Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

wa s helpful because ';'e could sh are workshop facilities. Bu t, again, he had a bad inju r y which almos t ended hi s car eer." After stru gglin g for the first two seaso ns, Hancock finally got his bearings, and he began to tum a lot of heads as a . potential speed way superstar. Accord ing to him , determinati on wa s the key. That attitu de sta ved with him as he se t his sigh ts on the pinnacle of the spo rt . "I always kn ew I w anted to go over to England, and I'm so pl eased that I have," Hancock sa id. " I loo k at what some of th e o th er g uys in m y s ch o o l cla ss are doing, and I think to my self that I probably have the bes t a n d m o st interestin g lifes tyle. A few years ago, we got toge the r with so me o f our old class ma tes, a n d they w e r e all intere sted in what I w as d oing. I kno w I'm no chief execu tive of a maj o r co m pa ny, but I a m no w a World Cham pion, and I am lovin g every minute of my life." A nd it is a life th at lea ves precious few m inutes fo r leis u re tim e, especia lly d u r ing th e su mme r. mont hs. Ju st as in yea rs past , Han cock see ms to hav e spe nt most of 1997 either on a speedway bike o r o n a n airplane - he rid es regularly in Poland and Sweden as well as England. "It' s a great lifes tyl e, but yo u have to pla n yo u r d iary very carefu lly, and th at ' s w he re I h av e h ad h elp from Joanne," .Han cock said. "I also need to stay mentall y and ph ysically fit to cope wi th all the travelling, but I thrive on a bu sy sched ule and I always en joy riding fo r m y te am s . I rem ember th e time w hen I first signed a contrac t to ride in Poland and Sweden, and I was very nervo us abo u t everything . I knew I had to de ve lop int o a goo d rider to ea rn a place in those leag ues, and on ce I had d one well at C radley, the chances came - but I was rea l scared. I cou ld write a book o n some of the experiences I have enjoyed abroad - the language barrier in Poland an d Sweden has pro ved in teresting o n occasion!" 38 Meanwhile, Ha ncock a nd Hamill have broken a few barriers of their own in Grand Prix .racing wi th the introduction of a Formula One-style racing team. Two years ago, the two Americans got together to form Team Exide, with the backing of the Exide Battery group. Naturally, it sparked ta lk from the cynics, who accused the pair of " team racing" in the "i ndivi d ua l" Wo rld C h a m p ionship events - but nothin g could be furt her fr om th e tru th , according to Ha ncock. "We just la ug h at th e p eople w ho snap at us," Hancock said . "Some other guys should look at us an d ge t off their bums to d o so me thing sim ilar. We hav e b rough t co r pora te s ponso rs hip in to speedway, and so me of the othe r riders could do worse th an do li k e w ise . Ins tea d , they prefer to sit d o wn a nd moan abou t w hy they lose races. Billy and I have achieved so mu ch, and I was ge nuinely pl eased for Billy to w in th e title last yea r - it gave me a tast e of what was to come." And for Han cock, the things to come include pr eparing for the biggest year of 'his career - not just becau se he is World Champion! In Novembe r he'll mar ry his Ipng time gi rlfriend , Joa nne Dews. This will be followed by his testi monial year in British Speedway, a traditional occurrence in w hich a rider has his own meeting to celebra te 10 seasons in England . " It ' s a big yea r fo r m e," H a nco ck (Below) Jedi tra ining: Hancock (left) was all but predestined lor speedway greatness, as the youngster was sponsored in his days as a Junior by two-time World Champion Bruce Penhall. . (Above) After winning the U.S. Junior National Championship in 1985, Hancock made the jump to big bikes. He was moderately successful, but his big break came when he was Invited to England lor some exh ibition races In 1988. He has . been there ever since. (Below) Greg Hancock today: at 27 years old, World Speedway Champion. said. "It would have been big without be in g Wo rld C hampion, but now it's eve n bigger , and it's all like a fairy tale coming tru e for me. I have been with Joa nne for a long time, and she is prepared to come to America when I quit sp eedw ay. She is a spe cia l person who has given me so much moti vation - not just in the sport, but in life. "And for anybody to have a testimonial meeting is very exciting," Hancock said. "Sadly, my meeting will no t be at Crad ley, because they are looking for a new track a fte r a hou sing company bo ugh t the s ta di u m, although the re is still a cha nce th e cl ub could get back ther e. My dream woul d have been to have m y meeting at Du dl ey Wood Stad iu m , because that p lace has so m uch trad iti on, with Bru ce Penhall, Bobby Schwa rtz , La nce King, and now Billy a nd me all racing for C rad ley. When you are at a club for so long, you ge t to know the peo pl e. The supporters w ho pay their mon ey through the turnstiles are the people who pa y our wages." It is sa fe to say th a t Greg Ha ncock has succeeded o n all fro nts, but more tests lie in store for him . The next is to stay at the fore fro n t and become only the seco nd Ame rica n ever to win backto-b ack World C ha mpionshi ps - just like his friend and mentor, Bruce Penhall . The next step, that second World Cham pionship, is exponentially more difficu lt, but Hancock has certainlv shown that he has the character, skill and class to stay where he is. And tha t is on top of the world. 1"X

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