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Tai Woffinden has equaled Andy Smith’s record and by winning the British Speedway Championship for the third time in a row at Monmore Green in Wolverhampton on Monday night.
However at one point, Belle Vue & Edinburgh rider Craig Cook looked to have one hand on the trophy after a restart was needed due to Jason Garrity crashing out and then being excluded.
But the current World Championship leader Woffinden made no mistake from the restart after finishing ahead of Cook, who is now the wildcard rider in Cardiff for the British Grand Prix on Saturday 5 July.
Earlier, Ben Barker had a horrific crash in the first race after the restart, slamming into the barriers on the back straight.
The Berwick Bandits rider was helped into an ambulance after the emergency staff had accessed his condition.
“He’s complaining of a bit of pain the middle of his back. There’s a small concern about the middle of his back at the moment.” said the Swindon team manager Alun Rossiter.
Chris Wilkinson of Scunthorpe Scorpions, went on to claim a winning start after the race was restarted for the third time of asking.
In the race of the big hitters, Coventry’s Jason Garrity got the better of 3-time British Champion Chris ‘Bomber’ Harris and Tai Woffinden with a superb ride.
Later Cook then found himself flying over his own handlebars in race 5 following a malfunction with his bike but he was still able to win 4 of his outings.
Then cometh the hour, cometh the man, Woffinden ripped apart his opponents with victories in races 11, 16 and 18 to make 4 wins in a row for the 2013 World Champion and book his place in the final with Garrity, after both riders finished in the top 2 position with 13 points.
Danny King and Craig Cook joined them in the final after seeing off Richard Lawson and ‘Bomber’ Harris in the Semis.
But again Woffinden showed why he is widely regarded as the best speedway rider in the world after romping to victory past his rivals and claiming his third British Championship in a row.
“I wasn’t feeling it today,” said the 24-year-old. “I knew I was going to struggle in my first couple of races but when I got that win under my belt it made it a lot better.”
Woffinden will now prepare for the fourth round of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix which takes place at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium early next month.
