Billy Hamill
Billy Hamill was born in Arcadia, California, United States on May 23rd, 1970 and is the Race Car Driver. At the age of 54, Billy Hamill biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 54 years old, Billy Hamill physical status not available right now. We will update Billy Hamill's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.
William Gordon "Billy" Hamill (born 23 May 1970, in California, United States) is an American international motorcycle speedway rider.
He is a former Speedway World Champion, winning the title in 1996.
Career
Hamill began racing in California in 1983 and then became a professional in 1986. He departed California in 1990 to compete for Cradley Heathens in the British League, alongside fellow Californian and friend Greg Hancock. Hamill earned his first FIM Gold Medal in Europe's debut season in the World Team Cup.
Hamill rode for the Heathens again in 1991, winning six points at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg. Hamill's 1992 World Championship career was cut short after breaking his wrist at the Overseas final at Coventry's Brandon stadium, but he was still a major part of the Heathens season, averaged over eight points. He was also a member of the USA team that won the world team cup for the second time, winning the world team cup in Kumla, Sweden, scoring ten points. Hamill's 1993 return to Cradley was a bleak chance for the actor who went on to make his second world final appearance in Pocking, Germany, which was dominated by fellow American Sam Ermolenko. The USA regained their power in Coventry once more as he captured the World team Cup. In 1994, the nascent city of Toronto was born. Hamill lost out on a spot in the World Final in Vojens, Denmark, after losing out in a run-off against Greg Hancock in the semi finals.
With a Grand Prix system in place in 1995, a change was made in the Speedway World Championship. Hamill had only been selected as the first reserve for the series, but in the first round of Wroclaw, Poland, he had only experienced two rides. However, he won the second round in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, and then finished fifth in the series, won by Denmark's Hans Nielsen. In 1995, he came in second place in the British League rankings, finishing second place.
Hamill rode for the Heathens again in 1996 (though they now rode a Stoke's Loomer Road stadium after being banned from their Dudley Wood home), and he topped the British league averages. Hamill formed Team Exide with Cradley's Hancock. Hamill had been the leading challenger to defending champion Nielsen all season, and he was forced to defeat the Dane by at least ten points in the final round. Nielsen's favor riding in his home country was stacked, but he was unable to make the B final finish on Thursday on fourteen points. Hamill triumphed in the A final, earning him the fourth Speedway World Champion of the United States.
Hamill was forced to leave Cradley Heath as a team was disbanded, and he joined the Belle Vue Aces in Britain's Elite League in 1997. With a second second place in the first round in Prague behind fellow American and Team Exide race partner Greg Hancock, the defense of his World title got off to a promising start. Hamill's victory was to be an indication of how the season would turn out as he trailed his countryman all season to finish with the Silver Medal, while Hancock became the third American World Speedway Champion in five years. Though satisfied with how he had defended his title, Hamill was determined to regain his glory in 1998.
The Coventry Bees, another new British Elite League team, got off to a promising start in his Grand Prix debut, finishing second and third in the first two rounds. However, Hamill slipped down the Grand Prix rankings in Bydgoszcz last week, with no intention of winning the title. Hamill was hurt in a fiery clash with Australia's Jason Crump, leaving Hamill with a broken back, and it was to follow. Crump and Hamill finished level on sixty-two points, and Crump snatched the final seeded position for the 1999 Grand Prix series on a countback, with Hamill unable to participate in the remainder of the event. In Vojens, Denmark, the silver lining to the season came as a result of Team USA's win.
Hamill recovered from his injury in time for the 1999 season, but he did not return for Coventry until a month into the season. A change in the Grand Prix series's course from sixteen to twenty-four riders meant he was given a seeded spot in the series. Hamill struggled after recovering from injury, and the point had been difficult to come by for the majority of the season. However, in the final round of the Grand Prix, signs of returning to his best were evident, with him finishing fifth in Vojens and then going on to win the Grand Prix series and guaranteeing a spot in the 2000 Grand Prix Series.
Hamill recovered fully from his back surgery and went on to challenge the world's best. He won the first round of the Grand Prix series in Prague and the final round in Bydgoszcz, the exact same area where he had suffered his injuries two years ago. He ended the series in second place on ninety-five points, just seven behind eventual champion Mark Loram.
Hamill was hired by Team Roberts in 2001 and was highly optimistic that he would regain the World Championship. However, the first two rounds of the season are actually on "temporary" tracks within larger soccer style stadiums. These guys did not match Hamill's style, and he only picked up eight out of a possible fifty points. Despite finishing fourth overall in 2001 after such a promising start to the year, Hamill was dissatisfied to finish fifth overall.
The national speedway team in the United States had trained for the 2001 World Cup Final at the Olympic Stadium in Wrocaw, but Hamill was not part of the team at the time. Sam Ermolenko crashed in his last ride of the Race-off, was wounded, and he was unable to take his place in the World Cup Final two days before. Hamill answered the call and joined colleagues Greg Hancock, Brent Werner, Billy Janniro, and John Cook in Poland. Despite being forced to ride Ermolenko's bike because his own was unavailable, Hamill led the team by scoring 13 points on the night, placing 5th and last in the final.
In the Grand Prix, 2002 proved to be Hamill's swansong. Five of the tracks in the new ten round series were temporary, and he had trouble challenging the medal positions. In the penultimate round in Vojens, he showed that he could still mix it with the best. Despite having qualified by right for the 2003 series, he turned down the opportunity to participate in the final round in Sydney Australia, which was his last grand prix ever.
Hamill, who had withdrawn from the Grand Prix series, concentrated on his club racing in Britain, Sweden, and Poland. He rode one more season for the Coventry Bees before heading to the Oxford Cheetahs and then to the Wolverhampton Wolves in 2006 and 2007.
For the fifth time, Hamill defeated Greg Hancock in the 2006 National Championships, beating them for the fifth time. Hamill retired from racing in Europe at the end of the 2007 season and returned to California. He started racing in 2008 but was suspended in a racing slump and missed the majority of the season.
In the United States' victory in the first round of the Speedway World Cup, he returned to international action in 2012. For the sixth time, he was the US champion for the sixth time in September 2012.
Billy joined Team USA Speedway in 2013 and successfully guided the team through Event 2 of the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup in King's Lynn after winning the scorecard in the qualifying round in Miskolc, Hungary.
Since being barred from the European scene, Hamill and his children Margi and Kurtis live in Southern California. He also organizes the Gumball Rally for infants to teenage riders, as well as running the Billy Hamill Speedway Academy, with the aim of making the United States a dominant force in World Speedway in the future.