We’re big fans of Peter Hickman here at Visordown.
He’s a seasoned race winner in the British Superbike Championship, he is arguably the fastest road racer in the world right now and he’s a top notch bloke. What a triumvirate.
In fact, you don’t see many mistakes from his experienced hands, especially in BSB which must feel like a Sunday afternoon cruise when compared to threading a full throttle Superbike through the eye of an Isle of Man shaped needle.
Still, it’s reassuring to know that when things do get a bit lairy Mr Hickman can keep his head cool and his motorcycle upright, even in the most challenging of off-track moments such as the one he experienced at Knockhill this weekend.
After missing the apex (by a postcode’s length) at Duffus Dip, Hickman’s FHO Racing BMW M 1000 RR turns toboggan as it launches across a patch of gravel, before bouncing through the grassy dip before giving Quattro some unexpected exposure by ploughing through the advertising hoarding like in a scene from a (low budget) movie.
OK, we don’t make it sound terribly spectacular in words, so you’d better watch the video but with the BMW bouncing and bunny-hopping and the race track looming up ahead, we were certainly holding our breath because nobody needs man and machine skating - upright or otherwise - into their paths from stage left.
But is it more impressive than Jonathan Rea’s wild antics from a weekend earlier during the Donington Park WorldSBK round? There wasn’t a advert to smash but Craner Curves is fearsome enough without having to navigate it on grass… wet grass at that.
This compilation of saves is just for one race
Always surprising us @jonathanrea #GRBWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/SeWEVpitVv
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) July 3, 2021
However, we must say neither quite surpass the efforts of one rider during the 2019 WorldSBK round.
You may not have heard of Alessandro Delbianco, who largely circulated at the back of the field on the Althea Honda, but he deserves respect for not only staying upright at high-speed on wet grass at Craner Curves, but does so channelling his inner Randy Mamola with both legs dangling over one side.
