Peter Hickman mastered the tricky conditions yesterday afternoon to take victory in the opening race of the weekend at Brands Hatch.
The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider was able to stay upright on his machine and avoid any trouble in a race that was full of accidents, rain, restarts and safety car periods.
Hickman, who originally started the race down in 11th place, got away well after the final restart and slotted in behind his teammate James Ellison.
Six laps into the restart however Ellison slipped of his Kawasaki – leaving Hickman to hold his nerve at the front of the pack.
Hickman did just that and crossed the line to take his second victory of the season, and the lead of the Riders Cup standings.
Afterwards a relived Hickman said: “People were saying at the start of the race it was my kind of conditions but to be honest just to finish the race was a hard thing! I’m not sure if you could see it on the TV but my bike was moving around a lot and the two left handers on the Indy circuit were like ice.
“When James came through I was quite happy as it meant he could test the conditions but when I saw him go down he did absolutely nothing wrong so I panicked a bit more! From that point my plan was just to keep going, being cautious and if someone came by me I would then change tactics. Thankfully we were able to manage from the front and the bike was working fantastically so a huge thank you to the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team!”
The final two races of an eventful 2016 MCE British Superbike season take place today in a revised timetable at Brands Hatch.
Race two is scheduled to take place at 1:15pm, with the final showdown due to get underway at 4pm.