TROY Batchelor faces an anxious wait to discover if his Grand Prix dream is still alive after a knee injury forced him to pull out of the final round of the Australian Championship on Saturday.

The new Robins captain, who is first reserve for the 2014 GP series, went into the meeting at Gillman third in the standings but nursing a ligament injury suffered while riding in the final of round two at Undera three days earlier.

After attempting to take part in the pre-meeting practice the reigning champion decided he would not be able to ride and will now rest as he bids to be fit for the start of the European season in mid-March.

His withdrawal saw the 26-year-old slip to 10th in the overall standings, missing out on one of the three Grand Prix qualifying spots on offer, meaning he will now need to rely on a wildcard pick from Motorcycling Australia if he is to challenge for a regular spot in the series for 2015. Batchelor has made the GP Challenge in each of the last two years and has openly discussed his desire to race in the series full-time in the future.

Former world champion Chris Holder won his fifth Australian title after Robins asset Jason Doyle, who led the series going into the final round, was excluded in the final in Adelaide after picking up drive while ahead going into lap two.

Doyle’s exclusion handed the title to Holder but it was former Poole rider Rohan Tungate who won the meeting, beating Holder into second.