A Look at K&N-Sponsored British Speedway Racing Champion Tai Woffinden
- 31 Aug 2017
In keeping with his electric personality, Tai Woffinden, a K&N-sponsored British speedway racer, enthusiastically sums up the form of racing that he loves. “Speedway is pretty much motorsport in its rawest form,” says Woffinden. “We race 500cc motorbikes that weigh around 75 kg (165 lbs), and they accelerate faster than an F1 car, with top speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. The big difference is we don’t have brakes! The bike just has a throttle, clutch, and one gear. We race on shale-based oval tracks, and you basically power-slide around the corners. It’s pretty gnarly!”
The Early Years Woffinden’s impressive racing resume dates back to 2006 when he was a 15-year-old racing prodigy. In that first year, he won the Western Australian Under-16 Championship and was named Supporters Rider of the Year. Over the next few years, Woffinden continued to rack up wins and attract the full attention of the speedway racing world. At the age of 16, he became the British Under-18 Champion and was the youngest rider ever to appear in the British Championship Final.
Rising to the Top 2013 was a banner year for Woffinden. In addition to winning the British Speedway Championship and the Czech Speedway Grand Prix, Woffinden reached the true pinnacle of the sport winning the FIM Speedway World Championship. He did all of this fighting through two broken collarbones. He was named MCN Man of the Year and World Speedway Riders' Association Rider of the Year. After a solid year including several prestigious titles in 2014, Woffinden returned to the speedway mountain top in 2015. He was the British Champion, the FIM Scandinavian Grand Prix winner, the FIM Czech Republic Grand Prix winner, and ultimately he regained the Speedway World Championship.
The 2017 Speedway World Champion has been a challenge for Woffinden. He has fought through crashes and had dodged serious injury twice in recent weeks. In a freak incident in Sweden, Woffinden narrowly escaped a potentially season-ending injury. “I just wanted to do another lap because I was feeling good and our next meeting will be back on that track,” Woffinden says. “But it all went wrong! I couldn’t believe it, I got some grip and the bike was pulled towards the fence. I was thrown off the bike and anything could have happened, but I’m fine - thankfully! It was ironic because of the crash I’d had in Poland the week before, but in both cases, it could have been worse so I suppose I have to count myself lucky.” Woffinden is currently 17 points behind Grand Prix Series leader Maciej Janowski. Supremely driven and ever optimistic, Woffinden says a third world title is still a possibility.
It would be unwise to count Woffinden out of the title race. He possesses a rare combination of determination, toughness, and talent that makes anything possible. K&N is proud to part of the Tai Woffinden team! | |||||
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