VOL. 51 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 14, 2014 P23
"For me, the biggest
European idol I had
when I started out was
Erik Gundersen. I want-
ed to be Erik Gunder-
sen. I had the chance to
live with him and follow
in his footsteps as best I
could. I wanted to show
what I'd learnt from guys
like that. I got a great
message from Erik a
pretty happy I got that slap right
now. After New Zealand, I knew I
had to play to my ability. I knew I
couldn't be somebody I wasn't. I
just went back to basics and we
started building from that point
on. The momentum grew, the
bikes got better. The bikes were
already good, but I think I started
to work better with my equipment
at that stage. The bikes were
great. It was just me; it was the
man who was over-confident at
that stage. I had to back myself
down and realize you're only as
good as your last race."
Hancock's third title win also
saw him become the first rider
to win the GP series after having
missed a round. He sat out the
Nordic SGP at Vojens, Denmark
on September 13 after suffering
multiple fractures to his left index
finger at the Gorzow SGP of Po-
land on August 30.
"These things are challenges
and the injuries are hurdles,"
Hancock said. "The way I look
at it is as long as it's not some
kind of threatening-type injury, I'll
carry on. You know you're going
to have the knocks, the bumps
and the bruises. You have to fight
on and get over those things.
There's nothing wrong with the
heart! The heart is running well. I
have all the heart there is and the
ambition to do it. As long as the
body holds up, I can do this. The
mind is still probably too young
for the body, but that's okay. I
keep myself in good shape and I
have the desire to win."
John Hipkiss
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN
HIPKISS
"THE MIND IS STILL PROBABLY TOO
YOUNG FOR THE BODY, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
I KEEP MYSELF IN GOOD SHAPE AND I
HAVE THE DESIRE TO WIN."
- GREG HANCOCK
couple of days ago. He just told
me to 'go out and do what I do.'
He was watching on TV and he's
like my Danish father!"
Hancock admits the huge
turning point in his season came
just three races in at the season-
opening New Zealand GP in
Auckland in April. After three last
places, he revived his night with
two heat wins.
"I worked really hard last win-
ter," he said. "I felt we had found
the right everything to win. I felt
so sure I was going to win in
Auckland, so that was the best
slap in the face I ever had. I went
back to the drawing board and I'm
Hancock leads Andreas
Jonsson in a heat race
en route to a fifth-place
finish in Poland.
