The Gloucester-based Smiths Racing Triumph team are celebrating their first win of the season after Billy McConnell took an impressive victory in round eight of the 2013 Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at Cadwell Park.
The win marks the first on the team's new Triumph Daytona 675R machine and follows a second place finish for McConnell at Oulton Park two weeks ago and was achieved in front of a record bank holiday crowd at the Lincolnshire track.
McConnell and team-mate Glen Richards, the defending British Champion, had qualified in fifth and eighth places respectively for Sunday's 12-lap Sprint race, but it was to be a mixed day for the Australian duo. Despite dropping to sixth at the start, McConnell was quickly back on a charge, moving up to fourth place on the second lap. He moved up to third briefly when Alastair Seeley crashed out from second position on the fourth lap, but was passed by Graeme Gowland two laps later and despite a hard charge, was unable to progress higher. Richards' race unfortunately ended on lap nine when he was knocked off whilst holding fifth place at the Hairpin aggravating his previously injured shoulder.
Having set the fastest lap of the race, McConnell started today's 16-lap Feature race from pole, while Glen lined up eighth. Dropping a handful of places at the start, McConnell was soon on a charge and made up three places in one lap alone to move up to third on lap four. Two laps later he seared past Seeley for second and set off on the chase of Ben Wilson who was leading. He made the move for the lead on lap 13 and despite a push from Wilson and a bit of a moment on the final lap, he took the spoils in the bank holiday sunshine. Richards had another tough race but defied the pain and managed to cross the line seventh.
Billy McConnell: "I'm really happy to get the first win of the season here today, and it's fantastic to get the first win on the new 675, not just for me but for the whole team. The work from the guys has finally paid off and I couldn't be happier. Hopefully this is the start of a really good end to the season, I'm confident we can progress even further now in the closing rounds."
Glen Richards: "The bike was really good after getting bashed up yesterday but when I fell I landed on my bad shoulder which made it really difficult today. I have sort of re-injured the shoulder not too badly but it made things very hard in the race. I got shunted off at the hairpin when another rider blew up in front of me and everything just went wrong. It's a shame but when you qualify further back that's what happens but I'm now just looking forward to getting back to the big tracks and seeing what we can achieve."
Rebecca Smith, Team Manager: "We were confident coming into this round because of all the work we have done and the positive progression we made at Oulton Park; we were only a sniff away and Billy and Glen both love this circuit. Unfortunately Glen's run of bad luck continued and his injury caused him a little bit of a problem after he was shunted off yesterday. Because of the nature of this circuit he had to go down on his bad shoulder but the good thing is that they are both confident with the bike.
"For Billy to get this first win so far into the season is brilliant and we're all now confident we will continue our momentum. We have had a good result here and again I can only credit Jason and JT for all their hard work so far. We've made massive inroads with this new bike thanks to them and the help we have received from the Triumph factory."
As a result of today's win, McConnell has maintained fourth place in the series, while Richards remains seventh. The team will be next out for round nine at Donington Park over the weekend September 6-8, 2013.
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 1 10 laps1. Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)2. Stuart Easton (Yamaha)3. Graeme Gowland (Yamaha)4. Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph)5. Jason OHalloran (Honda)6. Richard Cooper (Triumph)DNF Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph)
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 2 16 laps1. Billy McConnell (Smiths Triumph Racing)2. Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)3. Jason O'Halloran (Honda)4. Stuart Easton (Yamaha)5. Graeme Gowland (Yamaha)6. Richard Cooper (Triumph)7. Glen Richards (Smiths Triumph Racing)
Championship standings after eight rounds1. Seeley 3032. Easton 2813. Wilson 2504. Billy McConnell 2285. Gowland 1856. O'Halloran 1357. Glen Richards 111
