As Tai Woffinden skydived into the Stadion Olimpijski, fans in Wroclaw unfurled a banner.
“Many riders in the past, you became one of us” read the message, emblazoned across the back straight, as a crowd of over 10,000 fans chanted his name in unison.
“You can’t explain that feeling when you hear everyone chanting your name,” he says. “It’s something only a few people in the world have the privilege of experiencing, mainly sportsmen or performers.
“When they announce my name at Cardiff, that just blows my mind every year, and the noise they make here in Poland week on week, year on year, every so often you have to just pinch yourself and go, ‘wow, this is crazy’.”
Wroclaw, a historic city in southwestern Poland, has become a home from home for Woffinden. It has charmed Britain’s greatest speedway rider and he has given his heart to the place in return.
When Woffinden first arrived in 2012, he was a talented but somewhat wild 21-year-old who looked at serious risk of failing to fulfil his huge potential.
By the end of 2013, he had stunned the speedway world to win his maiden world title. Two more followed in 2015 and 2018 before he finally brought top flight domestic glory back to Wroclaw in 2021.
As he hosted his testimonial to mark 10 years at the club, it was apparent how much the two have grown together. Woffinden is well-established at the top table of the Speedway Grand Prix series and adored in the city he has called home with his wife Faye and their two daughters since the coronavirus pandemic.
“When I first came out here, it wasn’t just about the track or the racing, I just enjoyed being in the city,” he recalls. “It’s a beautiful place, beautiful buildings and just being able to come here and watch the world go by is a nice feeling.
“The relationship grew with the club, the fans and I’m still here now. I’ve got a contract for the next two years as well, and it’s great spending time here. My family is here, we’ve lived out here the last two years and it’s a super nice place to be. I’m proud to call it home.”
Much of Woffinden’s success over the years has been down to the fact he sees the bigger picture. He has become an expert at navigating the challenges of the gruelling Grand Prix series to consistently be amongst the title contenders even when not quite at his best.
“I don’t really know how to explain it,” he says when asked to explain his consistency at the top level. “I guess it’s my dedication and my drive to win races.”
His testimonial is a time for reflection, and whilst much has changed in Woffinden’s life over the last 10 years, deep down he’s just a kid born in Scunthorpe, raised in Western Australia and with both a natural talent and passion for riding his bike with no brakes.
“I’m the same person,” he says. “Just a few years older!
“I’m married now, I’ve got two kids and we’re enjoying life together, watching the girls grow up, but I still get to go racing my motorbike every weekend and have fun doing so.
“Nothing has really changed on that side of things. The outlook is the same, I still want to win races and world titles.”
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Woffinden’s testimonial saw some of the biggest names in the sport join forces for their on-track rival in a clear show of the respect he commands in the pits. Now his big night is out of the way, attentions will turn fully to a push for a fourth world championship.
After a third of the series, Woffinden sits fifth in the standings, nine points adrift of leader Bartosz Zmarzlik heading into the fifth round in Gorzow, Poland this weekend (Saturday, 7:15pm BST).
Now 31, some feel Woffinden may have seen his last gold medal. In his mind, that could not be further from the truth - and the day he believes that will be the day he moves on to his next challenge.
“When it comes to me trying to achieve great things, I guess the day I stop feeling that drive is the day I should hang up the race suit and park the bikes up,” he declares. “For now, I’m feeling hungrier than ever.
“I’m still nowhere near the form I’d want to be so far this season, but I’m only human. Sometimes you have up days, some days you have down days. You just have to keep battling through it.
“Now I’m fifth in the championship and I’m like 70% of what I know I can be. When I’m at the top of my game, there’s not many guys that can beat me.”
Woffinden’s success over the years has given speedway the sort of publicity it has been starved of for decades. When he shocked the world to win the championship in 2013, he appeared on the likes of BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Sports News, in national newspapers, and was the focus of a documentary on Sky Sports, Life of Tai, charting his life.
Unfortunately for his adoring army of British fans, the peak years of Woffinden’s careers have largely been played out in Poland with the harsh reality being he has outgrown the domestic offerings on these shores.
There is a strong possibility that his only appearance in a competitive meeting in Britain this year will be when the Speedway Grand Prix returns to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on August 13. That is a meeting which Woffinden has yet to win and, at this stage, it is pretty much the only thing missing from his CV.
“Of course, it’s one thing I haven’t won yet,” he admits. “I’d love to win in Cardiff for the British fans and give them something to shout about. "And now they’ve changed the championship points scoring it makes it that much more important,” he points out, refusing to lose sight of the bigger picture.
Whether or not Woffinden ends up on the top step at the Principality Stadium in August, his name will generate the biggest cheer of the night - just like it does in Wroclaw on a weekly basis. He is not only the face of British speedway but the most recognisable figure in the sport around the world.
