Three of a kind for Oxford Tag Triumph

Shaun Winfield

26-year-old former World Supermoto star, Christian Iddon became the third Oxford Tag Triumph rider to taste the rostrum champagne at the most recent round of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship at Knockhill last weekend.

Having shown great promise over the last few rounds of this fiercely-contested championship but having been plagued by bad luck due to minor technical issues and being taken out while running near the front of the pack in previous races, Christian's patience and determination finally paid off with a superb third-placed finish in difficult, changeable conditions.

Throughout Friday and Saturday, heavy rain and blustery winds made the undulating Scottish track a real challenge. All four riders worked hard throughout practice and qualifying to find a setting to suit the conditions, with Christian Iddon, Billy McConnell, Paul Young and Shaun Winfield qualifying 15th, 17th, 18th and 27th respectively.

While qualifying was disappointing, Saturday's rain-lashed race showed that both McConnell and Iddon had taken a step forward, finishing 9th and 10th while Youngy was forced to pit to change helmets after a rare fogging issue with his visor left him unable to continue. Winfield crashed out of a strong position within the Cup championship but escaped injury.

Sunday saw an improvement in both the weather and the team's fortune. With the rain coming and going in light showers, the track had a chance to dry and throughout morning warm-up, all three main championship riders set good times while Cup campaigner, Winfield was forced to sit out the session due to an electrical problem that had been caused by his crash but had gone undetected until minutes from the start of the session.

Having posted the fifth fastest time in race one, Iddon made full use of his elevated grid position for race two with a flawless start to slot straight into the leading pack.

At the other end of the race following a bizarre fuel line problem that was swiftly dealt with by his mechanic, Lee ‘Roscoe ‘P' Coltrane' Machin in pit lane, McConnell was forced to start at the back of the grid alongside team-mate, Winfield with Youngy just two rows ahead.

While Iddon was dicing for the podium, both McConnell and Youngy began the task of tearing through the pack, the latter enjoying more success calmly picking his way through the pack to finish in an incredible fifth place from 22nd on the grid while McConnell sliced past no less then twelve riders on the opening lap, only to make a couple of mistakes and drop back down the order to finish 13th. Winfield just missed out on a top 20 finish to take 5th in Cup, scoring more useful points to add to his tally.

A mixed weekend, but one that saw Oxford Tag Triumph take another step forward with McConnell and Young on equal points and now just two points adrift of third place in the championship, Iddon proving his potential and planting himself firmly on the scoreboard with Winfield now a very strong fifth in the Cup Championship and only a handful points away from the lead.

Christian Iddon

Christian Iddon #21

"The weekend started off with a real challenge to find a set-up and to find gearing that works. I really struggled through practice and qualifying but everyone worked so hard and pulled together. The bike was great for the first race, in fact it was incredible. It took a while to get used to it but by mid-race we were on the pace so that got me a top ten but up to fifth on the grid for race two so that was good.
Morning warm-up showed that we were way off with the gearing so we changed that and got it absolutely spot-on for the race. I was a bit wary of the conditions early on which maybe cost me the chance to get away with Wilson and Seeley but once I'd settled into a rhythm it was a case of racing my pit board and making sure I stayed on the podium. I've just got to thank everyone in the team - no one let their head get down when we were struggling and in the end it really paid off. I know I can run at the front now and I'm sure there's more to come."

Paul Young

Paul Young #96

"We struggled through practice and qualifying mostly because I haven't been here for three years but partly because of the weather. We ran a setting close to what we used to win in the wet at Thruxton and it didn't work - with hindsight I should have perhaps known better. We quickly realised we'd gone the wrong way and were hoping to make an impact in the first race but visor issues put paid to that. It's the first time in twenty years of racing I've had to pull in for a visor steaming up, but it was so bad I really couldn't see a thing.
The second race went to plan though, and I'm really pleased that we managed to turn what could have been a lousy weekend into something worthwhile. I'm now level with Billy on points again and we're only two points away from third in the championship. I'm looking forward to Snetterton now and I think we can go well there. All that matters to me now is getting top three in the championship - that's my goal."

Billy McConnell

Rob Winfield, Oxford Tag Triumph Team Principal

"A weekend that up until the last race hadn't been too enjoyable in all honesty but the team worked hard in very difficult conditions and the riders stayed focused and positive throughout.
It's great to see Christian get on the podium and prove that he's got what it takes to run at the front of this championship - and with all three of our main championship riders having now been on the podium it shows that we're a real force to be reckoned with.
Youngy never fails to impress with his commitment and determination and while Billy didn't have his best weekend, he kept his head and scored points. Shaun was a little unlucky with two crashes and no time to test in the dry before the second race, but it's all part of his learning curve and it will only strengthen his experience.
We're all looking forward to Race of the Year at Mallory this coming weekend before we head off to Snetterton in a fortnight's time - and hopefully some proper summer weather at last!"

Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship

Round 5

Race 1 (18 laps):

1 Sam Warren (Yamaha) 16:37.479s
2 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) +3.323s
3 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) +10.014s
4 Luke Stapleford (Kawasaki) +10.077s
5 Luke Mossey (Triumph) +13.678s
6 Dan Cooper (Triumph) +16.282s
7 Gary Johnson (Honda) +19.602
8 Marty Nutt (Suzuki) +23.234s
9 Billy McConnell (Oxford Tag Triumph) +25.652
10 Christian Iddon (Oxford Tag Triumph) +25.972s

25 Paul Young (Oxford Tag Triumph)
DNF Shaun Winfield (Oxford Tag Triumph)

Race 2 (20 laps)

1 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) 16:59.821
2 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) +0.222
3 Christian Iddon (Oxford Tag Triumph) +14.189
4 Luke Stapleford (Kawasaki) +17.773
5 Paul Young (Oxford Tag Triumph) +20.079
6 Jesse Trayler (Kawasaki) + 20.667
7 Luke Mossey (Triumph) + 23.088
8 Marty Nutt (Suzuki) +23.535
9 Dan Cooper (Triumph) + 23.560
10 Gary Johnson (Honda) + 24.169

13 Billy McConnell (Oxford Tag Triumph) + 41.792
21 Shaun Winfield (Oxford Tag Triumph) + 1lap

Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship points after round 5 of 12:

1 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) 208
2 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) 149
3 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha) 99
4 Billy McConnell (Oxford Tag Triumph) 97
5 Paul Young (Oxford Tag Triumph) 97
6 Sam Warren (Yamaha) 90
7 Dan Cooper (Triumph) 82
8 Steve Plater (Honda) 80
9 Luke Mossey (Triumph) 79
10 Gary Johnson (Honda) 60

16 Christian Iddon (Oxford Tag Triumph) 34

Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Cup Championship
Round 5

Race 1 (18 laps)

1 David Paton (Yamaha)
2 Sam Hornsey (Triumph)
3 Jonny Buckley (Yamaha)

DNF Shaun Winfield (Oxford Tag Triumph)

Race 2 (20 laps)

1 Sam Hornsey (Triumph)
2 John Simpson (Triumph)
3 Matthew Hoyle (Kawasaki)

5 Shaun Winfield (Oxford Tag Triumph)

Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Cup Championship
points after 5 rounds of 12:

1 John Simpson (Triumph) 149
2 Sam Hornsey (Triumph) 145
3 David Paton (Yamaha) 134
4 Ben Padgett (Honda) 121
5 Shaun Winfield (Oxford Tag Triumph) 117
6 Jonny Buckley (Yamaha) 71
7 Matthew Hoyle (Kawasaki) 60
8 Scott Kelly (Yamaha) 38
9 Adam Blacklock (Yamaha) 38
10 Jody Lees (Triumph) 35

The next outing for the Oxford Tag Triumph team will be at Mallory Park, Leicestershire for the Race of the Year over the weekend of the 25th-26th of June, with the next round of The Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship taking place at Snetterton, Norfolk the following weekend, 2nd-3rd of July.

For more information or for hi-resolution images of the Oxford Tag Triumph team in action, contact tagtriumph@robhoyles.com or log on to www.tagtriumph.co.uk

Photo Credit: Steve Gough