Tai Woffinden (born 10 August 1990) is a British

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

rider. He is a three-time

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

(

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2015 and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

Early life

Woffinden was born in

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A ...

, the son of former speedway rider Rob Woffinden. Although born in the United Kingdom and competing as a British rider, Woffinden grew up in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Western Australia after his parents Rob and Sue decided to move there in 1994.

Career

Woffinden began his career in junior speedway in Perth where he won the 2006 Western Australian Under-16 title, though he unfortunately missed riding in the Australian Under-16 Championship in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. He started his British career with the

Scunthorpe Scorpions The Scunthorpe Scorpions are a speedway team in the British SGB Championship. They have raced at various times since 1972, at three different venues. History 1972–1978 The original Scunthorpe side were known as Scunthorpe Saints from 19 ...

in the Conference League in 2006. With the Scorpions he completed a clean sweep of Conference League trophies, winning the Championship, Conference Trophy, Conference Shield and the Knockout Cup. When he turned sixteen years of age he made his

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

debut for the

Sheffield Tigers The Sheffield 'Tru Plant' Tigers are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. The Tigers traditionally hold their race ...

as a guest rider. In 2006, he became an asset of

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 20 ...

after he signed a full contract with the Elite League side. 2007 saw Woffinden return to Scunthorpe in the Conference League and he signed on a season's loan with the

Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Rye House began life in 1934 hosting open meetings. Whilst at Hackney in ...

in the Premier League, the Rockets clinched the Premier League Championship in 2007 after beating the

in the final. In August 2007 he also signed for the

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by ...

in the Elite League to ride at reserve, sharing the spot with

team-mate

Steve Boxall Steven Shane (Steve) Boxall (born 16 May 1987 in Canterbury, Kent) is a speedway rider in the United Kingdom. He rode with the Belle Vue Aces in the Elite League. Career Boxall won the Conference League Riders' Championship in 2005. Also i ...

for the rest of the season. In 2007, Woffinden became the youngest ever rider to appear in the British Championship Final but suffered injury in a crash and had to withdraw from the meeting. In September he became the Conference League Riders Champion and then two days later won the British Under 18 Championship. Woffinden signed for the

again for the 2008 season and this was also the season he made his debut for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in the

Speedway World Cup The Speedway World Cup is an annual speedway event held each year in different countries. The first edition of the competition in the current format was held in 2001 and replaced the old World Team Cup which ran from 1960 until 2000. The last ed ...

, impressing with a win against world class opposition. He also finished third in the

British Speedway Championship The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competition open to British national speedway riders. The winner of the event becomes the British Speedway Champion. History Inaugurated in 1961 as a qualifying round of the Spe ...

. This finish qualified Woffinden to be a track reserve at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

but he did not have an opportunity to ride. Woffinden became British Under-21 Champion in 2008. The event was held at the

Arena Essex Raceway Arena Essex Raceway was a stock car and speedway racing track located near Purfleet, Essex. It opened in 1978 and closed in 2018. The Lakeside Shopping Centre was built close to the venue. The stadium The Arena-Essex Raceway Complex was the ...

, with Woffinden only dropping one point in the qualifying heats and winning the final ahead of Adam Roynon and Ben Barker. Woffinden is the first rider to hold both the British Under-18 and British Under-21 title during the same season. He was also the first rider to be the British Under 18 Champion for two consecutive seasons. Woffinden agreed to ride for his parent club, the Wolverhampton Wolves, for the 2009 Elite League season. On 15 April 2011 Tai Woffinden won the British Under 21 Championship, held at the

. After his father's death from cancer in 2010, the Rob Woffinden Classic has become one of the biggest events for speedway bikes in Western Australia. Tai won the Classic named for his late father in 2012 at the

Pinjar Park Speedway Pinjar may refer to: * Pinjar, Western Australia Pinjar is a rural locality in Perth, Western Australia. Its local government area is the City of Wanneroo. History The suburb of Pinjar is named after the large swampy lake of this name located ...

in Perth. In 2013 Woffinden won the

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...

series to become World Champion. He was the 8th British rider to become World Champion and the first one to hold the British Championship and World Championship in the same year since

Gary Havelock Robert Gary Havelock (born 4 November 1968, in Eaglescliffe, County Durham, England) is a former speedway rider who was World Champion in 1992. For several years he captained the Redcar Bears in the Premier League. He is the son of former speed ...

in 1992. He was also the youngest World Champion in the modern day GP competition at the time. He also won Motorcycle News Man of the Year Award for 2013. Also in 2013, Woffinden competed in his only European Championship finishing 5th during the 2013 Speedway European Championship. Woffinden captained the

team that finished fourth in the

2014 Speedway World Cup The 2014 FIM Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the fourteenth FIM Speedway World Cup, the annual international speedway world championship tournament. It took place between 26 July and 2 August 2014 and involved nine national teams. Qualification Te ...

Final in Bydgoszcz,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Until the end of 2014 he also rode for the

in the British Elite League, but announced in late 2014 that he would not be riding in Britain during 2015 in his quest to regain his World Championship. After dropping to fourth place in the 2014 Speedway Grand Prix season, Woffinden bounced back in 2015 to regain the Speedway World Championship, becoming the first British rider to win two world individual titles since Peter Craven won his second in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

. On the way to his second championship success, Woffinden won the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and Scandinavian Grand Prix while finishing second in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, Sweden and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and third in Poland II. In 2016 and 2017, he finished second and third respectively in the 2017 World Championship and the 2017 World Championship, which included winning a Grand Prix in Warsaw and Gorzów. In 2016 the Speedway World Cup final was held at the national speedway stadium at Belle Vue, Manchester where team GB were runners up to Poland. In 2018, Woffinden won his third world title ending the 2018 Speedway Grand Prix on 139 points and ten clear of rival Bartosz Zmarzlik. This included four Grand Prix wins in

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Teterow Teterow () is a town of Germany, in the district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It is the geographical center of this federal state. It had a population of 8,852 in 2011. History The ''Stadtkirche St. Peter und Paul'' (St. Pete ...

and Torun. After a poor 2019 Championship he bounced back by taking the silver medal during the 2020 Speedway Grand Prix, this time behind Zmarzlik. In 2021, he became a team world champion after Great Britain secured the

2021 Speedway of Nations The 2021 Speedway of Nations (sponsored by Monster Energy) was the fourth FIM Speedway of Nations. The competition consisted of two semi-finals and a final. The final was held on 16 & 17 October 2021 and was won by Great Britain, with Poland tak ...

(the world team title). He also the Czech Grand Prix on the way to a sixth place finish during the

2021 Speedway Grand Prix The 2021 Speedway Grand Prix season was the 27th season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, and decided the 76th FIM Speedway World Championship. The series was dominated by Polish venues once again with six of the 11 races taking place in Poland. Gre ...

. In 2022, he finished in 8th place during the 2022

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official champions ...

, after securing 93 points during the 2022 Speedway Grand Prix. Despite finishing outside of the top six he was selected by the SGP Commission as one of the riders for the 2023 Speedway Grand Prix.

Major results

World individual Championship

2010 Speedway Grand Prix The 2010 Speedway Grand Prix was the 65th edition of the official World Championship and the 16th season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, deciding the FIM Speedway World Championship. It was the tenth series under the promotion of Benfield Sports I ...

- 14th *

2011 Speedway Grand Prix The 2011 Speedway Grand Prix was the 66th edition of the official World Championship and the 17th season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, deciding the FIM Speedway World Championship. It was the eleventh series under the promotion of Benfield Sport ...

- 25th * 2013 Speedway Grand Prix - Winner (including Czech Republic grand prix win) * 2014 Speedway Grand Prix - 4th (including Czech Republic and Sweden grand prix wins) *

2015 Speedway Grand Prix The 2015 Speedway Grand Prix season was the 70th edition of the official World Championship and the 21st season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, deciding the FIM Speedway World Championship. It was the fifteenth series under the promotion of Benfie ...

- Winner (including Czech Republic & Scandinavian grand prix wins) * 2016 Speedway Grand Prix - runner up (including Warsaw grand prix win) * 2017 Speedway Grand Prix - 3rd (including Gorzów grand prix wins * 2018 Speedway Grand Prix - Winner (including Warsaw, Torun, German & Danish grand prix wins) * 2019 Speedway Grand Prix - 13th * 2020 Speedway Grand Prix - runner up *

- 6th (including Czech Republic grand prix win) * 2022 Speedway Grand Prix - 8th

World team Championships

2008 Speedway World Cup The 2008 FIM Nordicbet Speedway World Cup (SWC) is the 8th FIM Speedway World Cup season. The Final took place on July 19 2008 in Vojens, Denmark. The tournament was won by host team Denmark (49 pts) and they beat defending champion Poland (46 pt ...

- 5th * 2009 Speedway World Cup - 5th *

2010 Speedway World Cup The 2010 FIM PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the tenth FIM Speedway World Cup, the annual international speedway world championship tournament. It was originally scheduled to take place between 24 July and 31 July 2010 ...

- 4th * 2011 Speedway World Cup - 6th *

2012 Speedway World Cup The 2012 FIM Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the twelfth FIM Speedway World Cup, the annual international speedway world championship tournament. It took place between 7 July and 14 July 2012 and involved eight national teams. Six teams were seeded ...

- 5th * 2013 Speedway World Cup - 7th *

- 4th *

2015 Speedway World Cup The 2015 Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the fifteenth FIM Speedway World Cup, the annual international speedway world championship tournament. It took place between 6 June and 14 June 2015 and involved nine national teams. It wa ...

- 5th *

2016 Speedway World Cup The 2016 Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the sixteenth FIM Speedway World Cup, the annual international speedway world championship tournament. It took place between 23 July and 30 July 2016 and involved nine national teams. It w ...

- runner up *

2018 Speedway of Nations The 2018 Speedway of Nations was the first FIM Speedway of Nations. The competition consisted of two race-off events and a two-legged final. The event was won by Russia, who beat Great Britain in the Grand Final. It replaced the Speedway World Cu ...

- runner up *

2019 Speedway of Nations The 2019 Speedway of Nations was the second FIM Speedway of Nations. The competition consisted of two race-off events and a two-legged final. The event was won by Russia for the second consecutive year. They beat Poland in the Grand Final with Au ...

- 7th *

- Winner

European Championship

* 2013 Speedway European Championship - 5th

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woffinden, Tai 1990 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Individual Speedway World Champions British Speedway Championship winners Sportspeople from Scunthorpe Rye House Rockets riders Scunthorpe Scorpions riders