Road Racing News lead road racer of 2019 award goes to, drum roll, TT Races lap record holder Peter Hickman.
Already established for many as the world’s leading International Road Racer, the 2019 season has seen the laid back, calm, cool Hickman further embolden his reputation as one of road racing’s greatest exponents from the first two decades of the 21st century.
At a glance Hickman’s quite incredible International roads CV from 2019 includes 11 victories and overall 14 rostrum finishes.
Obviously when looking back on Hickman’s prodigious season, we can’t but not focus upon his exploits at the FonaCAB Ulster Grand Prix.
In impeccable, ominously strong form during qualifying, the Circle K Airport Road Service Station Superbike race saw him better him set an official new Ulster GP lap record of 136.415 mph!
Consolidating his world’s fastest road racer title, he went onto secure in style class honours, emerging victorious by just over 5.6 seconds.
Following his latest record breaking, history making feat, he went onto set more groundbreaking meeting records. Which included going the entire event unbeaten, in the process becoming the first rider to take seven wins from seven starts at the Ulster GP.
Prior to the prodigious week of competition at Dundrod, Hickman had powered to Superstock Race 1 success at the North West 200 and enjoyed another memorable TT Races expedition.
Like all competitors, practice week at TT 2019 proved more than a touch challenging for the Smiths Racing rider who was steadily gelling with BMW’s latest generation S1000RR model.
Despite the lack of track time, continuing the learning process with new machinery, he began race week with victory within the red flagged RST Superbike race.
Third in the opening Monster Energy Supersport race, TROOPER Triumph mounted Hickman went onto scoop class honours in the second middleweight machinery encounter, edging out respected rival Dean Harrison to bring Triumph back to the TT winners circle.
Hickman made it a hat trick of victories at TT 2019, following a dominant, peerless display within the three lap Royal London 360 Superstock race.
Although TT 2019 ended in disappointing fashion with technical gremlins curtailing his chance of retaining the prestigious Senior race crown, it was still overall a very, very productive sixth TT campaign for the fastest Mountain Course newcomer in history.
Macau GP runner-up last month, BSB showdown contender Hickman has unquestionably in my opinion been the leading International roads exponent of 2019.
Staying with new official BMW Motorrad UK roads representatives, Smiths Racing for 2020, it’s going to take remarkable performances a plenty from his fellow roads aliens next year, to stop him furthering his already stellar, acclaimed reputation.
Words by Stevie Rial
