With just one round to go ahead of this year’s Adrian Flux FIM British Speedway Grand Prix – which will take place in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday July 21st– Great Britain racer Tai Woffinden has pulled 10 points clear with a WD-40 Danish FIM Speedway Grand Prix win at this weekend’s World Championship summit in Horsens.
And while admitting he wants his name on the FIM Speedway Grand Prix trophy for a third time, Tai also commented that it’s too early to be worrying about the championship after his second win of 2018.
“It’s a 10-point lead. But it’s only 10 points and it’s too early to be worrying about the championship. I just watched them carry the trophy over here and I want my name on it at the end of the year.”
With an eye on triumph in Cardiff in front of a home crowd, the double world champion topped the WD-40 Danish SGP podium in Horsens on Saturday – his second victory in three rounds following his win at the opening event in Warsaw on May 12.
Woffinden’s huge 18-point haul saw him storm into a 10-point lead over Swedish rival Fredrik Lindgren at the World Championship summit.
But with seven rounds to race, the Scunthorpe-born star is taking nothing for granted after getting the better of Artem Laguta, Greg Hancock and the excluded Jason Doyle in the final.
Woffinden was delighted with the result and dedicated it to his baby daughter Rylee. He said: “All in all, it was a great night.
“Thanks to all the fans for giving me a good cheer especially the British fans that are out here. That one is for you Rylee.”
The Wroclaw and Masarna man added: “It’s obviously nice to win Grand Prix rounds. The most important thing for me is that I’m consistent throughout the night and scoring points. All those points add up at the end of the year. The ultimate goal is obviously to be world champion.
Russian racer Laguta made history earlier this month when he joined Emil Sayfutdinov and Gleb Chugunov in winning the Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations to claim Russia’s first speedway world title of any kind.
He capped off the greatest month of his career to date with his first ever SGP podium and second spot in Horsens. This puts him fourth in the standings after his second final appearance of 2018.
Laguta, who was fourth in Warsaw, was elated with his performance as he bids to extend his stay in the SGP series beyond 2018. He said:
“I am very happy about this result. We have been doing some good testing and working hard to make sure I could race in an SGP final more than once.
“There is still a long way to go, and hopefully I’m not just in the SGP series for this season. I enjoy racing in the Grand Prix.”
Third-placed Hancock paid tribute to his team after he stormed into his first ever Horsens final and his maiden final appearance of SGP 2018.
Greg, now placed fifth in the World Championship, said:
“Things are working well. I owe a lot to my guys. They put a lot of time and effort into making me fast. We work hard and it’s nice when it pays off. This was a good improvement, but there is still a long way to go.”
The SGP stars have just a week to wait for their next World Championship showdown as the Norrbil Swedish SGP comes to Hallstavik for the first time on Saturday, followed by their arrival in the Welsh capital on July 21st.
