Iddon impressed with Hickman pace at Donington

Bennetts Suzuki rider Christian Iddon says that the pace of RAF Reserves BMW rider Peter Hickman amazed him last weekend at Donington Park. Hickman took some of his best ever results last weekend, finishing fourth and fifth in the opening two races of the season.

And Iddon had a grandstand view, sitting behind the Lincolnshire rider for almost the entirety of race two, where the Suzuki racer finished in fifth, less than a second behind.

“Nobody expected Hicky to do what he did; he was absolutely amazing, and I know that because I sat for his arse for twenty laps! He was actually rubbish in two corners, and I thought I’d have to try and get past him and bridge the gap to the leaders.

“The next thing I know, he’s fixed himself, and I thought ‘oh flipping heck Hicky!’ But then he started to bridge the gap, though, and pulled both of us towards the leading group, until I started to run out of steam in the final few laps.”

The weekend, Iddon’s first full introduction to BSB, came as something of a culture shock to him, too. With a much higher level of competition throughout the field than the WSB championship he raced in last year, the Stockport racer says it punishes any error.

“The problem with BSB is that you can make a small mistake, leave yourself twentieth on the grid, and you’re nowhere. Look at Ellison, who won the first race in fine form, and could only get through to twelfth. Normally, in most series, a race winner could get close to the podium after starting from the back of the grid!”