TROY Batchelor says his fourth-placed finish at the Elite League Riders Championship on Saturday night has got him close to 100 per cent ready for the new season.

After a difficult winter blighted by visa issues which have affected the whole sport, Batchelor headed to Leicester without any real expectations of defending the title he won at King’s Lynn last season.

However, the Swindon Robins skipper got better and better as the night went on, pulling off a stunning win in his final heat to qualify for the semi-finals.

From there he secured a top-two finish to book his place in the final, although he was unable to raise his game again as fellow Australian Jason Doyle took the title ahead of runner-up Niels Iversen and Maciej Janowski in third.

The lengthy visa problems have given Batchelor limited time to prepare for the next campaign, which is less than a fortnight away, but he says his performance in Leicester has got him firmly back on track.

“It wasn’t too bad. I was a bit rusty but definitely got better and better race by race,” said 27-year-old Batchelor.

“The first couple of races I had massive arm pump just from holding on too tight and stressing out on the bike.

“After race three or four that disappeared and I just started feeling more at one with the bike, more in control and a lot looser.

“Gates is a big thing in speedway and Gate Four sucks and I had it four times, so if you change that it could have been a different story.

“It didn’t really mean anything before, I just wanted to use it as a test and get back up to speed.

“I’ve got to be happy with that and there’s still a lot of work to be done. I’m still not quite there but I’m about 90 or 95 per cent at the moment.”