Tai Woffinden – Chasing Immortality

“I want to win as many titles as I can, I don’t have a number where I’d sit and think ‘right, I’ve done it – I’m happy with that’, I just want to keep winning.

“I have two now, and that’s awesome, but my focus is on number three. And if I win a third, I’ll start thinking about a fourth, then it’ll be a fifth – that’s just how I am. You look at the best sportsmen ever, they’re guys who win four, five, six world titles in whatever it is they’re doing. I want to be one of them.”

Despite having won the world championship twice before, many observers believe the 2018 Tai Woffinden is the best version of himself there’s ever been and the numbers back that up, but what does the man himself think?

He says: “I don’t know whether this is the best I’ve ever ridden, it probably is but I guess it’s hard to say. I feel really good, not just in my racing but in my life. Everything is perfect, I have a beautiful wife, we’ve got an amazing healthy, happy little girl and I’m really settled.

“My daughter, Rylee, is great and she’s the happiest little girl. She sleeps really well and my wife Faye is so good with letting me get some rest when I need it. The night before I race Faye will always get up with Rylee in the middle of the night so I can get a proper sleep – but I make up for it when I’m not racing!

“It’s hard being away from the girls but they come with me sometimes and it’s great to have them around, they’ve been to a couple of the GP’s and it’s nice. Obviously I’m away a lot during the season but then I get the whole winter at home where I can spend every day and night with her so it works both ways.”

“My guys are amazing, they work so hard and my bikes are always on point.

“When you walk down the paddock, I know that my bikes stand out and it’s good to know that. We’re a team and we’ve been together for a while now so everything works like clockwork, the boys know exactly what they’re doing and we’ve got a great setup. Without them I couldn’t do what I do so they need to take a lot of credit – it’s a team effort.”

Tai’s next race sees him take centre stage in front of 50,000 British fans who are desperate to see their hero win his home race for the first time, but he knows the bigger picture is the most important thing and that means it’s points, not prizes, that matter the most.

“Obviously I want to win the British GP, it would be awesome to win in front of my home fans but ultimately I want to be the world champion again and I have to score big points to do that. I could score 12 points and win the GP or 20 points and not win it and I know which one I’d take, because one of them is going to help me win the world title the most.

“The reception I get at Cardiff is unreal, when they call your name out and the place goes nuts it’s one of the best feelings you can imagine and I would love to win for all the fans. There haven’t been many British winners there so it’d be cool to do it but as long as I score points I’m happy – I’m working towards a bigger goal and that’s my only focus.”