Peter Hickman scored the best result of his career when he finished second in race two at a rain-hit Thruxton MCE British Superbike round on Bank Holiday Monday.    It was also the best result of the year for the Quay Garage Tyco Honda team – who also enjoyed a third place with Tommy Bridewell in the opening race of the year at Brands HatchHickman was at the top of his game all weekend, qualifying fifth in the dry and then finishing fifth in the opening wet race. Hickman even led the race briefly at the mid-point – the first time in his career he had led a British Superbike race.Hickman said: “My bike is megga. We go from track to track and don’t even touch the chassis – apart from a few clicks to suit the circuit. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.  “In the first race I turned the traction control up at the start to save the tyre for later in the race but it was too much at the end and held me back a bit. It was good to lead a BSB race for the first time - but when Lowes came by me I couldn’t see a thing.” In race two though Hickman really shone, fighting off a determined bid from the vastly experienced Michael Rutter, to finish second – a career best finish for the 24-year-old who is fast emerging as one of the ‘finds’ of this year’s BSB season.“I learned from race one about the traction – when and where to use it,” he said. “But when Rutter came by me at the end, I could see he still had a little bit more grip than me at Goodwood and Church. But I just thought, ‘I can’t let him go,’ and did him straight back each time he passed me.”Hickman’s brilliant weekend means he’s now sixth in the championship after four rounds. The top six riders after nine rounds go through to the championship deciding three-round Showdown so Hickman is well placed to be a title contender.Quay Garage Tyco Honda team-mate Tommy Bridewell didn’t fare so well, plagued by handling problems all through the weekend. He retired from race one and finished 17th in race two, blinded by spray in the middle of the pack.Bridwell said: “It’s been a tough weekend and disappointing to come away with no points at my local circuit. We’ll have to regroup at Knockhill. Patric Muff, though, finished a brilliant 15th overall in race one on his first visit to the fearsomely fast Thruxton circuit.  He placed third and fourth in the BSB Evo competition and sits fourth in the championship standings.  Muff said: I’m really happy with my weekend. When I first saw the circuit I just couldn’t believe how fast and wide the track was – with so many bumps. The team has worked really hard to help me understand the circuit and now I’m looking forward to the next challenge at Knockhill.”Team owner Ian Woollacott said: “I’m delighted for Peter. He’s chipped away every weekend since joining us, improving every time he rides the bike and, to be honest, this kind of result has been on the cards for a while. “My hope when we started the year was for Peter to be in the top ten in the first half of the year and top six place in the second half of the year. To be leading BSB races and be on the podium by round four is beyond my wildest dreams.“It’s been a tough weekend for Tommy though. We’ve got to put this behind us and go to Knockhill and get things back on track for him.“And as for Patric – what a brilliant job he’s done this weekend. Thruxton is a really demanding track but he’s got stuck in scored two more top four finishes in BSB Evo and was a really impressive 15th overall in race one, beating several of the more experienced BSB riders.”