Hickman’s hospital dash
Hickman gets double rostrum just hours after hospital drama
Peter Hickman stormed to a heroic double podium at Thruxton just hours after being rushed to hospital by ambulance in the middle of Saturday night. After a disappointing first half of the season, Hickman was keen to kickstart his 2018 campaign at a circuit where he won and finished second last year and things got off to a strong start for the Smiths BMW rider as he topped both of Friday’s sessions. However, a spanner was thrown in the works as he was taken ill on Saturday. He looked set to miss Sunday’s races after being admitted to Winchester General Hospital on Saturday evening where he was diagnosed with a kidney infection, but the determined Lincolnshireman convinced doctors to let him return in time for Sunday’s races.
Despite missing warm-up, Hickman was strong in the opening race running fifth in the closing stages before a coming together between Jason O’Halloran and Josh Brookes gifted him third place. But he went one better in race two with a hard-earned runner-up spot, crossing the line just 0.3 seconds behind victor Josh Brookes. “I had a fever while in Japan (racing in the Suzuka 8-Hour) but thought it had gone,” Hickman explained. “I was fine on Thursday and Friday but on Saturday I woke up feeling horrendous with a banging headache and a fever that got worse throughout the day.
“It was boiling hot outside but I was freezing cold. I went to bed after doing the absolute minimum possible in qualifying and I was drifting in and out of consciousness. When my girlfriend Nat arrived, she got the paramedics round and they decided to call an ambulance and I went into A&E. “Turns out I have a pretty bad kidney infection. They put me on an IV overnight and gave me some antibiotics, but I was determined to get back to the track.
“My body temperature was nearly 39 degrees and I was still at 37 on Sunday morning. I convinced them I was fit enough by doing some press-ups and proved my balance was good and that I wasn’t going to pass out. I’m not an idiot; if I felt s**t I would have pulled in. My concentration was fine, I was a bit weak in race one but in race two I was a lot better and the result showed.” Hickman’s rides have turned his season around. A double noscore for sixth-placed Danny Buchan means the Senior TT winner now sits just seven points outside the all-important top six. “If I was to have any hope of getting in the Showdown I needed a good weekend,” Hickman said. “When I fell ill I was gutted, I thought it was going to end our hopes. Cadwell and Silverstone are strong tracks for me so, fingers crossed, we can put the hammer down and go from there.”
Then races on Sunday to best results of year BMW star rushed to hospital Saturday night