The Gloucester-based Smiths Racing Triumph team were in fine form at Silverstone this weekend at the penultimate round of the 2013 Motorpoint British Supersport Championship with both Billy McConnell and Glen Richards in contention for the race wins as McConnell, in particular, shone with a brace of second place finishes.

Slight problems in qualifying on Saturday morning kept Billy and Glen down in ninth and 11th respectively but brilliant starts by the Australian duo in the Sprint race later in the day saw them slot into the top six at the end of the first lap. In a typical Supersport race, there was often just a second covering the leading protagonists and at half race distance, Billy led but ended up battling for third as the race progressed. Despite a clash with fellow countryman Jason O'Halloran on the final lap, Billy was able to claim second with outgoing champion Glen in fourth.

Today's longer 12 lap Feature race was even more hectic after a safety car period meant it all came down to a six lap shootout. With less than two seconds covering the top nine riders, Billy and Glen were well in contention with McConnell, celebrating the news he would remain with the team in 2014, rarely out of the top three.

However, on the penultimate lap it all went wrong for Richards as he crashed heavily exiting Becketts, fortunately without injury. The final lap saw positions at the front change on every corner but Billy eventually emerged unscathed to take his second runner-up spot of the weekend to strengthen his grip on third overall in the championship.


Billy McConnell:

"Silverstone's always been a bit of a bogey circuit for me and I was expecting to come away with a poor result so to come away with a brace of podiums is brilliant. Both races were hectic and the coming together with Jason in race one was unfortunate. We touched but there was no intent and these things sometimes happen in racing. Race two was pretty similar and I had to be careful when the safety car pulled in as the tyres had cooled down but we've worked hard this season and it's all about going for the wins now. We came as close as we could this weekend and it's great to celebrate the 2014 deal with some good results."


Glen Richards:

"We'd been on the pace all weekend but had a bit of a problem in qualifying so I knew our grid position wasn't a true reflection of where we really were. Saturday's finish was a good result and I was confident of improving upon that on Sunday. Everything was going well but the sun was making visibility difficult coming out of Becketts and the next thing I knew I was off, maybe because I touched the kerb on the inside. It all happened so quickly and I was fortunate it wasn't a major accident but apart from being banged around a bit, I'm otherwise OK."


Rebecca Smith, Team Manager:

"The first part of the weekend was a bit mixed with good performances in the wet practice sessions which was testament to how well we've got the chassis working. But we had a couple of little, niggling issues in qualifying which to be fair could have happened anywhere and at any time. The two races showed our true form and both riders rode strong, sensible races so with two riders in the top four, we were more than happy. Today, Billy had another great ride and we're back to seeing the old Billy week in, week out. He's feeling extremely confident for the last round and for 2014 and we're all looking forward to that. We're also looking forward to Glen ending the season on a high. He was in contention in both races and it's such a shame he had his crash in the second race as I'm sure we'd have replicated our results from Saturday if it hadn't occurred. Fortunately he escaped injury although we've got some work to do to rebuild the bike as it's fair to say there wasn't much left!"

Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 1 - 9 laps

1 Alastair Seeley (Kawasaki)
2 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph)
3 Luke Mossey (Triumph)
4 Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph)
5 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)
6 Richard Cooper (Triumph)

Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 2 - 12 laps

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

Championship standings (after 11 rounds)
1 Easton 389pts
2 Seeley 383
3 McConnell 314
4 Wilson 301
5 Gowland 236
6 O'Halloran 200
7 Richards 163

Picture courtesy of Jon Jessop: McConnell celebrating on the podium (left).

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