Tai Woffinden backed to be difference in Sheffield Tigers bid to regain British Speedway Premiership crown
Simon Stead has warned Sheffield Tigers’ rivals for the British Speedway Premiership title that former world champion Tai Woffinden is back to his best and hungry to make up for lost time.
Sheffield’s ability to lure Woffinden back to British speedway midway through the 2023 season after a self-imposed seven-year exile, was key to them ending their own long wait for the Premiership title that year.
And his absence towards the latter end of the 2024 campaign following a nasty broken elbow suffered while racing in Poland, was one of the main reasons their championship defence fell short.
But Scunthorpe-born Woffinden, 34 - who won the last of his individual global titles in 2018 but remains one of the best riders in the world - has come back to Sheffield and team manager Stead believes he has a point to prove.
“Tai is back, and back with a vengeance,” Stead told The Yorkshire Post.
“He’s had a bit of negative press, people saying he can’t come back from an injury like he suffered last year and he’ll never be the same again, but that just stirs him right up.
“It’s pressed all the right buttons for him.
“He’s out in Poland at the moment getting plenty of laps in, he had a good Australian summer where he got some much needed rest and respite. But he’s fit and ready to rock and roll.”
Woffinden confirmed as much himself when he and the Tigers team for 2025 entertained the Owlerton Stadium crowd at their season launch on Thursday.
“I feel great. I’m excited for the season,” said Woffinden, before heading back to Poland to race there ahead of a return to Sheffield for their Premiership season-opener with Birmingham Brummies next Thursday.
“The Tai Woffinden factor made all the difference last year,” reflected Stead of how Sheffield’s Premiership defence unravelled in a semi-final defeat to their bitterest rivals Belle Vue Aces.
“Last season felt like one that got away.
"If we’d have had a fit seven, certainly with Tai fit, we’d have had enough to overcome Belle Vue in the semi-final.
“I knew at the time, whoever won that semi-final would go on and win it and unfortunately we came up a bit short.
“It just goes to show the importance of trying to keep your lads fit.
“In motor-sport, things happen that are out of your control, but if we can keep seven riders fit throughout the season, we’ll be right up there.”
Although Woffinden will ride for Sheffield amid his busy schedule of competing across Europe and throughout the world, there is one familiar face missing from the Sheffield line-up in 2025.
Kyle Howarth has been a constant of the team’s rise to the top table of British speedway since 2016, helping them get out of the second tier Championship and then sparking a glorious run of success that has seen them win a trophy in each of the last three seasons - Knockout Cup in 2022 and ’24 and the Premiership in between.
“Kyle had been at Sheffield for a long time, he enjoyed his testimonial year last year, but I think it was the right time for both Kyle and the club to part ways on good terms,” said Stead of a 31-year-old who will race for Leicester this season.
“We needed a bit of a freshen up and it’ll be good for Kyle to have a change of scenery as well.
“That was a big move for us and for Kyle because he has been a mainstay of the team for some time now, but there was an opportunity to bring in some fresh blood, some young English talent which I’m really excited to work with. And it just freshens us up.”
Stepping up to the captain’s role is 28-year-old Australian Josh Pickering who was a member of the league and cup-winning Sheffield teams of the last two years.
“Josh was a natural choice for us as captain,” added Stead. “He’s vocal, he’s a great motivator, and I think he’ll thrive in the role.
“From having Kyle for so long, it’s another role Josh will thrive on and it will help his own development.
“Not only is he looking after the team but I really believe he can be an out-and-out heat leader by the end of this season, or even throughout the season, and that would make the spearhead of our line-up in Jack (Holder), Tai, Chris (Holder) and Josh, a real force.
“In terms of our line-up, we look super competitive again and I expect us to be right at the pointy end of the table come play-off time. The Premiership is the one we want to win. But after the run we’ve been on, we’d love keep the silverware coming in.”
Home stand before Bank Holiday mayhem
Sheffield Tigers begin with three straight home fixtures to start the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership season; Birmingham on Thursday, Kings Lynn the following week and Oxford on April 24.
They lock horns with old rivals Belle Vue on a Bank Holiday Monday double-header; away 12pm, home 6.30pm.
“It’s a great day because you get loads of supporters going over from Sheffield and vice-versa, so it’ll be a packed house and plenty of atmosphere,” said Stead.
“We start with three home fixtures which is a change from the last couple of years, particularly last season when we started with a run of away fixtures.
“So it will be nice to get our feet under the table and get some laps in on our home track.”