BSB: Hickman returns to rostrum at Assen

Peter Hickman enjoyed his strongest round since Thruxton as he returned to the rostrum in the second race at Assen this weekend.

The Smiths BMW rider led seven laps of the second encounter before finishing third, while a fourth place in race one made him the second-highest points scorer of the weekend behind double race winner Leon Haslam. He’s now just eight points behind Josh Brookes in the fight for third place overall.

“We were fast from the word go this weekend,” Hickman said. “I had my usual rubbish qualifying session, but I made a great start in race one and showed we had the pace to win at Assen. A small mistake from me at the end meant we just missed out on the podium, but it was great to be back at the head of the field where we should be.

“It was great to start race two from pole position and I made the perfect start, but the safety car period hurt us a bit as the tyres cooled off a bit too much. The tyre was chattering a lot in the last six laps as I’d spun it on the rim when I was trying to generate some heat, but it was great to be back on the podium and we’re well in contention for third place in the championship.”