McConnell digs deep to net Donington points
HINCKLEY based race-ace Billy McConnell had an eventful weekend at Donington Park in the latest rounds of the Pirelli National Superstock Championship.
The Aussie rider crashed out of the first race when Lewis Rollo high-sided in front of him at the Old Hairpin and 24 hours later he produced a stunning ride to weave his way from the back of the grid to register a sixth placed finish and pick up vital points in his bid for the Superstock crown.
Riding his C&L Fairburn Properties/Jackson Racing Honda. McConnell qualified in fourth place for race one. With good conditions all around the 1.97-mile National circuit, a solid start to Saturday’s 20-lap race saw McConnell complete the first lap in sixth place. Two laps later, he moved up to third but on the fourth lap, his race came to an abrupt end as Lewis Rollo high-sided in front of him at the Old Hairpin leaving him nowhere to go.
With extensive damage to the bike, it gave the team plenty of work to do ahead of Sunday’s 20-lap race and, unfortunately, it also meant, he had to start from the back of the grid.
However, McConnell put in a superb ride and gained 13 places on the first lap alone.
He continually moved forward and was consistently lapping two tenths of a second quicker than the leaders and although he brought the gap down to 6.3s, he ultimately had to settle for sixth place and 10 well-earned points which see him joint fourth place in the championship standings.
Afterwards McConnell said: “I felt it was unfair to put me to the back of the grid as I’d set a lap time in the first part of Saturday’s race whilst it also felt quite dangerous, but I got my head down and was pleased to come through to sixth.
“The boys did a mega job to get the bike rebuilt so a big thanks to Alan and Andy for working through the night and although the first few laps were a bit scrappy, once I got dialled in and into a good rhythm, I felt really good.
“I could see the leaders ahead of me and the gap was coming down all the time so, if it wasn’t for the grid position, I think a win was on the cards. All things considered, the result was a good effort, so we’ll look forward now to the next round.”
Chris Fairburn, Team Owner: “Saturday’s race was a tough one to take as Billy felt really comfortable running where he was, and he was confident of getting to the front. Alan and Andy had to completely rebuild the bike and were up until 5.30am so fair play to them for doing such an awesome job.
“The biggest problem on Sunday though was starting from so far back on the grid but Billy was absolutely brilliant, and it was a great ride to come from 35th to sixth. We do feel a bit disappointed though as it could have been two wins this weekend, but we know everything’s working well so we’re confident we’ll be back on the top step sooner rather than later.”
The next round takes place at Knockhill, near Dunfermline on June 17-19.