Peter Hickman
Checking in with Hicky’s race prep
021, it’s already been a tough one for most people it seems! It goes without saying that this lockdown is dragging, but hang in there people, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel with all the vaccines happening, so let’s all keep our fingers crossed eh?! I’m hoping that by the time you’re reading this we’ll be gearing up for our first test on the FHO Racing BMW M 1000 RRs. It’s been a very busy start to the year for me so far, getting ready for the opening round of the British Superbike Championship.
Although the season starts later this year, it doesn’t mean my training does and in actual fact I’ve been doing more training than normal and even focusing a little more on my diet, though I’m never too strict with myself on this, I love food too much! I’ve enjoyed cycling a lot recently, even on these cold crisp days. There’s no substitute to keeping bike fit though and I’ve been lucky enough to get out to Spain for a bit to ride my own S 1000 RR, Ohvale and 450 flat tracker.
The team have been flat out working on their new unit and preparing for the start of the season. Although the roads are cancelled for the year (except Macau) our goal, as always, is to win the British Superbike title. My aim is firmly on winning that and I can’t wait to try out the new ‘M’ BMW and get the season going! The team are building the all-new M 1000 RRs that myself, Xavi and Alex will be racing this year and we’ve got some shakedown tests lined up alongside the full BSB pre-season tests.
Outside of training, I’ve been really busy on my Peter Hickman Racing side of things. If you don’t know already, PHR Performance is my own engine and bike building/preparation service for a wide range of bikes. We’re in the process of moving into our brand new premises too, I picked the keys up at the end of last month. We’re now busy getting this all set up and currently have the internal steelwork going in. The unit is going to be state-of-the-art and will let us offer everything in-house including a dyno and suspension service so if you are looking to get your bike set up, get in touch, we’re only 10 minutes from Cadwell Park.
I’ve also been flat out on the Ohvale side of things. I’m the UK importer for these machines and we’ve just taken in the all-new Ohvale GP-2, which features the same 190cc engine but with a bigger frame and larger 12in wheels. We’ve already sold quite a few of these which is mega, and we’re currently putting together plans for the second season of the Ohvale UK Cup which looks set to be even bigger than last year… Especially with the news from the FIM/Dorna about the 2021 MiniGP World Series which is for Ohvale GP-0 machines only! More news to follow!
So although there’s no road racing and we’re still a little way away from the start of BSB, things are pretty hectic! I hope you’re all doing well and I can’t wait to see some of you guys soon.