RYAN Douglas has vowed to knuckle down in his attempts to climb the Australian Championship standings.
The resurgent Aussie finally got his campaign underway on Monday in Albury-Wodonga after Saturday’s scheduled round was abandoned after just four heats - with extreme weather conditions causing the track to become unsafe.
‪Douglas scored five points from his opening three outings putting himself in touching distance of a semi-final spot‬. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old was unable to capitalise on a promising start, scoring just the single point from his final two rides.
Douglas said: “It’s a frustrating start to the series for me. I had a good start to the meeting but couldn’t get anything working after that. I didn’t do enough at the end of the meeting to make the semi-finals and that’s where I need to be to be up against the leaders.
“I will bounce back though and there is still plenty of time to put things right.”
The Watling JCB Lions heat-leader suffered similar circumstances in the following round at Undera on Tuesday.
A slightly more consistent 7-point haul gave Douglas a fighting chance of progressing to the semi-finals.
However, British Speedway newcomer Zach Cook put paid to his hopes of qualifying with a second place in his final ride, overcoming Chris Holder to move one point ahead of Douglas.
“Things just aren’t working out for me right now and it’s frustrating trying to sort a set-up out that works for me,” added Douglas.
“There aren’t any easy points being given away out there as every rider wants to reach a semi-final but I will get my head down and carry on working hard to improve my points tally.”
Reigning champion Max Fricke holds a six-point lead at the top of the standings on 37 with Aussie Under-21 Champion Jaimon Lidsey and Rohan Tungate deadlocked in second place on 31 points apiece.
Round Three takes place on Thursday (January 9) in Mildura where Douglas will look to produce a more commanding performance to reach the semi-finals for the first time this series.
