The GBmoto Racing Kawasaki team and Peter Hickman head to the iconic Isle of Man TT this weekend, ready to build on the podium success enjoyed at the North West 200.

The GBmoto Racing Kawasaki team’s extensive winter testing programme yielded immediate results at their first International Road Race of the season, as Hickman secured a podium in the Superstock race and looked set to repeat that in the Superbike race before it was curtailed by a red flag, leaving ‘Hicky’, as he is popularly referred to, in fourth.

The team head to the Isle of Man this weekend in a jubilant mood, having just taken the British Superbike Championship lead with Leon Haslam. Despite a successful start to the year across both disciplines, the team remain under no illusions as to the unique challenges the legendary Isle of Man TT course poses. The 37 ¾ mile course sees riders race against the clock on closed public roads, at an average speed of over 130mph.

2016 will be the squad’s second visit to the island, and only Peter’s third. Despite his relative inexperience compared to his rivals, he made an immediate impression on the Road Racing community by becoming the fastest ever newcomer at the TT in 2014. Last year, he set a 131.6mph average lap to become the eighth fastest rider ever around the ‘Mountain Course’ and also enjoyed victory at the Ulster Grand Prix and Macau Grand Prix. Having previously only used a Superstock spec machine, this year will be the first time he takes to the course using a full Superbike.  

Looking forward to getting back out to the TT, Peter Hickman said, 

“I can’t wait to get there and ride some laps on the Kawasaki - the TT is such a unique event, it’s like nothing else in the world! I’m feeling really good coming into the event, we’ve had lots of testing and a great start to the racing season both at BSB level and the North West. This is the first time I’ll be riding a full Superbike around the TT, which will certainly be tougher than before, but the bike was a fantastic package at the North West so I’m excited to see how it will perform on the Mountain Course.

That said, I’m under no illusions as to the challenge of the TT. It’s only my third year and whilst it’s really flattering that people are talking of podiums I’m just focusing on doing the best we can. I’m starting from fifth which is brilliant, I’m surrounded by really talented riders – in fact I’m the only one in the top ten not to be on the podium, so I’m sure there’s lots I’ll be able to learn from them which I’m confident of converting into some good race results.”  

GBmoto Racing Team Principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen concluded, 

“I think I can speak for the whole team when I say just how much we’re looking forward to heading back to the Isle of Man TT. It’s one of the biggest events on the motorcycling calendar and we head to the Mountain Course in a really good position. This year we’ve been able to strengthen our ties with the factory and I believe we have one of the best Road Riders in the sport piloting our GBmoto Racing Superbike and Superstock ZX-10R, so I would like to think we will do a great job for Kawasaki.

We were able to learn a lot at our debut last year and we’ll be putting the lessons we took from it into practice this year. The guys in the workshop have been working flat out to get us to this position and I want to say a massive thank you to all of them for the effort they’ve put in. Hopefully, by the end of the TT fortnight we can all celebrate a job well done and some strong race results!”