VOL. 53 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 16, 2016 P35
"That had been a long time
coming," he said. "Every year I
come here, I want to win and I've
never managed to have a great
meeting in this place. But today
I did and it makes it all worth the
wait.
"Everyone knows I have a
big tie to this country. Having a
Swedish wife and our kids is one
thing. But there are a lot of spon-
sors and mechanics who have
worked for me here.
"There are so many people
who have helped me here. They
make me feel right at home,
even when we're just here for
the season. This goes out to
them. I really, really owe it to
them. They have always been
there and always supported me.
I just want to say thank you—
there's more to come."
Hancock has now won FIM
Speedway Grand Prix rounds in
11 different countries, and this
was a hard-earned triumph after
he battled past Doyle to hit the
front in the final.
"All I could think is I wanted to
keep building momentum and
not try to do anything too fast,
otherwise I could have killed off
the speed, given the way I had
the bikes set up," Hancock said.
"Doyle was there all the time
and I kept waiting for him to shut
the door. But I think he felt quite
comfortable where he was.
"I just managed to get one
good corner out of it where he
saw me. I managed to push him
up and make a nice cutback.
Plan B had to come into action
quickly and it worked."
Doyle was delighted to have
overcome a back injury suffered
last Tuesday to claim second
place on the day and retain third
place in the standings.
"I struggled with an injury that
has been playing on my mind
since Tuesday," Doyle said.
"I hurt my back, so I didn't do
practice. Maybe that was a good
thing because it rained on Sat-
urday and the track was totally
different. If someone said to me
I'd have 17 points from the Malilla
Grand Prix, I'd have bitten their
hand off."
Third-placed Pawlicki admits
he exceeded his own expecta-
tions as he reached the rostrum
in his first SGP final.
John Hipkiss
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN
HIPKISS
(Left) John Hancock leads the way
at the Swedish SGP.
(Right) For the first time, Hancock
got to celebrate a victory at his
"second home" in Sweden.
