Isle of Man TT lap record holder Peter Hickman will go up against the WorldSBK field at Donington this weekend as he stands in for the ill Markus Reiterberger.
Hickman will join Tom Sykes in the works BMW Motorrad team after getting the late call up from team boss Shaun Muir. Reiterberger has been taken ill in his native Germany and is unable to ride this weekend.
“First of all, I’m sorry for Markus that he is unable to race at the weekend and I wish him a speedy recovery. At the same time, I am happy to step in and support the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Donington Park,” said Hickman, who races for Smiths BMW in BSB.
I didn’t have to think long when I got the call from Shaun Muir. I want to thank the team for the trust and my Smiths Racing BMW team for allowing me to compete in WorldSBK this weekend.
“And a big thanks to Dunlop UK, as I should have been racing in the French Superbike Championship for them this weekend and they enabled me to do WorldSBK instead.
“It’s quite some years ago when I raced in this series but I know the BMW S1000RR and the track at Donington Park very well, so I am confident that I can do a proper job for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team.”
Reiterberger has contracted a severe viral infection and a high fever. He spent last night in hospital for observation and will undergo further tests. The attending physicians have banned him from flying and working.
“We are very sorry to hear that Markus is sick, feels unwell and is not fit to ride this weekend. I thank him for letting us know as soon as possible to give us time to find a replacement," said Muir.
Obviously it was very important to us to have an existing BMW rider as a replacement rider and Peter Hickman is an ideal choice for us.
"He is already riding the current bike and he agreed to join us very quickly so we are very hopeful that he can do a good job for us at Donington Park and assist us with the development of the BMW S 1000 RR.
"At the same time, I want to thank his team, Smiths Racing BMW, for releasing him for this event and hopefully we can have a good, positive race this weekend before we go to Laguna Seca.”
