Hicky back up to speed on the BMW
2023 wasn’t a year to remember for Peter Hickman in BSB but he was all smiles on Sunday afternoon after an encouraging start to testing.
The FHO Racing BMW man went 0.7s faster than he managed racing last season despite the windy conditions and having to use the harder SCO tyre, which he’s not a fan of. The team made a number of little changes to the M1000RR and it seemed to be working as a package for the Isle of Man TT race winner.
“I’m the most comfortable I’ve been for a long time,” Hickman smiled as he spoke to MCN on Sunday.
The BMW riders are having to use the standard cam shafts this season due to an update in the regulations aimed at levelling the playing field across the five manufacturers.
“The engine actually feels a bit softer than last year, which isn’t necessary a bad thing as it’s something I was asking for. It’s not about power, it’s about how it delivers the power,” he revealed.
“The standard cams are good because they’re soft for the road, so it makes the engine less aggressive. Yes, you have less horsepower, but if it’s more usable or more linear because of it, then it’s a good thing. As it stands at the minute the engine, if anything, is a little easier to ride with.”
Hickman believes he turned a corner towards the end of last season and revealed that he has some “fresh ideas” after working with Michael Rutter in recent months.
“He has some different ideas and has been throwing some ideas about. You can say this is a new bike, but really, it’s an evolution of the bike I’ve been riding for five years. It’s easy to fall into the ‘oh that doesn’t work because we know’ whereas sometimes you need to revisit stuff.
“Having that outside person come in now at this very point has actually been a positive for us.”
Teammate Josh Brookes was frustrated after being unable to find improvements over last year’s bike.