Woffinden wins Torrens Trophy

Three-time World Speedway champion Tai Woffinden has been awarded the prestigious Torrens Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club.

Woffinden sealed his third world title last year to become the most successful British speedway rider of all time emulating Freddie Williams and Peter Craven.

Woffinden becomes the first speedway rider to pick up the award and saw off competition from fellow nominees Peter Hickman (Road Racing and British Superbikes), Leon Haslam (British Superbikes) and Ben and Tom Birchall (Sidecar Racing).

“I'm pretty strong in the head but there were times when I was thinking 'wow, man, this is tough.' This was my hardest one to date, both physically and mentally,” Woffinden said.

“It’s pretty much motorsport in its rawest form. We race 500cc motorbikes that weigh around 77g, and they accelerate faster than an F1 car with top speeds of up to 80mph. The big difference is we don't have brakes. The bike just has a throttle, clutch and one gear and we race on shale-based oval tracks and you basically power-slide around the corners.”

Woffinden follows an iconic line of previous winners including Jonathan Rea (2017), Cal Crutchlow (2016), Ian Hutchinson (2015), Shane Byrne (2014), Tom Sykes (2013) and James Toseland (2008).