Hickman survives scare to reach BSB Showdown

Peter Hickman may have ended Sunday without scoring any points but the Smiths Racing BMW rider will make up the Bennetts British Superbike Showdown having held on to secure the final spot at Silverstone.

After an oil pressure sensor switch broke on his BMW midway through race two of the Silverstone triple-header, Hickman’s top six place came under threat from a number of riders and further problems with a second technical issue, later confirmed as a water temperature sensor failure, in the final race before a timely red flag having had to start from the pits.

Following a quick fix before the restart of race three, Hickman made impressive progress up the order only for his progress to be hit by a broken gear lever which saw him drop back down the order and out of the points.

But Hickman was handed a reprieve with all the chasing pack unable to reach the position needed to overhaul him in the standings, with Danny Buchan going closest but missing out by four points.

It marks Hickman’s second consecutive BSB Showdown appearance to continue his impressive 2018 feats after taking his maiden Isle of Man TT wins in the road racing scene earlier this year.

“We’ve had some problems today,” Hickman said. “But the Smiths Racing BMW team has done a fantastic job despite us having a few issues this weekend but to be honest the bike had not really missed a beat all year before so I can’t complain too much.

“We had really good pace and I think we could have finished inside that top five in any of the races but it didn’t work out that way. We had a bad qualifying which was partly my fault but I am more than happy to get into the Showdown for the second year running.

“It is great to be the only BMW in the Showdown as it is a big thing for us so be able to reward them and Smiths with a second year in the Showdown is absolutely fantastic.”

Hickman is also hopeful of a qualifying breakthrough uncovered at Silverstone which could improve his below-par performances so far this year and boost his chances in the Showdown.

“The last three rounds for us are all pretty strong but the BMW works really well at them all,” he said. “We are in a good place and seem to have found something this weekend after qualifying which could be a big thing because generally my race pace is pretty good, especially at the end of the race. If I can be in the mix of the top five at the start I know I can be strong later on.”