It's a whole new Tai Woffinden

Wolves speedway ace Tai Woffinden is looking to put the fun back into his speedway after shedding physical and emotional weight.

A rigorous winter fitness campaign has left Woffinden looking lithe and pin-sharp.

And the decision of his mother Sue to sell the family home in Perth, Australia, following the death from cancer last year of husband Rob means the pair can now look forward.

Woffinden said: "I lost 11 kilos when I was in Australia. I wanted to lose 12. I got down to 59 kilograms, which means I lost 13!

"But I went dizzy a couple of times so I put two kilos on. I feel good at that. It was exercise to lose it and then diet to maintain it. I was running every day, apart from sometimes I'd miss a Sunday.

"The Sundays I had off I'd go to a festival or something, so I'd be on my feet all day anyway. The weather is so nice it encourages you to get out there anyway.

"I've been watching what I eat ridiculously, like not eating bread - no fizzy drinks, just water all the time. Salad, fruit, bit of meat here and there, some fish.

"I was obviously so happy to get back, because that's home for me. And yet it was tough, definitely tough, going back to the house. There was a lot of stuff there, like my dad's scooter that he renovated.

"Me and mum had a few moments, then mum decided that she wanted to sell the house. She sold it within two weeks, so that was pretty good.

"She put her money in the bank and she's come over here, so that was a massive move for my mum because she and dad spent all their time, 10 years plus, building that house and doing everything to it. When we bought it, it was just a shell.

"It was tough last year for me. Before my dad passed away I had accepted the fact, and almost imagined that he had already gone.

"Then when he passed away, it wasn't as hard on me. I dealt with it mentally before it all happened.

"But after I did that and dad passed away, every track I went to was 'I hope you're OK' and that made it worse for me.

"After it had all quietened down at the end of the season I got back to Australia and it was like he had passed away again.

"By the end of it I was good. I'm pretty happy that mum sold the house because it was a massive weight on her shoulders that she didn't need."

Woffinden, now out of the Grand Prix series, won't even contest the qualifiers this year and has also ruled out a return to the world under-21 championship.

He said: "I just want to focus on the league racing. I had such a bad year last year, mentally and physically.

"So I just want to have a year of enjoying it again."

Wolves star Fredrik Lindgren says the club's all-star top three must take the responsibility of leading the team.

Lindgren and young charger Woffinden have again been reunited with Peter Karlsson to spark memories of 2009's Elite League title triumph.

Under a 40-point team building ceiling, that trio looks as good as anything out there.

Lindgren said: "We should be strong at the top; that is how they have built the team.

"It's going to be responsibility for the top three guys, that is Peter, myself and Tai Woffinden.

"We've got to take on responsibility. Then what the other guys do will be a bit of a bonus, I guess.

"But they have to chip in as well to win matches for us. Play-offs is the minimum target.

"We want to win the league, that's why we race, but play-offs first."

New silencers are back after their abortive introduction last season, where riders complained of engine damage, and the Swede anticipates similar problems.

Lindgren said: "Basically we are in the same situation that we were a year ago. They are exactly the same products. We will have the same problems as we did.

"It's going to be an interesting start to the season, definitely. But we will have to work it out somehow. Obviously we have done a few meetings now and then on the silencers - I did the Grand Prix qualification on the new silencer last year.

"But no-one has really done week in, week out on them. Everyone is trying to find something that's working better. If someone can find it faster they will have a big advantage.

"I have got people working on it."