The Smiths Racing Triumph team ended their season in dramatic style with Glen Richards clinching the 2012 Motorpoint British Supersport Championship and team-mate Billy McConnell taking a superb double victory to end up third in the series for the Gloucester team.
But that only tells half the story as both Australians were involved in what's best described as one of the biggest cliffhangers ever seen in British motorcycle racing!
Saturday's 10-lap Sprint race was arguably one of the best races of the season with no quarter asked or given between the leading seven riders. McConnell led in the early stages before Richards and Christian Iddon overhauled him and when Glen hit the front on lap six, the championship situation was looking promising with Kennedy back in fourth. That meant the gap would have been 24.5pts with just 25 available on Sunday but Billy had other ideas as he still needed to secure third overall in the table from Iddon.
The final two laps saw it get a little physical and as Billy crossed the line for his fifth win of the year, Kennedy squeezed by Richards on the run in to the line to claim second place resulting in Glen's lead being reduced down to 8.5pts with just the final race to go.
Sunday's 18-lap race started with Billy in third, Kennedy in sixth and Glen in seventh but it all went wrong for Richards on only the second lap when he missed a gear at Hawthorn and crashed out, seemingly handing the title to Kennedy. However, the Irishman's bike hit problems on lap eight and he retired to the pits, thus handing the title back to Glen and the Smiths team. Meanwhile, Billy was embroiled in a race long battle with Iddon and Richard Cooper which saw him get the win over Cooper as he secured third place in the overall title table.
Meanwhile, having qualified on the fourth row, Metzeler National Superstock 600 Championship rider Johnny Blackshaw put in a solid ride to claim his eighth top-ten finish of the year. The Stretton youngster took a fighting ninth place to end the year in eighth place overall.
Glen Richards: "I really don't know how to describe this weekend, it's just been crazy and it's certainly been a rollercoaster. Both Jack and I have had bad luck during the course of the year and I wanted to win the championship in style so it's not the way I wanted to win it and I really feel for Jack but that's racing I guess. One minute you're up, the next down, and then back up again. I missed a gear in the second race and ran into the gravel so it was purely my fault and the title had gone so I think someone upstairs was looking after me today. To end the year as British Champion is superb and the team have done an awesome job all year so hats off to them."
Billy McConnell: "It's been a tough weekend and both races were incredibly hard with lots of close racing and wheel to wheel action. I had a bit of a coming together with Christian on more than one occasion so it's a shame he crashed but I'm very happy to have ended with another win. Both Glen and Jack deserved the championship and it's been a fantastic year in Supersport and whilst it would have been nice to have ended with the number 1 plate, it's great to end with a double victory. The team have been awesome so hopefully it will be my year in 2013."
Rebecca Smith: "To be standing here as British Champions is a really fantastic feeling but it's fair to say it was a nerve-racking weekend from start to finish! We said all season that there were no team orders and that could be seen on Saturday although it wasn't exactly how we would have liked it as there were certainly a few heart-stopping moments. Adrenaline does a lot of things to people but we got two podiums from the first race and we were still leading into the final race so we still held the upper hand. What happened today is simply too hard to put into words and there were tears, both good and bad, but the eventual result saw the team take both wins and the championship. It means so much to everyone concerned with the team and we're all absolutely over the moon so a big thank you to every single person that's been part of Smiths Racing Triumph in 2012."
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 1 10 laps1 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph)2 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha)3 Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph)4 Christian Iddon (Triumph)5 Richard Cooper (Triumph)6 Luke Jones (Triumph)
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 2 18 laps1 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph)2 Richard Cooper (Triumph)3 Luke Jones (Triumph)4 Graeme Gowland (Yamaha)5 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)6 Taylor Mackenzie (Yamaha)DNF Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph)
Final Championship standings (after 12 rounds)1 Richards 372pts2 Kennedy 363.53 McConnell 3404 Iddon 285.55 Wilson 2596 Cooper 2217 Mossey 172
Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship (14 laps)1 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)2 Joe Collier (Triumph)3 Josh Wainwright (Kawasaki)4 Kyle Wilks (Kawasaki)5 Tim Hastings (Kawasaki)6 Bjorn Estment (Yamaha)8 Johnny Blackshaw (Smiths Racing Triumph)
Final Championship standings (after 13 rounds)1 Jackson 199 pts2 Burke 1743 Rose 1694 Dixon 1355 Olsen 1056 Wainwright 988 Blackshaw 91
