VOL. 53 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 20, 2016 P73
trying to get into those top spots.
They have a heck of a system
going strong there. Even in the
U.S. we have a lot of great riders
coming up from junior speedway
right up until they're 18 years
old. Some are ready to come to
Europe, but, man, the biggest
issue is that a lot of them are a
little bit scared or maybe they're
a little bit hesitant to make the
jump across the water and leave
home and leave the lifestyle and
food and the culture and their
family and friends. We've had
a lot of success out of the U.S.
over the years starting with Jack
Milne in 1937 [Note: Milne was
the second-ever winner of the
Speedway World Champion-
ship], and then Bruce Penhall
[1981 and 1982 World Cham-
pion], and Sam Ermolenko [1993
Champion] and Billy Hamill
[1996 Champion] and myself. It's
been a good run, man.
How old were you when you
first went over to Europe to
begin racing there?
I was 18.
If a racer wants to make a
run at the FIM Speedway World
Champion, he has to look to,
and eventually station himself,
in Europe, doesn't he?
You know what? For sure.
You have got to be prepared to
sort of give up a lot of things,
and I think it's like that with any
kind of thing in life. If you want
to do something like this, you
can't be afraid. For me, I didn't
care. I just wanted to go. The
first opportunity I got, I was like,
"I'm out of here!" My dad gave
me a thousand bucks and said,
"That's all I can do for you, son.
Good luck. I'm sure you'll be
Probably no one
has sprayed more
champagne from a
speedway grand prix
podium than Hancock.
