Peter Hickman

Peter Hickman from Willoughby near Alford in Lincolnshire got his championship attack back on track when he rode through to score his first points in eight races at Mondello Park in Ireland after finishing in 14th place in round six of the 2007 British Superbike championship on Sunday.

Peter had a torrid time in qualifying and free practise with heavy rain playing havoc with the times. But despite a small crash in the dying seconds of qualifying the young rider put the Hawk Kawasaki Superbike up into 21st place for a sixth row start to Sunday’s double header.

With a dry track on race day Hicky set off in race one to complete his first lap in 23rd place gradually reeling in Brian McCormack, eventually moving ahead on the penultimate lap. He continued to make progress to complete his race in 17th position just outside the points.

Race two saw Hicky gain in confidence and soon begin his charge forward. By lap three he was circulating in 19th place but was prevented from further advancement when the safety car was deployed for a couple of laps.

When the car returned to the pits the race was back on and Peter was soon back on the case. He moved through to 18th and then hunted down Marty Nutt to move up a place to 17th on lap 10. He continued to make progress and crossed the finish line in 14th place to pick up two championship points.

“That is more like it,” said Peter. “I would sooner be further up the field but after the events of the last few weeks when I seemed to do nothing but crash, it s a start.”

The next round is at Knockhill in Scotland on July 1 when Peter will be hoping for further points finishes to add to his points tally.
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Click here for event timetable, and go to Round 6 to find out more about Mondello.  Come back and check out the latest news from the weekend.

Highs and Lows for Hawk

Oulton Park – Round 4

Hawk Kawasaki discovered the highs and lows of racing this weekend at Oulton Park after two of the four riders had to sit out their races due to injury. Superbike rider Peter Hickman was forced to sit out after a 140 mph crash at Cascades during Sunday’s qualifying, which saw the 20-year-old from Willoughby damage his right wrist. Adding to that youngster Jak Wright, who rides for the Hawk Junior Team, missed his race in the Supersport Cup after a nasty crash at Shell Hairpin saw him break his collarbone.

Despite this the two remaining riders Scott Smart and young David Hallett scored some encouraging results in their respective races. Smart gained a strong 11th in race one and finished just outside the points in 16th in the second leg of the two 17-lap Bennetts British Superbike races. Smart who made the return to Hawk Racing this year is adapting well to being back on the Kawasaki ZX10.

Smart commented “I’m pretty happy with my first race result and we are heading in the right direction, I struggled in the second race with tyre choice and also the changing weather conditions didn’t help matters. We made a lot of progress with the Kawasaki through the weekend and I’m quite looking forward to Snetterton in a few weeks time to see how we fair there.”

It was Dave Hallett who had a stunning ride gaining his first points in the ultra competitive Metzeler Superstock Cup race. Finishing in a great 10th position the youngster from Folkestone gained his first Championship points of the series at a circuit he had never ridden at before. The 21-year-old who has made the step up from the mini-twin series had qualified in 28th position on the grid, which he turned into a remarkable result at the end of the race.

With varying conditions throughout the day the Superstock Cup race was started and restarted on a number of occasions due to heavy rain showers. The safety car was despatched early on in the race which bunched the riders together, choosing to run a wet front and dry rear tyre proved the ideal combination and it was not long before he was carving his way through the pack and settled into 14th place. A small mistake at the Chicane saw him run on and rejoin the track, loosing two places in the process.

He soon regained his form and once again started to pick off the riders in front of him and gain his best result of the season so far. Commenting he said “It’s been a great weekend and I’m really happy to be able to get a top ten at only my fourth race on a 1000! The entire Hawk team have worked really hard all year and glad I’ve finally been able to return that with a strong result. Obviously the jump for me has been pretty big but I’m really enjoying the whole experience. It’s fairly difficult, as before this year I have only race at four of the circuits which are used on the BSB calendar, so most tracks are all new to me, obviously Oulton seemed to suite me pretty well and hopefully I will be able to get some more points at Snetterton.”

Quarter Term Report

Stuart Hicken, Team Owner, commented “It’s been a tough start to the season, but I am confident with the riders and the staff we have in place at the moment the results will improve tremendously. Just looking at Scott who has come from two poor seasons his confidence is building lap by lap and it certainly won’t be long before we are back at the sharp end.

Peters’ early season form is where we expected him to be after a couple of heavy falls he has lost his way a little, but with full team backing and Peter digging deep he should be back in the points at Snetterton.

The junior team of Jak and David are doing all that is required in learning the circuits and their new bikes, Jak unfortunately got bit by Oulton Park, but he will return raring to go. David had what only can be described as a brilliant ride at Oulton Park, having never seen the most difficult circuit on the calendar he rode with maturity and confidence all weekend.

I see that all our sponsors and guests are enjoying the new corporate vehicle, and I’m well informed that all guests really enjoy the personal rider talks organised by Ian Paddison.

We are looking forward to the rest of the season now.”

The next race is at Snetterton on the 20th May. A full timetable can be viewed here: -

http://www.mcrcb-events.co.uk/gallery/SNETTERTON%20FINAL.pdf
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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
For an urgent response please email me.
07790 247836
www.carlyrathmell.com

The Hawk Racing Team had some solid finishes at the second round of the British Superbike Championships this weekend at Thruxton race circuit. In front of a huge 35’000 people in the baking sunshine the two Superbike riders Peter Hickman and Scott Smart gained two strong finishes in the two 22-lap races.

The team were eager to gain two confident results at the ultra fast 2.4-mile circuit. Scott Smart, who was still feeling the effects of the 167 mph crash he had at Brands Hatch last weekend rode two comfortable races and secured a 14th and 11th placing respectively. Still battered and bruised the Maidstone ride, still adjusting to the Kawasaki ZX10 was pleased with two point scoring races saying “It’s been a pretty good weekend and we have definitely made some progress in the right direction. I am still learning the bike and working and building on some minor issues that we have found. I haven’t had much testing time on the Hawk bike and I know we can certainly make a lot of progress as the season progresses. I’m still pretty sore from Brands and so I’m pretty happy that I’ve managed to get some points in the bag.”

His young team-mate Peter Hickman also scored two solid race results with two 12th places. The 20-year-old worked well throughout the weekend and after qualifying in 15th place he battled well in the two tough races. Locked in a tight battle with his older and more experience team-mate Smart in race two, Hicky fought hard to the end and finished only a second behind Smart and just in front of experienced rider Steve Plater. Speaking with Hicky he said “I’m happy with the results I got as it’s put me 12th in the Overall Championship. I, like everyone else struggled with grip in both the races. It seems everyone I have spoken to were struggling with tyres all weekend. Hopefully I can improve on these results at Silverstone and Oulton Park in a few weeks times.

The Hawk Junior Team are making progress with their race season. Jak Wright qualified for his first race this season after just missing out at Brands Hatch, the youngster gained a sturdy 22nd position in the Supersport Race which placed him eighth in the Supersport Cup race. David Hallett qualified in 38th position in the Superstock Cup and finished in a strong 32nd place after being locked in a four-way scrap. The two young riders had never ridden at the scarily fast circuit before and spent a lot of time finding their way round this demanding track. Both are making huge progress and are looking forward to going to some of the circuits that they both know.

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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
For an urgent response contact me on carlyrathmell@yahoo.co.uk
07790 247836

Mixed Weekend for Hawk Kawasaki

Hawk Kawasaki had a mixed weekend of results this weekend at the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championships at Silverstone Circuit. Scott Smart suffered a mechanical fault in race one and was forced to pull in but gained a creditable 14th place in the second race.

Youngster Peter Hickman was suffering this weekend, after crashing in Le Mans last weekend and then having two crashes in practice at Silverstone the 20-year-old from Willoughby, although not seriously injured was certainly feeling the effects of the two high speed crashes he suffered on Friday and Saturday. Battling on his still finished both races in 18th and 19th position respectively.

Despite this Hawk have made huge progress this weekend and have found a number of items that they have managed to rectify and they are hoping that this will show more positively in the forthcoming races. Speaking with Smart he said “Despite the results we have made big steps forward this weekend and found some things that we now know we can modify which should help us a lot. The bike is extremely fast and once we get everything working right it should help us move forward in the results tables. I’m looking forward to getting to Oulton and testing some of these changes out.”

Hicky commented “It’s been a difficult two weeks, as most people know I’m not a big crasher but I’ve had four in a week so I’m starting to feel a little second hand. Both crashes I had at Silverstone were pretty big, the first one red flagged the session. Come race day I was really feeling the aches and pains, thankfully I’ve broken nothing but the two races were difficult to say the least! I’m hoping by Oulton I’ll be feeling a bit better and hopefully be back in the points there.”

In the Hawk Junior Team 18-year-old Jak Wright had a successful weekend in the British Supersport Cup qualifying in 32nd place, eighth in the Cup Race and finished in a healthy 29th position overall and held onto eighth in the Cup, a strong result for only his second ever British Supersport Cup race.

David Hallett, running in the Superstock Cup Championship suffered a set back after qualifying in good 24th place from 43 riders the youngster from Folkestone gained a great start and was 16th after the first lap. However he got caught up with another rider into the chicane and ended up in the gravel, having to bump start the ZX10, Hallett brought the bike home in 30th position. He managed to set his fastest lap of the weekend trying to close down on the pack in front of him.

Hawk were joined this weekend by some guests from the MOD DMRC Headley Court Military rehab centre, the team were honoured to have their company and look forward to working with them in the near future.

Hawk Kawasaki are heading to Oulton this Bank Holiday weekend, for a full timetable please click below: -

http://www.mcrcb-events.co.uk/gallery/OULTON%20PARK%201%20FINAL.pdf
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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
For an urgent response contact me on carlyrathmell@yahoo.co.uk
07790 247836
www.carlyrathmell.com

Points for Hickman at Brands

Brands Hatch GP – Round 1

It was a mixed weekend for the Hawk Racing Team at the opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch Circuit, Kent. Superbike riders Peter Hickman and Scott Smart gained varied results in the two races. Hickman secured two encouraging finishes with a 15th and 12th but Smart struggled throughout the weekend and after a huge crash in morning warm up he found it difficult to gain the results he would have like and finished the races in 21st and 20th place respectively.In front of a huge 41’000 spectators who were baking in the Kent sunshine, Hickman was eager to gain some positive results after qualifying in a strong 12th place. A poor start saw the youngster drop down to 15th after the first lap and soon he was locked in a battle with Tommy Bridewell for the final Championship point. In the

second race he was battling with the reigning British Champion Kiyonari for 11th place. Commenting he said “I’m reasonably happy with the way the weekend has gone, I have left Brands in 14th position in the Championship which is a fair start to the year. I had a few problems during the race and seemed to be struggling with tyres like most people. I’m pretty happy with the second race result and hope we can improve things at Thruxton.”

Scott Smart suffered a number of problems through the weekend and could only salvage 25th position in qualifying. A 167 mph crash in morning warm up saw the Maidstone based rider heading into the two races a little sore and worse for wear. A disappointed Smart said “It’s been a long weekend and I’ve been struggling with a few issues, which I know can be rectified and I have confidence that we can sort it out. I’m not happy with my results but I also haven’t had much time on the Hawk bike and hopefully things will improve as the season progresses and I get used to riding the ZX10 again. We have a few things to sort on the bike and I know the team are working hard to get some problems sorted before Thruxton at the weekend.”

The Hawk Junior Teams got a harsh introduction to the fiercely competitive British Championships at Brands and young 18-year-old Jak Wright just missed out in qualifying for the Supersport Cup race by 0.1. 20-year-old David Hallett qualified in 26th position in the tough Superstock Cup Championship but struggled with arm pump during the race and he gained a 31st place overall.

The next race is at Thruxton this weekend 13th – 15th April, a full timetable can be

viewed on the link below: -

http://www.mcrcb-events.co.uk/gallery/THRUXTON%20FINAL.pdf

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Carly Rathmell
Freelance Sports PR
For an urgent response contact me on carlyrathmell@yahoo.co.uk
07790 247836