Taylor Mackenzie made an impressive debut earlier today in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship with Tyco Suzuki, scoring his first top-10 of the year with ninth position in the opening race.
The race was red flagged after just two laps and later re-started over a sprint-distance of 16 laps around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. Starting from 15th place on the grid, the 20-year-old Ashby de la Zouch-based rider worked his way through some heavy traffic to finish ninth, posting his fastest lap on the final circuit.
Taylor Mackenzie:
"That was a good solid start to the season and we picked up some good points. With the testing we've had so far, that was all we could have hoped for really. It's the first time I've done 16 laps in a row on the GSX-R600 and my lap times were consistent; I actually did my fastest lap on the last lap of the race.
"It all bodes well for tomorrow, but the front bunch is fast and, although I was at the front of my group today, the plan is to work on closing that gap to the fast guys. I got held up a little bit at the start but if I can get off the line well tomorrow and hang in there in the early stages I don't think we will be too far away from that front six."
Philip Neill - Team Principal:
"Taylor acquitted himself well on his debut and has fitted in well with the team so far. He's a hard working lad and today's top-10 is the confidence boost he needs to chip-away at his lap times and build on that result during the season. The Supersport class is in great shape at the minute, so he should be pleased with that result today as there's more to be lost at the first round than gained. We will be looking for something similar tomorrow from him on the Tyco Suzuki GSX-R600."
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship, Race 1 Result: 1 Stuart Easton (MarTrain Yamaha); 2 Billy McConnell (Smiths Triumph) +0.255s; 3 Alastair Seeley (Gearlink Kawasaki) +0.262s; 4 Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) +0.507s; 5 Glen Richards (Smiths Triumph) +1.350s. 9 Taylor Mackenzie (Tyco Suzuki) +14.4543s.
