Woffinden wins his second SGP Championship

 

Great Britain’s Tai Woffinden has won his second SGP Championship despite falling short in the Polish Grand Prix.

The 2013 World Champion failed to reach the semi-finals, but after Greg Hancock came last in the semi-final, it was confirmed that Woffinden would become world champion.

Woffinden, who has dominated in this season’s series, has led from the start, and despite winning only three Grand Prix events, he heads into the final series in Melbourne having won the 2015 Grand Prix.

Woffinden, who has become the first Brit to win the championship twice, said; “It feels great to get the reward after working so hard all year and it’s definitely paid off.”

“2013 just happened – it was hard to put my finger on exactly what it was. This year I know every little thing that we’ve done, we’ve all worked unbelievably and I’ve got some great people around me.”

In 2013, Woffinden was a 500/1 long shot to win the series, but after a monumental season, the Brit has been made favourite ever since.

He added; “In 2014 I made some mistakes and did things I didn’t need to do but I needed that year as it taught me a lot. I’ve learnt from those mistakes and I’ve proved I’ve done things right this year.

“This shows I’m going to be one of those top riders for a very long time. After winning it twice you can put me up there with Tony Rickardsson, Nicki Pedersen, Jason Crump, Greg Hancock and I know I’ve got what it takes to add even more in the future.

“Loads of British fans made the journey and it was great to have them here for that. To be able to lift the trophy in Australia will be amazing. I’ll still go there and try and score as many points as I can; I want to have a nice looking amount of points between first and second when I get my hands on that World Championship.”

Nicki Pedersen won the event in Poland, but having failed to close the gap on Woffy in recent weeks after recording just seven points in three of his last four Grand Prix events, it still wasn’t enough for the Dane to take it to the final Grand Prix stage.

Despite knowing he is now unable to catch the 2015 World Champion, Pedersen said; “We made small changes and finally I have the speed back. It paid off with a win, so I’m happy.

“I’ve been really, really struggling with speed for the last two months. It hasn’t been going the way I wanted it to, but I’m not blaming anybody.”

Leicester Lions number one Jason Doyle finished second after reaching his first final after an impressive 18 points on the night, ahead of Elite League champions Poole Pirates star Maciej Janowski in third.

Heading into the final Grand Prix in Melbourne, Woffinden now has a 25 point lead over Hancock, with Pedersen two points behind the American.

Doyle’s impressive display has lifted the Australian to fifth, whilst Janowski’s second successive final appearance keeps him in check for a top eight finish in seventh.