Dieses Interview hab ich von der SGP All Access Area rauskopiert.Is ganz interessant wie ich finde.Übersetzt hab ichs jetz nicht.Das wär mir zu viel.Aber mit dem Google Translator kann das jeder selber machen.Ist ganz leicht.
Q. Firstly Greg, after scoring four points at
the FIM Otomoto.pl European SGP in Leszno, you turned things around by
reaching the final in Gothenburg. Topping the heat scorechart in such
wet conditions must have been tough.
A."The track conditions were very wet and if
you didn't make the start, you didn't have much of a chance for a while
there. It was important we had a good set-up for the conditions and were
making good starts. It wasn't easy, of course, but it made it a lot
easier to get points.
"I made the best start possible in the final. It was a good gate, but
it wasn't good enough and it wasn't bad enough to make it possible for
me to turn it around."
Q. After leaving the FIM Dig Deep Swedish SGP
with 14 points, do you feel the Marketa Stadium in Prague is somewhere
you can produce another big performance?
A."Yes it is. I've had some good meetings
there and I've had some good, consistent scores over the years. You get
the odd bad one here and there, but we try not to make those too
frequent.
"It's one I really like. I've been there quite a few times and feel
that I know the place quite well.
"We've just got to keep fighting and I feel I've reached a major
turning point from the way things started in the first round. This is
going to be a really good one for me, I'm sure."
Q. With the likes of Kenneth Bjerre and
Jaroslaw Hampel emerging to challenge last season's World Championship
medal winners Jason Crump, Tomasz Gollob and Emil Sayfutdinov at the
top, some are calling this the most competitive series for some years.
It seems you just cannot have a bad round if you want to finish on top
this season.
A."No, you can't afford to do that. I think
you've seen the bad rounds for the guys already. Jason started off on
fire as always and had his bad round in Gothenburg. I had exactly the
opposite and it has tightened up the scores quite a bit.
"Nobody has run away with it all of a sudden and it's a level
playground. We'll start over again in Prague and keep the ball rolling.
"It's important to be in the final all the time. Consistency is the key
to the Grand Prix system, as it is in any sport like this. You've got
to be on fire and on the game."
Q. Are you surprised to see so many relatively
recent additions to the SGP field like Bjerre, Hampel and Chris Holder
emerging as real contenders in the Grand Prix series this year?
A."I'm not surprised at all. It's probably
long overdue for us to see some riders coming through and making the
break, rather than coming and going so quickly.
"Sayfutdinov set the standard for all the other younger riders who want
to get into the Grand Prix when he finished third last year. That's not
to say the other ones aren't as experienced, but he came in, showed
sheer determination and proved what he could do. Now the other guys
coming in want the same.
"There are a lot of guys coming into the game, who are not thinking
about the guys who are established or winning all the time. They're just
thinking about outdoing the ones at the same level and that's going to
be pretty impressive to watch in the years to come."
Q. Despite turning 40-years-old on June 3, you
don't look in any great hurry to move over for these young
whippersnappers, Greg. But how long do you feel you can carry on racing
at this level?
A."I'm determined to win and I believe I can
win. As long as I believe that in myself, then that's how long I'm going
to go on for. The day I wake up and feel I can't do it is the day I am
going to quit.
"I won't be one who goes on and on and drags it out. I don't want to be
remembered as the guy who should have quit ten years ago.
Q. When you do hang up your kevlars, it is
difficult to see an American rider who could come through and replace
you in the World Championship. Is there another Greg Hancock waiting in
the wings?
A."I don't know if there will be another Greg
Hancock. Hopefully not anyway! There may be something better!
"That's hard to say. There is a group of them coming through. But
America is a big place and there is so much going on and so many things
happening. I think a lot of kids get to a certain level and their
focused gets switched to something else bigger money or something else
altogether.
"The kid I believe has bags of talent and determination to make it
happen is in Britain right now (Stoke rider) Ricky Wells.
"He's finding it really difficult to find his feet at the moment, but
he's one of those guys who, once he figures it out, can go a long way.
He's very, very good with his equipment and very, very solid on the
track. He just needs some guidance and help to be steered in the right
direction."
Q. It cannot be easy leaving the States behind
and building a new life and career so far from home. How did you do it
all those years ago?
A."I did it with a lot of help. Guys like
Ricky don't have quite the experienced help we had. I spent my first
season living with (former American international) Lance King in his
house. I lived with (three-time world champion) Erik Gundersen and his
wife in my second season after his accident. That was in 1990.
"I've had the best people around me. I rode with (England World Cup
winner) Simon Cross for one year and I cannot say a negative thing about
my upbringing. I had it better than most and for one reason or another.
I've looked for good people who would take me on. I've never abused
that. I wanted to learn and I wanted to be fast.
"Nowadays things have changed so much. There are not that many
Americans over in Britain that Ricky can get help from.
"A lot of the guys on the teams are younger too, so they are all trying
to find their way together. That's another thing which makes it hard.
"Back in the day, I had Erik Gundersen, Jan O Pedersen and Simon Cross
all these big names and established riders helping me. Nowadays, you
can get a team with four or five relatively young guys and maybe one
older, experienced guy. They're all fighting for the top spot, rather
than giving the advice needed to help and bring up the guys.
"England is the training ground. It's the place you have to be to excel
in your career and get to the highest level. But if you don't have the
people there giving you the right advice or help day in, day out, it's
not so easy to do it on your own. However, determination will get you
there."
Q. A lot of your SGP rivals have opted to give
the British Elite League a miss. Riders like Jason Crump, Nicki
Pedersen and Tomasz Gollob no longer ride there. What prompted you to
quit the UK scene?
A."I was in the British league for around 17
years in total. The Swedish and Polish leagues have opened up
internationally and the Grand Prix is 11 rounds. So if you do all the
leagues, you're doing a minimum of 110 to 130 meetings a year. That's
not in one country you're all over the place.
"For me these days, I've found it's not necessary. It wasn't anything
to do with the money. It was the fact I wanted to focus my time and be
better rested and have more time to train and take care of my body. By
doing that, I had to give up one league, so I gave up the one that had
the most races.
"I had my base in Sweden by that time too. When I went away to England,
I was always going away from home. Well, my home away from home.
"When you're based in the UK, that's your spot and you're always coming
back to the UK. I was always going away and I felt I was on the go more
and more all the time.
"For me, it's the best decision I made for this point in my career to
cut those 35-40 meetings a year we were doing in the UK."
Q. I understand you have lived in Sweden since
2002. What are your main reasons for making it your base?
A."Well, my wife Jennie is from Sweden for a
start! I've always liked it there. I thought if I wanted to relocate
myself somewhere for a base, I could go there.
"It's beautiful I love the country and I love the people, the food,
the variety it's just a great place. I spent a lot of years in the UK
and thought it was time to try something else.
"But meeting my wife made it quite simple to go there. We've got all
our family around us, who can help and take care of the kids. It makes
it a home away from home."
Q. I heard you speaking to the locals in the
pits at the Ullevi Stadium. It sounds like you're pretty fluent in the
language now.
A."I'm not fluent, but I'm doing pretty well.
The more I speak, the better it is. My wife speaks Swedish to the kids
and around the house, so I hear it a lot. We speak a lot of English as
well, though."