The Gloucester-based Smiths Triumph Racing Team maintained station at the top of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship following a weekend at Oulton Park with Billy McConnell taking a win and team-mate Graeme Gowland scoring a brace of podiums.
Englishman Gowland and Australian McConnell qualified on pole position and third place respectively on the grid for Saturday’s 10-lap Sprint race and with glorious conditions prevailing, the pair slotted into first and fourth in the early stages. Hexham rider Gowland looked the most likely to win, leading for the first five laps, but it was always close with less than a second separating the first five riders. Sadly for him, he slipped back in the second half of the race, dropping back to third as Luke Stapleford and Billy moved ahead. However, when Stapleford retired on the penultimate lap, Adelaide ace McConnell took full advantage to take his third win of the season with Gowland’s second place giving the team their third 1-2 finish of the season.
Sunday’s Feature race was held in difficult, damp conditions and a five-lap period under the safety car, due to a first lap crash, meant it ended up being a ten lap dash for the flag. Gowland held sway in the early stages aboard the factory-supported Triumph Daytona 675R but couldn’t resist a charging Alastair Seeley who went on to take the win to ensure the championship standings closed right back up again. Gowland took third behind Glenn Irwin with McConnell in fifth meaning the rider from Allendale in Northumberland leads his team-mate by one point with Seeley three points further back in third, exactly the gap between the trio when they arrived at the circuit.
Elsewhere in the British Supersport Championship two other Daytona 675R racing teams illustrated the bike’s superb race pace with Luke Jones (T3 Racing) taking sixth and fourth places across the weekend, Profile Racing’s Luke Mossey secured the last spot on the podium after Saturday’s race and his teammateLuke Stapleford finished seventh on Sunday.
The weekend’s points haul means five of the top seven in the Championship standings are all riding the Daytona 675R.
R&G TriStar Triple Challenge
Oulton Park didn’t feature any action from the R&G TriStar Triple Challenge. The competitive single-make series returns at Cadwell Park over the August bank holiday weekend.
Next Round
Cadwell Park – August 23rd – 25th
