Tai Woffinden

[WIE-JA]

There is one way to solve all this arguing. The organizers could follow the example of every other motorsport series in the world and sell the 15 permanent 'grid' places to either teams or riders who have enough money. No need for any qualifying rounds then and only the wild card for each round to be decided.

[dirt]

If Tai's reported comments regarding him really being an Aussie are true then I don't think he should be considered for a pick in the "GB quota"

 

Niamh

IMO unless he rides and contends the Oz champs, he isnt regarded as Aussie. So he can continue riding under the GB banner until he officially switches sides. He did contest the British final SO that is more evidence, at the moment THAN heresay and chinese whispers. Of course the decision to come back to Oz would be hard to make as its a better class of racing, but for his long term success it makes sense to ride the tough Oz meetings, and hit the British League with momentum.

[topaz325]

I do not think Tai Woffinden is not quite ready for the GP's, mabe in a couple of years, the trouble is once you are out of the series it's very difficult to get back in.

 

He would have to rely on a Wild card nomination because its very difficult to qualfy with the amount of Poles and a few Russians as well who are coming through the ranks.

Edited October 13, 2010 by topaz325

[spook]

Thankfully for the legend that is PePe, 2006 only had 10 rounds...

 

However, if I remember rightly, he was a BSI pick for 2006, which sadly would probably make him the worst pick in the history of SGP.

 

and sadly it means that my hero (Marvyn) had a worse season that Pepe managed

 

 

I do not think Tai Woffinden is not quite ready for the GP's, mabe in a couple of years, the trouble is once you are out of the series it's very difficult to get back in.

 

He would have to rely on a Wild card nomination because its very difficult to qualfy with the amount of Poles and a few Russians as well who are coming through the ranks.

 

I think this is the point of many at the moment........ if it is difficult to get back in then it should result in riders trying harder, being better prepared and not knowing that there is a safety cushion to fall back on..... for sure that could mean that Tai went missing for a year or three but the reality is that he is 20 years old and in comparison to other riders shouldnt have been in the GP's yet anyway

 

however if he isnt included in the wildcard picks then I am sure that he will benefit from one in the future if he can continue improving in all leagues...

[mothorsen]

I do not think Tai Woffinden is not quite ready for the GP's, mabe in a couple of years, the trouble is once you are out of the series it's very difficult to get back in.

 

He would have to rely on a Wild card nomination because its very difficult to qualfy with the amount of Poles and a few Russians as well who are coming through the ranks.

 

And so what? He should qualify either as a top three in the qualifiers or deserving a pick showing some awesome racing in leagues and as an event-wildcard. It's not easy to get in, neither should it be. It's the World Championship.

[Sprog1]

Look at the logistics of it. There are 15 permanent places. Last years top 8 go through plus 3 qualifiers, that leaves 4 places to be gifted. Of those 4 one will undoubtedly go to Emil. Historically those finishing close to the top 8 tend to get a place, so AJ must get one of them as he was 9th and only one point behind Holder, and winner of the final GP of the season. Pedersen must surely get one,as an ex-World Champion who had a torrid time but proved his ability to make semi's and finals in the last half of the season and was only 5 points behind Holder in 10th place.

 

That leaves one place to be gifted and the main contenders for it, apart from Tai, would seem to be Hans who was 10 points down on Holder, but 27 points higher than Tai, but Hans has age against him plus the fact that if Nicki goes though there wil already be two Danes in the series. Then there is Zorro who has age against him but still did better than Tai on the track and in the table. Finally their is Kolodziej, Polish Champion, who out performed Tai in the few GP's he rode in, has had an outstanding international season and at 26 years old has the ideal blend of youth and experience. Kolodzeij would also have qualified anyway, had it not been for an engine failure.

 

Looking at Tai's merits it would be difficult to put him in ahead of Hans or Zorro who both outperformed him but surely the strongest case for the remaining place is with Kolodziej who has ticked all the boxes, and at 26 is entering the peak of his career. How can he be denied for another year in favour of Tai, aged 20 who has still to reach his peak ?

 

Surely the 4 nominations have to go to Emil, AJ, Nicki, and Kolodziej ?

[ladyluck]

I do not think Tai Woffinden is not quite ready for the GP's, mabe in a couple of years, the trouble is once you are out of the series it's very difficult to get back in.

 

That is a very good point.

The problem is that people bang on about Woffinden being a huge talent, which is true enough, but the GPs are about so much more than raw talent. It's as much about your infrastructure and team as talent. Look at how people in the press and on Sky have commented about Gollob's never-changing team. Nicki Pedersen seemed invincible and then John Jorgensen departed and the wheels came off. Pedersen seems to have got it back together over the last couple of GPs, but it's taken him a while. Sayfutdinov was sensational, but he had recruited much of Tony Rickardsson's GP team.

On the other hand, Scott Nicholls seemed to have a different mentor every season, with Middlo, Havvy and Tatum all showing up at one stage or another. He dismissed his mechanic and then did even worse than he did before.

The same old faces dominate because they have teams around them that have grown into the GPs. Two riders (Hancock and Gollob) have been there from the start, while Crump arrived on the scene shortly afterwards.

So to Woffinden, who has already chopped and changed his team.

This has been a "lost" year for Woffinden, who should really have been up against Darcy Ward (who could also find it as tough to get into the GPs as Woffinden could getting back into them) in the Under-21s.

[BigFatDave]

IMO unless he rides and contends the Oz champs, he isnt regarded as Aussie. So he can continue riding under the GB banner until he officially switches sides. He did contest the British final SO that is more evidence, at the moment THAN heresay and chinese whispers. Of course the decision to come back to Oz would be hard to make as its a better class of racing, but for his long term success it makes sense to ride the tough Oz meetings, and hit the British League with momentum.

Its been one of his ambitions to run in OzChamps but trying to put together a sponsorship deal isn't easy from Perth unless he can get someone like Trevor Harding Snr interested (with his mobile workshop) as he'd have to cover himself & mechanic & two bikes for three weeks on the road all over S.E. Oz. Still living in hope that he'll make it to Leigh's Cheerio in Mildura.

 

First practise of the season was rained off in Mildura yesterday but looking good for Saturday, with the long-awaited return of a fully-fit Ryan Sedgmen. Don't know if Tom Hedley's thinking of a comeback - parenting duties might take preference these days!

Edited October 13, 2010 by BigFatDave

[superguest]

No way should Tai be even considered for 2011 after a nightmare 2010 season. As for the reason why his season has been pretty awful......

Tai has had at least 10 massive crashes. I mean, huge ones. I'm not sure how bad his injuries were, but having seein most of his crashes, I was surprised he didn't end up in the ambulance more often. He looks like he has pain in his ribs and can't hold the bike for 4 laps without making a mistake. He has already said that his fitness is his main priority this winter. Losing his dad I think made his whole preparation for the season very daunting. He has also said that he has had very little time to mourn his loss. However, the lack of support at GP's worries me. When you see Bjerre and Freddie's dad in the pits helping them out who are all accomplished riders and grown men and Tai is quite literally going it alone. He did most of the driving himself and missed quite a few of the practice's due to other comittments. Tai had Michael Lee with him, but that all went very sour when other GP riders told Tai he was being ripped off. Overall, I think he has learnt more about the set ups and the money side to the sport. He had a 'free ticket' this year - I'm sure he will not want to take another one until he can do himself justice.

Edited October 14, 2010 by superguest

[salty]

Most people tend to think Sky have leverage over BSI.

Anyway, nothing I have read leads me to believe Woffinden thinks the decision is not in his hands. He talked after Terenzano of being "fifty-fifty" regarding doing the GPs next season. The Speedway Star, whose managing editor is part of the circus, never mentions Woffinden in their various nomination articles, while discussing freely the possible consequences of failure for Andersen and Jonsson.

In addition, when has a British rider ever been left out after a single season? Richardson was given a few, Nicholls and Harris have enjoyed many.

This weeks Star has Philip Rising discussing the nominations as such: "Can there be any further doubt about which four riders will be awarded wild card places for the 2011 places?" He then goes on to name Emil and Nicki as "shoe ins" before giving the remaining two slots to Kolodziej and AJ. Finishing the piece with "end of story". No mention of Tai.

[Sprog1]

 

Tai has had at least 10 massive crashes. I mean, huge ones. I'm not sure how bad his injuries were, but having seein most of his crashes, I was surprised he didn't end up in the ambulance more often.

 

 

That is a very important point. Giving him hydrocortisone injections ay his age as they were when he had his wrist injury is a good way of getting him on the scrap heap within 10 years. If Micheal Lee was suposedly mentoring him at the time I am surprised he went along with it. Thats one reason I don't think Lee was good for him.

 

I know speedway riders are supposed to be tough and all that but there is only so much a body can take in a relatively short period of time.

 

It has been said many times that a good rider is a fast rider who has discovered the ground is hard and slows down a fraction. Tai has probably still not finished growing. A couple of seasons concentrating on the leagues and forgetting about the GP's in the short term will do him no harm at all IMO.

[CMV06]

That is a very important point. Giving him hydrocortisone injections ay his age as they were when he had his wrist injury is a good way of getting him on the scrap heap within 10 years. If Micheal Lee was suposedly mentoring him at the time I am surprised he went along with it. Thats one reason I don't think Lee was good for him.

 

I know speedway riders are supposed to be tough and all that but there is only so much a body can take in a relatively short period of time.

 

It has been said many times that a good rider is a fast rider who has discovered the ground is hard and slows down a fraction. Tai has probably still not finished growing. A couple of seasons concentrating on the leagues and forgetting about the GP's in the short term will do him no harm at all IMO.

 

Weren't a few of these injuries to the head? There is certainly only so much the brain can take in a short space of time, I took two severe bangs to the head within a couple of weeks in 2008 and after the second time the hospital kept me under observation over night and wouldn't let me return to work for 4 weeks. How much recuperation time has Tai had after his crashes??? Surely it has to be taken into consideration that he may not be 100% right.

[lucifer sam]

Now he isn't in the 2011 GP series, I assume Tai will be entering in the 2011 Under-21 mini-GP series. Good luck to Tai in his quest to become World Under-21 Champion.

 

All the best

Rob