After a difficult week of practice at the iconic Isle of Man TT, the GBmoto Racing Kawasaki team and Peter Hickman proved their credentials in the opening RST Superbike race, taking a hard-earned fourth place finish as Hickman joined the elite 132mph lap club – only the seventh man to do so in TT history.

It was a tough week of practice for Peter Hickman and GBmoto Racing Kawasaki, as despite a strong showing early on, which saw Hicky set the third fastest time in both the Superstock and Superbike category on Tuesday evening, the team were plagued with problems with the electronics.

Working late into the night on Friday evening to resolve the problems, switching from Motec to kit electronics, the team were hopeful of a strong showing in the opening RST Superbike TT Saturday. Leaving the Glencrutchery road fifth, Hicky quickly settled into seventh place on the opening lap, before progressing through to sixth place as he gained more miles on the Ninja ZX-10R Superbike. Following the first pit stop at the end of lap two, Pete moved into fifth place on the third circulation of the Mountain Course, 18 seconds behind fourth placed Dean Harrison.

Chipping away over the following two laps, Hickman took fourth place at the start of the final lap just 0.3s ahead of Harrison. Getting his head down on the final circulation, the 29 year old stunned the crowd with a 132.465mph lap – becoming only the seventh rider in the history of the Isle of Man TT to set a lap in the 132mph bracket – to cement his fourth place finish and claim both his and the team’s best ever TT result.  

Pleased to secure his best result and fastest lap, Peter Hickman said, 

“It was a really tough practice week, the bike was great but we just had a consistent problem with the electronics. This is the first year I’ve ridden a Superbike over here and on my third lap I set a 129mph so we knew the potential was there but despite the team changing everything, the problem persisted and we struggled to get a lap in again after Tuesday. Last night we made the big decision to change the Superbike to the kit electronics used on the Superstock machine. It’s no easy job to do, so huge credit to the team who were still working late into the night last night to get it ready in time.

The kit electronics are very different to the Motec system we were using, so It meant starting today with a bike I hadn’t ridden before. I did a 129mph opener which is a really fast lap but comparatively to the front guys it was a steady one! It took that first lap to get a feel for the machine, and after that I got my head down and chipped away. That final lap is still only my ninth lap around the course on a Superbike so to join the 132 club is mega and to get my best result with it is absolutely fantastic. It’s a great way to repay the team for their hard work, the problems we’ve had have been entirely out of their hands but they’ve kept working and I’m confident we can continue this form for the rest of the week!”  

GBmoto Racing Team Principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen enthused, 

“This really was a fantastic result. The team has had a very tough practice week, facing a lot of challenges – something that is typical of the Isle of Man TT. The guys in the garages have worked phenomenally every night, staying until past 1am last night to resolve the issues we have had though and the tireless work paid off today with a brilliant fourth place.

We entered today feeling optimistic of a good result, but also cautious given the changes we made meant we had an unproven package. The fact Pete was able to do what he did is a testament to not only what a fantastic talent he is, but also the hard work the team put in. I’m really pleased for Pete, the team, our sponsors and fans – hopefully we can continue this form into the Superstock race on Monday and the Senior Friday. ”  

Peter joins the 132 club.