Peter Hickman went in to round 8 of the Bennetts British Superbike championship at Cadwell Park in seventh position and just seven points off the top six. The annual ‘Party in the Park’ race meeting at the esteemed Lincolnshire circuit was the penultimate race of the 2018 calendar before the top six riders fight out for the title in the final showdown races at Oulton Park, Circuit Assen and Brands Hatch.
Following a double podium finish a fortnight before at Thruxton, a weekend that saw him rushed in and out of hospital before recording third and second place finishes, Hickman headed in to his home race looking to continue a period of good form and emulate his 2014 performance that saw him seal his first career win on the Cadwell circuit.
Over the weekend, a seventh position finish in race one and a well secured fourth place in race two jumped Hickman into Showdown contention as he entered sixth position in the BSB standings ahead of Kawasaki rider Danny Buchanan whose place in the top six he takes. The Showdown as it stands is Leon Haslam in first position, followed by Dixon, Irwin, Brookes, Ray and Hickman, with a strong group of riders in the form of Buchanan, Iddon, Byrne and O’Halloran making up the chasing pack.
With three weeks until the triple header race at Silverstone (07-09 September) Peter Hickman has time to overcome the kidney infection that saw him hospitalised at Thruxton and which admittedly affected his concentration in race two at Cadwell.
LEW sponsored Paul Birchall Motorsport also enjoyed a strong performance at Cadwell. Glenn Irwin on the PBM Be Wiser Ducati posted a fourth and fifth place finish, respectively. After a nasty crash in free practice on Friday that left him with an injured shoulder for the weekend, it was a strong finish for the PBM rider whoses performance leaves him 3rd in the championship going into Silverstone.
Watch the on-board highlights from both race one and two at Cadwell Park below.
Missed Peter Hickman’s recording breaking TT performance early in the year? Watch it here.
Glenn Irwin (left) and Peter Hickman (right) at Cadwell Park, Sunday 19th of August 2018.
Photo Credit: M.M.Wrzesinska
