The Smiths Racing Triumph Team had a tough weekend at round four of the 2013 Motorpoint British Supersport Championship at Knockhill in Scotland with Billy McConnell's third place in race two being the best result the Gloucester team achieved.

More concerning, however, was the injury to reigning Motorpoint British Supersport champion Glen Richards after the 39 year old crashed out in Saturday's sprint race and eliminated himself from the rest of the weekend with damage to his arm and shoulder.

Saturday's qualifying session saw the pair of Australians take first and third with McConnell claiming his second pole of the year but later in the day, the race started in the worst possible fashion when Richards suffered a freak crash on the warm-up lap which ultimately ruled him out for the remainder of the weekend.

McConnell was challenging for second place in the early stages of the race only to find himself shuffled back to seventh by half race distance and when the race was stopped on lap 13, he had to settle for what was his worst result of the season of seventh place and just nine championship points aboard the Smiths Racing Triumph Daytona 675R.

With the shoulder injury ruling Richards out of today's race, it was left to McConnell to fly the flag for the team and he did exactly that with a truly spirited performance. Second on the opening lap, the Adelaide rider found himself pushed back to fourth with just a quarter of the race distance to go but he fought hard and after exchanging places on a couple of occasions, he finally took third place off Alastair Seeley to claim his fifth podium of the season.

Billy McConnell:

"I ran the same compound tyre as Glen in the first race and nearly ended up in the gravel with him so I was very lucky. The drizzle didn't help me whilst we also had a bit of damage to one of the fork legs from a previous crash so it wasn't the greatest of races to be honest. Today was a lot better and I dug really deep to catch Seeley whilst the bike worked really well as the tyres got worn. Seeley and I swapped paint a few times but I made the pass stick in the end and it was good to repay the team for all their hard work especially with Glen being on the sidelines. I was a bit lucky to get third but this time the race worked in our favour. We still need to do a little bit of work just to find that last little bit but we're a lot closer now than at the beginning of the year and aren't a million miles away."


Glen Richards:

"We both opted for the zero compound tyre on Saturday as we felt it would be better for the overall race distance but it just hadn't got up to the necessary temperature and caught me out before I could do anything about it. Unfortunately, as well as taking Jason O'Halloran down with me, I also landed hard on my shoulder and although I tried to ride on Sunday morning it just wasn't possible. I've chipped my humerus bone and with damage to the ligaments and tendons as well there was simply no strength at all. It's very frustrating as the bike was working well but I'll go and see my specialist next week and look to return as soon as possible."


Rebecca Smith, Team Manager:

"The weekend didn't start well for us with an engine failure and two crashes on Friday and that pretty much set the tone for the weekend. Qualifying went well and we were more optimistic but the tyres that Glen and Billy opted for just weren't the right ones for the conditions. Glen unfortunately got caught out and the injuries were quite bad so we're hoping the visit to the specialist next week will give some indication as to the recovery period.

"Billy rode well all weekend with his ride today being very good indeed. The development work we've done is clearly paying dividends and has left Glen even more frustrated as we're now one of the quickest bikes through the speed trap but it's been a wearing, costly weekend. Billy's podium has lifted the spirits of the team and is a reward for everyone's hard work."

As a result, McConnell dropped to fourth place in the series but just one point behind double winner Ben Wilson and still only 33 behind series leader Stuart Easton. Richards holds sixth place in the standings going into the next round at Snetterton on July 5/7th.


Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 1 13 laps

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


Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 2 26 laps

1 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)
2 Stuart Easton (Yamaha)
3 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph)
4 Alastair Seeley (Kawasaki)
5 Graeme Gowland (Yamaha)
6 Richard Cooper (Triumph)
DNS Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph)


Championship standings (after four rounds)

1 Easton 156pts
2 Seeley 155
3 Wilson 124
4 McConnell 123
5 Gowland 86
6 Richards 57


Pictures courtesy of Jon Jessopp

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