CARDIFF FOR COOKIE
Team Great Britain international Craig Cook completed his remarkable five-year journey from Buxton to the British FIM Speedway Grand Prix after booking his place at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on July 12.
The Belle Vue and Edinburgh rider stormed to second place in the British Championship Final at Wolverhampton on Monday, finishing second to world champion Tai Woffinden, who triumphed on his home track to become a two-time national champ.
Cook dived under Ben Barker before holding off a furious challenge from the Cornishman to win the Cardiff wild card and put his name on the famous No.16 race jacket. He joins Woffinden and fourth-placed Chris Harris in flying the British flag in the Welsh capital.
The 27-year-old was a late starter in speedway, having abandoned a promising motocross career to chase stardom on the shale.
After being introduced to the sport at his local track Workington in 2008, Cook debuted for Buxton in the British National League in 2009, where he raced before barely 100 fans on a Sunday afternoon.
So Cook is overwhelmed by the prospect of racing in front of around 40,000 on world speedway’s biggest stage. He said: “That’s insanity isn’t it? I can’t even describe how that feels. People asked me what my goals were at the start of the year and this was one of the things I wanted.
“Obviously it would have been nice to be British champion, but I was up against the world champion, the guy who’s leading the World Championship, on his home track. It was always going to be hard, so credit to Tai for winning the title.
“Now I’m ready to go to Cardiff and give it my all. This is my opportunity to show what I’m made of.
“I think I deserve it. I’ve ridden my backside off. I haven’t had the best couple of months, so for things to come good at the right time is awesome. I just need to keep going and keep working hard.”
Having got into speedway at 21, Cook has had to learn everything much quicker than his rivals and admits getting to this point has taken plenty of hard work, especially with results going against him in recent weeks.
He said: “I work so hard and people don’t understand how hard I work. For this to happen is just a weight off my shoulders.
“I work extremely hard and I am a dedicated person. I have been a bit down lately with the way things have been going … it’s hard to stay positive all the time when you put so much effort in and train so hard and things don’t go right.
“For things to turn around like this is absolutely magic. I’m over the moon with what I’ve done.
“I’d like to thank all my sponsors because I haven’t believed in myself for the last couple of months or so with the way things have been going.
"But my sponsors have still believed in me, they’re still behind me and they’re still here. Credit to them – hopefully this is a little bit of payback and a bit of a thank you to them.”
Cook can’t wait to rub shoulders with the sport’s biggest names in Cardiff. He said: “There is no pressure on my shoulders. I’m just in there to mix it up. I’ll put the cat among the pigeons and see what happens.”
Woffinden was “absolutely pumped” to win his second straight British Final to follow up back-to-back SGP wins in Prague and Malilla, which have put him a point clear at the World Championship summit.
He said: "I rose to the occasion like I have done in the past and I'm just pumped to have won it again.
"It wasn't always easy but I was just delighted it all came good in the end, and I can take this forward and really push on for the rest of the season. It's one of the things that was on my checklist for this year, to try and win the British Final again, so to get the job done is an awesome feeling."
Don’t miss your chance to see Cook join Woffinden and Harris at the Millennium Stadium on July 12. Get your British SGP tickets online here: http://speedwaygp.seetickets.com/tour/2014-british-fim-speedway-grand-prix/?src=EP
BRITISH FINAL HEATS: Craig Cook 13, Ben Barker 13, Tai Woffinden 12, Scott Nicholls 12, Jason Garrity 9, Chris Harris 9, Simon Stead 9, Danny King 7, Richie Worrall 7, Charles Wright 7, Richard Lawson 6, Lewis Bridger 5, Lewis Blackbird 4, Edward Kennett 3, Leigh Lanham 2, Steve Boxall 2.
SEMI-FINAL: Woffinden, Harris, Garrity, Nicholls (exc).
GRAND FINAL: Woffinden, Cook, Barker, Harris.
