Paul 1st race win of the season & at this rate certainly not the last!

Oxford Tag Triumph dominate at Thruxton

Oxford Tag Triumph dominated both British Supersport Championship races at Thruxton over the bank holiday weekend, with Billy McConnell winning the first and Paul Young the second.

Throughout qualifying it became clear early on that the dynamic duo of McConnell and Youngy were going to be running at the head of the pack, the pair finishing the frantic forty-minute session on pole and third respectively, with McConnell the only rider to drop underneath the 1:17 mark, posting a remarkable 1:16.982 lap in the dying seconds of the session.

Iddon improving all the time & unlucky in race 2

Christian Iddon showed promise too, finishing a whisker away from the second row in ninth place while 17-year-old Cup rider Shaun Winfield struggled to get to grips to the high-speed circuit, recovering well to finish 24th overall and 5th in Cup.

In the first race, McConnell didn't get off the line too well and slotted into fourth place behind Ben Wilson, Alastair Seeley and Sam Warren.

Meanwhile, just a couple of seconds off the leading group, Youngy and Iddon were engaged in their own battle, fencing throughout the race to finish 6th and 7th respectively.

But the spoils went to McConnell. After sizing up the opposition on the brakes into the club chicane for the previous three laps, on the final lap the 24-year-old Aussie slotted his Daytona 675R neatly up the inside of the three leading riders to take the win in fine style.

And he wasn't the only Oxford Tag Triumph rider to step onto the podium, with Shaun Winfield improving on his lap times by well over a second to score a solid third in the Cup Championship.

Paul & Christian

Race two couldn't have been more different. With the weather closing in, the track quickly became drenched. With only eight minutes allowed for wet practice, the pressure was firmly on to find a good race set-up.

Youngy made a typically good start and got stuck into a tussle with Sam Warren and Jack Kennedy that was to last for ten laps before Youngy's decision to run a harder rear wet weather paid off, affording the likeable Aussie more grip off the high-speed turns and catapulting him into the lead on the fast run out of Church.

From then on, with riders falling trying to maintain the pace, the race was red-flagged and Oxford Tag Triumph's second race-win and race winner was confirmed.

McConnell was unlucky to suffer with a few vision problems caused by a fogged up visor that demoted him to fifth when it looked as though he could have run near the front while Iddon's luck was even worse - matching the lap times of the frontrunners and looking likely to finish inside the top four, Iddon was unable to avoid Steve Plater's high-sided Honda and went down with just a couple of laps to go.

Shaun Winfield also suffered with visor misting issues, relegating the youngster to eighth place in Cup to leave him fourth overall in the standings, but only 15 points off the championship lead with 16 races left.

Billy McConnell #75

"I've really got the feel for the bike now and we went into qualifying pretty confident so I was chuffed to pinch pole off Ben (Wilson) in the last minute of the session to get him back for doing the same to me at Croft! The race was awesome to be a part of and to win it on the last lap like that felt pretty special.
I felt good for the second race - I usually go well in the rain but unfortunately I had a problem with my visor so I had to settle for fifth - a win and a fifth isn't so bad and I'm up to fourth in the championship now so it's all good.
It's great to get my first win on the bike and the team's first win in Supersport so I just want to keep the momentum going to Scotland."

Paul Young #96

"What a weekend for the team, because that's what it's all about. This is what everybody here deserves because the amount of effort and hours that people put in from building the bikes to keeping everyone fed over the race weekend is just phenomenal. Everyone just does it and hopes for the best and if we have a bad weekend everyone just shrugs it off and hopes for better next time.
It was great Billy winning the first race but then for the team to win both races, it really is just desserts for what everybody has put in.
To have two bikes on the front row, three bikes in the top ten plus Shaun on the podium is testament to the quality of the team; it's truly coming together as a strong unit now.
This is my first race win in four years but like so many of my mates that go through a lean spell, I tell them that you never forget how to win. I've known that about myself all the way through and to finally win on a Triumph having raced the Daytona 675 since day one is fantastic."

Billy on his way to his 1st win of the season!

Rob Winfield, Oxford Tag Triumph Team Principal

"What an awesome weekend. We've been plugging away for three years now and this season just keeps on getting better. Billy's ride yesterday was absolutely inspired and I'm sure that move on the last lap will be talked about and replayed for quite some time.
Youngy never ceases to amaze me with his commitment and I was sure he was going to settle for a safe third - maybe by now I should know better!
A bit of a shame for Shaun but when you can't see, what can you do? Christian was also unlucky not to get another strong finish, and again through no fault of his own he's been denied a good finish. But he's starting to show what he can do on the bike in all conditions and he'll come back fighting at Knockhill, I'm sure.
All told it's been a great weekend and the team have worked tirelessly to get to this point and while it is a team as a whole, I'd really like to thank Steve Randle and Lee Machin for their commitment and hard work throughout the year, not just at race weekends.
We're in a good position now with both performance and reliability and we've got four riders all capable of achieving good results backed by a committed team - I really can't ask for any more than that."