BRITISH SUPERSPORT PODIUM FOR LUKE STAPLEFORD AT BRANDS HATCH
Luke Stapleford returned to the British Supersport podium this weekend at round six of the British Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch. He set the fastest lap of the Sprint race meaning he qualified in pole position for race two and brought his Street Triple 765 home in a hard-fought fourth position. Teammate Max Wadsworth returned from injury after being forced to miss the last race at Snetterton and brought it home in both races at the Kent circuit.
Practice and qualifying took place in the scorching sun on Friday and Saturday (19 and 20 July). Stapleford holds the current long-standing lap record around Brands Hatch of 1m 27.675 from 2015 on the Daytona 675, the bike he won the Championship on that year. His record remained unbroken and he narrowly missed out on pole position with a 1m 28.074 to line up second on the grid for Saturday's Sprint race. Wadsworth qualified in 14th with a new personal best lap time. Lee Johnston made his return to racing on his Ashcourt Racing Triumph after a big injury and qualified P12.
Sprint Race:
Stapleford started from second on the grid behind Championship leader Ben Currie. His other closest Championship rival Jack Kennedy passed him soon after the start and the #8 sat behind them patiently in third biding his time until he could make his move.
He rode hard and was leading the race at one point and set the fastest lap of the race, putting him on pole position for Sunday’s feature race. Stapleford battled at the front with his Championship rivals, ultimately crossing the line in third for another podium finish.
Macadam Triumph Racing teammate, Wadsworth, finished P18 and Johnston brought his Ashcourt Racing Triumph home just behind him in 19th in his first race of the season after he returned from injury.
Feature Race:
Staplelford started Sunday’s 16-lap feature race from pole position but it was Currie who got the holeshot from Kennedy with Stapleford in third. Richard Cooper who appeared as a wildcard, and Alastair Seeley were battling for fourth right behind him. Kennedy took the lead from Currie and the leading pair pulled a gap over Stapleford’s Triumph 765. The #8 dropped a couple of places to Cooper and Seeley but it wasn’t long before he got back passed Seeley into fourth which is where he ultimately crossed the finish line for 18 Championship points. Johnston finished the feature race in 20th with Wadsworth crossing the line in 22nd.
Luke Stapleford, #8, Macadam Triumph Racing
: “A difficult weekend where we never quite had the pace to challenge for wins. Over one lap we were strong but finding a race at that speed is difficult at the moment. I feel I’m riding well and the team are trying their hardest to work out where things have gone slightly wrong but having said that we’ve still scored solid points that keep us within reach of getting back towards the top of the Championship. I’m confident we’ll come out at the next round fighting and get back to winning ways.”
Max Wadsworth, #72, Macadam Triumph Racing
: “A difficult weekend for me. A new PB and progress in qualifying didn’t carry through to the races. A disappointing finish to what looked to be a good weekend but I’m taking the positives from it and I’m looking forward to the next round, getting myself fighting further up the field.”
Race Results: Round 6 - Brands Hatch
Sprint Race Results
1st Jack Kennedy (Honda)
2nd Benjamin Currie (Ducati)
3rd Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
18th Max Wadsworth (Triumph)
19th Lee Johnston (Triumph)
Feature Race Results
1st Jack Kennedy (Honda)
2nd Benjamin Currie (Ducati)
3rd Richard Cooper (Yamaha)
4th Luke Stapleford (Triumph)
20th Lee Johnston (Triumph)
22nd Max Wadsworth (Triumph)
British Supersport Championship after 6 of 11 rounds
1st Benjamin Currie - 241
2nd Jack Kennedy - 237
3rd Luke Stapleford (Triumph) - 210
25th Max Wadsworth (Triumph) -13
The 2024 British Supersport Championship returns to action at Thruxton on 9-11 August.
