Triumph Extends Their Lead in the British Championship

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

It was a good weekend for Triumph on the race track, with Glen Richards extending his lead in the British supersport championship and his German counterpart, Arne Tode, storming to a top ten finish in a one-off outing in the world round at Nuerburgring.

Having set the fastest top speeds down the long Snetterton straights on his way to pole position, Richards had high expectations for round five of the British series. For much of the race, the Australian led a four-way battle for the lead but was denied the chance of taking top spot when the race was stopped prematurely due to a crash further down the field. Steve Plater (Yamaha) was leading at the stoppage, with Richards awarded 20 points for second place. Having never finished lower than second, the MAP Embassy Daytona 675 rider leads the series by 30 points from closest rival Steve Brogan (Honda). In the Superstock 600 race, South African Alan Jon Venter came third on a Daytona 675, moving to fourth overall in the points standings.

Over in Germany, there were two Daytonas on the second row of the grid, with BE1 Racing’s Mark Aitchison and German championship leader Tode qualifying fifth and eighth respectively.

Both were involved in the multi-bike first corner pile-up that saw the initial running of the race red flagged. Aitchison’s restarted race was effectively over on the second lap, when he slid out of a top ten position, but Tode rode sensibly to come home in eighth place on the G-LAB run Daytona. His eight points help Triumph consolidate its third position in the manufacturer’s championship in the Daytona 675’s first year of world supersport action.

Both championships now take a one week break. The British championship resumes at Mallory Park in Leicestershire, just a few miles from Triumph’s Hinckley factory, while the world championship moves to Misano Adriatico in Italy.