In-form Tai Woffinden wins first title at home track in Wolverhampton

Tai Woffinden made the most of home advantage at Wolverhampton to win the British Championship for the first time in his career.

The in-form rider was simply perfect on his home track, winning all six of his races as he held off seven-time champion Scott Nicholls to take the spoils.

Chris Harris ended up taking third place while surprise package Chris Cook was fourth after finishing the initial 20 heats with 12 points to his name.

However no one could keep pace with Woffinden, the current British representative in the World Grand Prix cruising to a victory that he dedicated to his dad and the late Leigh Richardson, his fellow Brit who was killed in an accident in Poland last year.
So close

"I've been really wanting this for a few years now, and I've been so close," he told Sky Sports.

"The Wolves supporters are great. I've done plenty of laps around here and now it's paid off."

Nicholls paid tribute to the new champion after bravely battling to keep hold of his title. He had just two points after his first two heats but then won three in a row to make sure he ended the round-robin stage in the top six.

"All credit to him (Woffinden)," the Coventry Bee said. "He's the man on fire, as he has been all season, and was the best rider on the night.

"I gave it my best but it was not quite enough. I'll have to wait until next year to make it number eight."

Ed Kennett had threatened to keep pace with Woffinden early on, triumphing in his first three outings before being pipped by the eventual champion in heat 16.

A third-place finish in the next meant he had 12 points to his name, making certain of a semi-final berth but meaning he missed out on a top-two finish. Daniel King was the final rider to qualify for the knockout stages on 10 points, though both men would go on to finish behind Nicholls and Cook.