Great Britain’s Tai Woffinden has vowed to be the coolest man in Cardiff at the Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix this Saturday.
One of world speedway’s biggest events returns to the Principality Stadium with the double world champion hoping to close the eight-point gap between him and American icon Greg Hancock at the top of the FIM Speedway World Championship.
Hancock finished second at the Mitas Czech SGP on June 25 and will hope to pull away at a venue where he has topped the rostrum three times previously in 2004, 2011 and 2014. Scunthorpe-born hero Woffy goes into the event with a huge weight of expectation on his shoulders from the home fans, but he insists the pressure won’t get to him as he bids to become the first British winner in the Welsh capital since 2007.
He said: “Whether I win in Cardiff or not won’t change the path my career goes from here. I know people will be looking for pressure on me, but that won’t happen. I don’t feel it and I won’t feel it. I’m going to stay cool in Cardiff. It was nice to win in Warsaw with 50,000 fans there and it would be nice to win Cardiff, but as long as I make the final, that’s the first target for me. If I put too much pressure on myself, it would have a negative impact. I am just trying to stay calm and go into every GP with the same attitude – do enough to make the final. I know I’m in a good position in the championship, but I really need to be up there with two or three rounds to go and that’s when we really start to look closely at the standings.”
Woffy’s compatriot Chris Harris was the last Brit to top the box at the Principality Stadium. His incredible last-to-first burst to win the 2007 final, passing SGP greats Hancock, Jason Crump and Leigh Adams along the way, went down in speedway folklore. While he finished third at the Mitas Czech SGP in Prague two weeks ago, a few lean years see him go into the Adrian Flux British SGP as an underdog this time around. But Bomber is happy to let the likes of Woffinden bear the pressure.
He said: “Obviously I’m not expected to do anything in Cardiff. Everyone expects Tai to go and win it. I can just go there, enjoy the weekend and Tai will have the pressure of the whole nation on his shoulders. I can just have some fun. The atmosphere in Cardiff is fantastic. The fans come out and support the British boys, and I think everyone in the GPs – from whatever nation you represent – wants to ride there. The atmosphere when you come out on parade and to race is something you don’t experience at other tracks. I definitely don’t mind the noise. It doesn’t faze me. I’ll try and use it to inspire me to victory. I still see the replays of 2007. People who went to Cardiff and saw me win retweet the videos. It would be nice if I could repeat that performance, or even better, make a start in the final and win it from the front instead of coming from the back. It would make it easier.”
Hancock cannot wait to return to the UK this weekend. He based himself in Britain for over a decade after moving from California to become a professional speedway star back in 1989. The 46-year-old triple world champion calls Sweden home these days. But the British fans still hold a special place in his heart.
He said: “I’m always amazed and humbled by the reception I get in Cardiff, the fans go crazy and I really do appreciate the support I get. You get to meet so many fans across the weekend and everyone is always so great with me, so Cardiff is a special one. I spent a lot of time in Britain and I’ve never forgotten the people I met and the way the fans treated me. In Cardiff you see a bunch of American flags and 99.9 percent of the time they don’t even belong to an American!
“That kind of support really is awesome for me and it always sends a shiver down my spine when I hear the fans cheering my name. It fascinates me really. I just appreciate it so much and hopefully I can give the fans a good result on the night!”
The Adrian Flux British SGP action starts long before the likes of Woffinden, Hancock and Harris take to the track at the Principality Stadium from 5pm. Cardiff City Hall Lawn hosts the SGP fanzone from 11am, featuring DJ Huw Stephens from BBC Radio 1, two autograph sessions, a Monster Energy Rig Riot, Team Extreme BMX displays, photo opportunities, a bar area and much, much more.
The action then switches to the Principality Stadium, where there will be an FMX show at 4.20pm featuring triple British FMX champion Jamie Squibb and X-Games and Monster Energy athlete André Villa, before DJ Huw Stephens entertains the crowd from 4.35pm.
Tickets for the Adrian Flux British SGP are still available in Cardiff. Visit the WRU Store near gate three at the Principality Stadium from 12pm on Friday or from 9.30am on Saturday, or buy from Ticketline on Westgate Street.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Greg Hancock 56, 2 Tai Woffinden 48, 3 Chris Holder 44, 4 Jason Doyle 42, 5 Maciej Janowski 41, 6 Bartosz Zmarzlik 38, 7 Antonio Lindback 35, 8 Peter Kildemand 34, 9 Nicki Pedersen 32, 10 Fredrik Lindgren 32, 11 Matej Zagar 31, 12 Niels-Kristian Iversen 30, 13 Andreas Jonsson 28, 14 Piotr Pawlicki 23, 15 Chris Harris 20, 16 Patryk Dudek 8, 17 Anders Thomsen 5, 18 Vaclav Milik 3, 19 Denis Stojs 1, 20 Nick Skorja 1.
ADRIAN FLUX BRITISH SGP LINE-UP (in ranking order with rider numbers): 108 Tai Woffinden (Great Britain), 45 Greg Hancock (USA), 3 Nicki Pedersen (Denmark), 88 Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark), 69 Jason Doyle (Australia), 55 Matej Zagar (Slovenia), 71 Maciej Janowski (Poland), 23 Chris Holder (Australia), 25 Peter Kildemand (Denmark), 100 Andreas Jonsson (Sweden), 37 Chris Harris (Great Britain), 66 Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden – substitute for 33 Jaroslaw Hampel), 95 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland), 777 Piotr Pawlicki (Poland), 85 Antonio Lindback (Sweden), 16 Danny King (Great Britain – wild card), 17 Steven Worrall (Great Britain – track reserve), 18 Robert Lambert (Great Britain – track reserve).
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