Peter Hickman

Merry Christmas to all of you Hicky fans out there!!! Hope you have a cracking day and Santa brings you lots of pressies!!!! Stay tuned for the new season plans, I will be announcing something very soon!!!

Hicky #60

Despite problems during qualifying and a crash in race two of three, Louth rider Peter Hickman rode to a fine second place in the Mirror.co.uk British Superbike Cup at Oulton Park to clinch his runner up spot in the series.

It was not all plain sailing for Hicky, who rides for the Northamptonshire based Ultimate Racing team as technical problems and poor weather disrupted his qualifying. But he struggled on to claim a place on row five of the starting grid in 20th position.

“At the start of the weekend we were going really well, but in the second free practice session on Friday I put a new tyre in and off I went,” explained Hicky.

“But after a couple of laps I spat myself out of the seat at Cascades. Luckily I landed back on the bike but the lock stop cut through the ignition wire as I landed back down and we missed most of the session so it’s put us on the back foot really. On Saturday morning it was wet so I didn’t bother to go out because we only have the one bike and didn’t want to risk it. Then in qualifying I just couldn’t pull the time that I needed so I will start from 20th on the grid.”

The season finale at Oulton Park enjoyed three British Superbike races, one on Saturday and a further two on Sunday. In Saturday’s opener Hicky rode a solid race to finish second in the cup and 14th overall to earn sufficient points to take the runner up spot in the Mirrir.co.uk Cup.

But it was a different story on Sunday for Hicky when he crashed at Hizzy’s on lap six of 16, his race and also his season over. The bike was not too badly damaged but the problem could not be rectified in time for Hicky to make the starting grid for the final encounter so he had to reluctantly withdraw.

“A good start to the weekend turned out to be rubbish for me,” said Hicky. “The bike has been handling really well and I was really happy with my first race result, although not that pleased to only finish 14th but I was only five seconds behind the fifth place rider and in a train from there all the way back to me so that was good.

“I sealed second place in the cup which was good but then come race two everything went wrong. I got off the line ok but then had a poor first lap which left me a lot of work to do. Then I went off line and made a mistake at Hizzy’s chicane and had to run on. I touched the grass and down I went and that was that. The bike was ok and so am I, its just unfortunate that the water seal inside the engine has gone. We only discovered this an hour before the final race and we didn’t have enough time to get it sorted so that was that.”

Oulton Park wraps up the season for Ultimate Racing and Peter Hickman. Although he would have preferred to win the Cup, it wasn’t to be and Hicky takes heart in the fact that he completed the season on a shoestring budget in a fine second place.

Ultimate Racing rider Peter Hickman from Louth in Lincolnshire collected a second and third place at Silverstone in round 11 of the Mirror.co.uk British Superbike Cup on Sunday, also picking up a further four championship points in the main British Superbike series.

Although the Cup has already been decided with Gary Mason running out the victor, there is still a lot at stake for Hicky as he is defending his runner up spot in the championship although with 75 points on offer at the final round Hicky has a 72 point advantage over the third placed rider Martin Jessopp and a good result in the first of the three races at Oulton Park could see him clinch that position.

Hickman was plagued with mechanical problems during qualifying but brushed them aside to claim 18th place and a fifth row grid position for the start of the two 20-lap races on Sunday.

In the first encounter he made steady progress through the field to end his campaign in 15th place in the overall results and third in the Cup.

Race two saw Hicky make good headway in the early stages to take up 14th position mid race. He edged nearer and nearer to Karl Harris who was circulating some distance ahead and finally made a move on him on the final lap to secure 13th place and the runner up spot in the cup.

“That’s two more podium finishes for me,” said Hicky. “But I still haven’t quite made it up to the top step. I am leaving it a little bit late now but I have three chances left in the final round at Oulton!

“In the first race I didn’t get off the line too well which hindered my progress for a few laps. By the time I had made my way onto the back of the group from 10th to 17th my tyres were pretty much shot and i struggled to make passes. I ended up 15th which gave me a point but not really where i wanted to be.”

“Race two was lucky, i got off the line better but then on the first lap Tristan Palmer’s engine went pop on the back straight. I was on the outside so I knew I couldn’t run off and ended up running into the gravel and tipping off. Luckily I got the bike back up but it took me a while to get it started. Luckily the race was red flagged so I managed to get back to the pits and the guys in the garage soon had it sorted for me. On the restart things went much better, I got a better start and everything went well. If I could have got past Harris a bit sooner than the last lap then I could have latched onto the back of Tom Bridewell and maybe challenged him for the win.

“We snapped a crank in qualifying which put us on the back foot but it’s thanks to everyone who helped me this weekend and got me out there again. It’s on to Oulton Park now and hopefully we can go a lot better and maybe secure that elusive win.”

The final three races in the series take place at Oulton Park over the weekend of October 9/10/11 when Hicky will have three chances to claim a race win and runner up spot in the Cup.

A second and third place in the Mirror.com Superbike Cup were sufficient for Louth rider Peter Hickman to retain his second place although with Gary Mason taking the win each time he has pulled out an unassailable lead and been crowned the new champion with two rounds remaining.

Qualifying went well for the Ultimate Racing rider who put in a strong performance to claim 14th place on the starting grid.

“Qualifying didn’t go too badly for me,” said Hicky. “But on saying that I equalled my best qualifying of the year with 14th so I am happy with that.”

As race one got underway Hicky was off to a good start slotting into 11th place which he held throughout the 20 laps. Although he was close to Julien Da Costa he was just unable to make a pass on him and settled for 11th place at the flag. He was the second Cup competitor to cross the finish line and picked up a further 20 points in the series plus visited the podium once again.

Race two didn’t go so well for the young rider who was baulked at the start. He dropped down to 16th and although he did make progress to 14th mid-race he was beaten back to 15th when Suzuki rider Sylvain Guintoli made a move forward. But nonetheless Hicky picked up another championship point in the main race along with 16 for third place in the cup.

“I was stuck behind Da Costa in that first race and I just couldn’t get past him, his bike has a lot more grunt than mine and although I caught him on cornering I lost out on power down the straights.” said Hicky. “In the second leg I was baulked at the start when another rider cut across right in front of me. I had to shut off to avoid hitting him and everyone else just swept past me. By the time I recovered the leaders had long gone and I was left to fight it out for 15th place.

“I am disappointed that I am now unable to win the title this year but there is still everything to race for as I can still beat Mason and win a race before the end of the season plus of course I have to defend my second place in the Cup.”

Hicky has an advantage of 59 points over Martin Jessopp in the run up to the final five races but with 125 points still up for grabs he needs to complete his remaining races ahead of his rival to be sure of taking the runner up spot in the cup.

The penultimate round of the British Superbike championship is at Silverstone on September 27 when Hicky will be striving to bring the Ultimate Racing Yamaha R1 home ahead of Jessopp while also looking for the win in the cup to go into the final round at Oulton Park on a high.

Two third places at Cadwell Park were sufficient for Louth rider Peter Hickman to maintain his second place in the British Superbike Cup in round nine of the British Superbike championship on Monday.

In front of a 40,000 strong Bank Holiday crowd Hicky put in some exceptional laps during free practice and qualifying to secure a fifth row grid position in 14th place. (With four machines usually place on each row Hicky would have started from row four but the nature of the Cadwell Park circuit deems it necessary to reduce this to three per row.)

“The whole weekend has gone fairly well so far,” said Hicky. “We had a few issues in first practice and holed a radiator but other than that the bike has been working really well. I have made a few changes to the bike and am now really looking forward to the race. I have never been the best of qualifiers so to get 14th was really good, another 0.2s would have put me in the top 10 so we are not far away at all.”

Hicky completed the first half of race one in 14th place moving past Karl Harris to 13th on lap 11 and he looked to maintain that position to the end. But he didn’t reckon with Tommy Bridewell who shot past on the very last lap to claim 13th leaving Hicky to finish in 14th place – just a fifth of a second adrift. Being the third privateer over the finish line he claimed third place in the Cup.

The second race looked to be going much the same way. By lap 10 Hicky had moved into 13th place but then began a charge and moved ahead of Karl Muggeridge before again being passed by Bridewell. A couple of riders ahead pulled out towards the end of the race thus promoting Hickman to 11th, once again taking third place in the Daily Mirror.co.uk Cup.

“I am not so happy now,” said Hicky. “I really wanted to come here and win both races and its not quite happened. I was hoping that with Cadwell not being such a power circuit it would not make much difference with the other bikes being a bit faster than me but it didn’t turn out that way. I was making up the time around the turns but as soon as the tyres begin to go off I just couldn’t keep it going. I am running that hard at the start of the race that by the second half I am finding it a real struggle.

“I would like to say a big thank you to everyone in the team, especially my dad who is working so hard for me. It is onto Croft next and I am looking forward to it, maybe we can get a couple of wins there instead!”

This set of results gives Hickman a total of 17 points in the main British Superbike championship and 289 points in the Cup where he continues to hold a strong second place.

The next round is at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire on September 13 where Hicky will continue his quest for that elusive win in the Daily Mirror.co.uk Cup.

Despite a crash in the first of three races at Brands Hatch that damaged his number one machine, Louth racer Peter Hickman switched to his second bike and completed the two races on Sunday in fourth place to pick up a further 26 points to maintain his second position in the Mirror.co.uk British Superbike Cup.

Qualifying had gone fairly well for the 22 year old Lincolnshire rider who had a race against time to get dialled in after fitting a new engine and he managed to qualify the Ultimate Racing Yamaha in 16th place for a fourth row start to the set of three races at the Brands Hatch Big Bash meeting.

But the opening race on Saturday was a disaster for Hicky who crashed out of contention on lap seven of 18 when the back swung round on him as he rounded Druids Hairpin – race over.

“It’s been a bit of a testing weekend for us so far,” said Hicky. “I was really looking forward to my races here at Brands Hatch; I have always gone well on the full GP circuit and was anticipating breaking into the top 10 in the main British Superbike championship. But unfortunately nothing is going my way this weekend, the mapping on the engine isn’t right because we have only had the new engine a few days so I am getting nowhere fast, it’s very frustrating.

“In the first race I lost the rear end going into Druids and it spun straight round on me. The bike ended up on its side in the gravel with the engine revving its head off and although I got to it fairly quickly to switch it off it has done the whole bottom end and run itself dry.”

With the number one bike sidelined because of the damage caused in the crash, Hicky was forced to revert to the track bike he used at Mallory Park in the previous round. Although running a standard engine Hicky went out in Sunday’s two races purely to try and pick up some valuable points to protect his second place in the Mirror.co.uk Cup.

Hicky ran in fourth place for the majority of the 20 laps of race one before moving through to third on the penultimate lap but on the final circulation he was pushed wide and forced to run across the grass at Hawthorne to end the 20 lap affair in fourth place.

The second race went much the same way with Hicky moving through to take up second position for a while before losing out to the faster bikes on the straights. He persevered through the 20 laps to bring the Ultimate Racing Yamaha R1 home in fourth place once again to consolidate his second place in the Cup.

“It’s a bit of a shame really that we could only manage fourth again,” said Hicky. “In the first race I was third for a while but they just passed me going in a straight line. Literally nobody has passed me round a turn all weekend; it’s always been down the straight, basically because we are on a standard engine.

“It’s my home round next at Cadwell Park so hopefully we can find the funds to get the bike up and running. We really do need to find a sponsor to help as we are really struggling. We had the problem at Mallory where we snapped the crank and ruined the engine and unfortunately my crash yesterday finished the new engine off. We have spent around £12,000 in the last two weeks that we haven’t got so we need to find some money. If we could get the engine done properly I know I can run within the top 10 of the main British Superbike championship so if there is anyone out there that would feel able to help in any way please get in touch.”

The next round is on home tarmac at Cadwell Park , just a few miles from Hicky’s home in Louth. Free practice and qualifying take place on Saturday and Sunday with racing set for August Bank Holiday Monday, (August 21st.)

Louth rider Peter Hickman came away from Mallory Park with a handful of points and two podium finishes in round seven of the British Superbike championship on Sunday to retain his second place in the Mirror.com Cup.

Nothing went to plan for the 22-year-old Lincolnshire rider as he had to contend with some major problems right from the start of the weekend.

He had been running on borrowed forks but they had to be returned prior to the weekend. Hicky managed to acquire a replacement but they were different and affected the set up on the bike which had to be resolved before he was able to put in any fast laps.

Friday’s free practice brought more problems for the young rider as the Ultimate Racing Yamaha R1 broke a crank during the session. The only replacement engine available to him was a standard engine which would be well down on power to the rest of the field and at one stage he considered pulling out of the races and returning home.

But after a few minutes to gather his thoughts he decided to stay and see what happened in qualifying. More problems awaited Hicky as in final free practice the bike refused to start and he lost much of the session before replacing a fuse which did the trick. He managed to get one lap in before the flag went out but at least the bike was up and running in time for qualifying.

Considering he was running on a standard engine Hicky put in a sterling effort to claim 19th place and a fifth row start to the two races on Sunday.

“I figured this was going to be a hard weekend but it turned out to be more difficult than we anticipated. First of all we had to adjust to the new forks and then in practice the crank snapped. It’s not done many miles and it is a standard crank so really it shouldn’t be doing that. So that messed up our number one bike so we had to borrow my sponsor’s road bike that he uses on track days. We put the forks and yolks and swing arm on it and here we are ready to go! To be fair I didn’t think I would get into the top 20 so to finish qualifying in 19th place is good.”

Race one saw Hicky circulating in 18th place for much of the race until a multi-bike pile up involving the six leading riders brought the red flag out with a result declared after 22 of the scheduled 30 laps. The fallen riders’ misfortune actually benefited Hicky as he was catapulted up the finishing order to 12th position to claim a further 4 championship points in the main series and a third place in the Cup. He had been running third in the cup for most of the race and that position was not affected.

Race two began in wet weather and as the race progressed the rain became worse until the track was considered too dangerous to continue and the race was brought to an early end at half distance and half points awarded.

Hicky ended his race in 14th place to pick up another championship point in the main series plus 10 points in the Cup for second place in which he maintains his second place 44.5 points behind series leader Gary Mason.

The next round is at Brands Hatch on August 9 when Hicky will have three races to contend with, one on Saturday and two on Sunday. He will be seeking a trio of strong results to maintain his position in the Mirror.com Cup and edge nearer to the series lead.

Louth Superbike rider Peter Hickman recorded two podium finishes at Knockhill on Sunday to move within 40 points of the series lead in the Mirror.co.uk Cup that is run within the British Superbike championship.

Hicky has never shone at the Fife circuit but on this occasion he rode to a fine 14th place in qualifying to start his two 30-lap races from a fourth row grid position.

“The weekend is going ok for me actually,” said Hicky. “I have never really got on too well at Knockhill but I am fairly happy here this year and have produced my best qualifying position of the season. I like the circuit and enjoy riding here but I have never had a good result here yet.

“To put in my best qualifying of the year on a bike that is not really as quick as everyone else is good. The bike is handling really well, this last couple of meetings has seen a vast improvement and with Knockhill being a short twisty circuit that’s what we need sooner that the sheer power at other circuits. I have been trying to get up onto the front four rows for the last few rounds and I have achieved that here. I am only 0.1s away from 11th place and was running in 10th for a while in the first session so I am really happy.”

Race one saw Hicky secure 12th place overall and second in the Cup. Series leader Gary Mason crashed mid-race and Hicky ended his race in second place to pick up a further 20 championship points which sees him edge nearer to the series lead.

“I got away fairly well but seemed to struggle in the first few laps. But once I got myself into a rhythm the bike felt good, although I did seem to struggle a bit with rear grip. But all in all the bike has been working well all weekend and 12th is my best result ever at Knockhill.”

Race two saw Hicky power the Ultimate Racing Yamaha R1 through to a 14th place finish in the main British Superbike championship to seal third place in the cup and step onto the podium once again.

“I was a little bit disappointed with race two to be honest,” said Hicky. “We made a couple of changes to the bike but it made absolutely no difference whatsoever. Again I struggled a bit with rear grip and after Ian Lowry came across the line with smoke pouring out his bike I backed off as I thought the race would be been red flagged. There was that much oil about that it really wasn’t safe, but the organisers for whatever reason didn’t do that. I am sure if someone had fallen off then it would have been stopped but why wait until that happens. Because I backed off I lost touch with the group I was circulating with and completed the race in a very lonely 14th position.

“Tom Bridewell actually did me a favour by taking the win in the Cup because Gary Mason only finished in second place so I have not lost out on so many championship points and with him not finishing the first race I am now only 40 points away from him.”

The next round is a little closer to home at Mallory Park on July 19. Hicky has always gone well at the Leicestershire circuit and will be hoping to record a strong finish to his two races in order to move nearer to the series lead.

After securing two runner-up spots in his two races at Snetterton on Sunday, Louth rider Peter Hickman leapfrogs Martin Jessopp to move into second place in the rider standings of the Mirror.co.uk British Superbike Cup that is run within the main British Superbike championship.

Hickman began his Snetterton campaign from a fifth row grid position in 18th place and made progress through to 14th place within the space of two laps of leg one. But his efforts were all in vain as the race was red flagged on lap three because of oil on the track at Sears.

At the restart the Ultimate Racing Yamaha rider didn’t manage such a good start but after passing series leader Gary Mason he settled into 16th place to become the top Cup rider circulating on the track. But a late charge from newcomer Tommy Bridewell saw Hicky relegated down the order to finish in second place in the cup and 17th in the overall British Superbike race.

Race two saw Hicky get another good start and he moved straight into 16th place. He became embroiled in a battle for supremacy between himself, Gary Mason and Atsushi Watanabe with Mason just holding his line to the chequered flag ahead of Hickman who pulled away from Watanabe to secure second in the cup and finish in 15th place overall to pick up another championship point in the British Superbike championship taking his total to five.

“In the first race I got a little bit beat up on the first lap but nothing major, its is about time I got through the first lap without being run off onto the grass. Then we had the stoppage and at the restart I got away really well, the first lap went ok and I just built from there. Gary Mason’s engine had a misfire and I nearly rammed the back of him so that cost me some time and allowed Tommy Bridewell to catch and pass me.

“In race two, again I started really well and got into a rhythm but then let Tris Palmer past which was a bit of a wrong decision as he kept holding me up for the first few laps. But once I got past him again I was around three seconds behind Jon Kirkham and Gary Mason and it took me all race to catch them back up. I eventually got there with two laps to go but because they were fighting between the two of them I couldn’t find a way past. But it was close as Gary jumped the chicane on the last lap and I nearly highsided myself so he still beat me to the line. We have closed the gap on him this weekend as he didn’t finish the first race so that’s good for us.”

The next round is at Knockhill in Scotland on July 6 where the 22-year-old Lincolnshire rider will be chasing a top result in the cup to move nearer to the championship lead.

Lincolnshire Superbike ace Peter Hickman secured a brace of third places in the Superbike Cup at Thruxton on Sunday, also picking up a further British Superbike championship point for 15th place in the second of the two races. He finished the first race in an overall position of 16th for Ultimate Racing, just missing out on a further championship point.

Qualifying saw the Louth-based rider again make it through to the second shoot-out. He ended up in 18th place for a fifth row start to the two 20-lap races at the 2.356-mile Hampshire circuit but was none too pleased with his grid position.

“I had a good weekend up until Saturday, everything went well on Friday and I was really happy with the bike but today I seemed to hit a bit of a brick wall and couldn’t increase my speed any further,” said Hicky after qualifying. “This afternoon we made a few changes and did go a bit quicker and made it through to the second session but it just didn’t quite work right for me and I was a bit disappointed as I was looking for a top 16 to move up to the fourth row. I am not a million miles away but just a little bit unhappy really.”

As the first race got underway, Hicky was pushed wide, losing a lot of places and had to claw his way through from 23rd place on the first lap to finish in 16th, just missing out on a championship point in the main British Superbike championship. But, being the third Cup competitor to cross the finish line he was awarded a further 16 points in that section.

The second race went a little better for the 22-year-old ace who made steady progress to complete the 20 laps in 15th place, picking up another championship point in the main series and another third place in the Cup.

“We struggled a bit all weekend with set up and not being able to make the tyre last the distance, I wasn’t really where I wanted to be on the grid. I made a cracking start to race one but someone made a mistake ahead of me and I had to run wide losing a lot of ground. The same thing happened again at the first chicane so I ended up down in 23rd place for a while. But I managed to get back up to third in the cup and 16th overall so not too bad a result in the circumstances.

“I didn’t get the best of starts to the second race and nearly stalled the bike on the line. But once we got going it was a good race for me, I wasn’t too far away from the group ahead and if I had another couple of laps I could perhaps have moved further forward.”

Hicky remains third in the Cup but has lost a bit of ground to Martin Jessopp who is now 26 points ahead in second position. But in turn Hicky is 37 points ahead of Tom Tunstall who holds fourth place.

The next round is at Snetterton in Norfolk on June 21 when Hicky will be striving to grab another set of top results and hopefully begin to make a breakthrough in the main British Superbike championship.