Team USA Led By Billy Hamill Finishes Strong in Speedway World Cup Held in Poland

Coached by former Speedway World Champion Billy Hamill, Team USA consisted of two-time world champ Greg Hancock, Ricky Wells, Gino Manzares, and 17-year-old Max Ruml

Motorcycle Speedway racing, more commonly referred to as Speedway, can trace its roots back to the 1920’s. The exact origins are unknown, but evidence shows types of Speedway racing being practiced in the United States before World War I and in Australia in the late 1910’s. Despite roots in North America and Australia, modern Speedway racing is most popular in central and northern Europe.

Team USA Coach Billy “The Bullet” Hamill is a Speedway legend with World Team Cup wins on Team USA in 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1998 with an individual world championship in 1996

Americans unfamiliar with Speedway racing might confuse the sport with AMA Grand National Championship Motorcycle Flat Track racing. However, the similarities between Speedway and Flat Track pretty much end with both types of competition being held on a dirt oval track. Speedway motorcycles are regulated by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and must comply with a strict set of rules. Speedway bikes have no brakes and are powered by 500cc single cylinder engines, use only one gear, and burn pure methanol.

The 500cc single cylinder, methanol burning, Speedway motorcycles used by Team USA in the 2014 Monster Energy Speedway World Cup were equipped with a K&N High-Flow Air Filter

The Monster Energy Speedway World Cup (SWC) is an International competition held over the course of one week. Each team represents a country with only the top nine teams qualifying for the Monster Energy Speedway World Cup. The home country hosting the event is automatically granted a spot in the SWC. For 2014 the Monster Energy Speedway World Cup was held in Bydgoszcz, Poland with teams from Denmark, Australia, Great Britain, Sweden, the United States, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Italy filling the nine open spots.

The owner of Joker Machine builds Billy Hamill's Speedway motorcycles for local racing and are the same bikes used by Team USA in the 2014 Monster Energy Speedway World Cup

Billy Hamill has been coaching Team USA since 2013 and that year the team saw its best Monster Energy Speedway World Cup finish since 1998. Billy “The Bullet” Hamill is a Speedway legend with World Team Cup wins on Team USA in 1990, 1992, 1993 and again in 1998. As an individual he won the World Championship in 1996 and is a six time USA National Champion.

For 2014 the four-rider team consisted of two-time World Speedway Champion and team captain Greg Hancock, along with three younger riders who have performed well in the U.S. Nationals and U.S. Under 21 (U21) Nationals. Ricky Wells is only 23 and already has a U.S. National Championship and two U21 U.S. Championships under his belt. Gino Manzares recently celebrated his twenty-first birthday and like Wells, he has a list of accomplishments including one Long Track U.S. National title and a U21 U.S. national title to his name. The youngest on the team is Max “Mad Max” Ruml. At only 17-years old Ruml is credited with two U21 National Championships and was chosen as a last minute replacement on Team USA due to another rider becoming injured.

Team USA started The 2014 Monster Energy Speedway World Cup in the first round event, sort of like a quarter final composed of four teams, and finished in second place behind Great Britain. Australia and Italy finished third and fourth respectively. Great Britain would automatically advance to the 2014 SWC finals, with Team USA and Australia moving to the SWC Race Off.

In the Race Off Team USA’s Greg Hancock scored an amazing 21 points, far more than any individual rider in the 2014 SWC Race Off. As a veteran of the sport and two-time World Champion, Greg Hancock’s dominance of the 2014 SWC Race Off made his country proud. However, the Monster Energy Speedway World Cup is a team event, and Hancock’s fellow Americans didn’t fare quite as well in the Race Off. Ryan Wells managed to score four points, Ruml scored just one point, and Manzares finished the Race Off without any points to his name. Team USA accrued 26 points which earned them third in the SWC Race Off and sixth overall in the 2014 Monster Energy Speedway World Cup.

While Ruml and Manzares were very hard on themselves, Hancock remained positive. “Gino and Max are a massive inspiration. They were beating themselves up in Bydgoszcz and they really don’t need to. When you get the opportunity to race for your country, you don’t want to let anybody down. They’re not letting us down. They’re doing us proud because they’re doing it for our country and they’ve got years ahead of them,” said Hancock.

Team USA’s finish secured a spot for them again in the 2015 Monster Energy Speedway World Cup. “The good thing is we’re back here next year. I’ll join these boys. Together we can go places, so I look forward to riding with them again,” said team captain Greg Hancock.

For 2014 Team USA sponsors include Monster Energy, Joker Machine, Redline Oil, American Motorcyclist Association, Hagon Shocks, Mutt Lynch’s, RF Racing, Arai helmets, Oakley goggles and Transatlantic Motorsport. Each Team USA Speedway motorcycle competing in the 2014 Monster Energy Speedway World Cup was equipped with a K&N Performance Air Filter.