So he was delighted to be back in familiar surroundings and paid tribute to promoter Buster Chapman for preparing a superb circuit.

The Peterborough man said: “It was a good track – a perfect race track. I can’t complain. Buster did a good job. There was a bit of grip, a bit of speed and some good racing lines.

“I hadn’t been there for a year or two, so hopefully a few of the fans will have been pleased to see me, even though they would have been cheering for Britain.”

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