Peter Hickman details Wiz Norton WRS 588 issues after second Classic TT breakdown
Peter Hickman says the Norton WRS 588 was “nearly a new bike” for the Senior Classic TT race, after a complete overhaul was carried out by the team.
Despite a complete overhaul taking place between races, Peter Hickman ended the 2026 Classic TT the same way he started it, by retiring from the Senior race due to engine issues.
Over the course of race week, Hickman started just two races which also included the Formula 1 Classic TT on Sunday.
Hickman raced the Wiz Norton WRS 588 machine on both occasions, but suffered similar issues during both races.
The cause of these problems were centred around the engine misfiring, which got “progressively worse and worse”, according to Hickman.
Speaking to Manx Radio after Tuesday’s Senior Classic TT, Hickman said:
“It was ever so slightly better on lap one, which is why I continued. But it progressively just gets worse and worse. It keeps misfiring. I couldn’t even get into top gear in the end; it was getting so bad. We have changed everything you can think of. When I say everything, it’s nearly a new bike, and it’s still doing exactly the same thing.”
Heading into this year’s Classic TT there was a lot of hype and anticipation around Hickman, after it was confirmed he would be riding for the iconic Wiz Norton team.
It was a partnership that was expected to feature heavily at the head of the leaderboard in some of the key races, however, the issues mentioned put a firm stop to that ever materialising.
It was no doubt a frustrating event for Hickman, who ultimately watched on as Michael Dunlop secured a hat-trick of wins, including victories in both races that Hickman contested.
Speaking in more detail about the changes made ahead of the Senior race, Hickman added:
“We’ve even tried different fuels, we’ve tried different oils, fuel pumps, ECUs, wiring looms, carburettors, different engines, different triggers, different coils. Literally, everything is different. It just keeps doing the same thing, which is really disappointing for the team.
“And obviously for everyone who wants to hear it come round here. We’ve had so many people come round this last week and say how much they wanted to hear it and see it go round.”
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
