Macadam Triumph Factory Racing Secure Solid Points at Donington Park
The second round of the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship got underway at Donington Park this weekend, where the Macadam Triumph Factory Racing team enjoyed a solid outing with Billy McConnell and Max Wadsworth both in the top ten respectively across both races.
Saturday’s 12-lap Sprint Race saw the Macadam duo line up 13th and 14th on the grid and with a strong start off the line, McConnell was straight in the mix aboard his Street Triple 765 RS moving up to eighth, with Wadsworth 12th at the end of the first lap.
Quickly, McConnell set his sights on the front group and by the fourth rotation he had slotted into fifth place. Moving into fourth, the Aussie soon had company with Honda’s pairing of Dean Harrison and Jack Kennedy hot on his heels. The pressure from Harrison mounted, but McConnell managed to fend off his advances, until the final stages when Harrison made his move at the Melbourne Hairpin, which demoted McConnell to fifth.
On the penultimate lap, Kennedy passed at Redgate, which pushed McConnell down to sixth, where he eventually crossed the line. Meanwhile, teammate Wadsworth finished in the points, just outside the top 10 in 11th place.
Sunday’s 17-lap feature race saw McConnell line-up sixth on the grid, with Wadsworth starting from 13th. The race got underway in sunny conditions at the Leicestershire track, where McConnell rocketed to the front and by lap three was sitting third.
Pressure soon mounted from his Supersport rivals with Lucas Brown and Harrison getting by, which relegated McConnell to fifth by the end of the fifth lap. However, Wadsworth had started to make his way through the field and it wasn’t long before he was tracking down his teammate.
By the tenth rotation Wadsworth had edged ahead of McConnell into seventh place and the pair were on a charge with the group on track. McConnell moved ahead once again into fifth, but disaster struck on lap 15 when he was forced to retire from the running due to an electrical issue. Meanwhile for Wadsworth it was another strong finish where he crossed the line sixth.
Over in the Pirelli National Sportbike Championship there was victory for the Triumph Daytona 660 as Zak Shelton secured the top step of the podium.
The Macadam Triumph Factory Racing team now has a short break in the championship, with the third round taking place at Knockhill on 19-21 June.
Max Wadsworth - Macadam Triumph Factory Racing: “It’s been another good weekend with solid points and progress made across each session. We didn’t get the start we wanted for the first race after qualifying, but finished yesterday's Sprint race just outside the top 10 in 11th. Today was much better, I had some good battles on track and managed to finish sixth which is positive. Hopefully we can carry the momentum on at the next round at Knockhill.”
Billy McConnell - Macadam Triumph Factory Racing: “My time with the team has come to an end and I’ll be passing the reins over to Oli at Knockhill. A huge thanks to the team and to Triumph for the opportunity and getting me back out on a bike. I've really enjoyed my time with the Macadam team and being back in the Supersport class. Today was good fun, we were pushing and I think we could have finished strong in fifth position had it not been for the issue."
