WORLD champion Chris Holder says Cardiff’s unique atmosphere can inspire him to success in the British Grand Prix tonight as he looks to rejuvenate his title challenge.

The Pirates talisman has triumphed at the Millennium Stadium twice in three GPs with last year’s win and 23-point haul pivotal to being crowned king of world speedway.

However, Poole’s captain has suffered a testing start to 2013, while Pirates have also endured a a poor start to their Elite League campaign.

The crowd-pleasing Aussie’s title defence was dented by failing to qualify for the semi-finals in Prague two weeks ago with Jarek Hampel pipping Holder to victory in the final heat.

But despite slipping 15 points behind leader Emil Sayfutdinov, sixth-placed Holder reckons soaking up the Welsh capital’s white-hot atmosphere can swing the championship pendulum back in his favour.

The 25-year-old told the Daily Echo: “The atmosphere either makes it for you or makes it hard for you.

“It is a place where you can get pretty nervous because of all the fans and the noise. You really want to do well and put on a show and the pressure is on.

“Some guys feed off it and some guys struggle with it but, so far, it has worked well for me. I like the noise and all the rest of it and it pushes me to ride that little bit harder.

“The whole deal there is the biggest on the circuit and things have just worked out for me every time there. I’m not doing anything different in Cardiff, and I can’t tell you why it has always come good there, but I’d like to keep that run going because I need some points at the minute.

“I’m looking forward to getting there and using the advantage I’ve built up in the past. It has been a tough season so far but my bikes are running better now and everything is working well.

“I’m not giving up (on the title). I’m 15 points behind but we’ve only done four rounds – I was that far behind with four rounds to go last year. It is never easy to pull back points but you can gain 17, 18, 19 points in one night if you step up. It is there for the taking.

“Leaving Prague with only seven wasn’t ideal but that has gone and I have to try and forget about it. You just have to make a few finals and you know you are going to be in the points.”

Holder will feature in heats 3, 5, 11, 16 and 18 tonight, facing front-runner Sayfutdinov and second-placed Brit Tai Woffinden in his final two races following yesterday’s draw.

Holder’s draw – Ht 3: Dryml, Lindgren, Holder, Hancock. Ht 5: Pedersen, Zagar, Hampel, Holder. Ht 11: Vaculik, Holder, Gollob, Kasprzak. Ht 16: Holder, Jonsson, Iversen, Sayfutdinov. Ht 18: Holder, Woffinden, Lindback, Harris.