GP star Chris Harris has pinpointed Pirates duo Hans Andersen and Chris Holder as one of the main dangers to his Elite League Best Pairs crown.

The Coventry spearhead, who landed the spoils in tandem with Andersen at Swindon last year, will be bidding to defend the title in Eastbourne on Saturday.

Harris heads to the East Sussex venue with new sidekick Eddie Kennett, an Arlington track specialist who left Eastbourne for Coventry in the winter.

The in-form twosome sealed the Bees’ 46-43 victory over Pirates on Monday, their dramatic last-heat 4-2 over Andersen and Holder proving decisive.

But with the Pirates double act having been installed as 7-2 favourites for the meeting with Dorset bookmakers Jem Racing, Harris knows he and Kennett will need to be on their mettle at Arlington.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Echo, the reigning British champion said: “I think the field is quite open this year but the Poole boys will definitely be a big threat.

“Eastbourne pair Lewis Bridger and Davey Watt should also go well on their home track and Swindon (Leigh Adams and Simon Stead) and Wolves (Freddie Lindgren and Peter Karlsson) will be strong.

“Hans and Chris will be very strong around there and they are both good gaters. It’s going to be a tough meeting, especially around Eastbourne.

“We’re going in as the holders so hopefully we can bring it back to Coventry. But the competition is fierce and I don’t think you could call the winner because it’s too close.

“Fortunately for me, it’s at Eastbourne where Eddie spent a lot of time so hopefully we can perform well there. I won it with Hans last year so hopefully I can win it with Eddie this year.

“You need to ride as a team. It’s no good one of you winning and the other one coming last. You need to get through every gap and the goal has got to be avoiding last place.”

Elite League Best Pairs line-up: Lakeside (1 Lee Richardson, 2 Jonas Davidsson), Wolverhampton (3 Freddie Lindgren, 4 Peter Karlsson), Coventry (5 Chris Harris, 6 Edward Kennett), Belle Vue (7 Krzysztof Kasprzak, 8 Morten Risager), Peterborough (9 Niels K Iversen, 10 Kenneth Bjerre), Pirates (11 Hans Andersen, 12 Chris Holder), Eastbourne (13 Lewis Bridger, 14 Davey Watt), Ipswich (15 Scott Nicholls, 16 Danny King), Swindon (17 Leigh Adams, 18 Simon Stead).

Latest odds (supplied by Jem Racing): 7-2 Poole Pirates, 4-1 Wolves, 9-2 Coventry Bees, 6-1 Eastbourne Eagles, 6-1 Peterborough Panthers, 10-1 Lakeside, 12-1 Swindon Robins, 20-1 Belle Vue, 25-1 Ipswich Witches.