Greg Hancock

Greg Hancock
Personal information
Nationality	USA
Date of birth	(1970-06-03) June 3, 1970
Place of birth	Whittier, California, USA
Nickname	Herbie
Website	greghancock.com
Current club information
British league	Poole Pirates
Polish league	Unia Tarnow
Swedish league	Piraterna
Czech league	PDK Grepl Mšeno
Career history
Cradley Heath Heathens Getingarna (SWE) Leszno (POL) Rospiggarna (SWE) Gniezno (POL) Coventry Bees Wroclaw (POL) Oxford Cheetahs Gdansk (POL) Reading Bulldogs Częstochowa (POL) Piraterna (SWE) Zielona Góra (POL) Tarnow (POL) Bydgoszcz (POL) Poole Pirates	1989-1996 1992-1994 1992-1994 1995-2009 1996-1997 1997-2001 1998-2004 2003-2005 2005 2006-2007 2006-2009 2010- 2010-2011 2012,2014 2013
Speedway Grand Prix statistics
2009 Number	4
Starts	all 133[1]
Podiums	36 (11-15-10)
Finalist	69 time
Winner	16 times
Individual honours
World Champion USA National Champion British Grand Prix Champion Czech Grand Prix Champion Polish Grand Prix Champion Danish Grand Prix Champion Australian Grand Prix Champion Norwegian Grand Prix Champion Latvian Grand Prix Champion Croatian Grand Prix Champion New Zealand Grand Prix Champion Elite League Riders Champion	1997, 2011 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004 2005, 2006, 2009 1995, 2004, 2011 1997, 2011 1997, 2008 2000 2002 2003 2006, 2009, 2013 2010 2012 1997
Team honours
World Pairs Champion World Team Cup Winner Swedish Elitserien Champion British League KO Cup Winner Craven Shield Winner Elite League Fours Winner Czech League Champion Danish League Champion Polish Div Two Champion	1992 1992, 1993, 1998 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002 1989 1997, 2000, 2005 1995 2000, 2009, 2010 1995 1998

Gregory Alan "Greg" Hancock (born June 3, 1970 in Whittier, California, USA)^[2] is an American motorcycle speedway rider.

He is a two time Speedway World Champion and a multiple World Team champion with USA, with whom he is currently captain. Hancock is the only rider to have appeared in every Grand Prix round since its creation in 1995.^[3]

He rode for the Swedish team Rospiggarna for 15 years, but since 2010 he has ridden for Piraterna from Motala, Sweden.

Early career

Greg first came to the United Kingdom at the end of the 1988 speedway season to ride exhibition races with fellow 18 year old Californian Billy Hamill. It was during this time that Greg agreed a deal to ride for Cradley Heath the following year – the same team that his mentor Bruce Penhall used to ride for. Greg was an instant success for Cradley in the British League. He also won gold medals for the USA in the 1992 World Pairs and World Team Cup. However due to injury and problems with the American Motorcyclist Association, Greg was not able to contest in the Individual World Championship until 1993. That year he went through to the World Final in Germany where he finished last place. In 1994, Greg again qualified for the last ever 'one off' World Final. He went into his last race needing a victory to become world champion but he finished third in the race and fourth overall on the night.

Grand Prix Years

In 1995 Greg finished in 4th place in the first year of the Grand Prix (GP). He won the final round, the British GP at the Hackney Wick Stadium. The following year he joined with fellow American and Cradley teammate Billy Hamill to form Team Exide. With this new found sponsorship, the two young Californian's began to dominate world Speedway. In 1996 Hamill won the World Title and Hancock finished with the bronze medal in third place. In 1997 Greg moved from Cradley Heath (due to the clubs closure) to the Coventry Bees. He won the first GP of the year in Prague and continued the season in the same form. He won the World Title (with Hamill finishing second for a Team Exide one two) and won the Elite League Riders' Championship.

In 1998 to Grand Prix format changed to a more cut throat elimination system. Greg did not fare so well and finished the year in sixth place but won win the World Team Cup with Hamill and Sam Ermolenko. The next year was even worse for Greg and he finished in 11th place in the Grand Prix. 2000 Saw Greg win his first Grand Prix since his title winning season and he finished a in fifth place and in 2001 he finished in 13th place. In 2002 Hancock won the last Grand Prix round in Australia and finished 6th overall. He went one better in 2003 finishing in 5th place after again winning the final round, this time in Haamar, Norway. The following Season Greg was back amongst the medals, finishing the season in third place. That year he won the British GP at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. In 2005 Greg slipped back to fifth in the world unable to win a GP. A 36 year old Greg finished the Grand Prix series in second place in 2006 and remained unbeaten in that year's World Cup but the USA did not qualify for the final as the rest of the team struggled. In 2007 Greg Finished in sixth place. Although he failed to win a GP, he finished in second place on three occasions. In 2008 Greg finished fourth overall in the Grand Prix series. He was on the podium four times, winning the Polish Grand Prix in Bydgoszcz.

Hancock finished the 2009 Speedway Grand Prix season in fourth position and achieved two podium places as runner up at the Danish Grand Prix and winner of the Latvian Grand Prix. He became the USA Speedway National Champion for the eight time in 2009 and was subsequently named as the Racing Athlete of the Year by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).^[4][5]

Greg finished 1st place in the 2011 Czech, British and Nordic Grand Prix. He secured the 2011 World Championship during the Croatian Grand Prix on September 24, reclaiming the title after a record 14 years at the age of 41 years and 113 days.

Personal

Greg lives in Costa Mesa, California. During the European speedway season he is based in Hallstavik, Sweden with his wife Jennie and 3 sons Wilbur, Bill, and Karl.^{[citation needed]}

World Final Appearances

• 1993 - Pocking, Rottalstadion - 16th - 2pts
• 1994 - Vojens, Speedway Center - 4th - 11pts^[6]

Speedway Grand Prix results

Year	Position	Points	Best Finish	Notes
1995	4th	82	Winner	Won in Britain
1996	3rd	88	3rd	Worst finish was 7th
1997	1st	118	Winner (twice)	Won in Poland and Czech Republic
1998	6th	69	4th
1999	9th	62	2nd
2000	5th	76	Winner	Won in Denmark
2001	13th	43	8th (twice)
2002	6th	122	Winner	Won in Australia
2003	5th	121	Winner	Won in Norway
2004	3rd	137	Winner	Won in Britain
2005	5th	100	2nd
2006	2nd	144	Winner	Won in Latvia
2007	6th	106	2nd (x3)
2008	4th	144	Winner	Won in Poland
2009	4th	121	Winner	Won in Latvia
2010	5th	107	Winner	Won in Croatia
2011	1st	165	Winner	Won Czech, British, Nordic and Polish.
2012	3rd	148	Winner	Won New Zealand
2013	4th	129	Winner	Won in Latvia
[7] See also United States national speedway team List of Speedway Grand Prix riders References ↑ Świat Żużla, No 2 (78) 2009, page 10, ISSN 1429-3285 ↑ Oakes, P.(2005). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN 0-948882-30-1 ↑ "Greg Hancock". Speedway Grand Prix. 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-18.  ↑ "Herbie Honoured". BSI Speedway. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-06.  ↑ "Speedway Champion Greg Hancock wins AMA Athlete of the Year award". American Motorcyclist Association. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-06.  ↑ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5 ↑ speedwaygp.com External links Greg Hancock web site Reading Racers Włókniarz Częstochowa Rospiggarna Zielona Gora 2011 Speedway Grand Prix riders 1 Gollob 2 Hampel 3 Crump 4 Holta 5 Hancock 6 Harris 7 Bjerre 8 Holder 9 Jonsson 10 Pedersen 11 Lindgren 12 Sayfutdinov 13 Laguta 14 Lindbäck 15 Kołodziej v t e Speedway World Champions 1936 - L. Van Praag 1937 - J Milne 1938 - B. Wilkinson 1949 - T. Price 1950 - F. Williams 1951 - J. Young 1952 - J. Young 1953 - F. Williams 1954 - R. Moore 1955 - P. Craven 1956 - O. Fundin 1957 - B. Briggs 1958 - B. Briggs 1959 - R. Moore 1960 - O. Fundin 1961 - O. Fundin 1962 - P. Craven 1963 - O. Fundin 1964 - B. Briggs 1965 - B. Knutsson 1966 - B. Briggs 1967 - O. Fundin 1968 - I. Mauger 1969 - I. Mauger 1970 - I. Mauger 1971 - O. Olsen 1972 - I. Mauger 1973 - J. Szczakiel 1974 - A. Michanek 1975 - O. Olsen 1976 - P. Collins 1977 - I. Mauger 1978 - O. Olsen 1979 - I. Mauger 1980 - M. Lee 1981 - B. Penhall 1982 - B. Penhall 1983 - E. Müller 1984 - E. Gundersen 1985 - E. Gundersen 1986 - H. Nielsen 1987 - H. Nielsen 1988 - E. Gundersen 1989 - H. Nielsen 1990 - P. Jonsson 1991 - J. Pedersen 1992 - G. Havelock 1993 - S. Ermolenko 1994 - T. Rickardsson 1995 - H. Nielsen 1996 - B. Hamill 1997 - G. Hancock 1998 - T. Rickardsson 1999 - T. Rickardsson 2000 - M. Loram 2001 - T. Rickardsson 2002 - T. Rickardsson 2003 - N. Pedersen 2004 - J. Crump 2005 - T. Rickardsson 2006 - J. Crump 2007 - N. Pedersen 2008 - N. Pedersen 2009 - J. Crump 2010 - T. Gollob 2011 - G. Hancock 2012 - C. Holder 2013 - T. Woffinden v t e Reading Racers Squad 2007 (British Elite League) Matej Žagar Janusz Kołodziej Travis McGowan (c) Mark Lemon Zdeněk Simota Krzysztof Buczkowski Jonas Davidsson Also rode Greg Hancock Danny Bird Andy Smith Phil Morris Manager Tim Sugar Persondata Name Hancock, Grelive Alternative names Short description American speedway rider Date of birth 1970-06-03 Place of birth Whittier, California, USA Date of death Place of death