CHRIS Holder admitted setup problems had prevented him from performing at his best for the duration of his temporary stint at Pirates.

Brought into the Poole one-to-seven after Darcy Ward was sidelined in the New Zealand Grand Prix last month, Holder has been in up-and-down form since his arrival.

Largely successful in familiar surroundings at Wimborne Road, the Ringwood-based rider has found the going tougher away from home and he admitted that a lack of equipment had caused him problems.

The Sydneysider, who is just eight points short of the 2,500-pont barrier for Pirates, is scheduled to ride one more meeting in the skull and crossbones before shifting his focus entirely to racing on the continent.

Holder told the Daily Echo: “I haven’t really had the setup you need to be racing in England as my bike is an old one from last year.

“I’ve been bringing back stuff from Poland every weekend to see what suits it the best, so it’s been a bit of a battle.

“At Poole it’s been OK because I know the track pretty well. It’s only really been a few of the away ones like Belle Vue where you need specialist stuff.

“Equipment I’ve brought over from Poland is set up for big, grippy tracks and most of the tracks in England are small and technical, so the bikes haven’t really been set up for it and I’ve been doing the best I can with what I’ve got.

“I didn’t want to be set up completely here and then be gone in a week or so. I’ve just been trying to battle through.”

Holder will tomorrow night represent Australia in the second round of the European Best Pairs in Landshut, Germany.

The 26-year-old will line up alongside Leicester’s Jason Doyle having won the opening round in Torun, Poland, alongside Ward.

Holder said: “I don’t think any of us have been to this track so it’s going to be a bit of an eye-opener.

“We’re winning at the moment so it would be good to get a few points and stay at the top of the standings.

“I think I’ve only done two tracks in Germany but practice is a good chance to work out what works best. Once we do a few laps we’ll get the idea.”