PIRATES star Chris Holder claims he will need "a lot of guts and bravery" to notch a hat-trick of Australian Championship round wins tomorrow.

The 20-year-old leads the series Down Under, having romped to impressive victories at Mildura and Gillman in the opening meetings.

He will now bid to maintain this momentum by conquering the super fast Mount Gambier track in the third round.

Holder raced in Poland last term and has competed at high-speed British circuits Sheffield and Peterborough, so he is used to fast shale.

But the former Isle of Wight man claims the track in South Australia is a much more nerve-jangling prospect.

The Pirate, who finished fourth there last year, said: "Mount Gambier is going to be very different to the other rounds, as it's a really big car track.

"Whoever has got the strongest nerves will probably end up in the final and it takes a lot of guts and bravery to ride it.

"It's miles faster than Peterborough and it's really heavily banked - it's like a sprint car track that you might see in America.

"The place is really wide and it's just so fast that you get out in front and hold on for dear life."

With Grand Prix men Leigh Adams and Jason Crump declining to enter this year's championship, Holder has become the national favourite.

He was expected to face much stiffer competition from foreign entrants Freddie Lindgren, Filip Sitera and Britain's Joe Screen.

And while he has made the most of his home advantage, Holder claims his rivals' lack of Aussie track practise is no excuse for their failure to challenge him.

He added: "There are some really good riders here - they have been racing more times than me.

"Perhaps this competition has come as a bit of a shock to them or maybe they're struggling with the heat?

"But this puts them in the situation we Aussies find ourselves in when we go to Britain and everyone is really on the pace.

"They have come to our back yard now and there are boys down here people have never heard of, who are just so fast."