Billy McConnell leads British Supersport by single point
Billy McConnell and Graeme Gowland intensified their duel for the Motorpoint British Supersport crown in two epic thrillers in the Donington Park ninth round.
The Smiths Triumph team-mates packed the points as they battled throughout with Aussie McConnell having his lead in the title stakes slashed to just a single point by Gowland as they into the Assen round.
Neither managed to take the top step of the podium as first Glenn Irwin powered in his seasonal third success aboard the Gearlink Kawasaki in the Saturday Sprint race, ahead of Luke Mossey who had shattered the lap record to put his Techcare Profile Triumph onto a first pole start.
Then it was the turn of Mossey to take the glory in the longer Feature race on Sunday, overcoming the early threat of Irwin and then easing to victory by some three seconds. Just as in the Sprint race, the attention was focussed on the frantic dicing just behind him with Gowland again having the edge on McConnell.
That left the title race on a knife edge. Gowland said: “It is going down to the wire – that was a great race, great fun on a great bike.” McConnell had tried everything he knew to find a way ahead of his second place team-mate. “I tried hard, but after a moment at the Old Hairpin on the last lap, I lost drive and there was no way.
Former champion Alastair Seeley has an uphill struggle now to catch the two Smiths Triumph riders, after running eighth in the Sprint race, he crashed out of contention at the Old Hairpin at two third distance in the Feature race to be a massive 58 points down.
Alex Olsen, with another winning double aboard the Power Projects Racing Triumph, secured the inaugural Supersport EVO crown.
