Smiths Racing's Peter Hickman remains inside the top six in the overall MCE British Superbike championship standings, after a brace of fourth place finishes at Brands Hatch.

But the road racing star is 'gutted' to have missed out on a podium in the opening race at the GP circuit. He felt the team deserved to finish on the podium, but the race was stopped before the chequered flag appeared due to the changing weather conditions.

What the S1000RR racer is pleased with, is that he was able to bag some points to keep hold of his Showdown spot. Hickman has 119 points, and is nine  points ahead of Tyco BMW's Christian Iddon.

“I’ve felt really strong all weekend although  I was gutted to have missed out on a podium in the first race. I really felt we  deserved a top three finish but the race ending prematurely put paid to that  although we did have the consolation of some solid points," said Hickman.

"My grid position for race two held me  back a bit but I got stuck in from the start and put some good passes in  although I didn’t quite have the pace to catch Ellison and Iddon.

"I’m trying really hard to get up to  fourth in the championship to give myself a bit of a buffer but I’ve  strengthened my hold on sixth place. I’m really happy with the weekend, I’m  really happy with the bike and delighted for the team so roll on Thruxton.”