Top-10 treble for Hickman

Competing in the British Superbike championship the Smiths Racing rider was pleased with his continued progress.

After qualifying in 12th position the rider started the first race on Saturday from a fourth-row grid position and held 10th place on the first two laps.

He dropped back to 12th but then made a move forward to 11th on lap six of 26.

He then made it through to eighth place on lap 20 but was once again beaten back to 10th where he remained to the chequered flag.

Sunday’s first race saw Hickman start from the fourth row of the grid and conditions were considerably different compared to Saturday, with cooler temperatures and showers.

On this occasion, Hicky ran inside the top 10 throughout and was involved in a battle with former MotoGP rider Hector Barbera for much of the race, eventually taking ninth position when the race was red flagged for rain.

Hickman was able to start the third and final race from seventh on the grid and completed the first lap in ninth position.

He made progress through to sixth place on lap 12 of 26 but was eventually beaten back to seventh by Christian Iddon with four laps remaining.

Hickman crossed the finish line in seventh place to pick up nine championship points which take him up to 11th place in the rider standings.

He said: “It’s been a tough weekend but we’ve steadily improved although we’ve had an issue under braking which we’ve never totally cured.

“It was slightly better in the last race and I’ve ended the weekend with three top-10 finishes so we’re making progress.

“The potential of the bike is huge, we’re just not quite unlocking it all at the moment but we’re moving in the right direction for sure.”

The next round is in three weeks’ time at Brands Hatch on June 14-16, but before that Hickman travels to the Isle of Man for the TT races.

Hickman holds the outright lap record around the gruelling 37.7-mile mountain roads course and will be anxious to defend that and also add to his haul of winner’s trophies.