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Hickman to race IoM on ‘heavy’ Norton Superlight

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Peter Hickman to return to Isle of Man on Norton Superlight

It has been confirmed that Louth-based Peter Hickman will return to the Isle of Man TT races in 2020, racing the Norton Superlight in the Bennetts Lightweight Race, with the bike this time prepared and run by his own Smiths Racing Team.

BSB Rnd Donington DYeomans Peter Hickman AROA
Peter Hickman – Image by David Yeomans

The five-time TT Race winner joined John McGuinness and Davey Todd for a three-pronged assault with the new 650cc Norton Superlight in 2019 but was only able to complete two qualifying laps ahead of the shortened two lap race. While his Norton teammates both retired from the race, Hickman came home in a strong eighth position and posted a fastest lap at an impressive average speed of 120.260mph.

The decision for the bike to be prepared and run by the Smiths Racing team in 2020 allows the Norton factory to focus solely on increasing production of their road bikes.

Development of the Superlight race bike moves to Smiths Racing, but the team are no strangers to producing a race winning machine in a short space of time after taking victories in the 2019 RST Superbike and RL360 Superstock TT Races despite late delivery and little testing with the new BMW S 1000 RR.

The Lightweight Race has become a fiercely competitive class in recent years and the 32-year old is clear in his objectives.

Peter Hickman

“It handles really well which is especially important with the lightweight bikes. They don’t have much horsepower so they need to be able to turn properly and the bike did that immediately. Of course, there are things we need to change. It’s really heavy – heavier than my superbike – because it’s still a road bike and a lot has to be done to make it lighter. I think the podium is realistic and the win would be the cherry on top. I don’t go into anything thinking that we can hopefully finish sixth! The reason we’re doing this is because I feel the bike has potential. If I didn’t feel that, I wouldn’t be doing it.”

IoM TT Hickman ImgRichardSykes
Peter Hickman – Image by Richard Sykes

Success for Hickman and the Norton Superlight would undoubtedly hold extra significance for the Lincolnshire man, after his father Dave Hickman played a key part in the success of the JPS Norton team and the iconic rotary-engined bikes of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

Now with bikes for six different races at the 2020 Isle of Man TT Races, could Hickman be the first man in TT history to claim six TT victories in a single week? It’s not impossible!

Source: MCNews.com.au

News

Norton adds Superlight 650 racer

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Just a week after Norton launched the 650cc Atlas Nomad cafe racer and Ranger scrambler, they have added the Superlight road-legal racer.

While the Nomad will sell for £9995 (about $A17,700, $US12,750) and the Ranger for £11,995 ($A21,250, $US15,300), the Norton Superlight will sell for about £19,950 ($A35,350, $US25,500).

That’s a lot for a 650cc bike, but we expect its main purpose is to compete in the Lightweight TT class in next year’s Isle of Man TT.

It will be raced by 23-time IoM TT winner John McGuinness who moved from Honda t Norton this year but didn’t race because of injury.

Why does it cost so much?

Superlight by name …Norton Superlight

Well, for a start, it is covered in carbon fibre from the wheels to the body work and single-sided swingarm.

Together with a polished aluminium tube frame instead of steel in the Atlas models, so it weighs just a dashing 158kg.

That’s 20kg less than the Atlas and if you add the optional titanium exhaust system it drops another 6kg.

Suspension is top-shelf Ohlins with NIX 30 forks and TTX GP monoshock.

Norton TTX-GP 7
Ohlins TTX-GP shock

Brakes are big Brembo 330mm discs on the front with M50 calipers.

It also features an up-down quickshifter, IMU traction and ABS controllers, colour LCD dash and race-worthy electronics such as wheelie and launch control.

Power-to-weight ratio

The 650cc liquid-cooled parallel twin engine in the Atlas models is basically half of the 120cc V4 Norton are working on for their engine V4 flagship model which is expected to be released next year.

In the Atlas Nomad and Ranger, it produces a modest 62kW of power at 11,000 revs and 64Nm of torquer.

In the Superlight it makes 78kW which gives it a racy power-to-weight ratio.

We are still awaiting news from Norton on the V4 and it remain s a mystery what the British company has planned for India.

The company last year signed a deal with India’s Kinetic Group to build 650cc motorcycles for Asian markets.

When we mentioned this before, the company was at pains to say all their bikes are handmade in England.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com