title hopes for that year, it was to be a
long 12-month wait for redemption.
Seven points. That’s all he needed
to take it. Just get there, collect the
points and take home the trophy. But
Doyle wasn’t in Melbourne to limp
across the line, literally or
figuratively. He came out in his first
heat and took three points in
dominant fashion.
He took the lead in his second heat
as well, but bad luck almost
intervened again. Chris Holder went
down and the officials were ready to
raise the red flags for a restart but in a
show of sportsmanship towards the
title leader, Holder hurried to pick up
his bike and wheel it off the track so
the race could continue.
Doyle took another win, leaving
him just one-point shy of the title.
The camera’s panned to Jason
following that heat, hoping to catch a
smile. But still nothing. He simply
beat his chest and showed a look of
determination. Even though he only
needed to finish third in a heat to
claim the championship, he knew the
job wasn’t finished.
In his third heat, Doyle just needed
to cruise. There was no reason to take
any risks. But Doyle isn’t that type of
rider. He didn’t nail the start and
found himself in third, before making
a bold move up the inside of SamDoyle made contact
with Dudek while
passing him in the final
http://www.adbmag.com.au JANUARY 2018 | 165