Tai Woffinden calls for two number ones to share club burden
Last updated on .From the section Speedway
Speedway world champion Tai Woffinden wants UK teams to be allowed to sign two number one riders to ease the pressure during a hectic season.
Wolverhampton star Woffinden took a break from the sport in July suffering from exhaustion and stress.
"My schedule this year is way too much, I thought I could handle it, but I am struggling," the 23-year-old said.
"I'd love British Speedway promoters to give teams the option of signing two number ones to share the fixtures."
| Tai Woffinden | |
|---|---|
| Born: Scunthorpe, 10 August 1990 | |
| 2006: Western Australia Under-16 champion | 2007: Conference League Riders champion, British Under-18 champion |
| 2008: British Under-21 champion, Premier League Riders champion | 2013: British champion, Czech Republic Grand Prix winner, world champion |
Currently, Elite League sides have 32 regular meetings per season before the eventual champions are crowned via the play-offs.
For Great Britain captain Woffinden, there are also individual commitments in the Grand Prix series as he tries to defend his world title, as well as his international meetings.
And he believes something has to be done to ease the burden placed on some of the top riders.
"I'm doing my very best to deal with things and race to the best of my ability," he said.
"I've accepted every media request, I've done everything I possibly can to promote British Speedway and the Grand Prix series.
| 2014 World Championship standings (after 8 of 12 rounds) |
|---|
| Greg Hancock (USA) - 103 pts |
| Tai Woffinden (GB) - 98 |
| Nicki Pedersen (Den) - 86 |
| Niels-Kristian Iversen (Den) - 81 |
| Krzysztof Kasprzak (Pol) - 76 |
"I'm proud of what I've done, but perhaps it's cost me personally.
"I'm not enjoying certain aspects of my racing right now and I'm not asking for sympathy, I'm just trying to explain to everyone how I feel about things.
"It would suit loads of riders to do 16 meetings here instead of 32."
Woffinden trails Greg Hancock by five points in the race for the 2014 world title with four rounds to go.
