HOLDER BROTHERS REUNITED AT SHEFFIELD

Sheffield boss Simon Stead is backing former Speedway GP world champion Chris Holder to prove “an absolute bargain” signing on a 7.16 average as he joins forces with Speedway GP sibling Jack at Owlerton in 2024.

Holder was recruited by the Tigers on the eve of the Premiership play-offs and joined forces with guest Robert Lambert to secure the 3-3 that clinched the club’s first-ever top-flight title in the Grand Final against Ipswich.

Jack Holder was forced out of the Sheffield team ahead of the play-offs due to the broken wrist he suffered at the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final in Wroclaw on July 29. He was followed on to the sidelines by triple world champion Tai Woffinden, his replacement who sustained a broken hand in the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff on September 2.

But the trio will form a sensational spearhead that lays down a huge challenge to any team with aspirations of unseating them as Premiership champions.

And Stead could not be happier with one of the strongest top threes assembled in the Premiership era. He said: “I’m absolutely over the moon with how our whole team is shaping up for next season, but this is one signing that really does excite me.

“Because he signed right at the end of August this year, we didn’t see too much of Chris. But the bits that we did see were really, really encouraging if you ask me when you consider the fact that he came to us with only a handful of meetings under his belt and was on the comeback from some serious injuries.

“The other thing that did impress me, yet not surprise me, was how he made his experience and class count when it mattered most.

“We asked him to go out there and help get the job done in that last heat decider against Ipswich and for him to race at that level and finish on a real high note when under immense pressure deserves so much credit.

“So if he can do things like that after only a couple of months then I really am excited to see just how he can perform if he’s racing competitively consistently, and he could prove to be an absolute bargain on a 7.16 starting average.”