Double British Supersport Podium Knockhill

• Luke Stapleford takes a second and third in fourth round of British Supersport
• Max Wadsworth went from P18 on the grid to 13th in Scotland

Luke Stapleford and the Macadam Triumph Racing team remain firmly in title contention with two podium finishes at the fourth round of the British Supersport championship this past weekend (June 15-16) at Knockhill.

The tight and twisty circuit, situated close to Edinburgh, always guarantees excellent racing, but the ever-present threat of rain would make it a weekend of two halves for the riders as the mix of conditions would make it extremely challenging for the two races around the 1.27 mile track.

Stapleford was on blistering form in the two dry qualifying sessions and came tantalisingly close to pole position, losing out by an incredibly close 0.024 seconds to place second on the grid. For teammate Max Wadsworth on the #72 machine it would be 18th fastest in the Supersport class.

Sprint Race - Saturday's 18-lap Sprint Race ultimately held in dry conditions despite all the earlier rain would see Stapleford use the grunt of the three-cylinder engine to blast into the lead on his Street Triple 765-based machine. The infamous hairpin at the end of the circuit creates the signature passing place and this is where Jack Kennedy would make a move on the first lap.

The race became about the two former Supersport champions as they traded places multiple times in the opening laps while still pulling a gap over the rest of the field. This battle ensued uninterrupted throughout the encounter, but lap 17 saw Luke suffer a massive rear end slide. This ultimately curtailed his challenge for the win and he settled for a solid points haul in second place. Although Stapleford lost some ground on Kennedy in the Championship, the #8 rider was able to close the gap on reigning champion, Benjamin Currie, who finished off the podium.

For Wadsworth, it was another points-scoring finish in what is a talent-stacked field. Locked into an epic battle for 13th, the #72 held off the group of riders just behind him on the run to the flag.

Feature Race - Gone was the sunshine from Saturday and replaced with fully wet conditions for the weekend’s Supersport Feature Race. Stapleford is the first to admit he doesn’t favour rain and wet riding time on the Macadam Triumph Racing team has so far been limited this year.

Having set the second fastest time in the Sprint Race, Stapleford would start the 22-lap encounter from the middle of the first row while Wadsworth lined up in 18th. Due to the relatively short lap, the riders have two warm-up laps but a crash on the second of these delayed proceedings.

Once the lights went out for the full start, Stapleford held his position until a hard move pushed him back to fourth. With the pack creating so much spray in the frantic opening lap, Stapleford had a moment at the hairpin and lost another place. However, using the power of the Triumph to drag up the crest of the straight, the #8 was soon back into fourth while Wadsworth powered into the top 15. By lap seven, Stapleford passed Alastair Seeley for third position to try and reel in the leading riders and championship rivals.

Lap 11 was bittersweet as Max crashed out unhurt from 15th position while Luke set the fastest lap at that point of the race. With the front two trading places and Stapleford setting a succession of fast laps, he closed the gap to cross the line in third for his second podium finish of the weekend.
After four rounds, Stapleford now sits 28 points away from reigning champion Currie and 19 behind Kennedy with seven rounds and 14 races to go.

Luke Stapleford #8 - “A solid weekend for us again, we’ve lost a small amount of ground in the championship but in conditions that typically don’t favour me we’ve managed to score a good amount of points. Hopefully we can get a test in now before Snetterton to try a couple of ideas and then work towards clawing back some points in the championship. Thanks to the whole team for their efforts in what’s been a challenging and tricky weekend.”

Max Wadsworth #72 - “It’s been a difficult weekend ending with a crash in the Feature Race. I was hoping the changes we made in warm-up would help during the race, but I lost the front into turn two on lap 11. There are positives to take from the weekend, though, and I’m looking forward to getting back out at Snetterton.”

Race Results: Round 4 - Knockhill

Sprint Race

• 1st Jack Kennedy (Honda)
• 2nd Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
• 3rd Alastair Seeley (Yamaha)
• 13th Max Wadsworth (Triumph)

Feature Race

• 1st Jack Kennedy (Honda)
• 2nd Benjamin Currie (Ducati)
• 3rd Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
• DNF Max Wadsworth (Triumph)
  
  

British Supersport Championship after 4 of 11 rounds

• 1st Benjamin Currie - 162
• 2nd Jack Kennedy - 153
• 3rd Luke Stapleford (Triumph) - 134
• 20th Max Wadsworth (Triumph) -13
  
  The 2024 British Supersport Championship returns to action at Snetterton on July 5-7.