Speedway legend Tai Woffinden announces retirement from racing
Three-time Speedway Grand Prix world champion Tai Woffinden has called time on his career following his latest injury setback.
The UK’s most successful Speedway Grand Prix racer ever, Tai Woffinden, has officially announced his retirement from the sport after being told he would need surgery following a recent crash in Poland.
It means Woffinden will end his glittering career with three individual world championships in the Speedway Grand Prix series, with the last of those title wins coming in 2018. The 35-year-old was also twice a runner-up in 2016 and 2020, and will leave the sport having amassed nearly 110 Speedway Grand Prix wins.
Specifically, Woffinden has 108 race wins to his name, was a finalist on 47 occasions, and secured 11 overall event wins in the Speedway Grand Prix series. As well as his three world titles wins, Woffinden was also a three-time British champion and team world champion in 2021.
Woffinden announced his decision in an emotional video on social media, saying:
“After more hospital scans yesterday, I have been told I need surgery following my latest crash in Poland. After a lot of thought, I have come to the decision that it’s time to retire from professional racing.
“To be honest, this isn’t an easy thing to say. For many years, this hasn’t just been what I do; it has been a huge part of who I am as a person.
“When I look back, I see five world titles, Grand Prix victories, national titles and team championships. But more than the trophies, I see the people, the friendships, the laughs, the tough days. The moments that tested me, and the moments that remind me exactly why I fell in love with the sport.
“What started as a dream, a life I could never have imagined; I’ve been lucky to do something I truly loved. And I’ll never take that for granted.”
Woffinden’s latest injury setback occurred during the Ostrów – Rybnik Speedway 2 Ekstraliga event, and follows a difficult 2025 season for the speedway legend. Woffinden suffered serious injuries in March 2025, which sidelined him for the rest of that season. The British rider was left in an induced coma as a result of the crash, before he was cleared to leave hospital on April 18.
Woffinden won his first Speedway Grand Prix title in 2013, becoming the eighth British rider to achieve that feat. He also became the first rider to hold both the British Championship and World Championship in the same year since Gary Havelock in 1992.
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