Billy McConnell heads the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship ahead of the third round at Snetterton this weekend with the Smiths Racing Triumph team heading the pack into Norfolk after his first double win at Oulton Park.
McConnell and title rival Alastair Seeley had two frantic races at the previous round and the Mar-Train Yamaha rider is ready to close the gap at Snetterton this weekend to the Australian standings leader and Gearlink Kawasaki’s Glenn Irwin.
Luke Jones missed out on the podium last time out at Oulton Park as Luke Stapleford closed the gap with his first podium finish of the season, but this weekend marks the home round of Luke Mossey and the Cambridge rider is bidding for a podium return after recovering from a shoulder injury at Brands Hatch.
Mossey said: “I never have any luck at Brands Hatch it seems, but my shoulder is all healed now and I am ready for Snetterton as it is my home round. I was disappointed with Oulton Park even though I still had the injury, but I don’t want to be settling for anything less than I know we are capable of. The Championship isn’t a million miles away and we can comeback; especially here this weekend as I am feeling really confident after we had a test at Snetterton too. It’s a great circuit and it is going to be a great weekend so roll on the weekend.”
In the Motorpoint British Supersport Evo Championship Alex Olsen leads the standings following a victory at Oulton Park with Sam Coventry and Grant Whitaker pushing to close his advantage in Norfolk this weekend.
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship standings
- Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph) 76
- Alastair Seeley (Mar-Train Yamaha) 63
- Graeme Gowland (Smiths Racing Triumph) 61
- Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing Triumph) 52
- Glenn Irwin (Gearlink Kawasaki) 50
Superbike Preview
The MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship returns this weekend (13/14/15 June) following a six-week break as Snetterton in Norfolk beckons for Britain’s biggest motorsport series.
Triple British champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne heads the pack into round three after having his winning streak ended at the last race at Oulton Park by Josh Brookes in a spectacular final lap with the pair separated by just 0.118 seconds. Byrne lapped the Snetterton 300 circuit under lap record pace in pre-season testing, but Brookes is unfazed by his rival’s pace.
Byrne said: “The start of the season has been nearly perfect. We had a great couple of rounds, but as a team we certainly haven’t been resting on our laurels since Oulton Park. We had the pre-season test at Snetterton which was really good and I know some of our rivals have been out on track there recently, but I we can get straight up to speed. We will be ready to get back out and push for results.”
Brookes said: “I am feeling confident. If we continue the way we have then we should be searching for wins this weekend. Some of the other teams have tested at Snetterton but I don’t think we will be disadvantaged because we haven’t. I feel like I have been away from BSB for the last few weeks, but now I am back to thinking about what we can do this weekend. It was great to win at Oulton Park but we need to focus on the present and where we head to next.”
Snetterton also marks the return of the mighty title-winning Honda Racing team, who scored a victory at the track in 2013 with champion Alex Lowes, and will line up for the first of their wildcard appearances with World Endurance champion Julien Da Costa.
Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki’s James Ellison and Chris Walker arrive at the circuit following a positive test last week whilst Czech’s Jakub Smrz proved the Millsport Ducati’s pace in pre-season testing by setting the second fastest time. Triple champion Ryuichi Kiyonari is focused on making history by aiming for BMW’s debut podium finish in MCE BSB at a circuit where he has scored more victories than any of his rivals.
Superbike Championship standings:
- Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 95
- Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 65
- James Ellison (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) 64
- Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 44
- Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) 40
- Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) 39
Tribute to Simon Andrews and Karl Harris
Championship organisers MSVR will also pay a special tribute this Sunday at Snetterton to Simon Andrews and Karl Harris, who both recently lost their lives whilst competing at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT road races.
Prior to Sunday’s opening MCE BSB race, Simon’s RAF Reserves Honda Superbike and Karl’s 1999 European Superstock Championship-winning GR Motorsport Suzuki will be positioned ahead of the starting grid. Simultaneously, in the skies the world’s only airworthy B-17 Flying Fortress, Sally-B, will perform an air display, followed by a low-level flypast by an RAF Tornado GR4 operated out of nearby RAF Marham.
