21.08.08: Two strong finishes in rounds six and seven of the Metzeler National Superstock championship at Oulton Park
OULTON PARK (18/19/20 July)
Louth rider Peter Hickman secured two strong finishes in fifth and eighth place in rounds six and seven of the Metzeler National Superstock championship at Oulton Park at the weekend.
In a rain disrupted qualifying period Hicky posted a fast time in the first session to seal a ninth place start from a third row grid position for the start of both races. The final session was run in wet conditions and with nothing to be gained from venturing out in the tricky conditions Hicky sensibly decided to stick with his time posted in the earlier session.
As race one got underway on Saturday the 21-year-old county ace gradually moved through the field until he reached sixth place.
But he encountered a problem in the closing laps when he realised he was short on fuel and had to try and conserve what little fuel he had left in order to reach the finish line.
As they rounded the final corner two of the leaders went down gifting him fourth place. But on the drag to the flag the engine cut out and although he was able to coast over the finish line he was pipped at the post by Adrian Coates who overtook him as they crossed the finish line.
After ensuring there was sufficient fuel onboard for race two Hicky set off to settle into ninth position which he maintained until the very last lap when he reeled in Victor Cox at Turn One to claim eighth place and a further eight championship points for Ultimate Racing.
“Saturday’s result should have been better but I ran out of fuel. For the last two laps it had been stuttering and when I came out of the last turn I got it all the way to Deer Leap and it stopped so Coates just pipped me to the line,” said Hicky.
“On Sunday I made a much better start but just got kind of got stuck in a rut at 1m 40.8s, which was just about the same as everyone else.
But its not quite fast enough to pass anyone so I had to be content with eighth place.
We are now going to Brands Hatch in two weeks time as I have a wild card ride in the European Superstock championship race that runs alongside the World Superbike series. I am really looking forward to the experience and seeing how I go against the top guys in Europe.”
Peter is now placed in seventh place in the overall championship standings with the next round set for Knockhill in Scotland on August 10.
