Just two weeks after hitting a one-two in the Czech GP we had a Monster Energy lockout in Malilla with Tai Woffinden winning his second Grand Prix in a row, and he did it in style.
Malilla is no doubt the quietest location on the tour, it’s pretty much the sleepiest town in Sweden, but the action at the G&B Arena never disappoints and we had another awesome battle this weekend.
The big, fast track gives the riders plenty of opportunities to pass each other and there were some incredible moves, but it was our man Tai Woffinden who came home with the win after an awesome duel with Greg Hancock in the final.
Tai and Greg may be good friends off the track but on it they’re the best of enemies. In Prague Tai made the perfect start to win the Final but it was Greg’s turn to fire out of the start here, but that didn’t stop Woffy in his pursuit for gold.
An awesome move got Tai to the front and he powered away leaving Greg still chasing his first event win this year, but if he keeps making Final’s it won’t be long until he’s on the top step.
Joining Tai and Greg on the podium was 2012 World Champ Chris Holder, who grabbed his first top-three finish since his awful injuries last season with some textbook Holder racing. He’s smooth, stylish and super-fast and he’s another man who looks like a win may be just around the corner.
All that means that Woffinden, Hancock and Holder hold the top three places in the overall series standings after five events - and Woffinden is one happy man.
“It feels great to get back-to-back wins, I could’ve won in Finland too, so I’m stoked. It was close all the way through tonight, we worked so hard to get the right set-up on the bike and we got there in the end as you saw in the Final.
“I had two real bad rounds at the start of the year but I’ve turned my season around and now I’m gunna step it up. It was an awesome night for me and we got a Monster 1-2-3 so we’re all pumped!”
Even though he just missed out on victory, Hancock was still smiling as he left Malilla. “This track has always been special for me but on the wrong side of special, so we did things completely differently tonight to what we’ve ever done before and it worked.
“I live in Sweden and have a lot of friends and sponsors here so I’ve always wanted to win an event here, the place means a lot to me. Tonight we got second but I was narrowly close to the win so I’m still happy.”
It couldn't be any tighter at the top now with Tai leading Greg by just one point with Chris eight back in third, but there are seven events left and a long, long way to go in the series.
Next up the SGP tour heads to Copenhagen and the PARKEN Stadium for what is always one of the most exciting events on the calendar. We had it all in Malilla, even a punch up, but don’t think it can’t be matched in the Danish capital.
Swedish Grand Prix Result:
1 - Tai Woffinden (17 points)2 - Greg Hancock (16 points)3 - Chris Holder (15 points)4 - Jarek Hampel (12 points)
Series Top Eight
1 - Tai Woffinden (63 points)2 - Greg Hancock (62 points)3 - Chris Holder (55 points)4 - Nicki Pedersen (55 points)5 - Matej Zagar (52 points)6 - Darcy Ward (51 points)7 - Niels-Kristian Iversen (46 points)8 - Jarek Hampel (44 points)
