Bike delays hit Peter Hickman’s British Superbikes prep

There are just a few days to go before the 32-year-old racer takes to the track for the opening round of the 2019 British Superbike Championship, at Silverstone, over the Easter weekend.

But the late delivery of his new Smiths Racing BMW Superbike has left the Lincolnshire rider playing catch-up, having missed pre-season testing.

Yet with a lot of hard work from the Smiths racing technicians, the bike was up and running last Wednesday, with Hickman able to get some miles under his belt prior to the first free practice session on Good Friday.

He said: “So today we finally turned a wheel on the Smiths Racing BMW Superbike and it sounded epic. Bring it on.”

Last season Hickman completed the year in a close fifth place overall and will be aiming to better that this year.

He will also once again compete at the three major road races this year, the North West 200, Isle of Man TT races and the Ulster GP after spectacular results last summer.

He recorded the fastest-ever time around the Isle of Man’s world-famous 37.73-mile TT circuit.

Hickman clocked an average of 135.452mph as he swept to victory in the final race of the week, the Senior TT which officially made him the fastest man in the world on two wheels.

The timetable for Silverstone is:-

Friday - Free Practice one 10.20am, Free Practice two 3.30pm. Saturday - Free Practice three 10.35am, Qualifying 4pm. Sunday- Warm up 9.30am, Race one 30 laps 1.30pm, Race two 4.30pm.