By Peter Hickman became the first racer from UK shores in the 21st century, to claim the coveted Robert Holden Memorial feature race title at the Cemetery Circuit Races after a dramatic ten lap encounter.
Battling throughout for premier race honours with reigning champion Scott Moir, 2017 TT Privateers champion Horst Saiger, the tenth and final lap saw Hickman aboard the Carl Cox Motorsport BMW make a decisive final corner move to jump into 1st at the right time, which he maintained to the chequered flag.
His race winning margin stood at just 0.297 of a second over Suzuki New Zealand’s Moir, whilst Metzeler backed, YZF R1M Yamaha mounted Saiger rounded out the podium finishers.
Speaking via Facebook about yet another phenomenal pure road racing achievement, new Robert Holden Memorial feature race champion Hickman stated:
“The sign of a good day is rubber under the seat from a winning burnout! After finishing P8 in race 1, we managed a podium in the last corner of race 2!
Then for the Robert Holden Memorial trophy race we snatched the win on the final corner, thanks everyone at Carl Cox Motorsport and Smiths Racing, finishing with a win at Cemetery Circuit was the icing on the cake. One of only 3 people to win as a newcomer since it started in 1951.”
Outside of the podium finishers, remaining places within the top 10 of one of the best Superbike races to grace the famous Cemetery Circuit in recent times, were clinched respectively by Daniel Mettam, Adam Chambers, Jay Lawrence, David Hall, Toby Summers, Livio Zampieri and Damon Rees.
In total 16 racers completed the ten lap race, which will be remembered for many, many years to come in New Zealand and worldwide.
Cemetery Circuit Races: 2018 Robert Holden Memorial feature race results are as follows:
1 Peter Hickman
2 Scott Moir
3 Horst Saiger
4 Daniel Mettam
5 Adam Chambers
6 Jay Lawrence
7 David Hall
8 Toby Summers
9 Livio Zampieri
10 Damon Rees
11 Rogan Chandler
12 Ashton Hughes
13 Jamie Maindonald
14 Jordan Burley
15 Mark Perry
16 Brad Groombridge
Words by Stevie Rial
