It was a tough end to the season for the Hawk Kawasaki Team at Brands Hatch this weekend, 29th September - 1st October. Only youngster Peter Hickman gained two creditable results on his Dunlop-shod Kawasaki ZX10-R with a 16th and 11th place respectively in the two weather struck Superbike races.
After qualifying in 20th position the young 19-year-old ended his season on a high with a strong finish and 18th place in the overall Championship, a valiant effort for his first year in the tough domestic Championship. His team-mate Craig Coxhell had a very disappointing weekend after qualifying in 15th place. A first lap incident, which saw Marshall Neill high-side on the exit to Druids corner, taking out the 23-year-old Australian. After a nasty bang to the head he was forced to pull in during the second race.
With varying weather conditions throughout the race, once again tyre choices were essential, with torrential down-pours occurring every half an hour it was impossible to judge what was going to happen next. Hickman rode two confident races on his debut appearance on the 2006 ZX10 and was unlucky to miss out on the points in race one.
Hickman has consistently scored points in the last seven races and has developed and matured as a rider as the season has progressed. Commenting he said, "I can't believe the season has come to an end already. I was getting frustrated at the start of the year and not being able to score any Championship points but things have settled in nicely and I've ended the season on a good note. I would like to thank everyone involved at Hawk Kawasaki for all their hard work and dedication over this season."
A disheartened Coxhell said, "This is certainly the way I didn't want to end the year. I was hoping that I could get some strong results at Brands, as it's a track I like and also have some knowledge of. I had no-where to go when the rider crashed in front of me and it appeared to be a fairly fast crash. I took a bang to the head and thought I would try and give the second race ago but I was really struggling and therefore was forced to pull in. I'm gutted and I am sorry for the team who had worked so hard all weekend and all year."
Race One Result:1, R Kiyonari Honda
2, L Haslam Ducati
3, M Rutter Honda
4, T Hill Yamaha
5, G Richards Honda
6, S Smart Suzuki
7, B Wilson Suzuki
8, S Andrews Yamaha
9, J Haydon Suzuki
10, C Martin Honda
16, P Hickman Hawk Kawasaki
Race Two Result:1, L Haslam Ducati
2, R Kiyonari Honda
3, J Rea Honda
4, K Harris Honda
5, M Laverty Honda
6, J Haydon Suzuki
7, B McConnell Yamaha
8, M Rutter Honda
9, G Richards Honda
10, B Wilson Suzuki
11, P Hickman Hawk Kawasaki
Overall Championship Positions:1, R Kiyonari 466
2, L Haslam 458
3, G Lavilla 377
4, J Rea 248
5, K Harris 244
14, C Coxhell 94
18, P Hickman 42
Related Linkswww.hawkkawasaki.co.uk
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