NGK is backing 12-year-old Wilbur Hancock’s bid to emulate the success of his World Speedway champion father Greg. The ignition specialist has had a long-standing relationship with current and four-time champion Greg and is now sponsoring his eldest son.

Wilbur, who first took to the track aged just seven, currently rides with Eldarna in junior league Speedway in Sweden, where Greg lives with his wife Jennie and other sons Bill and Karl during the European racing season.

Wilbur said, “I couldn’t believe it when Dad said NGK were keen to sponsor me. I thought is this really happening?’ To get NGK as my first primary sponsor is really cool and we’ve already been talking about new suit designs. I love everything about Speedway, going sideways, the speed and the sound. It’s great.”

Mark Hallam, Marketing Manager, NGK Spark Plugs said, “We are delighted to announce that we are supporting Wilbur in the early stages of his career. We have had a long and successful relationship with Greg over many years and he is a great ambassador for both the sport and ourselves so it is great to see the family relationship continuing.”

NGK, the leading supplier of original equipment spark plugs, glow plugs and NTK Lambda and other engine management sensors, is also supporting Russian Emil Sayfutdinov  and Slovenian Matej Zagar in the GP series who are currently sitting in sixth and eleventh place respectively.