TOP BRIT Tai Woffinden says it was ‘good to be back’ riding for his country last week.
The Scunthorpe born double World Champion scored a stunning 38 points out of a possible 39 in the Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Final.
But it wasn’t quite enough to hand GB the gold as Russia pipped them to the post in the final – despite Woffinden winning the race.
Now he’s looking forward to a bright new future for the national side under the franchise ownership of Rob Painter and Vicky Blackwell through their VRX Motorsport team.
“This is the first stage of a five-year plan for GB and whilst Rob Painter (team supremo) is making all the right noises I’ll be alongside him, he said.
“I want to say I’m proud of young Robert Lambert, he did a great job throughout the tournament and also a special mention to Craig Cook who travelled with us and was a big member for us as part of the team.
“It was good to be back racing for my country on a team basis.”
Woffinden has explained the circumstances behind the final in Poland – he won the decider but with Russian duo Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov claiming second and third they effectively won the race 3+1-3.
He said: “The plan was to win the final 5-1 or 4-2 and we knew we could do that so that was the goal.
“In a final like that you cannot slow down the race like I did in previous heats. The competition is just too good, maybe 10 years ago you could but at world level now anyone can beat anyone and you have to do the best job you can.
“Unfortunately the event rules state if you’re second and third you’re better then the winner! “There’s not many things in life where you get rewarded for losing!
“I would like to congratulate Emil and Artem for their world title and look forward to doing it all again next year.”
Woffinden has also congratulated newly crowned British Champion Lambert, who romped to the title with a six-ride maximum in Manchester on Monday.
“He’s the future,” said Woffinden. “Congratulations to him, he deserves it. I know what it means to win your first national title and it’s pretty special.”
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UPCOMING FIXTURES...
19/07/19 1930 Edinburgh v Somerset (Champ)
19/07/19 1930 Redcar v Birmingham (Champ)
19/07/19 1930 Scunthorpe v Leicester (Champ)
20/07/19 1930 Berwick v Somerset (Champ)
21/07/19 1830 Newcastle v Glasgow (Champ)
21/07/19 1500 Mildenhall v Leicester (NL)
22/07/19 1930 Wolverhampton v Peterborough (Prem)
22/07/19 1930 Belle Vue v Isle of Wight (NL)
22/07/19 1830 Kent v Stoke (NL)
23/07/19 1930 Glasgow v Eastbourne (CS SF)
23/07/19 1930 Leicester v Plymouth (NL)
24/07/19 1930 Birmingham v Somerset (Champ)
25/07/19 1930 Ipswich v Wolverhampton (Prem)
25/07/19 1930 King's Lynn v Peterborough (Prem)
25/07/19 1930 Swindon v Belle Vue (Prem)
25/07/19 1900 Silver Ski Holidays Fours, Isle of Wight
26/07/19 1930 Edinburgh v Berwick (Champ)
26/07/19 1930 Glasgow v Leicester (Champ)
26/07/19 1930 Redcar v Sheffield (Champ)
26/07/19 1915 Silver Ski Holidays Fours, Plymouth
27/07/19 1930 Eastbourne v Somerset (Champ)
27/07/19 1930 Leicester v Glasgow (Champ)
27/07/19 1900 Stoke v Belle Vue (NL)
28/07/19 1830 Scunthorpe v Glasgow (Champ)
28/07/19 1730 Sheffeld v Newcastle (Champ)
28/07/19 1500 Mildenhall v Plymouth (NL)
29/07/19 1930 British Final, Belle Vue
30/07/19 1930 Leicester v Isle of Wight (NL) 31/07/19 1930 Somerset v Glasgow (Champ)
01/08/19 1930 Ipswich v Belle Vue (Prem)
01/08/19 1930 Poole v Peterborough (Prem)
01/08/19 1930 Belle Vue v Kent (NL) 01/08/19 1900 Isle of Wight v Oxford Select (Ch)
02/08/19 1930 Edinburgh v Scunthorpe (Champ)
02/08/19 1930 Glasgow v Redcar (Champ)
02/08/19 1915 Plymouth v Leicester (NL) 03/08/19 1900 Berwick v Redcar (Champ)
03/08/19 1930 Eastbourne v Glasgow (CS SF)
03/08/19 1900 Stoke v Leicester (NL) 04/08/19 1600 Leicester v Sheffield (Champ)
NATIONAL LEAGUE Kent 41 (Drew Kemp 12+1) Cradley 37 (Max Clegg 12) Abandoned after 13 heats - Curfew - RESULT STANDS. National League: Kent 3 Cradley 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE FOURS, Stoke 1 Stoke 15 (Tom Perry 4, Luke Priest 4, Joe Lawlor 4) 2 Isle of Wight 14 (Ben Morley 6) 3 Mildenhall 13 (Danny Ayres 5, Jason Edwards 5) 4 Kent 6 (Drew Kemp 4)
