Luke Stapleford emerged victorious after charging through the pack in a shortened Feature race this afternoon.
The race – due to be 16 laps – was stopped on Lap Two after heavy rain hit the track and restarted over 12, with riders lining up in their original grid spots.
Despite heading the grid, Scars-Racing Ducati’s Stapleford got beaten up at the start as five riders passed him and Oliver Barr hit the front with Honda Racing UK’s Jack Kennedy slotting into second place.
Kennedy found a way past Barr on Lap Two as Stapleford was already carving his way back through the pack, moving into fifth place and then passing the McAMS Yamaha of Ben Currie on Lap Three to move into p4.
His progress continued on Lap Four when he passed Lucas Brown to move up to third, passing Barr a lap later for second and then scything past Kennedy on Lap Six to take the lead.
From here, he was able to pull enough of a lead to go unchallenged to the flag. Kennedy remained in a strong second place and Barr was running well in third.
The top three didn’t change as the laps wore on but behind, Dean Harrison was on a charge. From running in p7 earlier in the race, he moved to sixth with two laps to go, fifth on the penultimate lap and then fourth on the final lap with a bold move on Lucas Brown at the Mountain.
Stapleford took the win by 3.402secs over Kennedy as Barr secured third, Harrison was fourth and Lucas Brown rounded out the top five.
Ben Tolliday, the only Cup runner in today’s race, missed out on a result after crashing his Team Tolly Triumph on Lap 10.
Stapleford’s seventh win of the season takes him now 61 points clear of Kennedy in the standings with just three rounds left.
Quattro Group British Supersport Championship, Feature Race result:
1. Luke Stapleford (Scars-Racing Ducati)
2. Jack Kennedy (Honda Racing UK) +3.402s
3. Oliver Barr (Binch Pro Ducati) +6.770s
4. Dean Harrison (Honda Racing UK) +8.285s
5. Lucas Brown (MSG Racing Suzuki) +8.631s
Championship positions after Round Eight:
1. Luke Stapleford 351
2. Jack Kennedy 290
3. Oli Bayliss 234
4. Dean Harrison 232
5. Harry Truelove 197