Luke Stapleford and Triumph Third at Thruxton

This weekend the sixth round of the British Supersport Championship took place at Thruxton, and with near perfect conditions at the Hampshire track, Luke Stapleford returned the Triumph Street Triple 765 to the podium.

After a tough outing in Saturday’s 12-lap Sprint Race, where Luke finished fifth, and teammate Max Wadsworth crossed the line 23rd, the Macadam Triumph Factory Racing team worked hard overnight to seek improvements heading into Sunday’s feature race.

Lining up where he finished the Sprint Race in fifth, Stapleford was looking to make amends across the 18-lap race, and as the flag dropped he got a good start off the line, moving up into second place at the end of the first lap.

On the third lap, championship leader Rhys Irwin had a huge crash, bringing out the red flag. A restart was announced and the riders lined up again on the grid in their original positions. At the restart Stapleford got another good start and was soon again within the top three, however the race was again red flagged on the fifth lap.

Third time lucky, and it was a nine-lap dash around the fast Thruxton track, where Stapleford started from third and quickly slotted into second place, however the safety car was deployed on the opening lap and remained out for three laps, bunching the Supersport pack together.

Once the race resumed, the Macadam Triumph Factory Racing rider made his move on Ben Currie to take the race lead, and defensively held off challenges from Currie and Joe Talbot across the next few laps.

Coming into the final laps, Currie and Talbot had passed Stapleford, and at the end of the seventh lap, a crash from Stapleford’s teammate brought out another red flag and the race was declared, with Stapleford claiming the final podium place. Wadswoth was unhurt from the crash.

The results from the weekend keep Stapleford fourth overall in the championship standings, just 46 points shy of the leader. The team will now regroup and get ready for the party in the park over the August

Bank Holiday weekend, when the championship travels to Cadwell Park (23-25 August).

Luke Stapleford - Macadam Triumph Factory Racing:

“I’m happy enough with today’s result, of course the win would have been perfect, but with us having crossed the line when the final red flag came out, it went back a lap, which meant we got third. It’s nice to be back on the podium, the team have worked hard and we’ve got our bike back to where we were a few rounds ago. We have seemed to have struggled for one reason and another, but it’s good to be back and in the hunt for a win. I’m looking forward to the next round at Cadwell, we had a really good round there last year and won both races, but we do have some homework to do before we get there, so we can arrive fighting and hopefully repeat the wins of last year.”

Max Wadsworth - Macadam Triumph Factory Racing:

"It’s been a difficult, but positive weekend overall, despite it not ending how I would have liked it to. I felt like we made some really good progress, not just today but also across the weekend, but sadly our weekend ended with a crash. Thankfully, we can take all the positives, and what we have learnt from the weekend with us into the next round at Cadwell Park in just a few weekends’ time."

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RESULTS - BRITISH SUPERSPORT ROUND 6, THRUXTON

Race 1:

1. Rhys Irwin (Gearlink Bike Performance 15)

2. Eugene McManus (MMB Racing Ducati)

3. Ben Currie (Moto Rapido Ducati)

5. Luke Stapleford (Macadam Triumph Factory Racing)

9. Lee Johnston (SENCAT By Swan Racing Triumph)

23. Max Wadsworth (Macadam Triumph Factory Racing)

Race 2:

1. Ben Currie (Moto Rapido Ducati)

2. Joe Talbot (Binch Pro Ducati)

3. Luke Stapleford (Macadam Triumph Factory Racing)

6. Lee Johnston (SENCAT By Swan Racing Triumph)

DNF. Max Wadsworth (Macadam Triumph Factory Racing)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

1. Ben Currie (215 points)

2. Rhys Irwin (206 points)

3. Jack Kennedy (176 points)

4. Luke Stapleford (169 points)

7. Lee Johnston (95 points)