2001 was to prove a watershed in Sam's career. Having managed to secure himself a place in the
FIA Sportscar Championship, driving for the well-respected Kremer squad, Sam went on to have a sensational season. Although points were limited to a second at Brno and a win at
Donington, it was the nature of Sam's fighting performances that were so often hampered by poor reliability that marked Sam out. Phrases such as ''revelation of the season'' and ''rookie of the year'' were soon banded about after he had matched the pace of his world-class team-mates, such as Ralf Kelleners and Jean-Marc Gounon. Sam also made another foray Stateside that year to race at Petit Le Mans for the Dick Barbour Racing Team in a Porsche GT3R.
For 2002 Sam found himself without a fulltime drive, but no matter, he simply went on to become the youngest British driver to race at Le Mans. Not content with racing at La Sarthe once in the course of the year, Sam returned to France to race in the historic version of the 24 hour race. Driving a Lotus 11, basically a Lotus 7 with streamlined bodywork, Sam competed against Ferraris, Maseratis and the like to bring his Ford Anglia powered machine home fourth in a field of sixty.
Since then Sam has had taste of
Formula One machinery, driving historic Lotus
F1 cars. First Sam drove the Lotus 97T in glorious JPS colours, the very car in which Aryton Senna won his first Grand Prix.
Next Sam had a last minute opportunity to run up the Goodwood hill at the Festival of Speed after Jackie Oliver decided he wouldn't do the last run of the day in the Gold Leaf Lotus 49B, the very car in which Graham Hill had taken two of his Monaco Grand Prix victories.
This weekend it's Hockenheim for Hancock as he makes his F3000 debut.
