Former British world champion Tai Woffinden says his new lighter schedule is paying dividends as he feels chilled for Saturday’s Finnish FIM Speedway Grand Prix at Tampere’s Ratina Stadium.
The 24-year-old, who is currently sixth in the World Championship on five points – just three short of top spot, made the huge decision not to race in the British Elite League this year.
Instead, he opted to focus on his SGP, Swedish Elitserien and Polish Ekstraliga commitments, as well as skippering Team Great Britain in next month’s Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup. This is giving him far more time to relax, recharge his batteries and enjoy life in between matches.
The former Wolverhampton star was sidelined by a stress-related illness midway through 2014. But there’s no hint of burnout this year and Woffy can’t wait to get back into SGP action in Finland.
He said: “I’m chilled out, I’m relaxed, and I’m really enjoying life right now. Things are going really good for me.
“I’m really happy with my scores in Sweden and Poland and I think my relaxed attitude is helping that. I’m taking a break in between meetings which is cool.
“It’s a long season ahead, but I feel pretty good about things going to Finland at the weekend and I hope to come away with a good result.”
Woffinden was overhauled for victory in last year’s Finnish SGP final by current World Championship leader Matej Zagar of Slovenia.
Another podium finish would do nicely for Woffy. He said: “Everyone talks about how I was so close to winning there last year, but even though I just missed out, it was still a cool result for me to finish on the rostrum.
“I’m determined to go there and do something similar. The World Championship is a long series and anything can happen, it’s only the second round and we are all bunched up because of the result from Warsaw.
“I’m making good starts and I will need to do that on Saturday night. I’m riding a new engine from Peter Johns and that feels good, so I couldn’t be in a better place right now. Bring on Saturday!”
Zagar, who has eight points, leads the FIM Speedway Grand Prix standings for the first time in his career following his victory at the season-opening LOTTO Warsaw FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on April 18.
But with that event curtailed after 12 heats due to track safety, his rivals are close behind with Polish hotshot Jaroslaw Hampel, Danish champion Niels-Kristian Iversen and British ace Chris Harris all tied on seven.
Current world champ Greg Hancock, Woffinden and Danish star Michael Jepsen Jensen are on five, while SGP newcomer Jason Doyle completes the current top eight on four.
Former world champion Chris Holder and his fellow Aussie ace Troy Batchelor will be determined to play catch-up on Saturday after failing to register a point in Warsaw. But with 11 rounds still to race, they have more than enough time to close the gap.
Tickets for Saturday’s GP are still available, visit www.speedwaygp.com for details.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Matej Zagar 8, 2 Jaroslaw Hampel 7, 3 Niels-Kristian Iversen 7, 4 Chris Harris 7, 5 Greg Hancock 5, 6 Tai Woffinden 5, 7 Michael Jepsen Jensen 5, 8 Jason Doyle 4, 9 Tomas H Jonasson 4, 10 Tomasz Gollob 4, 11 Krzysztof Kasprzak 3, 12 Nicki Pedersen 3, 13 Andreas Jonsson 3, 14 Maciej Janowski 3, 15 Bartosz Zmarzlik 3, 16 Piotr Pawlicki 1, 17 Chris Holder 0, 18 Troy Batchelor 0.
FINNISH FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX LINE-UP (in ranking order with rider numbers): 45 Greg Hancock (USA), 507 Krzysztof Kasprzak (Poland), 3 Nicki Pedersen (Denmark), 108 Tai Woffinden (Great Britain), 55 Matej Zagar (Slovenia), 100 Andreas Jonsson (Sweden), 23 Chris Holder (Australia), 33 Jaroslaw Hampel (Poland), 75 Troy Batchelor (Australia), 88 Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark), 37 Chris Harris (Great Britain), 69 Jason Doyle (Australia), 71 Maciej Janowski (Poland), 52 Michael Jepsen Jensen (Denmark), 30 Tomas H Jonasson (Sweden), 16 Timo Lahti (Finland – wild card). Track reserves: 17 Nike Lunna (Finland), 18 Jiri Nieminen (Finland).
