Sunday PM: Richards proves that Triumph has a championship package
There's a lot of global support for Britain's only large-scale motorcycle maker, so it was good to see Triumph's Glen Richards fighting for first place in the Supersport race with HM Plant Honda's Steve Brogan.
Richards eventually lost by just 0.09 seconds, but his performance on the 675cc
Daytona triple proves that he can now compete for the title against the 600cc Japanese fours.
"The Triumph feels different to a four because the engine's got a narrow crank, and it's very torquey," Richards said. "It feels more like a Ducati."
A lot of people have input to this project. The bikes are run by the MAP Embassy team in Yorkshire, but are built by JT Engine Developments in the Midlands.
Paul Young, the 39-year-old Aussie who initiated the Daytona project, is a Triumph test rider and brought the factory and Map Embassy together. He is also the team's second rider, and finished ninth here today.
"When I go to work on a Monday morning I take the lessons we've learned at the track directly into the factory," he said. "And it works the other way round. The things we learn in the factory I take to the team."
The most extraordinary thing about the Embassy operation is that it runs teams in both the car and bike racing worlds. It has a two-car operation in the international Le Mans Series - and in its first venture on two wheels last year it took Richards to the British Superstock championship.
Now it could give Triumph its first ever Supersport title. "We've definitely got a championship package," team manager Myles Schofield said. "We were talking to Yamaha and Kawasaki originally, but when Paul mentioned his Triumph project I could see that there was a lot of mileage in it."
Sunday PM: KTM dyno-tests bikes to keep out cheaters
Anguished noises were coming from the back of a truck in the paddock here. When the back doors were opened, a KTM Super Duke R would roll out, and another one would be rolled in.
