Oxford Tag Triumph shine at Silverstone

During arguably the most dramatic Supersport weekend of the season that now guarantees an action-packed finale at Brands Hatch in less than two weeks time, Oxford Tag Triumph once more stood out from the pack, their consistency matched only by their impressive pace.

Throughout the early practice sessions the team worked hard to find the race set-up to suit the unique, wide expanses of the flat and bumpy Northamptonshire circuit, finishing the single qualifying session with Paul Young and Billy McConnell on the second row, Christian Iddon a row behind and injured rider, Shaun Winfield bravely riding through the pain to qualify just inside the maxima.

With valuable data gained from the 40-minute qualifying session, further improvements were made to the four Daytona 675s before Saturday's 9-lap, 32-mile sprint race.

With many championship places still to play for, the pace was fierce. Alastair Seeley and Ben Wilson looked set to gap the field in the early stages of the race, but by mid race distance it became clear that in no way was this going to be a two-way dice as Luke Mossey and Sam Warren upped the ante, besting the lap times set by this year's two title fighters.

But it was to be the Oxford Tag Triumphs of Iddon and Youngy that got into a fast groove, matching the lap times of the leaders before Youngy obliterated the 100mph average and grabbed the fastest lap of the race as the dicing duo clawed back the gap on the leaders, eventually crossing the line fourth and fifth as they ran out of laps with McConnell struggling a little further back in sixth.

Having set the fastest lap in race one, race two saw Youngy start on pole and grab the holeshot, leading the field for the first lap with the ever-improving Iddon going with him as the pair battled with Seeley and Wilson.

Once more the Oxford Tag Triumphs proved that they could match the lap times of the leaders, with both Iddon and Youngy consistently posting mid 11s while McConnell struggled to match the blistering pace of his team-mates.

After a fierce 12 laps and 43 miles of racing, Iddon crossed the line in second behind Seeley with Youngy third and McConnell resolutely sticking to his task to finish a determined sixth place.

Shaun Winfield's challenge for the 2011 Supersport Cup title may have gone awry after injuries sustained at Brands Hatch and Donington Park, but the tough 17-year-old wasn't going to miss out on racing just because of broken bones.

With pain from his left foot every time he changed gear, Winfield bravely rode throughout the weekend to grab two points-scoring finishes, keeping him within a shout of third in the Supersport Cup Championship.

Winfield's younger brother, Gary also made an appearance over the weekend. Gaz ‘Chicken' Winfield, finished 23rd in the 125GP race despite crashing on the last lap. The likeable 15-year-old who is clearly about three sizes too big for his tiny 125cc machine, is building his race experience in readiness for his debut on a Triumph Daytona when he turns sixteen next May. Watch out world, Chicken is coming!

Christian Iddon #21

"A great weekend but one that's seen us try a load of different set-ups, really going from one extreme to the other. The first race was pretty good, though I struggled a bit with tyre wear towards the end of the race so we opted for the SC2 (hardest option) for race two. I didn't really have any rear grip from the start, but it stayed at the same level throughout the race so I was able to manage it. What we did achieve though was a bike that turned really well so it worked out really well. When Ben (Wilson) pulled out it was a bit close - I was right in his slipstream when his Kawasaki let go so that was a little heart-stopping, but overall it was a great race and I'm getting closer to the top six in the championship standings. I just want to thank the team again for all their hard work and to Dennis at Silicone Engineering for all his support and belief in me - hopefully I can repay everyone with a win at Brands.

Paul Young #96

"It's been quite a while since I've had a pole, a podium and a fastest lap at the same meeting, so I'm happy that I couldn't have done much more. I'm just trying to keep doing what I need to do as far as the championship goes. It's getting a little boring finishing behind Christian again but he's riding really well right now and while we were dicing and swapping places throughout the race I still had the championship in mind. With Billy behind me and Sam Warren out of the race, I was where I needed to be. Obviously I always try to push to finish as high as I can but I've been racing long enough to know when third is a good result."

Billy McConnell #75

"Not the best weekend for me to be honest. It's not so bad when you know there's a problem but when your team mates are that far ahead it's a bit of a concern to be honest - this weekend I just didn't have the pace and had no answer for them. I'm not going to make a load of excuses, I just couldn't get the bike working for me and I was trying as hard as I could to go with them but just couldn't. We need to go back to the drawing board, do a bit of testing before the final round to see if we can find something. Hanging on to third in the championship would be great, but it's the winners that get remembered so I just want to end the season back on the top step - that's my goal."

Shaun Winfield #41

"It was hard and it was hurting a lot but I scored points and didn't get lapped so it was worth suffering for a few laps. Turning the bike was hard and the rest of my body started aching where I was compensating for my damaged left foot. There's still a good chance of third in the Cup Championship, so I'm going to see the specialist and get some more physio before Brands Hatch. I love Brands and know I can win there so with two weeks to heal, I'm hopeful of getting back to winning ways."

Rob Winfield, Oxford Tag Triumph Team Principal

"Another great weekend for everyone in the team, really. Christian has really proved his potential and I wouldn't bet him against him for a win at Brands. Likewise, Youngy has been phenomenal all season and his consistency has been a real lesson for the younger riders. Even though he's been struggling with a niggling back injury for most of the year, he's not once complained or stopped pushing for podiums.
Billy hasn't had the best of luck lately but we knew that Donington and Silverstone wouldn't be his best rounds - Brands should be a different story altogether. Shaun has put on a brave face all weekend and finished both races with points and Gary's been knocking on the door of a top twenty finish again despite his size... and falling off on the last lap! With just one round left we're looking to end the season on a high and we'll be doing everything we can to give our riders what they need to succeed at Brands Hatch."

Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship

Round 11

Race 1
(9 laps):

1 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) 19:49.381
2 Luke Mossey (Triumph) +0.577
3 Sam Warren (Yamaha) +2.095
4 Christian Iddon (Oxford Tag Triumph) +3.271
5 Paul Young (Oxford Tag Triumph) +3.452
6 Billy McConnell (Oxford Tag Triumph) +6.443
7 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha) +6.461
8 Matt Whitman (Triumph) +6.593
9 Allann Jon Venter (Triumph) +11.929
10 Josh Day (Triumph) +12.152

27 Shaun Winfield (Oxford Tag Triumph) +2:08.189

Race 2
(12 laps):

1 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) 26:26.349
2 Christian Iddon (Oxford Tag Triumph) +4.376
3 Paul Young (Oxford Tag Triumph) +6.506
4 Luke Mossey (Triumph) +14.805
5 Matt Whitman (Triumph) +18.475
6 Billy McConnell (Oxford Tag Triumph) +20.613
7 Luke Stapleford (Kawasaki) +22.548
8 Jimmy Hill (Triumph) +26.561
9 Allann Jon Venter (Triumph) + 28.607
10 John Simpson (Triumph) + 28.870

24 Shaun Winfield (Oxford Tag Triumph) 2:22.208

Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship
points after round 11 of 12:

1 Alastair Seeley (Suzuki) 405
2 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) 391
3 Billy McConnell (Oxford Tag Triumph) 220
4 Paul Young (Oxford Tag Triumph) 208
5 Sam Warren (Yamaha) 167
6 Luke Mossey (Triumph) 163
7 Christian Iddon (Oxford Tag Triumph) 149
8 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha) 148
9 Dan Cooper (Triumph) 115
10 Allan Jon Venter (Triumph) 115

Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Cup Championship
points after 11 rounds of 12:

1 John Simpson (Triumph) 384
2 David Paton (Yamaha) 254
3 Sam Hornsey (Triumph) 252
4 Shaun Winfield (Oxford Tag Triumph) 213
5 Ben Padgett (Honda) 167
6 Matthew Hoyle (Kawasaki) 127
7 Anthony Rogers (Yamaha) 115
8 Adam Blacklock (Yamaha) 114
9 Jody Lees (Honda) 101
10 Jonny Buckley (Yamaha) 93

The next outing for the Oxford Tag Triumph team will be at Brands Hatch, Kent for the twelfth and final round of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship over the weekend of the 7th-9th of October.

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