Peter Hickman just missed out on the riders cup when he finished 12th in two races and 11th in the final race at Brands Hatch in the season finale of the MCE British Superbike championship at the weekend.

Just when it looked like he’d done enough to make it through to the final stages of qualifying, he was bumped back to 11th and so had to start Saturday afternoon’s race from the middle of the fourth row.

A good start to the first 20-lap race looked like it would put the 28-year old in a strong position but he got held up at the second corner which lost him a number of places and he found himself down in 12th at the end of the first lap. It wasn’t until lap seven that he managed to overhaul Billy McConnell and by that time the group ahead of him had broken away. But Tommy Bridewell made an overtaking manoeuvre on the final lap and Hicky had to settle for 12th at the flag.

Peter Hickman:

“Only ending up 11th in qualifying was my own fault and I thought my lap was fast enough to see me through to Q3 but I was proved wrong. Eleventh wasn’t bad and I made a good start but nearly hit Jakub Smrz at the second corner and I lost about four places so it gave me work to do. I went with the harder tyre as I thought it would put me in good stead for the second half of the race but the opposite happened and I really struggled for grip so we’ve learnt for tomorrow’s races and will look to end on a high.”

Starting from the sixth row of the grid for the first 20-lap race on Sunday, a good start was always going to be crucial if Hicky was to close the gap to Luke Mossey in the race for the BSB Rider’s Cup. However, whilst he did exactly that, he got pushed wide by Christian Iddon at the second corner and it dropped him all the way outside the top twenty.

It gave him an uphill battle for the rest of the race but the 28-year battled throughout and consistently moved his way through the field. He was running inside the points by lap seven and was ultimately rewarded with another 12th place finish, his second of the weekend.

It gave him the slightly better starting position of 12th place and the fourth row for the final race of the 2015 season although he now found himself 13 points adrift of Mossey. The Kawasaki rider was able to run in the top six for the majority of the race whilst Peter found himself just outside the top ten.

In one of the races of the season, just a handful of seconds covered the leading dozen riders as they ran near identical lap times, but Hicky had to settle for 11th place at the chequered flag albeit just seven seconds adrift of the race win. Mossey took sixth and with it the BSB Rider’s Cup as Peter finished an agonising 18 points adrift in ninth.

Peter Hickman:

“It’s not how we wanted to finish the season as, obviously, we had high hopes of taking the BSB Rider’s Cup this weekend but we’ve ultimately come up just short. Getting punted wide in today’s first race hurt me hard and I’ve struggled for grip in all three races so it’s been tough going. Overall though, we’ve had a good season and can be pleased with what we’ve achieved despite having some bad luck along the way. Taking three podiums, and in the dry, was the undoubted highlight and I feel like I’ve ridden well all year so a big thanks to the whole team for all their support in 2015.”

The British Superbike Championship season may be over but Hicky has one more outing with the team as he will compete for a second time at the Macau Grand Prix which takes place on November 17-19.




Courtesy of - Helen Pask, Press Officer, Peter Hickman Racing
Pic credit Dave Yeomans