Fourth place for Louth's Peter Hickman at Daytona 200
On just his second visit to the Daytona 200 event, International motorcycle racer Peter Hickman from Louth rode to a strong fourth place in the 83rd running of the event around the 3.56 mile circuit at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida on Saturday.
Riding the PHR Performance Triumph 765 RS and supported by Triumph, Hickman along with teammate Richard Cooper took advantage of the free practice and qualifying to get the bikes set up ahead of the Time Attack in which the grid positions were set for the start of the 200 mile race. Hickman completed the Time Attack as the top International rider in fourth place with Cooper right behind him in fifth position.
With 57 laps, two pit stops and 32 riders from six countries contesting the event the scene was set for an exciting two hour spectacle and it did not disappoint. As the flag dropped Hickman completed the first lap in fifth place while Cooper was running in second. But after 25 laps a heavy shower of rain brought out the red flag and the race was delayed for half an hour. At the restart a rider crashed heavily and again the red flag halted proceedings.
Again the race was restarted and this time it was Hickman who got a fantastic start to settle into third place with Cooper in fifth. But Cooper, who had won at Daytona in the past was quick to take the lead until he encountered a technical problem with the PHR Performance Triumph which sadly caused him to retire on lap 35.
Meanwhile Hickman was holding a comfortable fifth place prior to the final pitstop where the PHR Performance team worked hard to get him back out in record time. Once all the pitstops were completed the timing screens revealed that Hickman was up to fourth place with an advantage of eight seconds over Brandon Paasch which he held to the chequered flag.
Hickman said: “Mega race in the Daytona 200 today! I am really happy to have finished fourth having had battles at the front throughout and even leading the race momentarily!
“My PHR Performance, official Triumph racing 765 ran perfectly throughout.What a team! From the guys back in Louth, Dave and Michael and to the team over in Daytona, overall, a great result. All the hard work and planning came together. The crew also impressed in the Pit Stop Challenge in Victory Lane and were one of the fastest during the race. Huge thanks to our sponsors as we couldn’t have done this without you all.”