MAJOR HONOURS: Conference League Riders’ Champion: 2007; British Under-18 Champion: 2007, 2008; British Under-21 Champion: 2008, 2011; Premier League Riders’ Champion: 2008.
CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 2006 [Scunthorpe], 2007 [Rye House and Scunthorpe], 2009 [Wolverhampton]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2006, 2007 [both Scunthorpe]; Conference Trophy winner: 2006, 2007 [both Scunthorpe]; Conference Shield winner: 2006 [Scunthorpe]; Four-Team Championship winner: 2007 [Scunthorpe]; Elite Shield winner: 2010, 2011 [both Wolverhampton].
RIDER LINKS: Son of the late Rob Woffinden (born: 27 March 1962, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Woffinden’s 2011 campaign was hit by injury and illness both at the start and the end. He broke his shoulder riding on a BMX bike back in April and missed over a month and towards the end he had an illness which ruled him out of several meetings.
But in between his problems he started to show the form he has always been capable of and was almost unbeatable around Monmore Green. It was no surprise when he was invited back for the 2012 season.
In October 2006, Wolverhampton won the race to sign the highly talented youngster on a full contract. He subsequently spent two seasons with Rye House in the Premier League, before stepping up to the Elite League on a full-time basis with the Wolves in 2009.
It was hard not to get excited about the talented Woffinden, whose progress through the leagues was emphatic and included the scooping of numerous individual titles along the way. He learnt to ride speedway in Perth, Australia, prior to beginning his British career with Scunthorpe – just like his father, Rob, had done in 1978 – before progressing on to Rye House.
In 2008, ‘Wuffy’ occupied a hugely impressive third place in the British Final staged at Swindon and, in the 2009 event at Poole on 20 May, he replicated that performance, finishing behind Chris Harris and Edward Kennett. He went on to play a vital role in Wolves’ League Championship success, netting 303 points from thirty-seven official appearances to yield a remarkable real-time average of 8.30.
In November, he was named as one of the four permanent wildcards for the 2010 Grand Prix series, along with Hans Andersen, Chris Harris and Wolverhampton team-mate Fredrik Lindgren. And, in mid-December, the Wolves’ management confirmed that he would remain with them for a second successive term.
Regrettably, his dad passed away on 30 January, aged just 47, following a near year-long battle with cancer. He had been a major influence on his son’s career and was held in high regard within the Wolves’ camp for helping to generate such a wonderful team spirit amongst the side on their way to the league title success. Woffinden jnr found the ideal distraction the day after his father’s sad passing by getting back on his steed and completing some testing at Scunthorpe’s Eddie Wright Raceway. Another mark of distinction came his way in March when, at 19 years-of-age, he was instated as the Wolverhampton skipper.
Wuffy suffered ligament damage to a wrist when he fell awkwardly after clipping Peterborough guest Scott Nicholls’ rear wheel in heat fifteen of Wolves’ home league match on 17 May. Bravely, after receiving a pain-killing injection from Ipswich-based injury specialist Brian Simpson, he returned to action five days later in the Czech GP and recorded his first-ever race win in the series.
He was in the wars again during Event Two of the Speedway World Cup at King’s Lynn on 26 July, when he crashed in his second outing. Despite taking a knock to the ribs, he rode on as Great Britain qualified directly to the final and, although he was struggling to breathe properly, he vowed to race through the pain barrier in the pursuit of glory for his country.
Then, in heat fifteen of Wolverhampton’s league match at Swindon on 2 September, he clattered into the air safety barrier during the initial attempt to run the race. As a result, he was forced to miss the Elite League Pairs Championship at Ipswich two days later and was also unable to represent Great Britain in the World Under-21 Team Cup Final at Rye House on the 5th of the month.
When all the numbers were added up at the season’s conclusion, Woffinden had ridden in forty official matches for the Wolves, scoring 344 points for a 7.54 average. And there was little doubt that he would remain with the Monmore men in 2011, his continuance with the club confirmed in the close season.
On 15 April, he romped to a second victory in the British Under-21 Championship at Lakeside. Indeed, the Wolves rider was rarely troubled on his way to a 15-point maximum and, in the showdown final, he brushed aside his rivals to take the crown ahead of Steve Worrall, Joe Haines and Josh Auty.
Unfortunately, on Easter Monday [25 April], Woffinden sustained an injury when he fell whilst riding his BMX bike. It was initially thought that he had broken his collarbone, but it actually turned out to be a shoulder break. It meant several weeks on the sidelines for the Wolverhampton rider, with the team operating the rider replacement facility in his absence.
The rider had hoped to return in Wolves’ Elite Shield clash against Poole at Monmore Green on 23 May, but was forced to pull out over the weekend preceding the fixture. Instead of riding on the day, he returned to hospital for further X-rays on his shoulder. There was good news following that, though, with Woffinden announcing that he would be fit to return a week later.
He duly resumed with Wolverhampton in a home league clash with Belle Vue on 30 May, but only took one outing because the meeting was curtailed after three heats due to rain. Woffinden subsequently helped Great Britain to a 2-0 Test series victory over Australia, scoring 6+2 and 6+1 points at Poole and Lakeside on 1 and 3 June, respectively.
Then, on 6 June, Woffinden was left in a philosophical mood after coming agonisingly close to a first British Championship success at Monmore Green. He ignored the pain from another heavy crash on the night to reach the final with a 15-point maximum. He was then a victim of both incidents that led to the deciding race being stopped, before he had to follow Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris home and settle for third place.
The rider then returned to hospital for X-rays on the shoulder he had broken in his BMX accident at Easter and, fortunately, he was told it hadn’t re-broken. They told him to simply rest and whilst Woffinden was happy to do that on the Tuesday – when Wolverhampton didn’t have a meeting – he was prepared to put his body on the line for the club the following evening in a match at Poole.
WOFFINDEN, Tai
