Speedway Motorsports

TAI WOFFINDEN remains in a “stable condition” after sustaining multiple injuries in a horror crash in Poland.Britain’s most successful speedway rider of all-time was airlifted to hospital in Krosno on Saturday after the dreadful first bend incident.Tai Woffinden remains in a ‘stable condition’Credit: Taylor LanningWoffinden was airlifted to hospital in Krosno on Saturday after the dreadful first bend incidentThe 34-year-old crashed at high speed while racing for his club RzeszowCredit: XWoffy, 34, was caught in a three-rider pile-up and smashed into the airfence at high speed while racing for Rzeszow. He was airlifted from the circuit by helicopter to hospital with suspected injuries including a broken femur, both hands and ribs.The Rzeszów club have released this statement today: “The patient was transported to our hospital by Air Ambulance ok. the hours are 7:00 pm. “He was admitted to the hospital with a multisocial injury, numerous fractured limbs and a chest injury. He was operated on by the orthopedic and surgical team until 2:00 a.m.READ MORE IN SPORT“At the moment his condition is stable, mechanically ventilated and remains in a pharmacological coma. “He is in the Intensive Care Clinic where he remains under the care of his doctors. Decisions regarding further treatment will be made after further orthopedic consultations.”Woffinden’s wife Faye, who plays a huge part of his racing team, has flown from Australia to Poland to be with him. His mum Sue also travelled out to be by his side.His UK club Sheffield have also released a statement, adding: “As you are most likely aware, Sheffield racer Tai Woffinden was involved in a crash whilst racing in Poland on Sunday.Most read in MotorsportWoffinden has spoken about the dangers of the sport in the pastCredit: Taylor Lanning“Whilst we understand the concern for Tai’s health and wellbeing, Sheffield Speedway will not be going into any further detail at this stage.“We are in constant communication with his family – who have confirmed that reports in the Polish media have gone out without their permission or approval.“Members of Tai’s family will be flying to the hospital later on Monday evening, where he is currently being treated, and will provide the club with a full update as and when they have learned the full facts and when they are comfortable in doing so.“Sheffield Speedway once again politely asks supporters not to respond to rumours out of respect to Tai and his family.”It was Woffinden’s second competitive meeting back racing after another horror crash ended his 2024 season with a shattered elbow, also in Poland late last June.Good wishes have poured in for the Scunthorpe-born rider. His good pal, ex-World Champion, and fellow Monster Energy ambassador, Greg Hancock said: “Feeling for Tai. Racing can be brutal.”His former Polish club Wroclaw stated: “Unfortunately a very serious accident in Krosno was reported by Tai Woffinden. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”Woffinden has won everything in the sport with three World Championship titles and the Speedway of Nations for Great Britain. Yet has been cursed with bad luck sustaining injuries over the past few years. He has broken his back, hand, shoulder blade and collarbone twice over the years.In an interview last year with SunSport, he admitted: “You get injured when you are pushing the boundaries and you are trying 110 per cent. That’s normally when you crash and get injured. “That’s when I’m putting in the effort. Sometimes you do go home in an ambulance but that’s what we do, right?“I’m used to it. I don’t think the fans realise, especially the ones that give you a roasting now and again, I’ve been injured every year since 2019. And I’m still at the top of my game. “In 2019 I broke my back and shoulder blade year after tore ligaments in my foot twice and finished the season with two broken bones in my hand. Read More on The Sun“In 2021 smashed my shoulder and was out for a month and then crashed in Manchester in the Speedway of Nations. Then more over the past two years. “I’ve worked it out, my accumulative injuries since 2019, has caused me to miss a whole season if you put all the time off put together.” Woffinden is Britain’s most successful Speedway riderCredit: Taylor LanningHis wife and mother have flown to be by his sideCredit: Taylor Lanning More

SHEFFIELD star Tai Woffinden has been involved in a high-speed horror crash in Poland.Britain’s most successful speedway rider was airlifted to hospital in Krosno after a three-man pile-up on Sunday.Tai Woffinden has been airlifted to hospital after a crash in PolandCredit: AlamyThe 34-year-old crashed at high speed while racing for his club RzeszowCredit: XAn air ambulance landed at the facility with Woffinden believed to have suffered a broken femurCredit: XIt’s being reported in Poland that the three-time World Champion has broken his femur, both hands and ribs while racing for his club Rzeszow.Woffinden, 34, was at Sheffield’s media event just three days ago.He was due to race his first meeting of the season in the UK on Thursday at Birmingham.Sheffield put out a statement today: “Sheffield Speedway are aware of a racing crash involving Tai Woffinden in Poland this afternoon.READ MORE ON SPORT”Out of respect for Tai and his family, we politely ask supporters not to respond to, or share, any rumours.”We will provide supporters with an official update when it is appropriate to do so.”The Scunthorpe-born racer has only just returned to the track after a serious elbow injury prematurely ended his 2024 season, also sustained in Poland in June.The crash in Krosno was his first competitive race meeting since that incident. Most read in MotorsportIn an X post on Saturday, he said: “Fun day on the tools tried some crazy s*** with the bikes. Some was good some was not but all in all nice to get a few starts from the tapes it’s only been 10 months.”Just a week ago at the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership media day, he told SunSport: “I’m racing a motorbike with no brakes. “I’m not in a car with a roll cage.“It comes with the sport. It’s what we do, it’s dangerous. “If you worry about getting injured when you race, you might as well quit. I love what I do, I enjoy it.“I’ve had a lot of injuries but I’ve got a lot to achieve still.“I want to win the British Championship and do the Grand Prix qualifiers and get back into the Grand Prix series.”Best wishes poured in from fans and his British team-mates. World No.2 Robert Lambert said: “Sending all my thoughts and prayers to Tai and his family after today’s horrific crash. Wishing you strength and a speedy recovery, brother. We’re all with you.”GB and Ipswich star Tom Brennan said: “Sending massive strength, support and love to Tai and his family after his accident today. We’re all thinking of you mate.”READ MORE SUN STORIESHis Polish club Rzeszow’s official Facebook page stated: “Our rider, Tai Woffinden, had a very serious accident during the seventh race in a sparring match in Krosno. “Tai was transported by helicopter to Rzeszów, where his condition is now being diagnosed by doctors. Detailed information will be provided after examinations.” More

KEITH TUCKER lives three metres from the legendary Bathurst 1000 race track, where cars can reach 190mph.He has even revealed it is like an earthquake each time a car comes past his property.
Chris Tucker lives next door to the Bathurst 1000 track
Horrific crash from 2015 right outside Tucker’s houseCredit: Fox Sports
The car flipped 10 times as it was clipped as it came down the straight
Driver Damien Flack fortunately survived the terrible accident
Tucker’s six-bedroom house sits on the Conrod Straight at Mount Panorama in Australia.
The property lies so close to the track that visitors are told not to stand too close to the fence in case a car loses control.
Back in 2015, driver Damien Flack was airlifted to hospital after a shocking accident which saw his car flip 10 times and burst into flames right outside Tucker’s house.
Incredibly the driver was conscious when medics rushed to him.
READ MORE ON SPORT
Flack suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung in the accident.
Running this weekend, the Bathurst 1000 is a 1,000 kilometre touring car race held in New South Wales.
Competitors complete 161 laps of the track, which passes right next to Tucker’s home.
His property boasts three bathrooms, a swimming pool with a view of the track and private tunnel that goes under the road.
Most read in Motorsport
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS
Racing fans can even stay for a visit, with a night at the house costing over £8,000-a-night.
However, they will have to wait as it is currently booked out five years in advance.
Guests are treated to front row seats to the race, though, with Tucker’s house regularly seen on TV as cars race past.
The view from the verandah is spectacular
The Bathurst 1000 race is held at the Mount Panorama circuitCredit: Getty
Tucker’s six-bedroom home backs onto track and can be rented on Airbnb
Speaking to Yahoo Sport, he explained: “We have people from the (Bathurst 1000) campsite who walk the track at night and see what we’ve got and ask how they can book and I’ve got to tell them to join a long waiting list.
“Our front fence is three metres from the track and the balcony is four metres away. The only place closer to the action is pit lane.
“It’s like an earthquake each time a car comes past…your whole body shakes.
“You get a real appreciation of the drivers’ skill and courage when you’re this close to it all.
“It’s the closest things to actually being in the driver’s cockpit.”
The Mount Panorama circuit opens for racing five times a year, with the Bathurst 1000 serving as the feature event on the calendar.
Cars have been racing around the track this weekend, with the event starting on Thursday and running through until Sunday.
Read More on The Sun
“You sit on the balcony and watch cars get impounded,” Tucker added.
“It’s only 60km/h along here but plenty can’t resist putting the foot down…they had some bloke the other day clocked at 220. The cops are always there waiting for them.”
The house comes with a swimming pool overlooking the track
Tucker says it is like an earthquake each time a car passes his house More

A BRITISH Speedway star was rushed to hospital following a horror crash and is currently “not very mobile”.Charles Wright was competing for Sparta Wroclaw in Poland at the weekend.
Charles Wright was rushed to hospital following his crashCredit: Instagram / @cwr_26
The British racer went crashing into the barriersCredit: twitter
Wright has since undergone surgeryCredit: twitter
He suffered an awful crash after clipping the back wheel of his competitor’s tyre as he took on the first bend.
It led to Wright losing control of his bike and he went flying into the barriers at high speed.
The 34-year-old was taken to hospital immediately and has suffered spine and rib fractures.
He also picked up neck, chest and arm damage.
READ MORE ON MOTORSPORT
Wright underwent surgery on his collarbone on Monday morning.
The former British champion is in a stable condition in a Wroclaw hospital but is in considerable pain and is struggling to move.
A fundraiser has been launched to support Wright and his family with him set to be sidelined for sometime.
He hopes to raise £2,000 and he has already secured £1,200 from generous and concerned supporters.
Most read in Motorsport
Fans were left fearing the worst after watching him spin-off the track, one said: “Fingers crossed Wright is okay.”
Another added: “Heal quick champ. Stay strong.”
The injury means Wright will miss the Ekstraliga play-offs.
He became individual British champion in 2019 and his recent great form saw him win the team trophy last year while at Belle Vue Aces.
Wright also raced for Somerset Rebels and the Redcar Bears during his lengthy career. More

A FORMER iconic UK stadium fell into disrepair before eventually being demolished.It was once one of the main sites in British motorsport and greyhound racing for 94 years.
This iconic stadium fell into disrepairCredit: YouTube/The Urban Collective
The rail was left broken and fell apartCredit: YouTube
The racetrack made a miserable demiseCredit: YouTube
The former stands overgrew with weedsCredit: YouTube/The Urban Collective
Speedway was a regular fixture at the Manchester arena from 1988 through to 2015.
But by 2020, the venue had been totally abandoned in a sad demise for the area.
And images of the derelict ground reveal how much of a state it was in before the work to destroy it got underway in May 2021.
The track was overgrown with weeds while the rail had fallen apart and broken up.
READ MORE IN SPORT
Further footage showed the abandoned hospitality suites, empty bars, wrecked rooms and damaged ceilings stuck in time since the doors closed for the final time to the public in 2020.
Elsewhere, the betting boards started to crumble and the control room looks like something from an apocalypse movie.
The famous ground is Belle Vue Stadium – home of the Belle Vue Aces speedway team until they moved to their purpose-built national stadium in 2016.
For nearly a century, though, it was one of the key stadiums for greyhound racing.
Most read in Motorsport
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023
It staged the first race around an oval track in Britain way back in 1926.
However, when the National Asset Management Agency sold Belle Vue Stadium to Crown Oil Pension Fund in 2014 for £2.6million, a 15-year, £249,000-per-year lease back was agreed.
But the tenancy included a clause which enabled the rent to be terminated early.
And in December 2019 planning permission was granted for a new housing estate to be built on the plot.
That prompted Belle Vue’s closure during the Covid pandemic before the bulldozers arrived the following year.
The abandoned ground looked totally wreckedCredit: YouTube/The Urban Collective
It closed its doors to the public in 2020Credit: YouTube/The Urban Collective
Bellue Vue Stadium was once a key home for greyhound racingCredit: Alamy
It was the home of the Belle Vue AcesCredit: Alamy
The stadium was located in South-East ManchesterCredit: Alamy More

THE world’s sexiest racing driver is a huge fan of Sir Lewis Hamilton.Lindsay Brewer competes in the USF Pro 2000 having discovered her love for motorsport aged 11 at a go-karting birthday party.
Lindsay Brewer is known as the world’s sexiest racing driverCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
She competes in the USF Pro 2000Credit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
She has built a 2.1million following on InstagramCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
Lindsay loves wowing her followers with bikini snapsCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
Lindsay is a big Lewis Hamilton fan and described the F1 star as a role modelCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
The driver is 19th out of 20 in the USF Pro 2000 overall standingsCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
The 25-year-old discovered her love for motorsport at a birthday party aged 11Credit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
And she is a driver of many talents, having built up a huge online following as well as completing a degree in business.
Brewer, 25, boasts 2.1million followers on Instagram alone, thanks in part to her penchant for posing in bikinis.
She often shares snaps from her adventures on the track and keeps fans updated on her races – over the weekend she competed at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.
She finished 18th, continuing her disappointing start to the season with the Colorado-based driver 19th out of 20 in the overall standings.
READ MORE IN SPORT
Despite that Brewer has amassed a huge social media following, something she admits is a “doubled-edged sword”.
In an interview with Racers Behind The Helmet she said: “I enjoy trying to showcase to people out there that pushing the boundaries is possible, and having a following does help get the message out there, especially in racing.

“I have a following across all the platforms I’m on, somewhere in the 3.5M range, and I try my best to use it to bring positivity and inspiration to the people who care to follow what I’m up to.
“The other edge of it, is obviously the negative connotations that are assigned to someone whom is still trying to produce results and whom has a following.
Most read in Motorsport
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST NEW CUSTOMER SIGN UP DEALS
“However, to those whom question my motives, if you’re a true motorsports fan I hope all those who are out there will understand that I’m passionate about this sport as a pro athlete, and I hope that my following will only encourage more people to be passionate about this sport as well.”
Brewer also spoke about her idols within motorsport, unsurprisingly pointing to Hamilton given his success in F1.
Asked who her role models are, Brewer said: “I would say Lewis Hamilton and the Andrettis.
“Nowadays I still am a big fan of Lewis, and of people like Romain Grosjean who made the move to Indycar and is doing a fantastic job of helping market the series and build the viewer base.
“I’ve grown up driving alongside a bit of the Indycar and F1 paddock, and it’s great to see people I’ve karted with who have gotten to where they are now.” More

COURAGEOUS Lee Complin once died FOUR TIMES and now feels he is reborn again as a speedway rider.The gritty Yorkshireman, 38, admits that he is lucky to still be alive after a horrific car crash in May 2008.
Lee Complin nearly died after a horror car crashCredit: Taylor Lanning
Lee Complin (left)in action for Peterborough PanthersCredit: Alamy
Complin flipped and rolled his Subaru Impreza on the A629 near Cullingworth, Bradford.
Medics arrived at the scene and pronounced him dead — but he was resuscitated and rushed into an ambulance.
He died three more times on the way to hospital and was saved each time.
After a month on a life support machine, he somehow walked out of hospital.
READ MORE SPORT NEWS
Nearly 15 years later, he has made a remarkable fightback to fitness and starts a new speedway season for Glasgow and Mildenhall over the next fortnight.
On the crash, Complin revealed: “I was in my Subaru Impreza in bad weather and can’t remember a thing. I must have hit a kerb, flipped and rolled.
“I was pronounced dead at the scene, I’d snapped my neck clean in half.
“They resuscitated me and then I died three times again on the way to the hospital in the ambulance.
Most read in Motorsport
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
“The doctors got my parents in to say goodbye to me.
“I was on a life support machine and in intensive care for a month. I wasn’t getting better.
“I wasn’t breathing for myself and every time they turned the machine off, I was going to die again.
“They gave my parents an ultimatum to either keep my machine on or turn it off.
“My mum was like, ‘No, you’re not turning it off’. My dad was, ‘Just turn it off’, as I wasn’t going to be able to function, walk, talk or eat even if I survived.
“They had to drill through my skull three times to take the pressure off my brain.
“But I made it through the night and, two weeks later, I had managed to become stable.
“They cleared an infection on my chest, I started breathing for myself and eventually I came round. They said it wasn’t possible.
“I was told I’d have to stay in hospital for a year and I had to rebuild myself.
“But just a month later, I returned back home on the train. I walked out of the intensive care unit and the doctors and nurses couldn’t believe it — they said it was a miracle.
“Doctors said the only reason I survived, defying all science, was because I was so fit.
“I didn’t drink or smoke and my neck was that muscly that when it snapped, my shoulders stopped it moving.
“Nothing scares me now because I believe everything happens for a reason. If I want something I’m going to do it as I shouldn’t really be here.”
Complin says some of his determination comes from  his anger at being picked on at school and how that made him eventually turn to building up his body.
He added: “I don’t like bullying but I was bullied at school and it wasn’t nice. Maybe it was because I was small at school and there were hard lads.
“There were like the rugby lads or football lads. I was football and  because I didn’t play rugby, I was called a pansy. We had this banter and then it got a bit tense.
“These rugby players were having a go and one time I just said, ‘Go on then’, and took them on.
“Obviously I lost because there were four of them. But then I did training for about five or six months, went back to school and they were doing it again to me.
“So again I told them, ‘Come on then’, and I did all four of them.”
Complin now knows he has one last chance at speedway after missing over a decade — and he clearly wants to make it work.
He added: “I had 11 years out from 2011 to 2022. I quit because I had family issues with my ex-partner. We had a child and it was difficult financially.
“The bodybuilding came after I had to finish speedway in 2011.
“I needed something to keep me busy and focused and I  started winning competitions.
“It’s about dedication and you have to bulk up to 16 stone and then you go into competitions at 11 or 12 stone.
“I had to eat 7,500 calories a day and in one sitting I’d have eight fried eggs and brown bread. I had to eat until I could not eat anymore.
Read More on The Sun
“But now I’m over the moon to be back racing and those 11 years out was the time I needed to find my path.
“I’m covered in tattoos and got one on my back after my car crash. It says, ‘What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger’.”
Lee Complin fought back from near death to race againCredit: Taylor Lanning
Complin’s car was wrecked, but thankfully he survivedCredit: Supplied More