Hickman switches to Yamaha in Supersport for 2020 roads campaign

Peter Hickman and Smiths Racing will compete in Supersport races on the roads with a Yamaha YZF-R6 for 2020 as he ends a three-year run with Triumph’s Daytona 675.

Both Hickman and Smiths Racing have enjoyed significant success with Triumph, as the team secured two British Supersport titles with Glen Richards and Billy McConnell respectively, while Hickman and Gary Johnson have also won Supersport TT races at the Isle of Man TT. Hickman also took a hat-trick of wins last year at the Ulster Grand Prix with Triumph.

But due to the lack of parts now available on the ageing Triumph, Hickman and Smiths Racing have opted to switch to the Yamaha R6 which has become a dominant force in the 600cc class in recent years.

Hickman will continue on the BMW S1000RR in the ‘big bike’ categories in both BSB and on the roads in 2020 having become the official BMW-supported team for the roads in 2020. The British rider will also contest Lightweight races with the Norton 650 Superlight.

“We’ve made the decision to change from the Triumph to the Yamaha in the Supersport class for the International road races which will obviously be a bit different to the last three years,” Hickman said.

“We’ve had an awesome time with the Triumph and it’s been absolutely brilliant with the win at last year’s TT and all three victories at the Ulster Grand Prix being phenomenal.

“The little Daytona has done a fantastic job but, unfortunately, it’s a little bit long in the tooth now so to try and move with the times and keep up with what everyone else is doing we’ve decided to move over to the Yamaha. I’ve never actually raced an R6 before so I’m really looking forward to jumping on it to see what we can do.”

Assessing his 2020 plans overall, Hickman is satisfied he has the full package to continue to fight for top honours on all fronts having become a dominant force on the roads with five Isle of Man TT wins while he set a new record of seven wins in a day at the 2019 Ulster Grand Prix.

“We’re all really looking forward to 2020 and having the official BMW support for the first time is a big thing for us as we're a privately-run, small team so to get that recognition is absolutely fantastic and nothing short of what, I feel, the team deserves - what we’ve achieved over the last three years has been pretty epic,” Hickman said.

“We’re also running the Norton Superlight and carrying out all of the development work on the 650 Superlight which the team have already got in pieces and set to work on to hopefully turn the bike into a race winner at the TT.”