Solid Season Finale For Smiths Triumph The Smiths Triumph Racing Team ended their 2013 Motorpoint British Supersport Championship on a solid note at Brands Hatch over the weekend as both Billy McConnell and Glen Richards each took a best finish of fourth place aboard their respective Smiths Triumph 675R machines. With unpredictable weather all weekend, Saturdays wet qualifying session saw both riders in fine form and Billy and Glen lined up in second and third respectively for the 10-lap Sprint race. In damp and tricky conditions, the Australian pairing found themselves running inside the top four for the majority of the race but towards the end, they were pushed back by the charging Alastair Seeley and Luke Jones. With second to sixth split by just three seconds, Billy clung on to fourth with Glen back in sixth. Sundays longer 15-lap Feature race saw equally treacherous conditions as a rain shower just before the start made tyre choice a lottery but Billys race ended on the fifth lap when he crashed out after being forced to take avoiding action at Druids to miss Jones who had crashed. That just left Glen to fly the flag in his final race for the team and he was in contention for the race win throughout. Positions were changing all the time but with heavy rain falling just after two thirds race distance, the race was stopped early with Glen in fourth, thus denying him a fairytale final podium finish. The weekends results meant that Billy hung on to his third place overall in the championship with outgoing champion Glen closing out his illustrious career in eighth. Billy McConnell: Its been a frustrating weekend where you only needed to be off line a fraction to be in trouble. I got a decent result on Saturday but not really what I was looking for so I was keen to make amends in the longer race. When Luke went down in front of me I had to take avoiding action, running wide onto the damp part of the circuit, and I was down before I knew it. Its disappointing to end the season with a crash but I have finished third overall in the championship again and am happy to be staying with the Smiths team again next year so well come back fighting in 2014. Glen Richards: I wouldve loved to have finished on the podium in my final race but I didnt want to get involved with the championship battle between Stuart and Alastair so was content to stay at the back of the group. Its been a tough weekend all round with the weather conditions being what theyve been and obviously its been a tough season, firstly developing the new bike and then suffering with injury which affected me for a few rounds. However, its been nice to end competitively and run at the sharp end in both races so a big thank you to the team for two excellent years and congratulations to Stuart on winning this years championship. Rebecca Smith: Its difficult to know what to say, its been one of those up and down seasons with highs and lows along the way. This weekend has obviously seen a bit of emotion in the garage with Glen announcing his retirement but hes proved all weekend that hes still extremely competitive and more than capable of winning races so he could well be questioning his decision to retire already! I felt for Billy as he rode hard all weekend but he took a good third in the championship and were all geared up and ready for 2014 already. Hes got the title firmly in his sights and with a good winter testing programme already in place, with Billy and new signing Graeme Gowland were confident well have two riders contesting the championship all season long. Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 1 - 10 laps 1 Richard Cooper (Triumph) 2 Alastair Seeley (Kawasaki) 3 Luke Jones (Triumph) 4 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph) 5 Jason OHalloran (Honda) 6 Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph) Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 2 - 10 laps 1 Stuart Easton (Yamaha) 2 Richard Cooper (Triumph) 3 Alastair Seeley (Kawasaki) 4 Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph) 5 Glenn Irwin (Yamaha) 6 Danny Buchan (Yamaha) DNF Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph) Final Championship standings (after 12 rounds) 1 Easton 422pts 2 Seeley 409 3 McConnell 327 4 Wilson 303 5 Gowland 245 6 OHalloran 211 8 Richards 186 2014 Motorpoint British Supersport Championship 18/19/20/21 April - Brands Hatch Indy, Kent 3/4/5 May - Oulton Park, Cheshire 13/14/15 June - Snetterton 300, Norfolk 27/28/29 June - Knockhill, Fife 18/19/20 July - Brands Hatch GP, Kent 1/2/3 August - Thruxton, Hampshire 8/9/10 August - Oulton Park, Cheshire 23/24/25 August - Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire 5/6/7 September - Donington Park GP, Leicestershire 19/20/21 September - Assen, The Netherlands 3/4/5 October - Silverstone GP, Northamptonshire 17/18/19 October - Brands Hatch GP, Kent Pictures attached courtesy of Jon Jessop: Glen Richards (1) and Billy McConnell (3) in action at Brands Hatch.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 07:08:24 +0000