Podium for McDougall at Oulton
05-05-2008
British Supersport Cup
Round 2, Oulton Park, 5th May 2008
Race - 12 laps
Beowulf Racing's Pat McDougall (Yamaha) picked up his first podium of the season with a fine third place in the second round of the British Supersport Cup at Oulton Park today. His rostrum finish also moved him up into fourth place in the Cup championship standings with 27 points.
The Supersport Cup is a "race within a race" in the main British Supersport Championship for the privateer riders who receive no direct factory support or assistance.
The weather has played a huge part in this year's Cup championship so far - the snowbound opening round at Brands Hatch had to be cancelled whilst the next outing at Thruxton was a mixture of winds, showers and sunshine throughout the weekend.
With today's race coming on the back of a shower, the pattern looked set to continue. Consequently, the team left their final tyre selection until Pat had completed his sighting lap of the 2.7-mile Cheshire circuit. With the track still wet but drying, the decision was made to run with a wet front tyre and dry rear. In the end it was to make no difference: the race was stopped after three laps to allow the medical team to tend to the fallen Alan O'Connor (Honda).
With a dry line now appearing for the 12-lap re-run, the decision was made to switch completely to dry tyres. McDougall made a blinding start, climbing from 28th place to 17th by the end of the first three laps. Relegated a position by the Triumph-mounted Paul Young on lap seven, Pat looked set for a 18th place finish until the final lap when he was passed by Sam Owens (Honda). His podium though remained secure - in terms of the Cup entrants Pat was the third rider to finish.
It's now just six days until the next race. Brands Hatch hosts the rescheduled opening round on Sunday. The Kent circuit is McDougall's favourite track and with his second-placed Qualifying position still standing from the original outing, the Guildford-based rider is confident of putting in another good performance.
Pat McDougall, Beowulf Supersport Cup rider
"Originally we took a gamble on tyres with a wet front and dry rear, whereas a lot of the other riders were on full wets. With the track drying I think it would have paid off and I would have pulled through quite strongly as the race went on. For the re-run I got a good start and made sure I didn't make any mistakes and crash on the first lap. I got into my rhythm, enjoyed the race and ended up on the podium. I want to make sure I'm on the rostrum at every meeting and I can't wait for the next round."
David McDougall, Beowulf UK Team Manager
"We're obviously very pleased with the podium. It's been another hard weekend in terms of more unbelievable weather conditions - we've been through every combination of tyre possible. It's great in terms of bike development but it does add a lot to the workload. We finished a comfortable third, 20 seconds ahead of the next Cup rider. We now want to develop the bike further and get on terms with the Cup riders in front of us and then score points in the main championship. Let's just hope that the next round at Brands is either completely wet or completely dry."
British Supersport Cup
Rd 02 Race Result - 12 laps
1. Craig Fitzpatrick (Yamaha) - 20:29.231
2. Andy Weymouth (Yamaha) - 20:38.434
3. Pat McDougall (Yamaha) - 20:54.497
British Supersport Championship
Rd 02 Race Result - 12 laps
1. Glen Richards (Triumph) - 20:04.775
2. Hudson Kennaugh (Yamaha) - 20:05.069
3. Ian Lowry (Suzuki) - 20:12.765
19. Pat McDougall (Yamaha) - 20:54.497
British Supersport Cup
Current Championship Standings
1. Craig Fitzpatrick (Yamaha) - 50pts
2. Andy Weymouth (Yamaha) - 40pts
3. Alistair Fagan (Triumph) - 29pts
4. Pat McDougall (Yamaha) - 27pts
British Supersport Championship
Current Championship Standings
1. Glen Richards (Triumph) - 45pts
2. Steve Brogan (Honda) - 36pts
3. Hudson Kennaugh (Yamaha) - 33pts
Sponsors
Team StoneBaker.
The great race at the new Portimao circuit brings an end to our season in World Superbike Superstock 600, with riders Gino Rea and Dan Linfoot.
The season has been a success with Gino third and Dan fifth in the championship standings following three victories and five additional podiums in total. The results have also acted as a stepping stone to the riders for next season, with both securing high profile, career progressing rides for 2009.
Thank you for all of the emails, calls, texts and visits throughout the year. It has been much appreciated.
