Woffinden faces battle in bid for third World Speedway Championship

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Great Britain’s Tai Woffinden faces a huge task to retain his Speedway World Championship going into the final two races of the 2016 season. The 26-year-old triumphed by 16 points in the last campaign to win the crown for the second time. However, he will be forced to make up a 16-point deficit at the next two circuits to beat out his rivals Jason Doyle and Greg Hancock. The Brit is backed at +5000 in the latest Speedway betting odds to win the crown for the third time in four years and become only the third man to win back-to-back titles.

Let’s take a look at the three main contenders for the crown, beginning with Woffinden and his bid to make history.

Woffinden’s Challenge

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The 26-year-old had an underwhelming start to the season in Slovenia, despite enjoying a solid session in the heats as he qualified for the semi-finals with eight points. However, he was bested by Denmark’s Peter Kildemand, forcing the reigning champion to settle for fourth place. Woffinden enjoyed another strong performance in Poland, qualifying for the second semi-finals. After finishing Matej Žagar he knew he would have to up the ante in the final to claim the victory in Warsaw, and duly delivered.

The Brit was the top scorer in the heats in Denmark as he recorded victories in three of his five races. He qualified for the final with a second-place finish in his semi, but could only muster a third-place finish in the last race, adding just three points to his total as Maciej Janowski clinched the victory. He eased into the latter stages of the Czech Republic Grand Prix with two wins   during the heats, but completely bombed out in the first semi-final, finishing in fourth. On home     
soil he rebounded with in the competition’s final phase, ending behind Antonio Lindback to add another 16 points to his grand total.

Woffinden put forward his worst display of the season in Sweden, failing to make the latter stages of the race. The Brit put those demons to one side in the next Grand Prix in Poland, edging into the semi-finals in eighth place, but he raised his game to win his semi before finishing second in the final to close the gap on Doyle, who had overtaken him in the overall standings. Another step back would occur in Germany as Woffinden finished third in his semi-final, taking only 10 points from the meet. An 11-point performance would follow at the Swedish Grand Prix as he failed to make the final, leaving the Brit with an uphill challenge in the quest for his third crown.

Doyle’s Surge Towards the Title

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The Aussie had an encouraging start to the season as he won two races during the heats in Slovenia to qualify for the semi-finals, where he finished second to reach the final before notching another two points by ending up as runner-up to Kildemand. However, Doyle failed to reach the latter stages of the competition in Poland and Denmark, notching just 12 points. After those disappointments the 30-year-old was off the pace of Woffinden and compatriot Chris Holder and in desperate need of a response in the Czech Republic.

He duly delivered with a series of fine performances in the heats, where he claimed two victories, and finished in the top three in each of his five races to leave him on 11 points in the semi-finals. He went on to win both the semi-final and final to end the Grand Prix with 17 points. Doyle suffered a setback in his charge for the crown at the British Grand Prix, despite   producing the second best performance during the heats. He won three of his five races to leave him on 12 points entering the semis, only to finish last to miss out the final.

His response to the disappointment has left him in contention for the crown as he finished second behind Hancock in Sweden, claiming the same amount of points as the American. The Aussie would follow that up with a resounding victory in the second Polish Grand Prix of the season, ending with 16 points. He was even better in Germany earning one point extra to leave him trailing Hancock by only two points.

Doyle would produce the performance of the campaign in Stockholm, winning the tournament with a season-high 19 points to take the outright lead. Should he maintain his form he will have the chance to win his maiden World title.

Could Hancock Spoil the Party?

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The three-time World champion stands between both Woffinden and Doyle in their quest for the crown, and he will use all of his experience to ensure that it is him standing aloft with the trophy come the end of the campaign. Hancock had a stuttering start to the season in Slovenia as he edged into the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, but failed to progress, accumulating just 10 points in the first meet. However, solid performances in Denmark got him on the right track, taking 28 points combined from the two races to slide behind the early pacesetters in third place.

The 46-year-old won four of his five heats in the Czech Republic to qualify in first position for the semis, and he had no problem reaching the final, adding a further three points to his total. Only a fine ride from Doyle prevented him from clinching the win, although he did claim more points       
from the meet than the Australian. After an underwhelming performance at the British Grand Prix, he bounced back with his first win of the season in Sweden. His 17 points moved him to the top of the leaderboard, collecting four victories on the circuit in a dominant spell of riding, especially in the latter stages of the competition.

Inconsistency could halt his charge for the title as he has produced poor displays in two of the last three meets, including a nine-point outing in Stockholm. His third-place finish in Germany has kept him within striking distance of Doyle, but with only two races remaining in the season the veteran will have to be at the peak of his powers. The American produced a 21-point performance in Australia last year, and a repeat may be the only way that he will be able to overhaul Doyle to the Championship.

How Will The Championship Be Decided

All three riders will be battling it out in the final two races, but all have proven to be inconsistent. Doyle has never won the crown before and despite his healthy advantage over the other two, his lack of experience could play a part. Woffinden and Hancock will be aiming to capitalize on any mistakes made by the Aussie, who will know he will have to be flawless to lift the trophy for the first time in his career.

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