Peter Hickman topped the times after the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship free practice sessions at Thruxton today, launching the Smiths Racing BMW to the fastest time in the Hampshire heat as he bids for a place in the Showdown.
Hickman had topped the opening session and with the times improving in the afternoon,

the Smiths Racing BMW rider stayed at the top with an edge of just 0.273s from FS-3 Racing Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan who surged up the order in the closing stages.
Multiple Thruxton race winner Josh Brookes moved up into third to lead the Be Wiser Ducati charge, narrowly ahead of Jason O’Halloran on the McAMS Yamaha as four different manufacturers featured in the leading positions.

Championship leader Scott Redding was fifth fastest on his first visit to Thruxton with Glenn Irwin clocking a time to end the opening day in sixth place on his debut with Tyco BMW, and narrowly ahead of his brother Andrew.

Rookie Ryan Vickers climbed inside the top ten in the afternoon session; the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki rider edged out Ben Currie on the leading Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki. His teammate Hector Barbera had a crash in the second session; the Spanish rider sustained a fracture to his right fibula and is having physio. He will be reviewed for fitness tomorrow before free practice three.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, Free Practice 2:

1. Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) 1m:15.140s
2. Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +0.273s
3. Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.439s
4. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.467s
5. Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.584s
6. Glenn Irwin (Tyco BMW) +0.623s
7. Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.642s
8. Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) +0.655s
9. Ben Currie (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.702s
10. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing Ducati) +0.716s

For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com

Peter Hickman – Smiths Racing BMW
Fastest in free practice
“We have had our usual day one really but it has been a good one! I felt really strong and happy with how it has gone today. We took an educated guess with the setup and we went straight out and did a 20-lap race run and the lap times were pretty good even at the end.
“The first session here is usually harder on tyres here as the track starts the weekend a bit green, but it didn’t seem to be like that today. We are in a good position at the moment but we have some tweaks we know we now need to make for tomorrow because qualifying is crucial and we really paid for that when I crashed at Snetterton at the last round.
“We have learnt a lot today and we finish the day happy and ready to try and make some more improvements tomorrow.”