Paul Young

If it wasn’t for bad luck then seemingly TAG Triumph would have no luck at all after the team experienced a spectrum of emotions at the Donington Park-staged third round of the British Supersport Championship but ultimately ended the meeting with no reward.

After two successful days of practice and qualification that saw riders Paul Young and Peter Ward running first and second at one stage of Sunday morning’s qualifying session that Young ended in provisional pole position before he subsequently dropped to third after session two, the belief was the team’s luck had changed and hopes of good results were high.

From his front row starting position Young was second into the first corner and then remained in the leading group throughout a race that he led at times before ultimately passing the chequered flag second to secure TAG Triumph’s maiden podium finish in the series.

However, after the delight of watching Young celebrate this achievement on the rostrum as he collected his trophy and sprayed the champagne, the team’s joy turned to devastation when Young’s machine was found to be just 500g underweight in the post-race inspection and the Australian was excluded from the results.

Reflecting on his disqualification a distraught Young said “I thought we were shaking off our bad luck but after this perhaps not! We were weighed at Brands Hatch and were well in there so assumed we’d be OK here.The whole team is totally gutted.  It’s difficult to feel positive at the moment, but on the plus side I am riding well and am pleased to be on the pace. I feel I’m still a contender and with nine races to go
I’ve certainly not given up on the title.”