Thrilling Thruxton British Supersport Weekend for Triumph
The Macadam Triumph Racing team celebrated a successful seventh round of the British Supersport championship at Thruxton this past weekend (August 9-11) with rider Luke Stapleford taking a win and second place after qualifying on pole position to remain firmly in the championship battle, just 27 points adrift.
The high-speed Hampshire circuit was baked with summer sunshine all weekend. Stapleford started strong by leading every practice and qualifying session, demonstrating the performance of the Triumph Street Triple 765-based supersport machine.
Starting from pole position for Saturday’s Sprint Race, Stapleford made a flawless start and was untroubled into the first corner. With each corner the #8 rider pulled ahead and enjoyed a one second buffer to the chasing pack after two laps. After extending his lead further, the race was unfortunately red flagged at the halfway stage due to a crash.
A five-lap restart would turn into an epic battle between Stapleford and Jack Kennedy. With the Triumph rider grabbing the holeshot, the lead would go on to swap four times on the opening lap. Despite being unable to shake Kennedy, Stapleford would hold his nerve to take his third win of the year.
For Sunday’s 18-lap Feature Race, Stapleford would start in second place on the grid having set the second fastest time in the Sprint Race. With the ultrafast pace of Supersport racing this season combined with the hot conditions and a super grippy circuit, tyre conservation would be the priority for the riders.
When the lights went out, it was Stapleford who judged the start perfectly to take the lead. Keen to demonstrate the performance of his Macadam Triumph, the #8 rider set an incredible pace but was closely followed by Kennedy. The chasing pack weren’t able to match the pace of the leading two and by three quarter distance, they enjoyed an 8.5 second advantage.
With Stapleford having led every lap and corner with Kennedy in his shadow, the result would be influenced by coming across backmarkers at the final corner. Kennedy made his move and, despite a near-perfect race, Stapleford would end up missing out on the win by a mere 0.086 seconds.
For teammate Max Wadsworth on the #72 machine it was a tough battle for the point positions on his first visit to Thruxton. Notoriously difficult to learn, Wadsworth increased his pace at the former airfield circuit across the weekend and despite the effort, wasn’t able to increase his championship point tally.
Luke Stapleford #8
"A really strong weekend on the Triumph. We topped every session from Free Practice 1 to warm up and only just missed out on the Feature Race win because of back markers. We’ve refound our pace from the start of the season and I’m really looking forward to the remaining rounds to win as many races as possible. The Macadam Triumph Racing team has done a faultless job all weekend, so big thanks to them. Roll on Cadwell!”
Max Wadsworth #72
“I knew going into this weekend it was going to be damage limitation as I’ve never raced at Thruxton before. I made a setup mistake in qualifying but improved in both races. I’m not happy with the results but the team has given me a great bike all weekend and I’m now looking forward to Cadwell!”
Race Results: Round 7 - Thruxton
Sprint Race
1st Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
2nd Jack Kennedy (Honda)
3rd Alastair Seeley (Yamaha)
21st Max Wadsworth (Triumph)
Feature Race
1st Jack Kennedy (Honda)
2nd Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
3rd Benjamin Currie (Ducati)
20th Max Wadsworth (Triumph)
British Supersport Championship after 7 of 11 rounds
1st Jack Kennedy - 284
2nd Benjamin Currie - 279
3rd Luke Stapleford (Triumph) - 257
24th Max Wadsworth (Triumph) - 13
The 2024 British Supersport Championship returns to action at Cadwell Park on August 24-16.
