Smiths Racing’s greatest hits
After 11 years of running at the front and becoming the benchmark on the roads Smiths pulled out of racing. MCN takes a look back …
Smiths Racing brought the curtain down on their 11-year racing career last month with the Gloucester-based team leaving a trail of successes behind them. British Championship glory and spectacular International road racing feats were all achieved by Alan and Rebecca Smith’s closeknit team. Here are some of their finest moments…
2012 BRITISH SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP
1st Glen Richards (Smiths Racing Triumph) 372pts
2nd Jack Kennedy (Yamaha) 363.5 3rd Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph) 340
Australians Glen Richards and Billy McConnell were chosen to spearhead Smiths’ title assault. Richards gave the team their first British Championship win at Thruxton and was crowned champion after a dramatic last race at the final round at Brands Hatch. He defeated Jack Kennedy by 8.5 points with teammate McConnell claiming third overall, the duo won 13 of the 24 races and took a combined 28 podiums.
2014 ISLE OF MAN SUPERSPORT TT RACE ONE
1st Gary Johnson (Smiths Racing Triumph) Av. Speed 124.526mph 2nd Bruce Anstey (Honda) 3rd Michael Dunlop (Honda) Fastest lap: Johnson, 126.732mph
The TT and North West 200 beckoned for the first time in 2014 with Michael Rutter and Gary Johnson contesting the Supersport races. Johnson took third at the NW200 before setting the pace during practice at the TT. He took that form with him into the first four-lap race and led from start to finish, getting the win from Bruce Anstey by just 1.5s to give the team a fairytale TT debut.
2014 BRITISH SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP
1st Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph) 364pts
2nd Alastair Seeley (Yamaha) 360 3rd Graeme Gowland (Smiths Racing Triumph) 341
Now the official factory Triumph team, Smiths retained McConnell for a third year and signed Graeme Gowland to replace the retired Richards with the title again going to the final round. Eighth in the final race gave McConnell the title by just four points from Alastair Seeley with Gowland not far behind in third. The duo won nine of the 24 races and between them took a staggering 29 podiums.
2015 CADWELL PARK BRITISH SUPERBIKES
1st Josh Brookes (Yamaha) 2nd Peter Hickman (BMW) 3rd Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing BMW)
McConnell was rewarded for his British Supersport Championship success by a move into the premier BSB series on a BMW, with Jake Dixon replacing him in the middleweight class. The Superbike class proved to be challenging but both McConnell’s and the team’s efforts were rewarded with a maiden BSB podium at Cadwell Park.
2017 ISLE OF MAN TT
2nd Superbike Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing)
2nd Superstock Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing)
2nd Senior Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing)
3rd Supersport 1 Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing)
After a year’s absence, Smiths returned to the roads with Peter Hickman as their rider both on the roads and in BSB. Riding BMW and Triumph machinery,
Hickman took three seconds and one third to win the Joey Dunlop Trophy with Smiths also taking the team award.
2017 THRUXTON BRITISH SUPERBIKES RACE 2
1st Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) 2nd Jake Dixon (Kawasaki) 3rd Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
After his TT success, Hickman
gave Smiths their second BSB podium with second in the opening race at Thruxton. He went one better in the second race and took a six-second win to give the team their first ever BSB victory.
2018 ISLE OF MAN SUPERSTOCK TT
1st Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) Average Speed 131.553mph
2nd Michael Dunlop (BMW) 3rd Dean Harrison (Kawasaki) Fastest lap: Hickman, 134.403mph (and a new lap record)
Having finished third in the morning’s Supersport race, Hickman claimed his first TT victory and the second for Smiths Racing when he took a superb win in the Superstock race. Despite having dropped back to tenth after overshooting Braddan Bridge on the opening lap, Hickman took the lead second time around with a new lap record of 134.432mph on the fourth and final lap saw him defeat Michael Dunlop by 4.4s.
2018 ISLE OF MAN SENIOR TT
1st Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) Av.Speed 131.700mph 2nd Dean Harrison (Kawasaki) 3rd Conor Cummins (Honda) Fastest lap: Hickman, 135.452mph (new outright lap record)
Arguably the finest, and most famous, moment for Smiths came in a dramatic 2018 Senior TT when Hickman set a new outright lap record of 135.452mph to defeat Dean Harrison by 2.06s. In one of the greatest TTs ever, there was nothing between the two riders all race, but Hickman hit the front for the first time on the final Snaefell climb as he recorded the first, and only, 135mph★ lap.
2018 MACAU GRAND PRIX
1st Peter Hickman (Smiths/Aspire-Ho by Bathams BMW) 2nd Michael Rutter (BMW)
3rd Martin Jessopp (Ducati) Fastest lap: Hickman, 94.94mph
Having set pole position, Hickman overhauled teammate Michael Rutter on the fourth lap and immediately edged clear.
2019 ULSTER GRAND PRIX
Superbike – 1st x 3 Supersport – 1st x 3 Superstock – 1st x1
Before 2019, no one had won more than five races in a single Ulster GP but Hickman smashed that record as they won seven races – three in the Superbike class, three in Supersport and one in Superstock. The crowning moment coming when he set a stunning new outright lap record of 136.415mph.
Fenati was at it again, making headlines on a global scale in 2018 by pulling the brake lever of Stefano Manzi’s Moto2 bike at 140mph.
The duo had battled hard for the majority of the race and the pair eventually collided and went off the track.
Fenati saw red. The Italian duo, now back on track, headed down the long straight towards turn eight. Fenati pulled alongside Manzi and proceeded to reach over with his left arm and pull the front brake lever. Manzi was fortunate not be thrown over the handlebars, given that, according to his data, Fenati pulled the brake lever so hard that it produced a brake pressure of 20 bar – the average around Misano in Moto2 is nine bar. Fenati’s shocking antics led to an initial two-race ban, but his race licence was later revoked for the rest of 2018. The Marinelli Snipers Team had already terminated his contract, whilst MV Agusta pulled the plug on Fenati’s 2019 deal.
Fenati was, surprisingly, reinstated by Marinelli Snipers in 2019 and competed in Moto3. In 2020 he rode for Max Biaggi’s Moto3 team and, ironically, won at Misano.