Woffy brings world power to domestic scuffle

World speedway champion Tai Woffinden is bringing his world-beating engine home in a bid to win tonight’s British championship final at Wolverhampton.

Woffinden, 23, beat the world’s best in Saturday night’s Swedish Grand Prix, roaring around Greg Hancock on the first lap of the final to take a narrow lead in the chase for the world championship.

Now he’s crated up the GM engine that powered him to victory and hopes it can propel him to his second national title at Wolverhampton’s Monmore Green stadium, home of his British League club.

He said: “Things haven’t been going so well for me with Wolverhampton, my form in England hasn’t been good enough and I’m fully aware of that. I decided straight away to take the Malilla engine back because I’ve got so much confidence in that one engine and hopefully I can make it happen.”

Woffinden will be the red-hot favourite against opposition led by fellow Grand Prix rider Chris Harris and seven-times national champion Scott Nicholls.

Nicholls and the other 13 riders in the final field will be chasing the chance to join Woffinden and Harris in the biggest meeting of the speedway calendar – the British Grand Prix at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. The home nation for each GP gets a wild card pick for the meeting and the Millennium pick goes to the British champion, or highest finishing non-GP rider in the national championship.

Woffinden added: “It’s my home track at Wolverhampton and I’m keen to stay as British champion. It meant so much to me to win the title last season and I’m desperate to hang onto it.”

The meeting starts at 7.30pm, and is being shown live on Sky Sports on TV.