IN
THE
WIND
P22
HANCOCK: WORLD CHAMPION AGAIN!
C
alifornian Greg
Hancock ripped
up the record books
once again as he rode
to his third FIM Speed-
way World Champi-
onship at the Borygo
Torun FIM Speedway
Grand Prix of Poland
on Saturday night. The
1997 and 2011 World
Champion broke his
own record by becom-
ing the sport's oldest
champion at 44 years
and 130 days - as
well as becoming the
first American to win
speedway's biggest
prize three times.
The Swedish-based hero
joined silver-medalist and Bo-
rygo Torun GP winner Krzysztof
Kasprzak of Poland on the World
Championship rostrum, as well
as fellow triple world champ
Nicki Pedersen, who beat Great
Britain's Tai Woffinden in a run-
off for the bronze medal.
And despite Hancock's young-
er rivals giving it their all to chase
him down, the Whittier, Califor-
nia-born racer already has ambi-
tions to chase title number four.
"If I wasn't confident, I wouldn't
say I'm going to ride next year,"
Hancock said. "Being world
champ feels sweet every time. It
still feels like it's sinking in. The
adrenaline is dropping now, but
the actual sensation of being the
champ is finding its place. It's an
incredible feeling. It really is.
"Every year I ride, the biggest
carrot at the end is to win the
World Championship. The first
one was fantastic; the second
one was amazing and this is un-
real."
Hancock, who was only de-
nied a chance to win the Borygo
Torun GP by a flat tire in his semi-
final, learned his trade from some
of the sport's all-time greats.
He inherited his iconic No.45
from fellow countryman and dou-
ble world champ Bruce Penhall
before moving to Europe, where
mentor and fellow three-time
World Champion Erik Gunder-
sen helped set him on the road
to stardom.
While Hancock has joined
them as a speedway legend in
his own right, he admits they re-
main a huge inspiration to him.
"Guys like Bruce Penhall and
Mike Bast were my heroes grow-
ing up," Hancock said. "They
were National Champions. Lance
King showed me the ropes when I
first came to Europe. These guys
gave me the inspiration and Bruce
inspires me to this day. I get mes-
sages from him before and after
each Grand Prix still today. They're
there to push you as much as cel-
ebrate with you. It's awesome.
They continue to be heroes.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN
HIPKISS
Greg Hancock won his third World
Speedway Championship on
Saturday night at the age of 44.
