OULTON PARK PODIUMS
There was nothing relaxing about the Bank Holiday at Oulton Park as Triumph riders produced some incredible racing in the British Supersport and new National Sportbike championships.
British Supersport
Following on from a successful first round with a win, second place and the championship lead, Macadam Triumph Racing’s Luke Stapleford came into the weekend full of confidence and demonstrated that further by qualifying on pole position. His teammate on the Triumph 765 Street Triple platform, Max Wadsworth, continued to build his momentum from the first round and qualified in 18th.
The tarmac rollercoaster of a circuit always provides spectacular and close racing and the opening Sprint Race didn’t disappoint. Despite not being able to maximise his qualifying position when the lights went out, Stapleford was soon engaged in a tight battle for the lead with the reigning champion, Ben Currie, and former four-time champion, Jack Kennedy.
It took until the halfway point of the 12-lap race for the #8 machine of Stapleford to hold position at the front of the field where he was able to maintain that to the chequered flag, followed closely by his championship rivals. Wadsworth had a great battle with fellow Triumph rider Jamie Coward and missed out on 13th in class by less than half a second in what is a packed and talent-stacked field.
The Feature Race didn’t go as planned for Stapleford, despite a strong start. Exiting the fast Druids Corner on the opening lap, Luke was thrown off his bike after a violent highside but fortunately was able to walk away unhurt. Despite the setback, the former champion remains firmly in contention in the championship table. For Max, he was able to better the previous day’s result to bring home further valuable championship points in 13th position.
Luke Stapleford #8
“Another strong weekend for us, finding further positives with the Triumph. Pole position, a new lap record, and adding another win to the tally shows the potential we have in this team and the bike. After the Sprint Race win, I’m really gutted to crash in the Feature Face but we will move forward and keep pushing for this championship. Big thanks to all the team for their efforts this weekend.”
Max Wadsworth #72
“It’s been a positive weekend despite not getting the results I’d have liked. The bike is performing well, and I'm feeling more comfortable with each lap. This weekend has been the quickest I’ve ridden around Oulton Park but there’s still definitely lots for me to work on and improve for Donington Park.”
Race Results: Round 2 - Oulton Park
Sprint Race Results
1st Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
2nd Benjamin Currie
3rd Jack Kennedy
14th Max Wadsworth (Triumph)
Feature Race Results
1st Benjamin Currie
2nd Jack Kennedy
3rd Eugene McManus
13th Max Wadsworth (Triumph)
British Supersport Championship after 2 of 11 rounds
1st Jack Kennedy - 78
2nd Benjamin Currie - 77
3rd Luke Stapleford (Triumph) - 72
17th Max Wadsworth (Triumph) - 7
National Sportbike
Oulton Park was also the setting for the debut round of the National Sportbike championship. The new Championship offers an alternative pathway for racers to progress their careers with Triumph Racing, from Sportbike through Supersport to Moto2™. Utilsing the recently-released and potent Daytona 660, the MIH Macadam Triumph Racing team are fielding riders Aaron Silvester, Jayden Martin and Katie Hand and Richard Cooper is riding for PHR Performance.
Qualifying demonstrated the strength of the Daytona 660 as five Triumphs qualified in the top 10, led by Richard Cooper in second. Of the MIH Macadam team’s riders, Silvester placed fourth while Martin was close in eighth and Hand followed in 16th.
Sunday’s race one was in front of a packed crowd and the action didn’t disappoint. Ultimately cut short after seven laps due to an incident that brought out the red flags, both Cooper and Silvester made sure Triumph were on this debut podium by placing second and third, respectively. Both Martin and Hand were able to better their qualifying positions, finishing in seventh and 14th.
Race two on Bank Holiday Monday would go the distance this time but unfortunately not for the MIH Macadam Triumph Racing riders as all three would exit the race before the flag due to separate incidents that caused them to crash out. Richard Cooper returned to the podium with another second position on his Triumph to further showcase the potential of the Daytona 660.
Aaron Silvester #34
“After a great result in race one, I was unlucky to crash out of the leading pack in race two while taking evasive action from another rider's incident. A real shame but these things happen and I'm just glad that the other rider also got away without injury. Lots of positives from this weekend and I'm confident we can continue to challenge up the front all season.”
Jayden Martin #85
“I’m super happy with my progress over the weekend improving my lap times every session and race. I was having a great battle for fifth position in the second race, unfortunately with two laps to go another rider hit me causing me to crash and finishing my race.”
Katie Hand #66
"Literally an up and down weekend! I’m very happy for two points in my first ever sportbike race, shame it was cut short and hoping everyone is okay. I was feeling confident going into race 2 and was having a good race in P10 until I got hit on the last lap causing a crash and finishing my race. I’m a bit sore but I’ll be ready for the next round!”
National Sportbike Championship Round 1 - Oulton Park
Race 1
1st Edoardo Colombi
2nd Richard Cooper (PHR Performance Triumph)
3rd Aaron Silvester (MIH Macadam Triumph Racing)
7th Jayden Martin (MIH Macadam Triumph Racing)
14th Katie Hand (MIH Macadam Triumph Racing)
Race 2
1st Edoardo Colombi
2nd Richard Cooper (PHR Performance Triumph)
3rd Ash Barnes
DNF Aaron Silvester (MIH Macadam Triumph Racing)
DNF Jayden Martin (MIH Macadam Triumph Racing)
DNF Katie Hand (MIH Macadam Triumph Racing)
National Sportbike Championship after 1 of 10 rounds
1st Edoardo Colombi - 37.5
2nd Richard Cooper (Triumph) - 33
3rd Ash Barnes - 28
9th Aaron Silvester (Triumph) - 10
13th Jayden Martin (Triumph) - 6
21st Katie Hand (Triumph) - 1
The 2024 British Supersport and National Sportbike Championships return to action at Donington Park on May 17-19.
