The Gloucester-based Smiths Racing Triumph Team enjoyed a solid Bank Holiday weekend of racing at Oulton Park where they were competing in round three of the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship and although they came away with a double podium for Billy McConnell, they left the Cheshire venue with work to be done in order to challenge for victories.

The reigning Motorsport British Supersport Champions took no less than four top five finishes meaning a successful weekend which started with Sunday afternoon's qualifying session whereby defending champion Glen Richards claimed third on the grid with fellow Aussie McConnell in fifth despite a crash late on in qualifying.

The pair duly took their front and second row grid positions for the 12-lap Sprint race later in the day and it was another close fight with regular sparring partners Stuart Easton, Alastair Seeley and Graeme Gowland but despite the best efforts of the Triumph Daytona 675R pairing, Easton and Seeley were able to make the break and battle for the win leaving Billy and Glen to settle for third and fourth respectively.


Race two today followed a similar pattern only this time Seeley and Easton made an early break which left Richards and McConnell battling for third with Graeme Gowland and Jason O'Halloran. In front of the biggest Oulton Park crowd in years, a classic scrap emerged for the final podium spot whereby McConnell ended up claiming his second podium of the weekend as Richards crossed the line just a couple of tenths further back in fifth.

As a result, McConnell holds third place in the series just 24 points adrift of leader Seeley with Richards in sixth going into the next round at Knockhill on 15/16th June.


Billy McConnell:

"We've had two really hard races this weekend and it's been frustrating, particularly in the second race as we got dropped straightaway and were ten seconds back on Easton and Seeley. The chassis on the bike is fantastic and the handling feels really good but we have to remind ourselves that it's an all-new bike and there's development to be done. The boys are putting in the hours each and every day and we're moving forward but we need to fully utilise the break to Knockhill now to bridge the gap. We know that when we get it right, we'll be running at the front so that's the aim."

Glen Richards:

"It's hard going at the moment for me and I can hold my hand up and say I'm not riding at my best so it's a case of doing all I can and trying everything to get back onto that podium and particularly the top step. Like Billy says, we need to keep it in perspective with the Triumph Daytona 675R being a new bike but we're losing a few tenths here and there, which is what we need to address. We've got to keep working hard and keep developing the bike so the pieces of the puzzle come together and there's no doubt in my mind we'll be back after the break a lot stronger."


Rebecca Smith, Team Manager:

"We've done really well this weekend to get the results that we have and two podiums and four top five places is a good return. We're awaiting a few parts that will aid the development of the bikes and I'll admit I perhaps underestimated the size of the task we'd undertaken as working with a new bike is something we haven't done before. Billy rode really hard all weekend and I can't praise his two podiums enough whilst Glen struggled slightly more, having a few suspension issues during practice and then an engine problem in the first race. We changed everything for him for the second race and once again he rode hard for fifth. There are positives to take but we know the task ahead of us and we'll be getting stuck in over the next few weeks to make sure we're right on the pace at Knockhill."


Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 1 - 12 laps

1 Stuart Easton (Yamaha)
2 Alastair Seeley (Kawasaki)
3 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph)
4 Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph)
5 Graeme Gowland (Yamaha)
6 Glenn Irwin (Yamaha)

Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 2 - 16 laps

1 Alastair Seeley (Kawasaki)
2 Stuart Easton (Yamaha)
3 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph)
4 Jason O'Halloran (Honda)
5 Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph)
6 Graeme Gowland (Yamaha)

Championship standings (after three rounds)

1 Seeley 122pts
2 Easton 120
3 McConnell 98
4 Wilson 74
5 Gowland 62
6 Richards 57


Picture credit (Jon Jessop):

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