Peter Hickman celebrates his 38th birthday today. He’s been racing in the British Superbike Championship since 2006, mostly on board a BMW, but he’s perhaps better known as a road racer.
Hickman’s first TT was in 2014, when he claimed the record for being the faster ever newcomer, with an average lap speed of 129.104 mph (207.773 km/h) and a race-average speed of 125.38 mph (201.78 km/h). How do you learn a circuit that’s 37.730 miles (60.718 km) long so you can go go that quickly? You do 70 laps in a hire car, that’s how.
His first taste of success came in 2018 when he beat Michael Dunlop in the Superstock event, breaking the lap record twice in the process. He also took home the Senior TT trophy that year, raising the absolute lap record to 135.452 mph (217.989 km/h) on the final lap.]
2019 saw Peter bag three more wins, in the Superstock, Superbike and Supersport, on a Triumph Daytona 675R.
In 2022 and 2023, Hickman went one better and won four of the TT races. A feat equalled only by Phillip McCallen and Michael Dunlop. Ian Hutchinson holds the record with five wins in a single week.
A single trophy in 2024 brought his total to 14, putting him 6th on the list of all-time winners alongside Ben and Tom Birchall (sidecars), and the great Mike Hailwood.
Hickman currently holds the all-time lap record, set in 2023 during the Superstock TT race 2, with an average of 136.358 mph (219.447 km/h). It’s hard to imagine, so take a look at this…
