‘I don’t care what people think’ – Three-time Speedway GP champion Tai Woffinden on being the 'best' ahead of new season

Tai Woffinden harboured ambitions to match Tony Rickardsson and Ivan Mauger’s record haul of six Speedway GP world titles as soon as he collected his first back in 2013.

The 31-year-old said as much to fellow riders Greg Hancock, Jason Crump, Nicki Pedersen and Chris Holder ahead of the season-opening New Zealand Speedway GP in 2014. Woffinden would finish fourth that year but would go on to seal further Speedway GP world crowns in 2015 and 2018.

He is also a three-time British champion, and, ahead of the start of the new season, has set his sights on Rickardsson and Mauger’s joint-record haul of six titles.

“Look at it from my point of view. At that point, I had won my first – where do I go next?” said Woffinden in an interview with the 2022 FIM Speedway GP website.

“What motivates me to be successful? When I have won everything there is to win, where do you set that boundary?

“Whether I achieve it or not is a different story. But I don’t mind saying it because I believe in my ability and I know what I can do. Probably 80 percent of people in the world don’t have my mindset. They won’t be able to fathom how I can say that. It’s hard to explain.”

The coverage on discovery+ and Eurosport will feature six-time champion Rickardsson, and Woffinden – or ‘Woffy’ – added that he measures himself against the Swedish legend.

“He probably has a very similar mentality to me,” added Woffinden.

"Tony is probably the one I would look at to gauge myself against because Ivan Mauger raced a long time ago. Ivan didn’t win his first world title until he was 28. I know it was quite late on. By that point, I had already got three in the bag.

“I remember when I said that I wanted to be the greatest of all time, people gave me so much stick for it, especially in Poland. But those people giving me stick are probably happy living where they live and working 9-5. They probably haven’t got the motivation to do anything.

“I always strive to be the best and I don’t mind saying it. I don’t care what people think. I still enjoy riding my bike. I love every single aspect of it. I am looking forward to seeing what I can achieve.”

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The 2022 Speedway Grand Prix will be available live and ad-free on discovery+ with live race action also on Eurosport 2.