Macau Grand Prix: Thirteen-time TT winner Hickman secures fourth career win over Guia circuit
- Published
Peter Hickman had Davey Todd close in his wheeltracks in the early stages of the Macau 12-lapper
Thirteen-time Isle of Man TT winner Peter Hickman secured a fourth career success at Saturday's Macau motorcycle grand prix in southern China.
The FHO Racing BMW rider dominated the 12-lap race to win by more than 28 seconds from fellow English rider Davey Todd, with German David Datzer third.
Two-time British Superbike champion Josh Brookes placed fourth on his debut over the 3.8 mile Guia circuit.
The race was re-started after two riders crashed in the initial running.
Republic of Ireland rider Brian McCormack and female Dutch competitor Nadieh Schoots both went down on the opening lap but were described as "comfortable" after being taken to hospital.
Lincolnshire racer Hickman had set the pole position time in qualifying and dominated the race from the start to clinch his first win at the event since 2018.
Todd, riding a Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW, gave chase in the early stages, but ultimately had to give second best to his rival.
The Yorkshireman was forced to miss the initial running of the race as he pulled his bike off the grid with a mechanical problem, but was afforded another opportunity when the red flags came out following the incidents involving McCormack and Schoots at the same area of the track.
Brookes appeared set to mark his bow with a podium finish as he occupied third position for a spell, but then was overhauled by last year's runner-up Datzer.
Rob Hodson and Swiss rider Lukas Maurer made up the top six, followed by Northern Ireland's Paul Jordan and Dominic Herbertson.
Record nine-time winner Michael Rutter was forced to retire after holding on to third spot early on, while last year's winner Erno Kostamo, Australian David Johnson and Phil Crowe also failed to finish.
Race winner Peter Hickman greets Davey Todd on the podium
In Formula 3, Ireland's Alex Dunne finished an impressive second in the qualifying race behind Britain's Luke Browning.
Dunne, competing in his first F3 race in a star-studded field, started sixth and worked his way up in the early stages of the race.
He put pressure on Williams F1 Academy driver Browning but the 18-year-old had to settle for second, where he will start the feature Macau Grand Prix race.
IndyCar driver Marcus Armstrong and Formula E's Dan Ticktum are headlining the F3 field, along with Formula 2 drivers Dennis Hauger, Isack Hadger and Richard Verschoor and a host of Formula 3 regulars who are part of Formula 1 academies.