SUCCESS FOR HICKMAN AND BROOKES AT THRUXTON
Improving on the double victory at Brands Hatch was always going to be a tall order for the EP-supported teams, but the seventh round of the British Superbike Championship at Thruxton turned out to be just as thrilling. The Smiths Racing team clinched its first podium positions of the 2018 season after Peter Hickman defied illness to claim second and third place finishes, while Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) wasn’t quite ready to miss out on a taste of the victory champagne…
In the first race at the Hampshire track, it was JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Leon Haslam who scored the win after a six-way battle. However, it had been an intense cat and mouse chase between Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki), Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki), Brookes, Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati), Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) and later Hickman, before he managed to secure the top step of the podium a mere 0.118s ahead of Dixon.
After a collision between Brookes and O’Halloran at the Chicane, Hickman, who had only been released from hospital earlier that day after a kidney infection, managed to secure third place, while Brookes finished fourth ahead of Irwin in fifth. Brookes’ McAMS Yamaha team-mate Tarran Mackenzie finished just inside the top ten in ninth position, while Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) and Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) were unable to complete race distance.
In the second race of the day, it was Brookes who was back on top of the podium, this time managing to fend off Hickman by just 0.305s to claim his third victory of the season. Eager to score his first win, Hickman was on a mission to the chequered flag but Brookes managed to hold on just long enough for the victory.
This time, Mackenzie secured a solid fifth place finish while Glenn Irwin finished ninth. Andrew Irwin finished the race in 11th position and Laverty finished in 13th place while Hickman’s Smiths Racing team-mate, Sylvain Barrier, finished in 20th position.
The next round of the British Superbike Championship takes place at Evotech Performance’s home round at Cadwell Park (17-19 August) and we’re looking forward to catching up with our EP-supported teams at the Lincolnshire track. We’ve been supporting race teams for almost 30 years and work closely with them to develop the best parts we can for the track, such as our Radiator Guards, which ultimately helps us to refine them for the road too.
