California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Cradley Heathens Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National L ...

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a second division starting in 1968 (which was renamed the ...

Brandon stadium Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Satur ...

averaging In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

Pocking Pocking (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Bocking) is a town in the district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austrian border. History A Roman settlement was founded in the a ...

Sam Ermolenko Guy Allen 'Sudden Sam' Ermolenko (born November 23, 1960 Maywood, California) is a former speedway rider. In 1993 he won the Speedway World Championship in Pocking, Germany.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway ...

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Greg Hancock. 1995 saw a change in the Speedway World Championship with a Grand Prix system now in place. As he had only been seeded as first reserve for the series, Hamill only managed two rides in the Opening round in Wroclaw,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. However he won the second round in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

, Austria and eventually finished fifth in the series, won by Denmark's Hans Nielsen. He also finished top of the British League averages in 1995.

World title (1996)

The 1996 season again saw Hamill riding for the Heathens (though now they were riding a Stoke's Loomer Road stadium as they had been evicted from their Dudley Wood home) and again he topped the British league

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

s. In the Grand Prix, Hamill joined forces with Cradley teammate Hancock to create Team Exide. Hamill had been the main challenger to defending champion Nielsen all season and went into the final round in

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway World Champion.

1997–99

In 1997, Hamill had to leave

Cradley Heath Cradley Heath is a town in the Rowley Regis area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England approximately north-west of Halesowen, south of Dudley and west of central Birmingham. Cradley Heath is often confused with t ...

as the team folded, and he joined the

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wi ...

in Britain's Elite League. The defence of his World title started off promisingly with a second place in the opening round in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

behind fellow American and Team Exide race partner Greg Hancock. Unfortunately for Hamill this was to be an indication of how the season was to map out as he trailed his countryman all season to finish with the Silver Medal, as Hancock became the third American World Speedway Champion in five years. Although happy with how he had performed in the defence of his title, Hamill was determined to regain his title in 1998. The 1998 season saw another new British Elite League team (the

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Souther ...

) and another promising start to his Grand Prix campaign finishing second and then third in the opening two rounds. However the latter part of the season Hamill slipped down the Grand Prix placings going into the last round in Bydgoszcz with no chance of claiming the title. Worse was to follow though as Hamill was injured in a controversial collision with Australia's

Jason Crump Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion. In a 21-year career in Speedway, Jason ...

, leaving Hamill nursing a broken back. Ironically with Hamill unable to take part in the rest of the meeting, Crump and Hamill finished level on sixty-two points and Crump snatched the final seeded place for the 1999 Grand Prix series on a countback. The silver lining to the season was a 4th World Team Cup win with team USA, in Vojens Denmark. Hamill had recovered from his injuries in time for the 1999 campaign although he did not return for Coventry until a month into the season. A change in format for the Grand Prix series from sixteen to twenty-four riders also meant he was granted a seeded place into the series. Hamill struggled after returning injury and found points hard to come by for most of the season. However, in the final round of the Grand Prix, signs of returning to his best were clear as he finished fifth in Vojens and during the Speedway Grand Prix Qualification he won the GP Challenge, which ensured that he claimed a permanent slot for the 2000 Grand Prix.

2000–02

2000 saw Hamill fully recovered from his back injuries and again challenging the world's best. He won the opening round of the Grand Prix series in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

and the final round in Bydgoszcz, the very same place where he had suffered his injuries two years previous. He finished the series in second place on ninety-five points, just seven behind eventual champion Mark Loram. Hamill went into the 2001 season having joined Team Roberts and highly optimistic that he could regain the World Title. But the opening two rounds of the season where both on "temporary" tracks within bigger soccer style stadiums. These man made tracks did not complement Hamill's style and he picked up only eight out of a possible fifty points. He did have a strong finish to the season winning again in Prague and finishing fourth in Bydgoszcz, yet after such a promising 2000 campaign Hamill was disappointed to finish sixth overall in 2001. The

United States national speedway team The United States national speedway team are an international speedway team from the United States who compete in the annual major international speedway competitions including the Speedway World Cup and Speedway of Nations and the former events t ...

had qualified for the 2001 Speedway World Cup Final at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

in Wrocław, though Hamill originally wasn't part of the team. This changed two days before the final when Sam Ermolenko fell in his final ride of the Race-off and was injured and unable to take his place in the World Cup Final. Hamill answered the call and joined teammates Greg Hancock, Brent Werner, Billy Janniro and John Cook in Poland. Despite having to ride Ermolenko's bike as his own was unavailable, Hamill led the team with 13 points on the night, the US finished 5th and last in the final. 2002 turned out to be Hamill's swansong in the Grand Prix. Five of the tracks in the now ten round series were temporary tracks and he struggled to really challenge the medal positions. A third place in the penultimate round in Vojens showed he could still mix it with the best. Even though he had qualified by right for the 2003 series he declined the opportunity to take part and the final round in Sydney Australia turned out to be his last ever Grand Prix.

2003–2008

After retiring from the Grand Prix series, Hamill concentrated on his league racing in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, Sweden and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He rode one more season for the

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Souther ...

before moving on to the

Oxford Cheetahs The Oxford Cheetahs are a British speedway teamLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 200 ...

and then on to Cradley Heath's bitter rivals the

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 20 ...

in 2006 and 2007. 2007 saw Hamill became USA National Champion for the fifth time, defeating Greg Hancock. Hamill retired from racing in Europe at the end of the 2007 and returned to his home in California. He started racing in the 2008 Californian season but was injured in a race fall and has missed most of the season. He returned to international competition in 2012, scoring ten points in the USA's victory in the first round of the Speedway World Cup. In September 2012 he became the US champion for the sixth time.

USA Team Manager

In 2013 Billy became the Manager of Team USA Speedway and successfully guided the team through to Event 2 of the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup at King's Lynn after topping the scorecard at the qualifying round in Miskolc, Hungary. Hamill lives with his wife Christina and his children Margi and Kurtis in Southern California since retiring from the European scene. He also organises the Gumball Rally for infant through to teenage riders, as well as running the Billy Hamill Speedway Academy, attempting to make USA a dominant force in World Speedway again in the future.

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

*

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

- Gothenburg, Ullevi - 12th - 6pts *

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

-

Pocking Pocking (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Bocking) is a town in the district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austrian border. History A Roman settlement was founded in the a ...

, Rottalstadion - 10th - 7pts * 1994 -

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - Reserve - 1ptBamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

World Team Cup

*

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

- Pardubice, Svítkov Stadion - Winner - 37pts (4) *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

-

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - 3rd - 28pts (9) * 1992 -

Kumla Kumla is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Kumla Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with a population of 21,640 as of 2018. Geography Kumla is situated roughly 15 kilometres south of neighbouring city Örebro, and is connected t ...

,

Kumla Speedway The Glottra Skog Arena or Sannaheds Motorstadion is a 15,000-capacity motorcycle speedway stadium, south of Kumla in Sweden. The Arena is the home venue of the speedway team called Indianerna who race in the Eliserien, which is the highest lea ...

- Winner - 39pts (10) *

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

-

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

,

Brandon Stadium Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Satur ...

- Winner - 40pts (10) * 1994 -

Brokstedt Brokstedt is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...

, Holsteinring Brokstedt - 5th - 17+1pts (0) *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

- Bydgoszcz, Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium - 3rd - 19+3pts (2) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

-

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - Winner - 28pts (16) * 1999 - Pardubice, Svítkov Stadion - 3rd - 29+3pts (6) *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

-

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

,

Brandon Stadium Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Satur ...

- 3rd - 35pts (10)

World Cup

* 2001 -

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

,

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

- 5th - 30pts (13)

Speedway Grand Prix results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamill, Billy 1970 births Living people American speedway riders Individual Speedway World Champions Coventry Bees riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders Cradley Heathens riders Belle Vue Aces riders

Career

Early career

1991–95