THROUGH THE TAPES – JUNE 13 2012

IT was the best race of my Pirates career.

Miracle man Chris Holder had the final say – both on and off the track.

After scorching to the most mesmeric heat-15 victory seen in these parts for many a year, Holder was asked whether he had produced the best lap of his time in Dorset.

“Yeah, definitely,” he responded. “And I reckon it was probably my best race at Poole.”

After witnessing a truly epic final-race decider, nobody among an ecstatic Wimborne Road faithful would have disagreed with their skipper’s verdict.

Having rattled off six wins to bring themselves from the brink of defeat to within range of an odds-defying comeback, Pirates’ Turbo Twins arrived at the tapes. With Darcy Ward taking care of business at the front, Holder found himself in the unlikely position of last going into the final circuit.

But despite having the mammoth task of catching – and then passing – King’s Lynn heroes Niels Kristian Iversen and Maciej Janowski, Holder dug deep to produce something breathtaking.

Sweeping round Iversen on the opening turn, he then catapulted himself past Janowski at ferocious speed.

With the unselfish Ward having astutely slowed the Stars duo, Holder then fired past his colleague on the line to spark delirious scenes among the home faithful.

What had been a tense, thrilling, edge-of-the-seat atmosphere made way for a triumphant 48-45 success as Pirates somehow produced an escape Harry Houdini would have been proud of. Until Holder’s intervention, the Elite League leaders had looked set to surrender their record-breaking unbeaten run.

Pirates: 1 Darcy Ward 13+1, 2 Ricky Kling 0, 3 Chris Holder 16, 4 Dennis Andersson 5+3, 5 Adrian Miedzinski 6, 6 Ludvig Lindgren 5+1, 7 Todd Kurtz 3.

Stars: 1 Niels Kristian Iversen 11, 2 Daniel Nermark 4, 3 Maciej Janowski 9+1, 4 Joe Screen 4+1, 5 Mads Korneliussen 5, 6 Mateusz Szczepaniak 6+2, 7 Kevin Wolbert 6+2.