Hero Holder salutes skipper

11:29pm Wednesday 23rd July 2008

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CHRIS Holder paid tribute to Bjarne Pedersen for giving him the space to complete a full maximum in his last outing as Pirates crushed weakened Belle Vue last night.

The Aussie ace went into heat 15 aiming to complete a scintillating five-ride full house in front of a 3,000 crowd at Wimborne Road.

But Holder was in danger of losing out going into the second turn as he trailed race leader Pedersen, Billy Forsberg and Adam Shields.

The youngster, who had won his opening four outings from the tapes after producing a superb gating display, didn't panic, though.

He just turned on the throttle and scorched outside the two unsuspecting Aces riders on the back straight to join Pedersen out front.

Holder had so much speed he also swept past his team-mate and captain on the third bend before going on to take the chequered flag.

It was Holder's second full maximum for Pirates in 30 appearances since he stepped up into the Elite League at the beginning of this season.

The unassuming Aussie might have taken all the plaudits from the crowd last night, but he was quick to point out Pedersen's help in assisting him in that final race.

Asked if he felt his maximum chances might have gone after he'd been outgated by Forsberg and Shields, Holder said: "No way. I wasn't even thinking about that.

"I was trying to get to the front.

"There was a gap, I got the grip at the right time, I went past them and got the maximum.

"I was blasting down the back straight into the third bend and I just had the speed to go past Bjarne as well.

"You can't really shut off down there when you're going flat out.

"I kept the speed going, Bjarne knew what was happening and left the room for my move so I didn't need to shut off. It was perfect."

It was a perfect night for Pirates as well as they comfortably saw off depleted Belle Vue, who arrived in Dorset without injured number one Jason Crump.

Poole Castle Cover's fans might have been disappointed they missed out on the eagerly awaited first league battle between Crump and Pedersen at Wimborne Road since the Aussie was forced to leave Pirates because of the lower points limit.

But they had the consolation of seeing their side move four points clear at the top of the table and move a step closer to gaining a coveted first or second place finish that would guarantee a home draw in the play-offs.

Belle Vue, using Adam Shields as a guest for broken finger victim Crump, battled hard in the opening half of the meeting.

But, with reserve Patrick Hougaard the only Aces rider to win any heats, they were comprehensively outgunned after being held to a 4-4 draw in their tactical ride in race eight.

Full strength Pirates, with no weak links, ran riot in the last seven heats to complete a clinical victory.