The Smiths Racing Triumph team enjoyed a successful return to the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent with Glen Richards maintaining his championship challenge with a first and second place in the two Motorpoint British Supersport races as team-mate Billy McConnell also added a podium to ensure the team's strong presence on the rostrum.
Even a track invasion by a rogue squirrel wasn't enough to distract Richards from taking a hard fought win in the first Supersport race.

After a race long battle with Jack Kennedy, during which the pair traded places on several occasions, Richards' bravery into Stirling's Bend on the last lap saw him take the lead, a position he managed to hold to the finish line by the narrowest of margins. McConnell and Mossey spent the race in a four bike dice for third position before an incident on the last lap saw McConnell fall at Westfield Bend and third team member Luke Mossey finish fifth.

Race two looked set to be a carbon copy of race one as Richards and Kennedy fought for the lead. Having followed Kennedy, Richards slipped past at Paddock Hill on lap nine to take the lead before a red flag brought a stop to the race. The shortened six lap re-start saw the pair renew their rivalry, a fight that saw Richards narrowly beaten into second with McConnell in third and Mossey eighth.

The results see Richards in second position in the standings just 9.5 points behind leader Kennedy with McConnell in third, 44 points adrift of his fellow Australian. Luke Mossey holds sixth in the standings.

Having just missed out on a top ten qualifying position, Johnny Blackshaw improved on his grid slot in the first few laps of the Metzeler National Superstock 600 race, working his way up from eleventh to ninth spot by mid-race. Continuing his fine ride, the Stretton rider took a further two positions in the last half of the race to finish seventh at the flag.

Glen Richards:

"I could see I was a lot quicker into Stirling's than Jack in the first race so decided to stay behind him through there and surprise him on the last lap. You always have a plan during a race but they don't always work. Luckily for me, that one did. With the second race being such a short sprint, it was always going to be a lot harder as our bike works better in the longer races whilst Jack's also very good on hard tyres. First and second is good for the championship though and the bike was awesome all weekend."

Billy McConnell:

"I don't really know what happened with the crash in the first race but I was able to bounce back well in the second. I was riding terribly in the first part so the red flag did me a favour. We made one click on the rebound on the suspension, which is nothing, but it transformed the bike and I felt better straightaway. After lying in the gravel trap in the morning race, third is definitely a good way to end the weekend."

Luke Mossey:

"The clash with Billy in the first race was unfortunate and the last thing you want to do is cause a problem for your team mate but these things happen in the heat of battle. I'd have liked to have been challenging for a podium this weekend so we will work hard and come back stronger at Cadwell in five weeks time."

Johnny Blackshaw:

"I had another rubbish qualifying session and didn't ride well at all so it was hard work coming through from a long way back on the grid. It's hard to bridge the gap whilst I don't think my size helps as I'm a fair bit bigger and heavier than a lot of the other riders. I was happy with how I rode in the race though and came through well so I don't think I could have pushed any harder. It was hard work in the warm weather but it was a good seventh place and the bike and chassis were superb so hopefully we can improve again at Cadwell."

Rebecca Smith, Team Manager:

"It's definitely been a better weekend than what it was here in April and it's nice to come back and get the results we know the boys are capable of. Qualifying couldn't have gone any better but the sprint race was bittersweet for us with Glen winning and Billy crashing out. We still haven't got to the bottom of what happened in the crash but it was an excellent result for Glen whilst Luke rode really, really well, one of the best rides I think he's had this season.

"In the second race, six laps isn't long but Glen rode a smart race whilst Billy put right the mishap of earlier in the day and with all three riders in the top six of the championship, we can go into the break in a very good position. Johnny's made real good progress this weekend too and his confidence is building all the time after the heavy crashes he had earlier in the year. He's now posting some good, consistent results so if we can get his qualifying performances better and have him higher up the grid, he'll be rewarded even more."

Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 1 10 laps

1 Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph)
2 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha)
3 Christian Iddon (Triumph)
4 Luke Jones (Triumph)
5 Luke Mossey (Smiths Racing Triumph)
6 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)
DNF Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph)

Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Race 2 16 laps

1 Jack Kennedy (Yamaha)
2 Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph)
3 Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph)
4 Christian Iddon (Triumph)
5 Ben Wilson (Kawasaki)
6 Richard Cooper (Triumph)
8 Luke Mossey (Smiths Racing Triumph)

Championship standings (after 7 rounds)

1 Kennedy 243.5pts
2 Richards 234
3 McConnell 190
4 Wilson 175
5 Warren 129
6 Mossey 119

Metzeler National Superstock 600cc Championship (12 laps)

1 Jake Dixon (Yamaha)
2 James Lodge (Yamaha)
3 James Rose (Yamaha)
4 Ben Burke (Yamaha)
5 Matthew Paolo (Yamaha)
6 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
7 Johnny Blackshaw (Smiths Racing Triumph)

Championship standings (after 9 rounds)

1 Burke 145pts
2 Rose 130
3 Dixon 110
4 Jackson 104
5 Lodge 82
6 Blackshaw 72

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