RELIEVED Chris Holder booked his place in the 2016 Grand Prix – with a little help from Maciej Janowski.

Holder managed just two points in the final round at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne but secured a top-eight spot after nearest rival Peter Kildemand was kept in third in the second semi-final by the Sydneysider’s 2015 Pirates team-mate Janowski.

Holder, the 2012 world champion, eventually finished the campaign on 95 points, three clear of Dane Kildemand, who had outscored him by nine points on the night.

It was another impressive evening for Janowski who rounded off his maiden GP campaign with another podium finish, the Pole gaining third place having earlier made sure of another campaign on the world stage.

While American star Greg Hancock reeled off a stunning seven-ride maximum to take glory Down Under, the overall title was already in Tai Woffinden’s hands due to his efforts in the previous round in Torun.

The 28-year-old Holder got off to a disappointing start when he was beaten into third place by Kildemand and Sam Masters.

And a scoreless outing in a heat six containing Hancock, Andreas Jonsson and Janowski did not help matters, the Aussie slipping from first to last inside the first lap.

A point behind Krzysztof Kasprzak and Thomas H Jonasson saw Holder’s semi-final bid sustain a telling dent and two further point-less outings meant his campaign ended in underwhelming fashion.

It was a different story for Janowski who recorded two race wins on his way to an eight-point haul and a semi-final spot.

In a re-run semi-final in which Woffinden was excluded, Janowski gated but was passed by Niels-Kristian Iversen within a lap, a second-placed finish proving enough to advance.

Jason Doyle withdrew from the final after being knocked unconscious in a dramatic fall, with Janowski third behind Hancock and Iversen in the re-run.

Doyle was said to be in a stable condition at Royal Melbourne Hospital having suffered neck and chest injuries.

Australian GP scores: 1 Greg Hancock 21, 2 Niels-Kristian Iversen 15, 3 Maciej Janowski 11, 4 Jason Doyle 11, 5 Peter Kildemand 13, 6 Tai Woffinden 12, 7 Andreas Jonsson 12, 8 Krzysztof Kasprzak 9, 9 Matej Zagar 7, 10 Michael Jepsen Jensen 7, 11 Nicki Pedersen 7, 12 Sam Masters 5, 13 Tomas H Jonasson 4, 14 Troy Batchelor 2, 15 Chris Holder 2, 16 Chris Harris 0, 17 Justin Sedgmen DNR, 18 Max Fricke DNR.

Final standings: 1 Tai Woffinden 163, 2 Greg Hancock 147, 3 Nicki Pedersen 131, 4 Niels-Kristian Iversen 120, 5 Jason Doyle 114, 6 Matej Zagar 107, 7 Maciej Janowski 106, 8 Chris Holder 95, 9 Peter Kildemand 92, 10 Andreas Jonsson 88, 11 Michael Jepsen Jensen 84, 12 Troy Batchelor 59, 13 Chris Harris 55, 14 Tomas H Jonasson 55, 15 Krzysztof Kasprzak 45, 16 Jaroslaw Hampel 31.