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PETER HICKMAN SECOND IN CHAMPIONSHIP

After securing two runner-up spots in his two races at Snetterton on Sunday, Louth rider Peter Hickman leapfrogs Martin Jessopp to move into second place in the rider standings of the Mirror.co.uk British Superbike Cup that is run within the main British Superbike championship.

Hickman began his Snetterton campaign from a fourth row grid position in 18th place and made progress through to 14th place within the space of two laps of leg one. But his efforts were all in vain as the race was red flagged on lap three because of oil on the track at Sears.

At the restart the Ultimate Racing Yamaha rider didn’t manage such a good start but after passing series leader Gary Mason he settled into 16th place to become the top Cup rider circulating on the track. But a late charge from newcomer Tommy Bridewell saw Hicky relegated down the order to finish in second place in the cup and 17th in the overall British Superbike race.

Race two saw Hicky get another good start and he moved straight into 16th place. He became embroiled in a battle for supremacy between himself, Gary Mason and Atsushi Watanabe with Mason just holding his line to the chequered flag ahead of Hickman who pulled away from Watanabe to secure second in the cup and finish in 15th place overall to pick up another championship point in the British Superbike championship taking his total to five.

“In the first race I got a little bit beat up on the first lap but nothing major, its is about time I got through the first lap without being run off onto the grass. Then we had the stoppage and at the restart I got away really well, the first lap went ok and I just built from there. Gary Mason’s engine had a misfire and I nearly rammed the back of him so that cost me some time and allowed Tommy Bridewell to catch and pass me.

“In race two, again I started really well and got into a rhythm but then let Tris Palmer past which was a bit of a wrong decision as he kept holding me up for the first few laps. But once I got past him again I was around three seconds behind Jon Kirkham and Gary Mason and it took me all race to catch them back up. I eventually got there with two laps to go but because they were fighting between the two of them I couldn’t find a way past. But it was close as Gary jumped the chicane on the last lap and I nearly highsided myself so he still beat me to the line. We have closed the gap on him this weekend as he didn’t finish the first race so that’s good for us.”

The next round is at Knockhill in Scotland on July 6 where the 22-year-old Lincolnshire rider will be chasing a top result in the cup to move nearer to the championship lead.

Pic credit – action Turn One Photography
Podium Helen Pask

PETER HICKMAN – DONINGTON

Louth Superbike ace Peter Hickman secured a fourth and second place in the two-leg third round of the Mirror.co.uk Superbike Cup at Donington Park on Monday, scoring further points in the main championship where he ended the two races in 16th and 14th position.

Qualifying went well for the Lincolnshire rider who, for the first time in the current campaign, made it through into the second shoot-out segment of the Roll for Pole contest. The top 20 riders went through to the second round which determined the grid for the two 20-lap races on Monday and Hicky put in some strong laps to claim 18th position – his best this season.

“Things have been going very well this weekend and we have taken a really big jump forward with the bike – basically because of the three week break since Oulton Park,” said Hicky. “I still haven’t done any proper testing, just a track day here at Donington a couple of weeks ago but there were so many people on the track we couldn’t really call it a test. We have made significant progress with the bike over the past two weeks and it’s showed. We had a really good qualifying and got into the shootout for the first time. It’s just a pity I couldn’t have made it onto the front four rows but we are getting nearer and my lap times are quicker.”

As race one got underway Hicky was quick off the line and moved straight up to 16th but he made a mistake and ran wide on lap two, losing ground down to 24th position with a lot of work to do to get back on terms with the midfielders. But he kept his cool and picked off the riders ahead one by one until he reached 16th position (fourth in the cup) at the end of the race.

“I out braked myself at the Esses on the first lap,” explained Hicky. “I had to run over the gravel and dropped down as far as 24th before fighting my way back to 16th but it was very difficult. I also had a problem with the brakes. We haven’t got an adjuster on board so I couldn’t do it while I was riding.”

Race two saw Hicky encounter a problem in pit lane and he was forced to start the race from the back of the grid. But again the 22-year-old ace fought his way through the field this time finishing in 14th place overall to pick up a further two championship points plus his best finish in the Cup where he picked up 20 points for second place.

“That was amazing, especially after the start we had. With just a minute to get out onto the grid we encountered a problem and I was too late to take my grid position. They let me start from the back of the grid but it’s a long way back and I had to fight all the way through the race. I am well happy with 14th place and I passed Martin Jessopp on the last lap to claim second in the cup so was well chuffed.”

This fine set of results sees Hicky maintain his third position in the cup on 97 points and with the extra two points in the main championship he moves up to 21st in the British Superbike championship.

The next round is only a few days away and the Ultimate Racing team travel directly to Thruxton for round four of the series where free practice and qualifying take place on Friday and Saturday. The first of the two 20-lap races is set to start at 2pm on Sunday followed by leg two at 4.30pm.

PETER HICKMAN AT BRANDS HATCH

Louth rider Peter Hickman rode to am impressive second place in the final round of the National Superstock championship at Brands Hatch on Sunday, missing out on the win by the closest of margins, a mere four thousandths of a second, from this year’s champion Steve Brogan. He also completed his British Superbike rides for Red Viper in 25th and 16th position to bring his 2008 season to a successful close.

In-form Hicky romped away to secure a front row start ahead of the final round of the Superstock championship and settled into third place in the opening laps. He remained behind Marshall Neill until lap seven when he made a beautiful pass at Paddock Hill Bend to move up into second place behind Brogan.

As the race progressed Hicky began to close the gap between himself and the leader and made a passing manoeuvre at Druids on the penultimate lap. Although he had his wheel in front at the apex he had to run wide to negotiate the hairpin and Brogan regained his position. But Hickman was not beaten and pushed hard on the final circulation. His last chance to take the win was at Clearways on the approach to the chequered flag. But although the pair crossed the line together it was Brogan who got his tyre tread over the line first to seal the victory. The margin was so small, the gap was undistinguishable to the eye but the timekeepers were able to separate the two by just 0.004s.

Hickman had just under an hour to regain his composure before forming the grid for the final two legs of the 2008 British Superbike Championship where he again deputised for the injured Aaron Zanotti on the Red Viper Honda.

Qualifying threw up a few niggling problems for the 21-year-old rider but he battled through to clinch 22nd place on the grid and a start from row six.

The gremlins returned in the opening race and Hickman completed the 30 laps in 25th place. But after some hurried adjustments the bike handled much better and Hicky rode through to a strong 16th place, missing out on a points finish by less than half a second.

“The Superstock race went really well for me,” said Hicky. “You cant get any closer than 0.004 of a second. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get the win but other than that everything went really well. The team has been fantastic all year so I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at Ultimate Racing.

“The Red Viper Honda wasn’t very well in the first race. We had a problem with the number one bike this morning so I had to ride the second bike, which had not been ridden all weekend. In the race it developed a really bad front-end problem and every time I tried to turn in it tried to spit me off so I ended up a long way back. I basically stayed out there just to find out exactly what had gone wrong and we did manage to figure out what the problem was. The second race went really well. It took me a couple of laps to make sure the bike was ok but then I got my head down and just missed out on the points, so at the end of the day I am feeling really happy.”

With 20 points gained on Sunday, Hickman consolidated his third place in the final standings in the Superstock championship with a 17-point advantage over Alistair Seeley who was third in the race on Sunday.

Sunday completes Hickman’s season of racing – unless he has a change of heart and decides to race at the final round of the European Superstock championship at Portimao in Portugal on November 2.

PETER HICKMAN AT SNETTERTON

Louth Superstock rider Peter Hickman claimed a sixth place finish to his Metzeler National Superstock race at Snetterton on Sunday for Ultimate Racing but he was denied the chance to add to his points tally when the second race was postponed because of the adverse weather conditions.

Qualifying had gone well for Hicky who earned himself a front row start in fourth place but he failed to capitalise on his grid position when he made a bad start to the race and dropped back to seventh place on the first lap. He lost ground to eighth for a while before regaining his composure and making it back through to seventh and then sixth where he stayed until the chequered flag. But his seventh place does not reflect the progress the young rider has made as he was up with the leaders challenging in a group of four riders for fourth place throughout the 15 laps and things could have been different if he had got away to a clean start as his lap times were on a par with the race winner.

“I fluffed the start,” said Hicky. “That allowed the leading riders to get away. But my lap times prove that if I had got away with the top three I could have run with them today.” Hicky was hoping to rectify the situation with a good start to the second race but a heavy rain storm delayed the action in the Superbike class and his race was regrettably postponed and will be run at a later date. The Superstock class are not on the race programme for Mallory Park so Hicky will not see race action for five weeks when they rejoin the action at Oulton Park on July 20.

PETER HICKMAN SCORES MORE POINTS AT OULTON PARK

Peter Hickman powered his Ultimate Racing Yamaha R1 to a strong seventh place finish in round two of the Metzeler National Superstock championship on Monday to secure his second top 10 result in as many races for the fledgling team.

His qualifying didn’t go quite as planned and consequently Hicky from Louth in Lincolnshire found himself down in 13th place to start his second race action from the head of row four. But as the race got underway he was soon on the pace and moved through to take up 11th place on the opening lap. He kept his head down and chipped away at the deficit, making up places throughout the 15 laps to eventually cross the finish line for seventh position to pick up a further nine championship points.

“Considering this is only my second time out on the bike we are really only treating each race as a test. Its all gone really well although I did struggle a bit at the beginning of the weekend. I messed up my fast lap in qualifying, I should really have been on the second row but it was my mistake, my fault and I had to pay the price,” explained Hicky. “The race went really well, I made a good start and just dug deep and kept out of trouble. I will be doing Brands Hatch this weekend but as we didn’t compete at the original meeting I havent got a qualifying time so will have to start from the back of the grid. It will make for an interesting race as there are 40 on the grid so will see how we go!” After two rounds Hicky is placed at sixth in the championship standings on 20 points but a good result at Brands Hatch at the weekend could move him further up the table.

Ultimate Racing sponsorship deal with Peter Hickman
PETER HICKMAN – THRUXTON

A last minute deal with Ultimate Racing saw the return of Louth rider Peter Hickman to the British racing scene where he rode to an amazing fifth position in the first round of the Metzeler National Superstock championship at Thruxton on a bike that was only prepared and race ready by Friday. Hickman was left stranded when his European Superstock ride fell through and thought his season was over before it began but he was thrown a lifeline by Ian Drake who runs a corporate hospitality business – www.ultimateracing.co.uk from his base near Silverstone race circuit. Commenting on how the deal came about Ian Drake said: “I have known Peter and his father Dave ever since he ran in the Superstock Cup and have followed his progress ever since.

I haven’t done much with bikes lately, as I have been more involved with Touring Cars. But when Peter gave me a call out of the blue after all the problems over his European ride, we got together, had a chat and here we are at Thruxton. The bike has been put together over the past two weeks and Peter and Dave have done a tremendous job to get it race ready in such short a time. To get sixth on the grid and then a fifth place finish to our very first race is a credit to all the hard work put in by them both.” Peter added: “We are just working out of a van and small pop up awning at the moment but although it’s a small outfit it is neat and tidy and we are very professional. We will build the team up this year and hope to move up to bigger things next season if all goes to plan.

“The first time the bike actually ran was Friday morning for practice and I was immediately on the pace and up to 12th in the first session. Then in qualifying I ended up in sixth place for a second row start and capitalised on that in the race. “ I would like to thank Ian and Ultimate Racing for his support and also Martin and Suzanne Sleaford and Volkswagen World at Louth for their faith in me. Also a huge thank you to my dad who has worked really hard on the bike to get it ready in time for this weekend.” Hicky will be back in action on May 6 for round two of the Metzeler National Superstock race at Oulton Park in Cheshire where he hopes he can produce another top five result.