It proved to be a long afternoon for British U-21 Champion and Silver Ski Rocket Tai Woffinden, whose World Final debut ended with the teenager finishing in 15th place.

Woffinden’s challenge was effectively ended as early as his opening ride, where a tapes infringement left him quickly clicking his heels in the pits. A second place finish ahead of Lewis Bridger and Pole Grzegorz Zengota in his next race briefly restored optimism, but he was able to add only one further point to his total from his three remaining heats.

Obvious consolation for Woffinden in a year which has brought great success elsewhere comes in the fact that, at just 18, he still has three more shots at this title. His best is very clearly still a long way off.   

It proved a similarly long day for fellow Brits Lewis Bridger and William Lawson, who faired only slightly better overall. Elite League Bridger placed 10th with 6 points, while Scot Lawson’s 4 point tally saw him finish 14th.

The Championship was won for a second straight year by exciting Russian Emil Saifutdinov, who produced some blistering displays from the back to collect four consecutive race wins following an opening heat defeat by Troy Batchelor and retain the crown with two points to spare. 2007 runner-up Chris Holder had to settle for the silver medal again, after defeating Jurica Pavlic in a run-off after both had finished on 12 points.

Riders’ scores:
1. Emil Saifutdinov   14
2. Chris Holder   12 (after run-off)
3. Jurica Pavlič   12
4. Troy Batchelor  11
5. Martin Vaculik    9
6. Matej Kus     8
7. Grzegorz Zengota     8
8. Patrick Hougaard    8
9. Ludvig Lindgren    7
10. Lewis Bridger    6
11. Igor Kononov    6
12. Morten Risager    6
13. Andrij Karpov    4
14. William Lawson    4
15. Tai Woffinden    3
16. Filip Sitera     2
17. Simon Gustafsson (res)   0 (1 ride)

Woffy Defends U-18 Crown

Premier League Riders and British U-21 Champion Tai Woffinden has a shot at one further title in 2008, when he aims to win his second straight British U-18 crown at the end of the month. This year’s event is being staged at Woffinden’s former stamping ground of Scunthorpe on Monday, October 27th.

While the full line-up is yet to be announced, it is already set to include Joe Haines (Workington) and Josh Auty (Redcar), who are also both former Scorpions and finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, in last season’s championship.