THE FHO Racing BMW team took points across the board as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship hit Cadwell Park – the team’s home round.
Despite not managing any podium finishes, the team’s riders each picked up points in their respective races.
As the championship brought back Superpole for the Bank Holiday Monday event, Superbike rider Peter Hickman banked a good lap to line up fifth for the opening race, crossing the line sixth. A seventh place followed in Race Two, and he ended the weekend with another sixth in the last race.
Team-mate Ryan Vickers, meanwhile, discovered 13 is not necessarily unlucky as he bounced back from a crash in Superpole to secure three 13th positions and more points as he got to grips with new settings on his BMW S1000 RR.
In the Superstock class, only one of the FHO Racing with Kobelco riders – Alex Olsen – was able to race this weekend after team-mate Jack Nixon suffered a big crash on Sunday resulting in a broken collarbone.
This left Thruxton double winner Olsen flying the flag for the team single-handedly. Starting from fifth on the grid, he was spent the whole race challenging at the front end, just missing out on a podium as he crossed the line fourth.
Peter Hickman, Superbike
R1: P6, R2: P7, R3: P6
“My home round here at Cadwell has not gone my way to say the least. On Saturday I did an alright first free practice and then in second free practice I couldn’t go any faster at all and ended up in 13th which is not ideal, but it did give us a little extra track time because I then had to go into Q1.
“We had Superpole which was great and I managed my fastest ever lap around here. I was happy with that, fifth on the grid which sort of salvaged the weekend a little bit.
“But when it came to the race I really struggled off the start. I don’t know why, it didn’t really go my way at all in the opening laps. We did make some changes and by the end of the weekend we were actually really fast – in the last race I probably had the pace for a podium but I was just too far back.
“It just wasn’t our weekend, I can’t really put my finger on what exactly it was but the team did a fantastic job as normal, I can’t thank them enough – we’ll come back at Snetterton and have another go.”
Ryan Vickers, Superbike
R1: P13, R2: P13, R3: P13
“It’s been a tough weekend. On Saturday in FP1 and FP2 we actually made a good step and we got the chassis and the bike in a decent place but I was struggling all weekend with gearing and then we went the wrong way with the chassis in the end to compensate which hindered us a lot in the last race.
“But we have learnt a lot here – however we seem to keep learning just a little too late. We have ended the weekend with three point scoring finishes – three 13s isn’t really what we wanted but it’s points on the board.
“There are definitely things to take from the weekend and we’ll just keep working on and look forward to Snetterton. I am a bit frustrated but we have to move on and move forward now.”
Alex Olsen, Superstock
P5
“The start of the race was very good, we settled into a good pace, the bike felt good to be fair for the first three or four laps and I got some good lap times in so for me that’s good going, considering we haven’t done a lot of riding here.
“I think it just came down to track time, the three boys in front of me have all had more track time here so considering we’ve not ridden here since last year it hasn’t been too bad.
“All in all, the weekend was good, we scored some points and we roll onto Snetterton where hopefully we can get back to winning ways and try and close the championship down again.”
Jack Nixon, Superstock
“We had a fairly positive Saturday but made a lot of improvements in FP2, the bike felt really good, I felt really good on the bike and we were just moving forward so I had quite a lot of confidence going into qualifying.
“We came in for a new tyre quite near the start just to get a bit of clear track and on my out lap something really strange happened – I’d been getting a few false neutrals and unfortunately had one on the out lap of my second run. I went onto the grass and just released the brake but the front folded instantly and kind of slapped me down on my right side and hit my head – and unfortunately broke my collarbone.
“Of course, I want to be back as soon as possible but I want to be back strong and healthy I don’t just want to come back for the sake of it so we will see what happens in the next few days and where we go from here with my treatment and recovery.”
Team Principal Faye Ho:
“Cadwell Park may not have been as successful as it was for us last year but this is racing and it doesn’t always go your way. We arrived hoping we could get some more wins and it hasn’t happened so we move on and keep working hard.
“I am pleased with the hard work the whole team has put in this weekend, riders, crew, everyone. It’s been a tough weekend at times but the team has kept fighting and smiling and we have finished with points in every race we started.
“Of course, we were all disappointed for Jack but all we care about at this point is getting him back to fitness and back out when he is ready. Alex was very strong again in the Superstock race and again, came very close to another podium.
“While the results may not look as good as we all perhaps may have wanted, we are a positive-thinking team and we won’t dwell on it. We will regroup and continue to work hard and will come back out fighting at Snetterton in a fortnight.”
