Reigning world No.5 Jack Holder headlines a star-studded line-up for the 2026 Australian Speedway Championship, with battle lines to be drawn between seasoned solo campaigners right through to explosive teenagers fresh into the senior ranks.
The roster for the four-round championship is bursting with talent, and includes seven of the top 10 finishers from the 2025 title – the Holder siblings, Jack and 2012 world champion Chris, Rohan Tungate, Keynan Rew, Jaimon Lidsey, Ben Cook and Zach Cook – setting the scene for another supremely entertaining January.
The 2026 championship will also enjoy an extra celebratory tone, marking 100 years since the first title was held in 1926, won by American Cecil Brown at Olympic Speedway in Maroubra.
Jack Holder leads the way at the 2025 Mildura round
Jack Holder was the highest finisher in the 2025 Australian Speedway Championship, finishing second behind fellow 2025 Speedway of Nations gold medallist Brady Kurtz, while Chris Holder was third ahead of 2022 Australian U21 champion Rew and Tungate.
Chris Holder, who last week competed in Valentino Rossi’s prestigious 100km annual flat track event in Italy, has been a mainstay of the Australian solo title for three decades, and he will again be a major talking point in 2026 as he attempts to join the late Billy Sanders on six victories.
Tungate (2018 and 2024) and Jack Holder (2023) are also previous Aussie title winners.
The 2026 field also includes two-time Aussie runner-up Justin Sedgmen, 2020 world U21 champion Jaimon Lidsey, as well as Mitchell McDiarmid and Tate Zischke who together steered Australia’s 2025 Speedway of Nations U21 team to a brilliant third place in Poland.
McDiarmid also impressed as a rookie in the 2025 U21 world title, while another precocious teen who’ll be on the Aussie starting blocks is 16-year-old Beau Bailey.
Tungate (white) and Chris Holder in the 2025 Albury-Wodonga grand finale
After concluding his junior career with third in the 2025 world SGP3 title, 16-year-old Bailey has made a stunning transition into the senior ranks, embracing the increased spotlight and intensity with aplomb. Only last week, he won the Victorian title in a quality field that included Sedgmen and McDiarmid.
The 2026 Australian Speedway Championship line-up also includes Jack Morrison, Jacob Hook, former road racer Reid Battye and Fraser Bowes.
2026 Australian Speedway Championship selections:
- Beau Bailey
- Reid Battye
- Fraser Bowes
- Ben Cook
- Zach Cook
- Christopher Holder
- Jack Holder
- Jacob Hook
- Jaimon Lidsey
- Mitchell McDiarmid
- Jack Morrison
- Keynan Rew
- Justin Sedgmen
- Rohan Tungate
- Tate Zischke
Reserves
- Alexander Adamson
- Lachlan Russell
- Dayle Wood
- Mitchell Cluff
- Harrison Ryan
2026 Australian Speedway Championship calendar:
- Rds1-2: January 3-4, Diamond Park Speedway, Wodonga, Vic
- Rd3: January 7, Olympic Park Speedway, Mildura, Vic
- Rd4: January 9, Gillman Speedway, SA
Images: Judy Mackay