TT 2018: Superstock winner Hickman recaps 'hardest race'

Peter Hickman says he has never raced harder around the TT Mountain Course than he did on his way to victory in Monday’s Superstock race.

Hickman claimed his first win at the event on the Smiths BMW and set a stunning new 134mph lap record.

With good conditions all day around the 37.73-mile course, Hickman’s Superstock race got off to the worst possible start when he ran straight on at Braddan Bridge, dropping all the way down the order to tenth as he lost around 15 seconds.
 
However, he quickly got back into his rhythm to move up to third by the end of the opening lap and, second time around, he smashed the class lap record with a speed of 134.077mph. Despite that, there was still only three seconds covering Hickman and main rivals Michael Dunlop and Dean Harrison, with his lead being only 1.2 seconds.
 
The gaps continued to fluctuate and at Ramsey on the fourth and final lap, Hickman only led Dunlop by 0.146s but with some record sector times over the Mountain, he edged away to eventually win by 4.4 seconds, with his final lap of 134.403mph setting a new Superstock lap record and only just outside the outright lap record set by Harrison on Saturday.
 
Hickman said: “Sitting here now as a TT winner feels pretty good! I thought I’d fluffed it at the start though when I overshot on the way into Braddan and I had to stop, reverse and then turn around again before I could get going and I must have lost 15 seconds at least. 

“After that, I got my head down and it’s probably the hardest I’ve ever ridden around here whilst the wind also caught me out a couple of times over the Mountain as it was constantly changing direction. 

“I’ve been fast on the Superstock bike all week and clawed my way back up to third at the end of the first lap, so I thought I was still in with a chance,” he added.

“I just got my head down and rode as hard as I could so this means a lot to me, my family and the team. With a podium in the Supersport race after a really good scrap with James Hillier, it’s been a good day and certainly makes up for the retirement in Saturday’s Superbike race.”