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WORLD Champion Tai Woffinden will be chasing the first major title of the season in the Elite Riders’ Championship at Coventry.The event, which has traditionally been run at the end of the year, has been brought forward in 2014 and is staged at the Brandon venue on Sunday March 23 (6pm).It is set to see several of the sport’s top names go into competition a fortnight before the opening Grand Prix of the campaign in New Zealand.Wolverhampton star Woffinden said: “I’m really looking forward to the meeting at Coventry, and it should be a great night.“I think it’s good that they’ve changed a few things up this year. It’s a good move to hold it early in the season so all the big names will be there, and it’s looking like being a really strong line-up.“It should be a top meeting and for me personally it’s a great chance to ride against a really competitive field in preparation for New Zealand.“It would be nice to start off the season in good form so it’d be great to come away with the win and get some confidence going before the season gets into full flow.”
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BEN Fund Bonanza organiser Paul Ackroyd has stressed the importance of the season’s curtain-raiser which raises funds for injured riders.Great Britain, under the management of Alun Rossiter for the first time, take on the Rest of the World at Leicester on Sunday (2pm) in a 14-heat team event, with a five-race individual second half following.Ackroyd said: “2013 proved to be a very difficult year, with several riders suffering extremely serious injuries. Due to the support of the previous Bonanzas and Track Collections, the Fund was able to react swiftly and efficiently to be able to give the necessary assistance as required. “A snapshot of the type of help we gave last year is: Assistance towards home adaptations, purchase of a wheelchair, assistance for former (veteran) riders suffering serious illness, and financial support was given to more than 50 current riders. In total we spent £120,000.”
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SUNDAY MARCH 9:BEN FUND BONANZA: Leicester 2pm
