Tai Woffinden Best Ever!?

[IainB]

1 minute ago, MARK246 said:

I thought Egon Muller was one of the first riders to use GM in 83, it was the only one in the world final that year.

I'm pretty sure Les was using one at Leicester in the lead up to the 82 world final... May explain his phenomenonal form that year

[MARK246]

Just now, iainb said:

I'm pretty sure Les was using one at Leicester in the lead up to the 82 world final... May explain his phenomenonal form that year

You could well be right just had a quick Google, 1979 the first production GM

[IainB]

Brining it back to Britain's greatest ever speedway rider for a moment... Does anybody know what's happened to the real World Championship trophy and why he's not showing it off in place of that cheap piece of tat he's been given

[orion]

13 hours ago, George Dodds said:

On riding ability yes but - as with Collins at the British Final in 1978 - engine failures, a fall, lousy track conditions or annoying a belligerent referee could see you fail to qualify from any given round. No wildcards to cover your box office appeal or guarantee of qualification for the next season by finishing in the top eight of any given season. I'm sure Tai's quality would have shone through but bad luck could have robbed him of the chance of even reaching a World Final

When does Tai not finish in the  top eight in the gp's ?  .no doubt all the above you go on about could have happened in them  against much stronger oppo ,,the fact is it hardly ever happens ...Woffy does not  win World Championships or finish in the top eight on riding ability alone he uses common  sense on when and where he needs to take risks .

i

 

Edited October 15, 2018 by orion

[burton1]

29 minutes ago, orion said:

When does Tai not finish in the  top eight in the gp's ?  .no doubt all the above you go on about could have happened in them  against much stronger oppo ,,the fact is it hardly ever happens ...Woffy does not  win World Championships or finish in the top eight on riding ability alone he uses common  sense on when and where he needs to take risks .

 

Sorry but I reckon his wins have been down to having the best equipment not his riding ability,the same can be said of Hancock.crikey even cook got into the GPS this year.

[iris123]

6 minutes ago, burton1 said:

Sorry but I reckon his wins have been down to having the best equipment not his riding ability,the same can be said of Hancock.crikey even cook got into the GPS this year.

The same can be said of riders like Mauger.He always made sure he was on the best,but that is surely part of being a class rider.Rickardsson was the same.Doesn’t mean they were lesser riders.The opposite is the case

[orion]

9 minutes ago, burton1 said:

Sorry but I reckon his wins have been down to having the best equipment not his riding ability,the same can be said of Hancock.crikey even cook got into the GPS this year.

Part of the skill of speedway is having the best equipment /set up's ..always has been always will be ..Top riders  always had the best equipment 

Edited October 15, 2018 by orion

[waiheke1]

22 minutes ago, burton1 said:

Sorry but I reckon his wins have been down to having the best equipment not his riding ability,the same can be said of Hancock.crikey even cook got into the GPS this year.

You think Cook got into the GPs because he had better equipment than the Poles he was up against...? 

You think Woffy has quicker bikes than Zmarzlik?

Whereas Nielsen, Gundersen, Penhall, Olsen, Lee,Mauger won theirs riding lawnmowers? 

[George Dodds]

14 hours ago, orion said:

When does Tai not finish in the  top eight in the gp's ?  .no doubt all the above you go on about could have happened in them  against much stronger oppo ,,the fact is it hardly ever happens ...Woffy does not  win World Championships or finish in the top eight on riding ability alone he uses common  sense on when and where he needs to take risks .

i

 

Which, depending on how you view it, either makes it more difficult or easier than for someone who had just five races on one night of the year.

[Fromafar]

14 hours ago, burton1 said:

Sorry but I reckon his wins have been down to having the best equipment not his riding ability,the same can be said of Hancock.crikey even cook got into the GPS this year.

What a load of cobblers IMO .Best equipment or not you still have to be able to ride it.Im not a fan but he is a class act on a bike.Mauger started it with Professionalism and attention to detail the rest followed.Its set- ups  and being able to adapt to changing track conditions as the meeting goes on are the main difference between the top men nowadays.

[orion]

1 hour ago, George Dodds said:

Which, depending on how you view it, either makes it more difficult or easier than for someone who had just five races on one night of the year.

Not sure what your on about .The bottom line is  woffy makes top 8's all the time against much harder oppo than the old days .

[BWitcher]

On 10/11/2018 at 1:02 PM, Midland Red said:

Personally, I don't think Woffinden is the best ever British rider, in the same way that I don't see Lewis Hamilton as the best ever British racing driver

They both have access to machinery far and away ahead in terms of performance of that which the likes of Craven, Crutcher, Brett, Boocock N, Carter, Loram, Betts etc / Hawthorn, Collins, Moss, Surtees, Hill (father & son) etc could even dream of

Woffinden is the best in 2018, of that I have little doubt, but comparison with those from the past is almost impossible to gauge

An argument that makes absolutely no sense at all.

Equipment is irrelevant as they have the same access as their rivals in whatever era they were in... in terms of speedway anyway.

In fact it could easily be argued that far more riders have top notch equipment these days than in the past.

[moxey63]

Woffinden is certainly the best rider since his first title.

But in a room of ugly people, there has to be the prettiest one. 

 

 

[BWitcher]

52 minutes ago, moxey63 said:

Woffinden is certainly the best rider since his first title.

But in a room of ugly people, there has to be the prettiest one. 

 

 

Often one who has no interest in the subject either, but they still keep piping up... very strange those types

[moxey63]

9 minutes ago, BWitcher said:

Often one who has no interest in the subject either, but they still keep piping up... very strange those types

Sorry mate, forgot to ask if I could voice an opinion.

[BWitcher]

37 minutes ago, moxey63 said:

Sorry mate, forgot to ask if I could voice an opinion.

You've not voiced an opinion, just made another pathetic comment about a sport/rider you admit you have no interest in whatsoever, yet spend your day hanging around a forum posting on it.

I seriously cannot think of anything stranger to do.

Edited October 16, 2018 by BWitcher

[fatface]

1 hour ago, BWitcher said:

An argument that makes absolutely no sense at all.

Equipment is irrelevant as they have the same access as their rivals in whatever era they were in... in terms of speedway anyway.

In fact it could easily be argued that far more riders have top notch equipment these days than in the past.

Agreed. It was a point made very eloquently several months ago in the Speedway Star by GP race director Phil Morris. One of the real positives speedway has over other motorsports is that there is general parity over the equipment used...and so rider skill is paramount. I've no doubt Tai Woffinden has the very best gear, so too will all the rest of the top riders. As they have done throughout speedway history.

It isn't the case that Woffinden has a Ferrari, whilst the rest have Saubers (or whatever the current crappy F1 team is?!). Even if it were the case, he has earned the right to have the best equipment by being the best rider. Does anyone think Jawa, GM or the top tuners were falling over themselves to help him ahead of his first title in 2013 when he was a rank outsider going in? No chance. He's dedicated, he backed himself and he's reaping the rewards.

One of the aspects of him that I admire most is that he has the ability to really be as one with the machine. In contrast to say, a Nicki Pedersen, who really has to fight with the bike, at his best Tai Woffinden really flows with his machine as if they are one and the same. 

[moxey63]

1 hour ago, BWitcher said:

You've not voiced an opinion, just made another pathetic comment about a sport/rider you admit you have no interest in whatsoever, yet spend your day hanging around a forum posting on it.

I seriously cannot think of anything stranger to do.

Sorry, but I think you're wrong in part. The topic is about Mr Woffinden being the best British rider, is it not. Now, as I have a forty-five year history of following the sport , never mind how much I like it nowadays, I think that gives me some knowledge and a right to reply.

[moxey63]

Seriously, though, and this isn't a criticism of Tai, but to say he is the best British rider simply because he has won more world titles is like saying Shaddup Your Face, Joe Dolce, is a better record than Ultavox's Vienna because it kept it off the number one spot for weeks in 1981. 

You can't really compare how many titles a rider has to him being better than another rider. You have to look at it more broadly.

 

Tai is very good. But... and it's just my opinion, there isn't that much out there to beat. 

 

[IainB]

3 minutes ago, moxey63 said:

Seriously, though, and this isn't a criticism of Tai, but to say he is the best British rider simply because he has won more world titles is like saying Shaddup Your Face, Joe Dolce, is a better record than Ultavox's Vienna because it kept it off the number one spot for weeks in 1981. 

You can't really compare how many titles a rider has to him being better than another rider. You have to look at it more broadly.

 

Tai is very good. But... and it's just my opinion, there isn't that much out there to beat. 

 

Seriously though, the British public thought so because they bought the record... Just because you thought that Ultravox was better just means that you were wrong...

Oh Vienna!