Woffy: “I felt like Lionel Messi”

TAI Woffinden says he felt like Lionel Messi entering the Nou Camp when he was introduced to the Cardiff crowd on Saturday.

The Scunthorpe-born rider said the reception gave him goose bumps and it made him proud to be British as he entered the arena.

He’s paid tribute to the 40,000 fans who turned out for the meeting and insists he can’t wait for next year.

“It was an amazing experience, coming into the stadium with the rider introductions, I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

“It’s my home Grand Prix, I’m British and I’m proud – the fans were awesome and I felt so special when my name was called.

“It sent goose bumps down my back, it was a moment to savour and I cannot thank the fans enough, they were brilliant and well done to every single one of them who came along to support me.

“I can only imagine what a global sporting superstar like Lionel Messi feels when he steps foot out into the Nou Camp pitch with Barcelona. I felt a little bit like that.

“The noise was deafening and it’s an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.”

And whilst Woffinden admits he would have loved to have claimed top spot in the final, he was happy to extend his lead in the title race to 12.

“It would have been a dream come true to win in Cardiff, but there’s always next year and I’ll be going for it again,” he said.

“The most important thing is I scored loads of points and built on my lead in the championship, so I have to be pleased with that.

“I knew my time was up in the final when I didn’t get the better of Chris (Holder) on the inside of me and because I stayed on the inside line the other guys were able to come past me.

“I knew it was over for me then so I just cruised around and enjoyed the atmosphere for the rest of the race. I’m just so pleased with the way the weekend went for me.

“I’ve got a good lead in the championship although I must emphasise there’s a long way to go so I cannot take anything for granted.

“I have to stay focussed on the job in hand and just keep winning races. Sounds simple but that’s the way it is.”

And Woffinden has revealed how he made a bad decision ahead of his opening ride.

“I made a bad choice with the set-up, I decided to go with something which clearly wasn’t working,” he said.

“I knew I should have gone with the original plan but I went with my instinct and it didn’t work out for me.

“But I managed to get it right for my next ride and everything went well after that until the final. I’m happy with how it all went.

“Thanks again to everyone who supported me and I hope I can keep it going when we go to Latvia for the next round.”

Woffinden is also edging closer to the £100,000 target in his fund raising for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Donations can be made by texting WOFF60 to 70070 and the amount £2, £5 or £10.

* BRITISH hero Tai Woffinden extended his lead at the top of the World Championship standings despite narrowly missing out on a rostrum spot in the British Grand Prix.

Scunthorpe-born Woffinden bagged 15 points with an impressive display in the showpiece event in Cardiff – and although he was left trailing in the decisive race he still left the fourth round of the series 12 points clear of his nearest rival Nicki Pedersen.

After a last place in his opening ride, Woffinden reeled off five dominant wins including a composed semi-final triumph to ignite hopes of becoming the first British winner at the event since Chris Harris in 2007.

However, it was not to be as King’s Lynn star Niels-Kristian Iversen brilliantly blasted around Chris Holder to hit the front and claim a well-deserved victory ahead of the popular Australian, whilst Peter Kildemand edged third place ahead of Woffinden.

Although he missed out on victory in the final race, Woffinden was nonetheless delighted with another superb performance to enhance his chances of becoming Britain’s first two-time World Champion since Peter Craven in 1962.

Said Woffinden: “It doesn’t really matter too much about the final, I scored as many points as I needed to and extended my lead in the Championship.

“It obviously would have been nice to win the meeting, but I did what I had to do – I scored plenty of points and points make prizes.

“I’ll take that forward now, I’m feeling good about things and I’m in a good position so I’ll just keep working hard and hopefully it will pay off at the end of the season.”

Woffinden also reserved special praise for the British supporters who he says left him with “goosebumps” after giving him a rapturous reception.

He commented: “The reception I received was just amazing, it gave me goosebumps when I came out onto the track.

“Every single time I was out there the noise the fans made was just incredible, and it was an unbelievable feeling.”

Meanwhile, wildcard Craig Cook put in a creditable performance against the world’s best.

He started his night with a sensational win over Chris Holder, Greg Hancock and Maciej Janowski before ending on seven hard-fought points, agonisingly short of the semi-finals.

Chris Harris endured a tough night, scoring five points from his five rides with the highlight a determined second place in the final qualifying heat.

Reserve duo Jason Garrity and Robert Lambert also saw the track, with an awkward fall for Troy Batchelor which saw him withdraw handing Garrity a ride in heat 17 before Andreas Jonsson touched the tapes in the same heat.

When the race finally got underway, the young duo became embroiled in a tense battle for third place with Garrity eventually excluded after taking down Lambert on the final bend.

It was nonetheless a superb experience for both youngsters as they made their introduction on the world stage.

BRITISH GRAND PRIX, Cardiff
Niels-Kristian Iversen 14 (1st), Chris Holder 18 (2nd), Peter Kildemand 12 (3rd), Tai Woffinden 15 (4th), Greg Hancock 12, Matej Zagar 10, Nicki Pedersen 9, Michael Jepsen Jensen 8, Craig Cook 7, Jason Doyle 7, Tomas H Jonasson 7, Chris Harris 5, Troy Batchelor 4, Krzysztof Kasprzak 4, Maciej Janowski 3, Andreas Jonsson 2, Robert Lambert (res) 1, Jason Garrity (res) 0.

STANDINGS: Tai Woffinden 55, Nicki Pedersen 43, Greg Hancock 39, Niels-Kristian Iversen 35, Matej Zagar 34, Chris Holder 31, Jarek Hampel 31, Jason Doyle 29, Michael Jepsen Jensen 27, Andreas Jonsson 26, Maciej Janowski 26, Chris Harris 23, Krzysztof Kasprzak 21, Troy Batchelor 17, Tomas H Jonasson 16, Peter Kildemand 12.

* IPSWICH won the Premier League Pairs at Somerset on Friday night, defeating the hosts in the final.  Scunthorpe were not in the event.