Peter Hickman says BSB regulations have worked against BMW as return ruled out

14-time Isle of Man TT winner Peter Hickman says the LEW 8TEN Racing team has no desire to return to British Superbikes, after withdrawing from the championship earlier this season. 

Hickman, alongside 8TEN Racing co-owner and road racing team-mate Davey Todd, has prioritised getting back to full health this year following an injury-hit 2025 season. 

Hickman, who suffered a violent crash at the Daytona 200 in March, then added to his TT podium record at this year’s event. However, the 39-year-old was unable to clinch victory in any of the five races that went ahead, with victories split between Dean Harrison (2) and Michael Dunlop (3). 

Like Todd, Hickman’s main focus going into the closing stages of 2026 and into 2027 is on the roads, and for now at least, that means the BSB “ship has sailed for us”.

This is because BMW is not being supported enough in the British Superbike Championship, according to Hickman.

Of course, a switch to a different machinery would maybe change whether Hickman wants to race in BSB, but that does not look to be on the cards.

In fact, Hickman says the help he receives from BMW Motorrad, as well as major sponsors Monster Energy and LEW, has “been fantastic”.

While BMW’s M1000 RR remains one of the best bikes in road racing trim, it has lacked competitiveness in BSB against the likes of Yamaha’s R1, and the Ducati Panigale V4 R, in particular.

With Hickman no longer racing in BSB, the TT legend instead made his debut at the Oliver’s Mount event in Scarborough, while also entering the Southern 100 for the first time. 

Speaking on the Outside Line Podcast, which is hosted by Jack Burnicle and James Whitham, Hickman explained why a return to BSB will not happen, saying: 

“I think the BSB ship has sailed for us, even for 8TEN as a whole. “It [BSB regulations] just doesn’t work in the way it’s meant to work and it’s not helped in the way it should have helped, and we felt like we weren’t getting the help we needed. We’re not talking about financial support because with what we get from BMW and Monster, and all our sponsors – LEW – they’ve been fantastic. 

“[I’m talking about] regulations help, I’m not going to go into all of it, but how some manufacturers get certain help: the BMW has never won a BSB championship, has never won consistently and doesn’t get anything, any help at all, yet there’s other manufacturers that got concessions and help and they’re winning races a lot. You just kind of think it doesn’t quite correlate.”

Hickman went on to admit he misses racing in BSB, although the same can’t be said about the politics involved, and when asked if his team was done with the series, Hickman added: 

“Yes, one hundred per cent, unfortunately, which is a shame because I’ve been in the BSB paddock for 23 years, I’ve loved all of it and I still miss it now: I miss the racing – I don’t miss the politics – I miss racing with my mates and racing on these great circuits like Oulton Park and Cadwell.”

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