Hickman finds the going tough
PETER Hickman's stuttering MCE Insurance British Superbike season continued as the Louth rider came away with a solitary point from a gruelling weekend at Donington Park.
Hoping to bounce back from a disappointing home showing at Cadwell Park two weeks ago, Hickman's Buildbase BMW bike struggled with pace from the first practice session on Friday, while 15th on the grid was all he had to show for a tough Saturday qualifying session.
He fared little better on Sunday, finishing 18th in race one after a poor getaway at the mid-race restart cost him dearly, before salvaging a point for 15th in race two – struggling throughout with tyres and grip issues.
While he did not feel fully recovered from the injuries sustained from his fall at Cadwell, the 25-year-old was refusing to make any excuses for his disappointing Leicestershire outing.
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"I'm still limping a bit but it's not affecting me on the bike," said Hickman. "It's just not quite going the way we want it to go.
"I thought the bike might be alright come the race itself but I was struggling to keep up and keep going forwards.
"I'm frustrated, it's hard work and I don't really know what to do when it's like that because it's the sort of situation where everything you try is not working.
"I've still not got my starts sorted out and that really cost me out there, not that I was in a good grid position anyway but a good start might have been able to claw something back for us but it just didn't happen.
"We were fast enough to be on the podium at Cadwell and it just didn't happen but we knew the pace was there – here was completely different, it was clear the pace was not there first thing Friday and we spent all weekend playing catch-up."
Hickman's precarious position at Buildbase makes the result all the more difficult to swallow – his inclusion as a mid-season addition to the team means his race seat for next season is not yet certain.
With only three rounds remaining to show the team what he has to offer, Hickman knows he will have to put his Donington disaster behind him and kick on towards the upcoming double header at Assen and Silverstone.
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