THE FHO Racing BMW team plans to come out fighting this weekend as round two of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship gets underway at Oulton Park.
After the season-opener at Silverstone earlier this month, Superbike riders Peter Hickman and Ryan Vickers along with Superstock boys Alex Olsen and Jack Nixon are looking forward to a different challenge at the Cheshire circuit.
At a track the championship visits twice each season, Hickman is looking to pick up where he left off at last week’s official BSB test when he ended the day third fastest. Last year, he scored a podium there and finished all six races within the top five.
Team-mate Vickers is equally keen as he bids to improve on the top 10 finishes he has scored at Oulton in previous seasons and build on his results from his team debut at Silverstone.
In the Pirelli National Superstock Championship with MotoNovo Finance, both FHO Racing with Kobelco riders Olsen and Nixon aim to be challenging at the sharp end.
Last time out, Olsen banked a second place in race two after being knocked off while leading the season-opener as rookie Nixon – who won at Oulton three times last year – left the opening round joint fourth in the points after scoring a fifth and a sixth.
Peter Hickman (Superbike)
“We were really strong at the first Oulton round last year so I’m hoping we can have another one like that. Of course, you never know and year-to-year it always changes so we’ll have to see.
“We had a really good test there last week and finished the day third quickest -hopefully that’s given us a bit of an inkling as to how we’re going to go. It’s all looking good, I’m really looking forward to getting back out there and seeing what we can do.”
Ryan Vickers (Superbike)
“I’ve always liked Oulton Park, I’ve been strong there in the past and the team has had great success there so I’m looking forward to it. It’s a different track – it’s a proper British track and I can’t wait to ride my FHO Racing BMW M 1000 RR there.
“A few people took big points hauls at Silverstone but I’m sure we will be able to make up for this at Oulton and the other rounds coming up. The team has a really positive mindset and I’m very excited about getting going again.”
Alex Olsen (Superstock)
“After Silverstone I’m raring to go! Obviously, we were disappointed that we lost out in the first race but our result in the second proved we are strong this year and I am confident we can continue to demonstrate that this weekend.
“I finished on the podium at Oulton Park last year and I was really pleased with our progress at the opening round so I believe we should be able to have a solid and strong round. I’ll be aiming for the top step this weekend.”
Jack Nixon (Superstock)
“Oulton is one of the trickiest circuits on the calendar – I don’t enjoy it as much as some others but I do have a good history there. Last year I won three of the four races there, I don’t necessarily enjoy it but I do seem to get good results so I can’t complain.
“I think I’ve got to go in open minded. Everywhere is going to be a different challenge, it’s a lot different to Silverstone it’s almost the polar opposite but I feel really good going into it. We’ll see what we can do.”
Team Principal, Faye Ho
“I think we got the best we could from Silverstone which was always going to be our toughest round and now the whole team is feeling very excited about getting back to a real track!
“We had a very positive test at Oulton Park last week where Peter set the quickest lap in the first session and ended the day third so we’re all very much looking forward to seeing how this translates into a race weekend.
“We only have one Superstock race this weekend but I know both Alex and Jack will be fighting hard and battling for podiums. All in all, I am confident the whole FHO Racing team will enjoy a good weekend in Cheshire and I’m looking forward to seeing our results.”
