Points for Hickman at Brands

Brands Hatch GP ‚ Round 1

It was a mixed weekend for the Hawk Racing Team at the opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch Circuit, Kent. Superbike riders Peter Hickman and Scott Smart gained varied results in the two races. Hickman secured two encouraging finishes with a 15th and 12th but Smart struggled throughout the weekend and after a huge crash in morning warm up he found it difficult to gain the results he would have like and finished the races in 21st and 20th place respectively.

In front of a huge 41 000 spectators who were baking in the Kent sunshine, Hickman was eager to gain some positive results after qualifying in a strong 12th place. A poor start saw the youngster drop down to 15th after the first lap and soon he was locked in a battle with Tommy Bridewell for the final Championship point. In the second race he was battling with the reigning British Champion Kiyonari for 11th place. Commenting he said ‚ “I m reasonably happy with the way the weekend has gone, I have left Brands in 14th position in the Championship which is a fair start to the year. I had a few problems during the race and seemed to be struggling with tyres like most people. I m pretty happy with the second race result and hope we can improve things at Thruxton. ‚

Scott Smart suffered a number of problems through the weekend and could only salvage 25th position in qualifying. A 167 mph crash in morning warm up saw the Maidstone based rider heading into the two races a little sore and worse for wear. A disappointed Smart said ‚ “It s been a long weekend and I ve been struggling with a few issues, which I know can be rectified and I have confidence that we can sort it out. I m not happy with my results but I also haven t had much time on the Hawk bike and hopefully things will improve as the season progresses and I get used to riding the ZX10 again. We have a few things to sort on the bike and I know the team are working hard to get some problems sorted before Thruxton at the weekend. ‚

The Hawk Junior Teams got a harsh introduction to the fiercely competitive British Championships at Brands and young 18-year-old Jak Wright just missed out in qualifying for the Supersport Cup race by 0.1. 20-year-old David Hallett qualified in 26th position in the tough Superstock Cup Championship but struggled with arm pump during the race and he gained a 31st place overall.

The next race is at Thruxton this weekend 13th ‚ 15th April, a full timetable can be viewed on the link below: -

http://www.mcrcb-events.co.uk/gallery/THRUXTON%20FINAL.pdf

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