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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127993
(Left) Hamill (2) and his Team Exide teammate Greg Hancock (1) chase Ryan Sullivan at the British GP. Hamill is regarded as one of the most spectacular riders in speedway and, as such, commands a high price. But he flatly denies rumors that he priced himself out of a job. (Below left) Happy days: Hamill (left) made his debut on the World scene by earning a spot on the now-defunct Cradley Heath Heathens team in 1990, under the tutelage of three-time World Speedway Champion Erik Gundersen (right). (Below) The end of the dynamic duo?: Hamill (left) and Hancock (right) had a spectaCUlar run as Team Exide, but their high points averages make it unlikely that they will ever ride together on the same team again, even if Hamill does land a spot in British speedway. ed to cost riders their jobs. Now Hamill is moving from England, where he has spent most of his time since moving to Europe in 1990, to start a new life for himself and his family in Sweden. The Hamill family home in Tamworth, Staffordshire, is being rented out. '1 have my commitments in Sweden and Poland to honor now, and they have to be my first priority," Hamill said. "I have changed my whole life and uprooted my family because of not getting a team place in the Elite League, but [have never said 1 wouldn't ride in England this year if the chance arose. I'm SO disappointed at how things have worked out, and it would be great to be found a place in Britain if and when teams decide to rebuild. It would be awesome if 1 could ride for Coventry again, but I'm not going to get excited until something concrete happens." It seems that Hamill's 1998 average of 9.96 (as well as those of any other rider who didn't start the British season) could be subject to a 12.5-percent increase at the discretion of the British . Speedway Management Committee if a League team did decide to utilize his services. Hamill believes such an imposition would be unjust, particularly as he is returning from last year's serious back injury. He missed the final stages of the 1998 season after shattering a vertebra in the Polish Grand Prix at Bydgoszcz. "Most riders who have come back after spinal injuries have had their averages reduced," Hamill said. "I can't believe they would increase mine." Hamill has also hit back at the rumor machine, which suggested he had priced himself out of the British market by over-the-top wage demands. "The only serious club that lever spoke to was Hull," Hamill said. "I never had serious talks with Hull, but they were the only people who actually made a serious bid for me. Peterborough never did. Poole ·never did. That was a lie. Poole and I, we never negotiated or talked money at all, so that's totally unfair for anyone to say that 1 was too expensive, because I never went into negotiations with anyQod.y, as far as that goes." Hamill said tha t his talks with Hull actuall y took place last December. At that point, he didn't know the extent of his fitness or when he was going to be back, as he was still trying to rehab his back injury. "1 know Graham Jones (the Hull manager), and 1 have a lot of respect for him, but I was still hoping something could be worked out with Coventry," Hamill said. "I mean, that was the most logical place to be. 1 don't see how people could "it there and say 1 have asked for too much money when they didn't even talk to me. If you have topped the league averages three years in a row and finished second last year, 1 think that's worth something. [ think 1 am an asset to a team and, of course, I want to be paid for tha t, but it's totally ludicrous that anybody can say I was (asking for) too much money, because [ never had any negotiations." Hamill admits he could see the problem coming as early as last November, when the British Speedway Promoters' Association decided to slash the points limit after a financial disaster last year. "I knew back in November that 1 could have a problem," Hamill said. "1 talked to Coventry, and they told me the situation - they have been up-front with me all along. My idea then was to cut back in one of the leagues, but 1 didn't plan on it being the British League. I thought it would be Sweden or Poland. Now I'm really depending on those people. I wanted to concentrate on England, and I wanted to slow down a bit. I've been with my Swedish club, Smedema, for eight years now, and in Poland I'm going into my fourth season with Grudziadz. And I've only moved in England because Cradley Heath closed down, so I have always been loyal to a club as long as they are loyal to me. It's important to get yourself in a comfortable situation as a rider and work with people you know. To me, it's far easier." Hamill is looking to be positive while at the same time expressing his disappointment over the British situation. "I'm very concerned about the situation personally, but at the same time I'm determined to make it work for me," Hamill said. "I have never done it any. other way, so 1 honestly can't tell you what will happen this year, but I'm determined to make it work. I wanted to cut back, but not so much the racing that wasn't the problem. [ don't like to fly. That was the major factor. But 1 love to race motorcycles. That's what I love to do." Hamill has every reason to believe he can be as succe~sful as ever when he does get into his regular racing schedule. Despite the back injury last year, he has hit back in style and has raced one meeting in England already, the Simon Wigg Farewell at Oxford. It was a meeting arranged by Wigg, the former World Long Track Champion, who has been forced to quit the sport through illness. "It was great to be back on a bike again," Hamill said. "There's a certain amount of - I don't know what to say mlxiety when you are coming back from that sort of injury. I'm sure it will be like that for the first couple of meetings. There's a certain a mOun t of anxiety which goes along with it, but I have a lot of experience. 1 feel like I'm about 85 percent of the way there. I still have got to refine myself, and that will just happen in time. Hopefully I can get through enough meetings to where I can go into that first Grand Prix. I have got an open mind about it. The decks are being stacked against me, but 1 think UUS is where I excel." Hamill has forthright views on the current setup in British Speedway, with the Elite League featuring several riders well below World-class standards. "Let's put it this way: I don't see how they can call it an Elite League when Elite riders are sitting on the sidelines," Hamill said. "It's devaluing the league, but I don't want to say anything negative about British speedway. 1 refuse to get into that. 1 don't think it's good for the sport. Speedway doesn't need it. It's not going to do British speedway any good and it's not going to do me any good. I prefer to take a diplomatic stance on it and hope everything works out. Obviously, I wish I was part of it." _ ... N >2:' 37