Billy McConnell, aboard the MAP Raceways Yamaha, took a steady 10th place and held on to his title lead at a damp Oulton Park in Cheshire today during round two of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship.
The undulating northern venue succumbed to damp conditions, which made the going extremely difficult. Race leader Hudson Kennaugh crashed out just one lap into the race bringing out the safety car. While the safety car was on track McConnell crashed on the wet track. The race was then red flagged and he was able to dash back to the MAP Raceways garage and pick up his number two machine. On the re-start he raced to 10th place and picked up six valuable points to keep him at the head of the standings.
His team-mates Lee Johnston and Allan Jon Venter both crashed out of the race, Lee whilst leading and AJ whilst running in seventh.
Johnston had decided to run with intermediate tyres and as the weather conditions were changing he was able to make up ground on the riders in front, gradually picking them off and seizing the lead. Unfortunately, his lack of experience on intermediates got the better of the young Ulsterman and he lost the front on the entry to Hizzy’s chicane.
AJ met a similar fate as he realised the group ahead of him were trying to break away. He upped his pace in order to stay with them but to no avail. He crashed out unhurt just four laps into the re-start.
The third round of the Fuchs-Silkolene Supersport Championship will take place at Donington Park on the 23rd-25th May.
Billy:
“Hudson crashed out first and that brought the safety car on track. I was following it and tipped into a corner and the bike just chucked me off. It was just the wet had caught me out as the bike just came round. So I had to do the re-start on my spare bike and it hadn’t quite the same settings plus I must admit I was lacking in confidence after the crash. Tenth isn’t where I want to be but it is still points, which is important. We have some work to do before Donington as we need to improve our wet and damp settings. I’ve got high hopes for Donington.”
Lee:
“I’ve experience of running at the front so that didn’t bother me. It was just the conditions that caught me out and I’ve never ridden on intermediate tyres before. It would have been nice to get the win and repay my MAP Raceways Yamaha team for all the hard work. No win today but we’ll see what we can do at Donington Park.”
AJ:
“I had a near-crash before I actually went down and we have traction control on the bike but we haven’t used it much. I switched it on but the weather still got me. I could see the lead bunch was getting away and I upped my pace. The weather just caught me out which was a shame as I was running well inside the top ten.”
Steve Rodgers, MAP Raceways Yamaha Team Manager:
“It has been a tough day on track but all the riders rode well. It is just a shame the conditions have been so treacherous. Billy is still leading the championship, Lee did us proud by leading the race and AJ was once again running in a top-ten position when he fell. We will re-group and come back stronger for Donington Park.”
Race results1. Daniel Cooper Honda 25:59.417
2. Dennis Hobbs Yamaha +16.679
3. Ben Wilson Kawasaki +24.109
4. Dean Hipwell Yamaha +32.765
5. Craig Fitzpatrick Yamaha +34.652
6. Tom Grant Honda +36.639
7. Marty Nutt Yamaha +39.617
8. Kev Coughlan Honda +45.124
9. James Westmoreland Triumph +46.880
10. Billy McConnell MAP RACEWAYS YAMAHA +54.249
Championship standings after round 2 of 121. Billy McConnell MAP RACEWAYS YAMAHA 312. Daniel Cooper Honda 29
3. Steve Plater Honda 25
4. Craig Fitzpatrick Triumph 20
5. Dennis Hobbs Yamaha 20
6. Dan Linfoot Yamaha 16
12. Lee Johnston MAP RACEWAYS YAMAHA 11
