Peter Hickman has moved up into the top six showdown places after another impressive performance at Cadwell Park.
The Smiths Racing BMW rider was still struggling with illness following his kidney infection, but was still able to battle through to seventh in race one and then fourth in race two. A crash for Danny Buchan in the opening race paved the way for Hickman to move up into the top six.
For the opening race, Hickman started from the middle of the third row and got off the line well to make up places early on. The tight and twisty circuit made overtaking difficult, with Hickman having to settle for seventh.
Hickman got away well once again in the second race, and he comfortably ran inside the top six for the entire race distance. The local man would end the race in a comfortable fourth position, to further cement his place inside the showdown.
Looking back over a positive weekend, Hickman said:
“It’s been a pretty good weekend and although we’re still struggling a bit with grip and I’m still a long way short of being at full fitness, fourth and seventh place finishes are a pretty good set of results especially as I’ve now moved into sixth place overall and into one of the Showdown positions.
“Race one wasn’t too bad as the safety car period gave me a bit of a breather but the second felt more like two races and at half race distance I was beginning to flag a little. It was hard to keep my concentration, so I just tried to stay relaxed and hit all my markers. I kept fourth place until the end and now I’m in the top six, I’ll be doing everything I can to stay there.”
The weekend’s results mean that Hickman sits seven points clear of Buchan in the fight for the final showdown spot. The showdown places will be confirmed in a triple-header at Silverstone in three weeks time.
