McConnell nets impressive 1-2 finish at Knockhill
A SUPERB weekend of racing at round four of the Pirelli National Superstock Championship at Knockhill, Scotland saw Hinckleybased Aussie Billy McConnell claim first and second place finishes on the C&L Fairburn Properties/Jackson Racing Honda to move to within ten points of the championship lead.
The weekend got off to a wet start on Friday and McConnell opted out of the morning’s free practice session but the weather improved as the day wore on although a spill on just the fifth lap of the second session later in the day wasn’t in the script.
However, he bounced back in superb fashion during qualifying on Saturday morning with a time of 48.667s giving them their third pole position of the season so far. It was close though with the gap to fellow Honda rider Richard Kerr just 0.031s,
Conditions remained dry albeit windy for Saturday afternoon’s 24-lap race and it was Kerr who led for the first half of proceedings, McConnell keeping a watching brief in third.
Having taken second place from fellow countryman Brayden Elliott on lap ten, the Adelaide rider then took the lead three laps later and he never looked back going on to take another excellent victory, this time by just over half a second.
With the fastest lap of the race, Billy started Sunday’s race, held over the same distance, from pole position once more although he completed the first lap in fourth place. Running comfortably in the leading pack, McConnell sat in fourth until lap eight when he moved up to third and by lap 14 he was up to second.
The remaining ten laps saw him go head to head with Kerr, positions changing briefly on lap 17, but the Irishman continued to lead as they started the final lap. McConnell made his move at the hairpin and took the lead but on the drag to the line, it was Kerr who got the verdict by just 0.023s.
Nevertheless, the haul of 45 points saw Billy jump up to third overall in the championship table and he now sits just 10 points behind current leader Elliott.
Afterwards a jubilant McConnell said: “We came up to Knockhill for a one-day test a couple of weeks ago and put a lot of work in which paid dividends this weekend as the bike was perfect and it’s been a strong meeting for us.
“After the rain on Friday, it didn’t help when I chucked the bike into the fence in practice and it kind of put our plans out of the window but we re-grouped and re-built and came back with a different attitude on Saturday. Pole position and the win was the perfect way to bounce back.
“There were a few yellow flags and I had to wait for my opportunity whilst the last four laps were quite nerve-wracking as I was getting a bit of arm pump and hearing noises from the bike and all sorts! We got the win and I was hoping for more of the same on Sunday but a few of the other boys had other ideas and Richard rode really well.
“I tried to get the power down as much as I could coming out the hairpin but he just edged me out although to leave here 10 points off the lead, compared to the 55 when we came in, it’s been a more than successful weekend so a big thanks to the whole team.”
The series now takes a fiveweek break before resuming at Brands Hatch, Kent on July 22-24.
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