Donington Park Serves up Nail-Biting British Supersport Thriller
Round 8 of the British Supersport Championship got underway this weekend at Donington Park, and especially for Macadam Triumph Racing’s Luke Stapleford it was something of a rollercoaster affair.
Stapleford entered the weekend lying fourth overall in the Championship aboard his Triumph Street Triple 765, and was looking to make inroads into the points deficit. That got off to a good start in qualifying when he secured second on the grid, which in Saturday’s race itself was quickly turned into an early lead.
A mid-distance mistake dropped him back down the order however, and he crossed the line a disappointing sixth, lamenting the unfulfilled potential and dropping to fifth in the overall standings.
Meanwhile, teammate Max Wadsworth finished 13th, whilst Lee Johnston of SENCAT By Swan Racing Triumph proved the performance of the 765cc Triumph Street Triple by setting the fastest lap of the race.
In Sunday’s race two, fought over 16 laps, Stapleford set out to make amends. From seventh on the grid, sandwiched between championship rivals Jack Kennedy and Rhys Irwin, the trio wasted no time in getting to the front where an intense battle for the lead raged.
Lap after lap the three were split by just tenths of a second, trading places as each tried, unsuccessfully, to break free at the front. With two laps to go, Stapleford led and all three were separated by just 0.3sec. Still, Stapleford resisted the pressure and took the lead onto the final lap.
In a nail-biting conclusion, a late move from Irwin saw him take the lead with Stapleford crossing the line second, trailing by a mere 0.386s, successfully holding off Kennedy. Meanwhile, Johnston, who had started on pole, crossed the line sixth, 0.2seconds behind Ben Currie. Max Wadsworth rounded out the top ten for another successful points haul.
Having slipped to fifth overall after Saturday’s opening race, Stapleford’s strong performance in Sunday’s feature race saw him reclaim fourth in the standings with six races across three weekends remaining.
The next round is the series’ only overseas trip as the paddock visits the iconic TT Circuit Assen for Round 9 on 19-21 September.
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Luke Stapleford - Race 1: 6th | Race 2: 2nd
"Overall it's been a bit of a tricky weekend. We ended up making some big changes that paid off in the end, but I think if we'd had the package we had today from the start of the weekend we could have challenged for the win in both races. Thanks to all the guys for the long hours this weekend and hopefully we can look forward to fighting for a couple of wins next time out at Assen."
Max Wadsworth - Race 1: 13th | Race 2: 10th
"It's been a positive weekend for me overall. We had a rough start in the Sprint race, which made it difficult and we eventually finished 13th. In today's Feature race I got a much better start and placed 10th. It's not where I want to be and I need to work on bridging the gap to the guys at the front. We now need to keep the same progression for Assen in a few weeks time and hopefully it’ll be a good one. A big thanks to the team and Triumph Racing."
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RESULTS - BRITISH SUPERSPORT ROUND 8, DONINGTON PARK
RACE 1:
1. Rhys Irwin (Gearlink Bike Performance 15)
2. Ben Currie (Moto Rapido Ducati) 3. Jack Kennedy (Honda Racing UK)
6. Luke Stapleford (Macadam Triumph Factory Racing)
13. Max Wadsworth (Macadam Triumph Factory Racing)
DNF. Lee Johnston (SENCAT By Swan Racing)
RACE 2:
1. Rhys Irwin (Gearlink Bike Performance 15)
2. Luke Stapleford (Macadam Triumph Factory Racing)
3. Jack Kennedy (Honda Racing UK)
6. Lee Johnston (SENCAT By Swan Racing)
10. Max Wadsworth (Macadam Triumph Factory Racing)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Rhys Irwin (294 points)
2. Ben Currie (291 points)
3. Jack Kennedy (248 points)
4. Luke Stapleford (240 points)
8. Lee Johnston (117 points)
