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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2018 ROLL OF HONOUR...
The full Roll of Honour from the 2018 British Speedway season:
PREMIERSHIP CHAMPIONS: Poole PREMIERSHIP RUNNERS-UP: King’s Lynn PREMIERSHIP KO CUP: Somerset PREMIERSHIP SHIELD: Swindon PREMIERSHIP RIDERS’ INDIVIDUAL: Jason Doyle (Somerset)
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Eastbourne TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE RUNNERS-UP: Mildenhall NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: Eastbourne NATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall NATIONAL LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: Ben Morley (Isle of Wight)
MIDLAND DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Peterborough NORTHERN JUNIOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Berwick SOUTHERN DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Kent
BRITISH CHAMPION: Robert Lambert (King’s Lynn) BRITISH UNDER-21 CHAMPION: Robert Lambert (King’s Lynn) BRITISH UNDER-19 CHAMPION: Dan Bewley (Belle Vue/Workington) BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPION: (500cc) Leon Flint; (250cc) Nathan Ablitt; (150cc) Archie Freeman (125cc) Sam McGurk
BRITISH GRAND PRIX: Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland) WORLD CHAMPION: Tai Woffinden (GB)
LATEST RESULTS...
The 2018 season is now over.
The new season begins in MARCH 2019.
MONDAY OCTOBER 29:
CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD FINAL, 2nd leg Workington 52 (Mason Campton 12+1) Lakeside 38 (Nick Morris 12+1) Workington won 98-82 on aggregate.
CHAMPIONSHIP Workington 18 (Rasmus Jensen 6) Lakeside 6 (Adam Ellis 2, Nick Morris 2) Abandoned after 4 heats - frozen track - result will not stand.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 28:
CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 2nd leg Workington 61 – Nicolai Klindt 15 Lakeside 29 – Adam Ellis 9 Workington win 95-73 on aggregate and are league champions
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE Buxton 38 – Tom Woolley 13 Eastbourne 52 – Georgie Wood 13+1 National League points: Buxton 0 Eastbourne 4
Stoke 41 – Max Clegg 18 Eastbourne 49 – Tom Brennan 11 National League points: Stoke 0 Eastbourne 4
SATURDAY OCTOBER 27:
CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL 1st leg Lakeside 44 – Nick Morris 12 Workington 34 – Mason Campton 9 Abandoned after Heat 13 (rain/track conditions) – Result stands
FRIDAY OCTOBER 26:
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE Eastbourne v Mildenhall - OFF
THURSDAY OCTOBER 25:
CHAMPIONSHIP KO CUP FINAL, 2nd leg
Workington 62 (Rasmus Jensen 16+1)
Scunthorpe 28 (Jake Allen 10)
Workington win 98-82 on aggregate
NATIONAL LEAGUE GRAND FINAL, 2nd leg
Mildenhall 46 (Drew Kemp 13)
Eastbourne 44 (Georgie Wood 11+1)
Eastbourne win 98-81 on aggregate
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24:
CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF S/F, 2nd leg Lakeside 56 (Ben Morley 12+1) Peterborough 34 (Emil Grondal 8+1) Lakeside win 102-78 on aggregate.
