Victory and podium celebrations for Macadam Triumph Factory Racing at Knockhill

The Macadam Triumph Factory Racing team are leaving the third round of the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship celebrating after returning to their winning ways with Oli Bayliss securing victory in today’s race, following a terrific third yesterday aboard the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS.

Scotland’s Knockhill circuit proved fruitful for the Macadam Triumph team, where Bayliss made his first appearance for the Halifax-based squad, alongside Max Wadsworth. Blessed with near-perfect conditions on Saturday and Sunday at the Scottish track, after a washout on Friday, Bayliss made progress throughout each session thereafter.

Lining up for the opening race of the weekend in sixth place he had a good start off the line aboard the Street Triple 765. Posting an early fast lap on the second rotation, the Aussie kept in with the leading group and settled into fourth.

At the halfway point Bayliss and the 765 were sitting in podium contention in third place, but a chasing Dean Harrison was close behind. Keeping his Supersport rival at bay and getting the most out of his Street Triple, Bayliss crossed the line third, just 0.828 seconds shy of second place.

Heading into Sunday’s longer 26-lap race and on a podium-high, Bayliss topped the times in the morning warm-up with a blistering time of 48.841, which is under the lap record in the Supersport class.

Lining up for the last race of the day on the second row of the grid in fourth place, the 22-year old launched off the line and kept fourth place into the first turn. By the second lap he was up into third and started to line-up Jack Kennedy for second place. Scoring the fastest lap of the race on the fourth lap (49.209) Bayliss was flying and hot on Kennedy’s heels.

Bayliss and Kennedy were neck-to-neck across the start/finish line on the seventh lap, but it was the Triumph that slotted into second place as Bayliss made his move. Having passed Kennedy, it was then fellow Aussie Ben Currie ahead, and it wasn’t long until Bayliss was in reaching distance.

As the race reached its halfway point Bayliss had made his move to take the lead from Currie. With the laps ticking down, he harnessed the power of the Street Triple 765 RS to keep a chasing Currie behind and controlled the race to the chequered flag to take his first-ever British Supersport win. The result is also the first victory for the team since Assen last year, and marks the first time the Bayliss name has been on the top step at a BSB event since Race 2 at Cadwell Park on 30 August 1999.

Meanwhile for teammate Wadsworth it was a tough weekend at the Scottish track. After a solid qualifying session where in Q1 he was third fastest to claim a spot in Q2, a subsequent crash sidelined him from the second qualifying session. On the back foot in both races, Wadsworth struggled to make progress through the pack and wrapped up the weekend just outside the points with a 17th and 16th place.

The team will now look forward to the next round of the championship, which takes place in a few weeks time at Snetterton (3-5 July), where last year wildcard Bayliss landed a podium spot in second place.

Oli Bayliss - Macadam Triumph Factory Racing: 
“It’s great to be on the top step of the podium, I can’t remember the last time I was actually on the top step, so it’s been a long time coming! It’s been a good weekend here at Knockhill for the team with the podium yesterday and today’s result. A huge thanks to the Macadam Triumph Factory Racing team for all their hard work, to all my sponsors, my parents and my girlfriend. It’s been around 30 years since a Bayliss was on the top step at a British Superbike event, so it’s nice to be able to carry that legacy and get back up there. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going at the next round at Snetterton!”

Max Wadsworth - Macadam Triumph Factory Racing:
“It’s not been the weekend we wanted at Knockhill after such a positive round at Donington last time out. Sorry to the team for a rough result, the Q1 crash put us on the backfoot then it was damage limitation. I’m gutted and it’s not what we wanted for Knockhill. We’ll go back, reset and hopefully come back stronger for Snetterton.”